Unlock Your Potential with Jeff Lerner

In this episode, I chat with Chip Conley, founder and CEO of Modern Elder Academy, NYT Best Selling Author, founder of the chain boutique hotels Joie de Vivre, and former head of Hospitality and Strategy at Airbnb.  This episode unpacks the unexpected truth about having a midlife crisis by touching on the "modern elder" concept, midlife crises, and perspective shifts about aging. In the first half of his life, Chip started a chain of boutique hotels called "Joie de Vivre." Eventually, Chip experienced a midlife crisis where he almost died from an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, and five of his friends committed suicide. During this time, Chip felt lost but knew he had more to give.  After selling his business to Hyatt, Chip became the head of Hospitality and Strategy at Airbnb. Despite not being technologically advanced, Chip brought tremendous value to the Airbnb team with what they called "modern elder" wisdom. A Modern Elder is someone as curious as they are wise, allowing them to learn and adapt to change while providing wisdom. Upon learning this new concept, Chip discovered his purpose of teaching others experiencing midlife crises about changing their perspectives on aging.  This new perspective sets the foundation for a more meaningful, intentional life by practicing mindfulness and meditation and applying your wisdom to the second half of your life. According to Chip, most people think their lives will go downhill after 50. However, developing midlife wisdom can help people take control of the last half of their lives by participating in meaningful experiences. The episode ends with Chip explaining the student experience at the Modern Elder Academy. The academy's lessons use nature to teach leadership qualities to students, understand their purpose, and how to take their experience and wisdom to apply them to their purpose.  Thank you, Chip, for sharing your wisdom and reminding the audience that it's never too late to live a meaningful life! Check Out More of Chip’s Content Here 👇    💻 https://chipconley.com/  💻 https://www.modernelderacademy.com/  📖 Wisdom @ Work - https://chipconley.com/wisdom-at-work  💡 Wisdom Well - https://wisdomwell.modernelderacademy.com/  📧 Send an Email to 👉 contact@chipconley.com  ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/chipconleysf  🖥️ FB 👉 https://www.facebook.com/chipconleyauthor  ⌨️ Twitter 👉 https://mobile.twitter.com/chipconley  📲 IG 👉 https://www.instagram.com/chipconley/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Chip Conley 02:38 Chip’s story 06:05 Knowledge vs wisdom 09:57 Wisdom etymology 11:27 Life ahead of us 13:26 Lifespan / Healthspan 15:41 Blue zones 17:38 What gets better with age 21:13 How to extend your life 26:24 Learning new things 35:18 The Great Midlife Edit 37:21 Unlocking Wisdom 37:54 The origins of retirement 46:09 Midlife chrysalis 48:28 Modern Elderly Academy 52:50 Where to find Chip Conley

In this episode, I talk about the value of discipline in today's world and why this year is the best time to work hard. Throughout the episode, I touch on the difference in generations in relation to working hard. During the Great Depression era, hard work was the standard to survive. There was no laziness because the circumstances didn't permit it.  Over time, those hard workers created a better life for future generations. Now, we're living in a generation that resulted from the hard-working generation. Unfortunately, the current generation seems too accustomed to this easy standard of living that it shies away from hard work. We're so used to automation and technology that being lazy becomes the default. As humans, we are capable of so much more, yet, we never unlock our true potential because we're not working hard enough. We have access to more information and opportunities than ever but use them as distractions instead of tools for success, such as social media and the internet. So, my challenge to you is to stand out and create the life you were meant to live by becoming disciplined and persistent. Use the luxuries we have as tools for success rather than immediate gratification. Enduring pain now will produce easier times later.  Now is the best time to stand out because society has gone soft. It's easier to win a race when everyone else is standing still. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and let me know in the comments if you want to see more content like this.

In this episode, I chat with A.J. Jacobs, 4x New York Times Best Selling Author, about redefining your problems as puzzles to solve them. Because of his normal childhood, A.J. found it difficult to write about his life as he hadn't done anything interesting. So, he decided to redefine his problem by turning it into a puzzle to solve. As a result, he went on "quests" to learn something new to write about his experiences.  Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, A.J. has spent much of his time learning about cognitive behavioral therapy. He learned that behavior could affect your thoughts and feelings.  For example, to succeed in life, you could act into a new way of thinking, also known as faking it until you feel it. Another concept of cognitive behavioral therapy that A.J. talks about is implementing self-imposed constraints for creativity. For example, developing a structure for brainstorming is much more productive than simply deciding to brainstorm. Lastly, A.J. talks about viewing your challenges as puzzles to make them more productive and fun. It's easier to find a solution to a puzzle than a problem. Thank you, A.J., for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://unlockyourpotentialbyjefflerner.com?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of A.J.’s Content Here 👇    💻 https://ajjacobs.com/  📖 The Puzzler - https://ajjacobs.com/books/the-puzzler/  ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/pub/a-j-jacobs/1/43a/592  🖥️ FB 👉 https://www.facebook.com/ajjacobs  ⌨️ Twitter 👉 https://www.twitter.com/ajjacobs  📲 IG 👉 https://www.instagram.com/ajjacobsinc/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to AJ Jacobs 02:58 Writing about humble quests 07:11 Transferring experiences 10:21 Non-transferable experiences 14:19 Living biblically 17:05 Reducing decisions 19:41 Self-imposed constraints 25:05 Traditional jobs 26:18 Resisting authority vs. accepting authority 36:37 Being noticed 41:33 Flexibility of all kinds 47:00 The Healthiest man alive 52:11 Gamifying life 57:38 Where to find AJ Jacobs

In this episode, I chat with my friend James Altucher about his success hack: skipping the line to become part of the top 1%. James Altucher is a hedge-fund manager, author, comedy club owner, podcaster, and entrepreneur. He has also cofounded over 20 companies and written 25 books. The repeated theme throughout this episode is why becoming part of the top 1% in an industry can make you happier. According to James, improving on things that make you happy leads to a more fulfilling life. As a lifelong chess player who's played against some of the best players in the world, James states that being part of the top 1% feels good because you've mastered something. In addition to mastery, you get access to the community when you become part of the top 1%, allowing you to start new relationships, create new opportunities, and be among like-minded people. Being the best of the best is much harder because you must perfect everything about your craft. You don't simply improve because you're obsessed with it. You improve because you have a reputation to uphold, and you can't let that slide.  However, when you're in the top 1%, you appreciate the subtleties and nuances of your mastered craft. You become more creative as you improve your skill simply because you love it. You don't have to worry about being perfect because you're not the "best." Another thing James mentions in this episode is his concept of writing down ten ideas a day. For the last twenty years, James has written down ten ideas a day and sent them out to businesses, friends, colleagues, and anyone else he wanted to help.  As a result, he's created more opportunities for himself, strengthened his innovative skills, and positively impacted the lives of others.  We live in a society where innovation is the key to staying relevant. You can't just copy someone else's ideas and expect to succeed. You can copy others' ideas, but you must add your own unique element to them.  In addition to innovation, you must be good at execution to succeed. You can have all the most amazing ideas in the world, but they are meaningless unless you take action on them.  The last thing James talks about in this episode is the power of visualization. You cannot succeed in life if you cannot visualize yourself succeeding. Like innovation, you must also build this muscle through repetitive action. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of James’ Content Here 👇 🗒️ https://notepd.com/profile/JamesAltucher 💻 https://jamesaltucher.com/ 📖 Skip The Line - https://www.amazon.com/Skip-Line-Experiments-Surprising-Reaching-ebook/dp/B08BLLF3RD 📺 Choose Yourself on Amazon Prime - https://www.amazon.com/Choose-Yourself-James-Altucher-Story/dp/B08JD14X7Z 📒 Blog 👉 https://jamesaltucher.com/blog/ 🎙️ Podcast 👉 The James Altucher Show - https://jamesaltucher.com/podcasts/ ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉 https://linkedin.com/in/jamesaltucher/ 📺 YT 👉 https://youtube.com/channel/UCRQlx2klE_aNrPhz2OyKRdg 🖥️ FB 👉 https://facebook.com/JAltucher.Blog/ ⌨️ Twitter 👉 https://twitter.com/jaltucher 📲 IG 👉 https://instagram.com/altucher/ Timestamps: • 00:00 Introduction to James Altucher • 05:56 How to write a book • 11:33 Process Hacker • 13:15 Being in the top 1% • 25:06 Mastering variety vs mastering one thing • 30:18 Number 1 vs Number 15 • 44:05 Subconscious mind • 49:01 Reaching your plateau • 50:10 Reaching your potential • 54:39 Fear as a self-revelation • 56:44 10 ideas a day • 1:15:20 Visualization • 1:20:11 About NotePD.com

In this episode, I chat with Larry Yatch, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy SEALs, author, trainer, and coach, about turning your trauma into success. Over the last 12 years, Larry reverse-engineered the elite processes, training, and mindsets used by Navy SEALs to develop a system that anyone can use to generate massive success in their lives. Today, Larry's mission is to help entrepreneurs harness the power of the Navy SEALs to break through barriers in their businesses. Throughout the episode, Larry talks about the effects of trauma in leadership. Most people think they have never experienced trauma because they connect it to a big life event, such as rape, death, child molestation, etc. We think that if we have never experienced those events, we haven't experienced trauma. However, trauma isn't connected to a major life event. It's a perceived loss of control. The less in control you feel in a situation, the riskier the situation appears, increasing the trauma you experience. We believe that if we can't control something, we'll die. However, we can actually use trauma to create success in our lives by using the lessons we learned during our trauma and applying them to our lives. Thank you, Larry, for chatting with me today and helping the audience understand how to use trauma for their benefit. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join ?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of Larry’s Content Here 👇 💻https://www.howleadershipactuallyworks.com/ 📖 How Leadership (Actually) Works - https://www.howleadershipactuallyworks.com/home 💡https://www.sealteamleaders.com/ ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉https://www.linkedin.com/company/seal-team-leaders/ 📺 YT 👉https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQsPWF_XZAt2e-pE6Gn4GTQ 🖥️ FB 👉https://www.facebook.com/sealteamleaders/ ⌨️ Twitter 👉https://twitter.com/SEALTeamleaders 📲 IG 👉https://www.instagram.com/navysealteamleaders/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Larry Yatch 03:10 What do you do every day? 07:35 Business evolution 10:48 Highly value accomplishment 14:26 “Navy Seal” Brand 16:40 Individual vs Team performance 21:56 Structurally sound organization 28:29 Business Health assessment 39:12 Objective / Subjective 40:53 *Trauma and Growth* 49:39 *Trauma as a lesson* 53:19 First business after war 55:21 No-war traumas, Jeff’s example 01:03:03 Traumas & Disconnection 01:05:39 How to heal 01:08:55 Disconnection from self 01:13:51 Where to find Larry Yatch

In this episode, I talk about what goes into leading a team of 150+ people. Instead of prepping for the standup like I normally do, I found myself pondering death and the impact each of us leaves on the earth.  So, I decided to talk about the value of life and how it impacts our work, specifically ENTRE.  I also bring up the importance of culture and how it affects an organization.  What I hope you take away from this episode is that life is too short not to love your work. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join?sl=anchor-jefflerner

In this episode, I chat with Mitch Lowe, speaker, and co-founding executive of Netflix, about how he used a hard time in his life to propel his life forward and create success. In the early 80s, Mitch became the President of Video Droid, a movie rental company similar to Blockbuster. Eventually, Mitch became one of the co-founders of Netflix and worked as the Head of Business Development for five years. However, in 2003, Reed Hastings, another Netflix co-founder, let Mitch go claiming he wasn't ready to lead a public company. Despite feeling devastated at the loss of his job, Lowe used the loss as fuel to improve himself to prove Hastings wrong. For the next eight years, Lowe worked at Redbox and McDonald's, eventually becoming the COO of Redbox. Lowe spent his career being an innovator, helping companies increase their revenue and influence by implementing novel ideas. Mitch leaves us with the idea that innovation and creating businesses are easier than ever with the internet. Thank you, Mitch, for chatting with me today and showing the audience how to use difficult times to improve yourself and create an amazing life for yourself. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join ?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of Mitch’s Content Here 👇 💻https://www.mitchlowe.net/ 📖 Watch and Learn - https://www.mitchlowe.net/book/ 💡 Speaking Agent - https://www.bigspeak.com/ ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchlowe/ ⌨️Twitter 👉https://twitter.com/mitch__lowe Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Mitch Lowe 03:05 Netflix origins 06:48 Mitch’s life journey to Netflix 12:55 High school dropout 16:29First Company and meeting Marc Randolph 20:23 Working in Netflix 21:12 Leaving Netflix 23:46 Learning how to operate in a public environment: McDonald's 32:39 Consumer experience 37:12 Speed and ease of transaction 40:32 Getting fired as a fuel 47:32 MoviePass 52:41 His book “Watch and Learn” 56:26 Having a big adversary 57:40 Where to find Mitch Lowe

What does it take to go from $0 to 1 million? In this episode, I chat with Tanner Chidester, CEO of EliteCEOS.com, about his journey from broke to making 1 million dollars in one year. Like many other successful business owners, Tanner took a job as a door-to-door salesman, working 12-hour days, six days a week. This experience taught Tanner how to handle objections, talk to people, and sell. Eventually, Tanner quit his door-to-door sales job and started an online fitness business that reached 1 million in revenue within the first year at the age of 25. Throughout the episode, Tanner touches on the characteristics that made him successful such as hard work, perseverance, consistency, and discipline. As the episode wrapped up, Tanner and I talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are better than you. We often surround ourselves with people who aren't aligned with our goals, leading us to fall into the same patterns as them. That's why you must surround yourself with people who encourage and push you to become the best version of yourself. The main takeaway from this episode is that you must be willing to make sacrifices and refuse to give up to become successful. You will experience challenging times and uncomfortable situations, but the reward is far greater than those who never chase their dreams. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of Tanner’s Content Here 👇 💻https://www.eliteceos.com/ 💻https://tannerchidester.com/ 📖 Infinite Income - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RN4F9KQ/ 📒 Blog 👉https://tannerchidester.com/blog/ ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-chidester-4bb646123/ 📺 YT 👉https://www.youtube.com/tannerchidesterofficial 🖥️ FB 👉https://business.facebook.com/tannerchidesterfitness ⌨️ Twitter 👉https://twitter.com/tannerchidester 📲 IG 👉 https://www.instagram.com/tanner.chidester/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Tanner Chidester 02:06 Elite CEO’s Event 03:41 Elite CEOs 04:40 How did you start? 08:10 First Million Dollars 11:12 Motivation and Growing Up 18:52 Where does being hard worker come from 22:47 Coaching others 29:24 The shift from depression 33:43 Tanner’s dark side 36:26 Competitive nature 38:34 Leadership 42:48 Building culture 45:23 Working post-pandemic 46:44 Infinite income 48:10 From door to door to a million a month 57:05 Final thoughts and where to find Tanner Chidester

In this episode, I chat with Robert Greene, author of the book 'The 48 Laws of Power' along with many others, about learning to use your power as an instrument for creating a fantastic life.  We kick off the episode with Robert telling us his backstory and how we came into writing one of the most popular books on human nature.  Throughout the episode, Greene reminds us that everyone has a source of power they can tap into to find their purpose. It doesn't matter what our background is, what disabilities we may have, or what character flaws we possess; we all have something unique to give to the world. The most powerful people in the world are the people who have accepted themselves for who they are and have figured out ways to leverage their gifts.  The main takeaway Robert gives us is not to be like other people. If you try to become like other people, people will forget you and not know who you are. The last thing Robert leaves with us is learning how to create pressure on ourselves to tap into our inner power and change our lives. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of Robert’s Content Here 👇 💻 https://powerseductionandwar.com/  📖 https://powerseductionandwar.com/books/  📒  Blog  👉 https://powerseductionandwar.com/blog/  📧 Send an Email to 👉 rgauthorassistant@gmail.com  🖥️ FB 👉 https://www.facebook.com/48lawsofpowerbook  ⌨️ Twitter 👉 https://twitter.com/RobertGreene  📲 IG 👉 https://www.instagram.com/robertgreeneofficial/  🎵 TT 👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@robertgreene Timestamps: 12:10 Introduction to Robert Greene 1:57 Preparing for “48 Laws of Power” 04:09 What got you so focused on Power? 08:51 Worked in more than 80 jobs 15:37 Everybody can become a master 21:15 The best strategy 25:55 Conscious self & Unconscious self 26:50 The voice inside driving us 28:20 Robert’s “Daemon” 33:03 Parenting 41:24 About Robert’s weirdness 46:28 The real meaning of “weird” 54:48 Being Patient 58:01 Life Lesson #1 59:13 Power is a tool 1:02:50 The Death-Ground Strategy 1:08:27 Where to find Robert Greene 1:09:39 Final thoughts 1:10:32 Robert’s favorite Coltrane album

In this episode, I chat with Bruce Feiler, a 7x New York Times Best-Selling author, presenter of two prime-time series on PBS, and writer of the "This Life" column in the New York Times, about mastering life's transitions.  According to Bruce, people have linear and nonlinear moments throughout their lives. For example, up until the age of 40, Bruce had a pretty linear life. It wasn't until his cancer diagnosis that his life became severely nonlinear. This major event caused Bruce to begin collecting stories of people's nonlinear life experiences from all over the world. Throughout these nonlinear events in life, Bruce discovered a skill we can use to overcome these events or "lifequakes" to avoid being overwhelmed by them. This skill is called mastering life's transitions. Many people suffer through life events thinking they need to endure the pain and then they can be happy. However, Bruce introduces the concept of enjoying life during transitions to help you grow and renew yourself instead of suffering. As a result, those life transitions reveal opportunities to transform the trajectory of our lives, leading us down new and exciting paths. Thank you, Bruce, for sharing your story with me and the audience. Create the life you've always wanted! 👉 https://www.theentreinstitute.com/join?sl=anchor-jefflerner Check Out More of Bruce’s Content Here 👇    💻 https://www.brucefeiler.com/  📖 Life Is In The Transitions - https://www.brucefeiler.com/books-articles/all-books/  💡 Newsletter - https://brucefeiler.bulletin.com/  ℹ️ LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-feiler-4b1aa117  📺 YT 👉 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bruce+feiler  🖥️ FB 👉 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bruce-Feiler/67163162953  ⌨️ Twitter 👉 http://twitter.com/brucefeiler  📲 IG 👉 https://www.instagram.com/brucefeiler/ Timestamps: 00:12 Introduction to Bruce Feiler 02:42 What’s the secret to your interesting life? 12:18 Family and non traditional work life 22:09 The life story project 23:33 Linearity is the aberration 28:29 How should we be teaching people about non linear existence? 29:10 3 dozen disruptors 34:24 Educational system 35:43 “Lifequakes” 44:22 Do the disruptions reveal the chaos? 53:23 Where can we find Bruce Feiler