The Kevin Miller Podcast

Ernest Hemingway is famously cited as saying, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Amongst the writing community this is an oft quoted statement and frequently depicted in film and story. Trouble is, Hemmingway didn’t say it. In this episode I’m back with one of my favorite all-time authors, Donald Miller, and we’re talking about his habits. One he shared was stopping the nightly beer. While he appreciates it, his best writing time is in the morning and he feels the alcohol, even a little, slightly compromises his work. That right there is the essence of good habits, when we have a reason big enough for us to make the healthier decision. If you are struggling to keep up a desired habit, obviously your motive isn’t clear. This is an interesting show, as Donald is the open, honest, and introspective guy that made his memoirs sell millions of copies. We cover vices, heroes on a mission, mindset, the benefit of not knowing any better, and him considering if he has an obsessive compulsive disorder in relation to tacos. To help your habits, Don invited us to visit heroonamission.com where he provides a life plan and daily planner course. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The question, “For those of you in business for yourself, whether full time making millions or a side hustle making a buck or two, where are you strongest in your business and where are you weakest?” Tom Ziglar and I talked through comments and what you’ll hear is a full circle of admissions. One is great at sales and poor at admin while another is wonderful at admin and struggles in sales. I believe you’ll find yourself taking comfort in the reality you can’t be strong in everything and yet still succeed in your business. A primary take away from this discussion is the value of spending as much time as possible in your strengths and getting as much help as possible where you are weak. While at the beginning of a business we need to wear many hats, we just can’t be competent at everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Miller is back on the show for the third time. Don is one of my all time favorite authors, his memoirs such as A Million Miles In A Thousand Years and Scary Close were literal life changers for me. As you’ll hear in this show, Donald started out as a pure writer. But to get his messages out he had to learn to run a stellar business. Today he pulls in tens of millions and has turned his attention to helping other people get their messages and art out by learning business. Before coming on he said, “I believe everyone deserves access to a life-changing business education." And as you’ll hear he believes his methodology with his new Business Made Simple platform is more valuable than an ivy league MBA. And I’ll tell you, it’s impressive. As he did so brilliantly in his earlier books with a personal message, he has boiled down and refined the essence of business in a way I’ve not seen before. Find Donald at https://www.businessmadesimple.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I asked listeners, “What are the daily small deposits in your life that give you the most payoff?” With most of my guests on the show I do a “Habits” episode with them to hear about their daily habits and routines for success, and I often start by asking them which ones are priority. The most valued. This was in essence the same question, but put to listeners. Some of the topics shared, the favored daily deposits, covered things such as spiritual practices, exercise, healthy food, hugs, alone time, refocusing and reframing, positive input, sleep, and more. Tom Ziglar and I talk through them and share some of our own focal points, one of mine being a striving for light heartedness! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 saw a lot of upheaval for small business, few people were untouched by it. In March I saw nearly $10,000 in monthly ad revenue disappear. I was doing work with Pete Vargas, king of the stage, and his entire business disappeared almost instantaneously. “Pivot” became the new buzzword and now we keep hearing stories from people who took a hit, made a pivot, and actually came out better as a result. But some did not, and it’s not because they weren’t brilliant people. Some industries are difficult to pivot in. So I wanted to hear someone in the trenches of small business tell us what they were seeing. Where are there more and less opportunities? Dan Miller is the renowned author of 48 Days To The Work You Love and one of the more renowned career and business coaches of our time. He’s also...my father! If you hear some of his guidance and desire to connect with him you can find him at 48days.com or email him at askdan@48days.com. Next we’ll dive into what’s happening in small business in 2021! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Ziglar Show I wanted to hear from people who started a personal discipline that was drudgery, and succeeded in doing it until it actually became a joy. Or at least not complete misery. To showcase to us all that the beginning is the hardest part! You’ll hear about exercising and eating healthier, then into interesting areas such as finding nice things to say about your spouse! I kick this episode off with a two and a half minute clip from Zig Ziglar where he discusses the benefits of self discipline. From it I asked the Ziglar audience this question, “What is a healthy habit or personal discipline that started as a chore/drudgery/negative and today is a joy/pleasure/positive?” We heard from so many people about disciplines they started in misery, but today they look forward to. You’ll hear about exercising and eating healthier, then into interesting areas such as finding nice things to say about your spouse! For some the task is now an actual joy, for others just something they have peace with and really appreciate the pay off of. Tom Ziglar and I talk through a lot of the comments and share some of our own stories. If you want to join these discussions, find me on Facebook, my personal page is agentkmiller and the biz page is kevinmillerco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have a double Habits episode for you. What are the habits of one of the top 20 wealthiest people on planet earth, and the CEO that runs multiple foundations for him? As of this recording Charles Koch is worth $50 billion dollars and ranked as the 15th wealthiest person on the planet. Brian Hooks is CEO and President of three of Charle’s philanthropic organizations. I had them on together in episode 855 to discuss their co authored book, Believe In People. This is my habits show and I walk through the seven spokes on the Ziglar Wheel of Life and let them tag team on their answers. It was Brian talking about his spiritual habits who said he strives to emulate the attribute of being entitled to nothing and grateful for everything. Charle’s had lots of insight to share and ended by divulging he’s a big Bob Dillon fan!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Ziglar Show we talk about customer service. And here is the crux; delivering your product or service perfectly and expertly, is...not...enough. That will not win you customer loyalty and referrals. You’ll continually be frustrated at losing clients to competitors. You won’t get the referrals from customers that you’d expect. Delivering your product perfectly is simply meeting the initial hopes and expectations the customer had. Even if nobody else on the planet delivers as perfectly as you do, doesn’t matter. The only way to get your customers to come back to you time and time again and refer others to you is if you over deliver. Nobody does it, but it’s not hard. I asked the audience, “What do you do to create customer or client loyalty? What do other businesses do that earn YOUR customer loyalty?” I’m going to give you a 3.5 minute clip from Zig Ziglar where he explains going beyond customer service to customer satisfaction then Tom Ziglar and I talk through many of the comments to the question and lead a class on how to own your customer for life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you succeed in business? The current corporate culture showcases power and control from the top to manage down to the bottom, and it influences even how small businesses structure themselves. It’s not working. Charles Koch is chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held American companies and who Forbes cites as the 15th wealthiest man in the U.S.. Koch Industries has over 130,000 employees. It’s safe to say he has more experience than most of us in this area. Charles is an influential philanthropist focused on developing effective solutions to social problems. He founded a non-profit organization called Stand Together for just this purpose and its CEO is Brian Hooks. Brian is also president of the Charles Koch Foundation and Charles Koch Institute. They have written a book together called BELIEVE IN PEOPLE: BOTTOM-UP SOLUTIONS FOR A TOP-DOWN WORLD, a message of inclusion and empowerment. They show how every single one of us has a gift we can use to find fulfillment and build a better society. And they show that by coming together, we can tackle our country’s biggest problems and help every person rise. Find Charles and Brian at standtogether.org and find their book, Believe In People wherever you get your books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one listening to this show is unaware of the concept of personal discipline. We tend to think of ourselves and others as either disciplined, or not. When in truth it’s a fallacy. Nearly everyone is disciplined in various areas of their lives, though maybe not the areas that gain the main spotlight and glory. Tom Ziglar and I talk through a lot of the comments as it helped give different perspectives to the concept of discipline. As you will hear however, I give much focus to the danger of believing yourself to not be disciplined, and again, question whether this is actually true. We also cover at length the errancy in relying on our self discipline when we are far better served to create environments where we do not need to rely on our self discipline.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices