Sergey ...with his book Essentialism is like one of my —
Richard Yes.
Sergey It's one of my favorite books and essential reading.
Richard Yeah. Yeah.
Sergey Obviously, staying focused — have we always had focus, and what is the most worthy focus right now, do you think, for us people trying to get clients on LinkedIn?
Richard I haven't always had focus. I didn't have it to start with, and I struggled, because I had to have massive focus when I was in corporate, and toward the end — it wasn't even just, it wasn't natural focus toward the end, because I was exhausted. Remember, I was a new dad on top of this as well. So, like, no sleep, and I was, like, I just was fighting. I was fighting to not be a zombie. And, like, I was, like, broken, dude. I was, like, crying and everything as well. And so I was really struggling. But I knew — but I am, I've always been diligent, and I've always been, like — so, my two values are excellence and integrity. So those two things matter to me most. And so, showing up loyally, doing the work, is always important to me. So, this idea of, when I started my business, of never dropping the ball ever, because I'm responsible — not just for me, not just for my business, which, by the way, I view my business as one of my babies, that's the way I look at it. But also, I had — my wife was no longer a lawyer making money, she was a mom with no income, and my baby, and, like, and bills and so on. So I've always been responsible, I think, and that's what's pulled me through. But there was a lot of procrastinating to start with, and a lot of not knowing what direction to go in, because just because you have a skill set — I'd done 10 years of selling, and all I did was selling — it doesn't mean you know how to go to market, because everything had been done before me in a company. But I think that, if I look to now, I just — I think it's virtue. It's virtue of having children, it's also virtue of age, somewhat as well. There's just no time to waste, because everyone's like, "Oh, you're so young. You know, you'll live a long life." Sure, if I do, but this is my prime. These are the years where I've got my energy and my mental focus, and like — and this is it. This is, like, game time. Not when I'm 65 or 70 and I've got all that experience — it's now. And it's a sweet spot, that I have, when — I think when you're middle age, what happens is those that are older respect you because you're not too young, and those that are younger respect you because they relate to you, because you're not too old. So a lot of the people I coach are kind of — you know, it's like, it's a real sweet spot. And so I'm massively aware I do not want to waste the opportunity, and I wake up every day — I never need an alarm. Am I always up and on it? But also, you know, I'm sure it's the same with you — I, one of the things I made a point of doing when I left corporate work was, I said to myself, "I want to design a life I want to lead." And so, one of the big things is, like, on a Sunday, I don't want this feeling of like, "Oh, I've got Monday." I'm like, "I can't wait." Like, I can't sleep, I can't wait to get to the next day.
Sergey So awesome.
Richard And when you build that, like, that works, you know. And so I think it's just so important — I really like being me now. And so focus is not a trial I have to kind of force. It's like, "Can't I get to do this thing," you know? And so I often say, like, if I had all the money in the world and didn't need to do this, you'd still find me here doing it, because I just love it. And I think that is so important for people, you know, to give a sense of it — like, dropping off my daughter at school today, right? On the way back, I'm listening to Bloomberg in the car, as opposed to, you know, like, if I'm on a flight somewhere, I'm reading Harvard Business Review. I just love it, and, like, yeah, it's just my — and I think it's crucial for everyone. I remember Ravi Niccant once said that the key to life is to productize yourself — to find something that feels like work for others but doesn't feel like work for you, because you will always outpace, like, win over, in being you. No one can compete with you in being you.
Sergey So you're just being you, Richard, and no one can read a Harvard review on the plane. All right. So there's —
Richard No, exactly. And I'm like, I just — I love being in this kind of bubble I've created, where I get to — I just love observing and being part of business. You know, it's really interesting, this, because I think it's something that people really need to hear, because what they do is they often emulate their heroes. They're trying to copy their heroes, but what's happening is they're trying to force something where their hero loves that thing. You see it a lot with someone like Alex Hormozi, for instance, who is someone who, in his natural state — if he had no one watching, he would still massively focus on his working out every day and business. He loves it to his core. Not a duty for him.
Sergey Yeah, he is a beast.
Richard And so you get people who are like, "I want to run my own business," and they have more than a passing interest in doing this stuff, and they try and act like him, but they can never win, because that's what he does. And actually, a really good example as well — someone in my opinion you should have on this show — is one of my close friends, Laura Costa.
Sergey So —
Richard I've known her and worked with her for — she's a LinkedIn consultant, right?
Sergey A coach.
Richard That's right. Yeah. So, she really understands LinkedIn and personal brand really well. And I met her in 2022, when she just started, and she was still in Mexico. And now she runs — you know, she's built a multiple six-figure business, and a seven-figure business. And she's a really good example of this too. She's like 28 years old, and she and I have been in touch, like, pretty much every day, for years. And the thing that stands out with her is: at any given moment, she is either working, thinking about work, talking about work, or considering her next move about work. It is her obsession. And people are like, "Oh, you should take a break and have fun." It's like, "But this is my fun." And, if my wife and kids were out for the day, you wouldn't see me chilling and watching Netflix. I'm here doing this. And it's just because this is the thing I love to do. I think if you can — you're right — if you can productize the thing that you love, then you tend to do very well. And it shows, because otherwise you're having to force it. And her obsession with the internet, as she said, has paid off, because, like, it's the thing she wants to do, and so she's learned to use it in a way that helps her bank account, and many other things, of course, too.
Sergey Yeah. Well, I recognize myself in what you just described, because I think about trailers and, you know, the overarching topic, part of the discussion. So, I'm becoming more of a pro, and you're falling in love with the process.