The Kevin Miller Podcast

What is more important than mastering one’s self? The world acclaims those who have mastered a skill and we glorify people for what they can do. What we fail to recognize is the necessary mastery of self that preceded the act the person is on stage for. Did you get that? The performance, whether on stage or an a sports field or on camera or in the workplace, is the result of a level of mastery of self. It is not the most talented who win. We’ve all seen great talent go to waste because the person couldn’t pull their act together. It’s some talent and skill that is honed through the daily fire called discipline and habit and routine. Mastery of self. In this show I bring you Robin Sharma and mastery of self is his muse. He wrote an intriguing book from decades of his teaching that to boil down is a playbook for self mastery. It’s written in story form and I’ll admit, it had me wanting to go back in again and again to hang out with the incredibly inspiring characters. In this episode Robin and I talk about the root issues of mastering ourselves. Robin Sharma is a globally respected humanitarian, bestselling author. His new book, The 5AM Club, is currently one of the bestselling books in the world and his influence is significant, he has 4.1 million followers on Facebook alone.  Robin is widely considered as one of the world's top leadership experts and if you search for him you’ll see his clients include many Fortune 100 companies, famed billionaires, professional sports superstars, music icons and members of royalty. Robin books have sold over 15,000,000 copies in 92+ languages making him one of the most widely read authors alive. Honestly I find interest in anyone who is positively influencing so many people and I’m incredibly grateful I invited him to join me on the show. You can find Robin, his new book, “The 5AM Club” and all he has to offer at robinsharma.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes it’s just tiring to go against the flow. We want to belong with and trust the society we live in. Sometimes we may even just want to chill out and be average. But then we realize we are answering the call of responsibility to grow and evolve and strive toward our full potential and it requires doing more than the average. In this show we hear a four minute message from Zig Ziglar on this topic, and from it I posted this question on Facebook, “Having more than average means doing more than average. Being counter cultural. Going against the flow. Do you ever feel tired of the effort?.” Tom Ziglar joined me to talk through the comments and what you will hear is lots of commiserating on the struggle, but also the motives for continuing on. I believe you’ll gain great encouragement from this episode for your own above average pursuits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I want to figure out what is healthiest, best, right, and true and just simply to that over and over again. Simple. Black and white. But alas, the world, humanity, and circumstances don’t often play along with these rules. Often we must discern what is best in one particular moment and the next and one may require an opposite response even though it is a very similar circumstance. In episode 777 I brought you master sculptor Scott Stearman and a very deep discussion on faith and influence. His new book is titled, “What Does Your Jesus Look Like,” we discussed influence overall and what perspective we are all painting with our lives? This is our Habits episode and in the Spiritual spoke Scott shares a perspective of seeking God’s will in specific circumstances and how he has learned to find peace in moment by moment discernment. It’s a big concept friends. Find Scott at scottstearman.com and check out his book, “What Does Your Jesus Look Like?” which was the focal point of our talk in episode 777. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” It’s a pithy quote we often find on placards in gift shops. I have one on a pottery disc hanging by our kitchen sink. In reality we can always fail. So I came at it a different way and asked the Ziglar audience this question, “If you were offered a $50k grant to try something growth oriented in your personal or professional life, what would it be?” The attempt is the same, to remove reasons we have for not going after pursuits we desire. In episode 773 my guest was Jennifer Allwood, author of the new book, “Fear Is Not The Boss Of You.” I’ve mentioned before we received more positive feedback on this episode than any other for quite a while. I had Jennifer come back to talk through some of the wealth of dreams and aspirations people shared, which they would pursue if provided with not only $50k, but just an impetus to help take away some of the real and perceived obstacles, such as money, and fear. This is an incredible, live coaching session with Jennifer. And as you’ll hear us discuss in the show, you can check out her large coaching platform at https://creatorsinnercircle.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tune in for a profound message. You are painting a picture to everyone you have contact with, at every moment of your life, with every action. What does the picture represent? The concept of how and what you are influencing is relevant to all, though we also go deep into Christianity. Scott Stearman is a renowned sculptor whose life size sculptures are the focal point of many military compounds and faith based institutions and universities across America. He has a message he is now delivering on stages across America and in a new book asking, “What Does Your Jesus Look Like?” For those of you who claim Christ, this will hit you in your heart, and right between the eyes. Again however, the message is relevant for anyone who desires to have a positive influence in and on the world. As the saying goes, we judge ourselves by our intentions. Others judge us by our actions. And friends, your actions and behavior bely who you are at the core. What you truly believe. Is who and how you are lifting others up and inspiring them to more? As you will hear in the show, Scott is more than an esteemed guest I wanted for the show. I have closely and intimately done life with him for nearly 17 years. This show is similar to many conversations he and I have had through the years over a cup of coffee. Again, if you care to truly have a positive influence on anyone, and even more so if you claim Christ...I implore you, don’t miss this show. Connect with Scott Stearman and check out his dramatic sculptures and new book, “What Does Your Jesus Look Like,” at scottstearman.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The greatest asset your business and you can have is people’s trust. However, most everyone believes they are trustworthy, yet in truth, few employ the tangible actions to actually gain trust. So many people claim terms like “integrity” and “honesty” or expect their good intent to shine through. To actually gain trust and customer loyalty takes specific methodologies which are fairly simple to put into action, and very, very rare. We kick off the show with a two and a half minute message from Zig Ziglar on gaining trust in your business. Then I asked the Ziglar audience this question, “Do you have an example of a business or business person that has earned your trust. And if you have a business, how do you earn people's trust?” Tom Ziglar joined me for this discussion and here is what happened. In the first 20 minutes, Tom weighs in on how trust is being impacted in the workplace due to the current COVID-19 crisis. Then we dig into some of the comments. At about the hour mark we land on, “exceeding expectations.” Don’t miss this segment, even if you skip forward to it. It’s a massive opportunity for you. And here this. Your good intentions are not enough. Expertly meeting your customers expectations are not enough. Don’t fall for the trap of thinking your heart will shine through you and your work. There is behavioral psychology at work that needs tangible anchors to hold on to. We aim to give you some of those in this episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve heard that before, consider it again. This is a common thread we’ve had on the show. Busyness and hurry are not producing good works. The faster we run the slower we produce. Or at least, the shallower we produce. If your life is a blur of lots of shallow work, then speed may be your gig. But to do the great work, the deep work, the valuable and profitable work, we are learning speed kills. This is our Habit’s episode with Jennifer Allwood, my guest from show 773 where we discussed, “Showing up for your own life,” a primary message from her new book, “Fear Is Not The Boss Of You.” In this show as we discuss the Career spoke, Jennifer shares her focus right now amongst success with her book, podcast, and coaching organization, is slowing down to speed up. With so many opportunities she knows there is always a danger of imploding. Her rudder is, “If it’s costing me my peace, it’s too expensive.” This and more in the episode. Connect with Jennifer at jenniferallwood.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That word, “busy”, means, having a great deal to do. Do you have a great deal to do? Are you enjoying the pace? Are you creating your best from the go-go-go grind? I think we are in a special place in time where busy is losing its luster. Not because we aren’t capable of maintaining it, but rather we’re learning it provides lesser, not greater value. Instead of the busy person seeming more important, I’m starting to see them as poor decision makers and living life at a shallower level. Actually I can own this for myself. When I am increasingly busy, I realize I’m at best just maintaining life, I’m not creating and growing it. In show 767 I talked in depth with pastor and author John Mark Comer and his message, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” It was from this discussion I asked the Ziglar audience this question, “On a scale from 1-10, how "hurried" is your life? If it's high (10 = espresso squirrel), what feels like the main culprit? If it's low (1 = sedated tree sloth), what has helped?” You can join these weekly discussions by finding and friending me on Facebook at AgentKMiller.com. Tom Ziglar joined me to read through and discuss many of the comments. Really insightful, to say the least. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fear and being stuck. Everyone can relate to those realities and they are not where we want to be. Jennifer Allwood truly provides a breath of fresh air to this issue, and she does it by relating, commiserating, and having compassion. You can not fully eradicate fear from your life. But you can manage it and move forward anyway. Jennifer cites you can have emotions, feel emotions, recognize emotions, but still do big, hard, and scary things in spite of those emotions. Jennifer uses her social media following of 500K people, her podcast, The Jennifer Allwood Show, coaching groups with thousands of members, and now her #1 best selling book, Fear is Not the Boss of You, to help others do for their businesses what she has done with hers. Jennifer is also steadfast in using her business as a way to serve God and my family. Her goal is to use the tools so readily available—social media, email, the Internet—as the way to make this happen. She knows getting unstuck, pushing through the overwhelm, and doing things in spite of fear are key in growing any business. Friends, this was a fun and poignant discussion and I’m proud to bring Jennifer and this message to you. You can connect with Jennifer at Jenniferallwood.com where you’ll find her new book, “Fear Is Not The Boss Of You”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are in an unprecedented global crisis with the coronavirus. Nearly every American and human is being impacted. I asked this short question on Facebook, “Would you share a positive and a negative regarding how COVID-19 is affecting your life right now?” In just over 24 hours we have in depth comments from 76 people. There was very little sugar coating, but some distinct threads regarding loss of money as the negative and down time and time for relationships as a positive. Really interesting to hear the candid accounts. The question we posed was...what normal do you want to go back to? Is there any current change you desire to retain? I think you’ll find both confirmation for what you are dealing with and inspiration for some benefits you may better take hold of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices