IAM198- Author, Podcast Host and Self-improvement Writer Helps People Start Online Businesses

Michael is the creator of Inspire Your Success which is a blog + podcast to help people start online businesses and upgrade their mindset for success. He is also an author and self-improvement writer who's been featured on Fearless Motivation, Goalcast, Lifehacker, and more. In 2017 he left his 6-figure job to build an online business and pursue professional golf.

• CEO Hack: Empowering morning rituals/routines
• CEO Nugget: Get super clear about what you're trying to do
• CEO Defined: Being resourceful and in control of your life

Website: https://www.inspireyoursuccess.com/ 

              michaelleonard.net

IG: https://www.instagram.com/iammichaelleonard/

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Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:26

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Michael Leonard of Inspire Your Success. Michael, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Michael Leonard 0:35

Thanks so much for having me, man. Really appreciate it.

Gresham Harkless 0:37

No problem super excited to have you on and what I want to do, which is read a little bit more about Michael so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And Michael is the creator of Inspire Your Success, which is a blog in podcasts to help people start online businesses and upgrade their mindset for success. He is also an author and self-improvement writer who has been featured on Fearless Motivation, Goalcast, Lifehacker, and more. In 2017, he left his six-figure job to build an online business and pursue professional golf. Michael, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

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Michael Leonard 1:09

Absolutely, man! Just want to help anyone as much as I can.

Gresham Harkless 1:11

The first thing I wanted to do was ask you about what I call your CEO story. What led you to start your business?

Michael Leonard 1:16

Yeah, absolutely. So I started all this basically full-time in 2017 as you mentioned, and for me, it really just came out of a lack of fulfillment in my life I was previously I think I was 29 I guess when I left the corporate nine-to-five life. And I was basically just going through emotions, I was doing what society told me to do. I went to school, got good grades, went to college, got good grades, and then I graduated and just didn't really have any clue what I was going to do. So you know, like everyone else got a job. I was right after like the recession, everything too. So I mean, I took like a was like a customer service kind of job, but like PayPal.

So I was taking about 60 mad calls a day. So that was fun. And then then I got to only work there for like eight months. And then I got a job working at Yelp. And it's a really cool young company. A lot of fun. I started when I was in my young 20's and had a lot of success there. And again, I was just kind of doing what everybody told me to do. Like I bought the house and bought the nice car, I was like, okay, man, I'm doing it. And then about 2015 I started just feeling empty inside, I felt like there was I was missing something. I was like, wait a sec, I'm making the money. I just bought a house like, you know, my girlfriend moved in, we're happy I got the dog, like, everything's good. But at the same time, I'm like, I can't do this forever. And I start doing the math. And I'm realizing like, I'm not going to retire ever from here.

And so I'm like the 50s, even if I'm making six figures like you know, I'm saving a lot. And then you have to worry about retirement and all that 401k, and all this stuff. And so I was just like, wait a sec, this is broken. And so I was kind of one of those corporate zombies like I'd go for 40 hours a week and work 15 of them and get my job done. But I was like always just browsing the internet. And thankfully, my boredom led to figuring out about wow, people are making money online and helping people. And so that's really where I got my start just sitting there literally bored out of my mind.

And I started to see all these headlines on Business Insider and Yahoo, and Entrepreneur and I was like, man, this is the coolest thing ever. It's literally they're passionate, they're doing what they love. They're helping people are getting paid unlimited income, and you don't have to work for anyone. And you don't have to sit at a desk. That was something I always had a problem with. And so I was like, alright, I can do this. So I tried a little Amazon business for about three days, probably I think I got the samples from China.

And that didn't work. I just didn't I had a lot of limiting beliefs about E-commerce and what I could do. So I was like, oh, that's not gonna work. I was like, Well, I'm helping a lot of people with finance, maybe I can share that. So I spent a couple of years really studying personal finance and investing. And so I went on a little journey there and started helping people and others were like, wow, you should share this. So at the time, I had read a lot about blogs and everything. So I decided to start a blog in 2016 January of 2016 new year's resolution that actually paid off and I was at it for about a year making very little progress, zero money still working at my job.

And I got another promotion to one of his highest positions in the company for sales. And again, I was like, man, I should be happy. I felt almost guilty like that. I wasn't like it wasn't I wasn't grateful because I was and I was making a good amount for 20 something but again, I just felt like there was more out there. So finally I kind of just had a conversation with myself and said look this isn't how your life's gonna end. And you're meant for more than this. You have to bet on yourself. And I've done that when I went to college out of state after college, I went to Arizona I didn't know anyone. I was like look, I've bet on myself before it's never going to fail.

So I went I ended up in May of 2017 leaving and I remember putting my notice in people thought I was crazy. I had $0 coming in. I had saved a lot of money but I had not done any real side hustles that had paid off much blogging and made I think about $200 at the time. So luckily I was good at saving with my personal finances and stuff. But yeah, my goal was to do two things to build an online business that helps people and also to pursue professional golf. So coming up on two years in May, so still at it, and yeah, really grown and learned a lot about digital marketing, working on the golf game. And yeah, long-winded version, but it's just, it's always kind of funny how it starts a few years even before I actually took the jump.

Gresham Harkless 5:28

And I know you touched on it a little bit. So can you tell us a little bit more about what you're doing with your blog, your podcast, and how you're kind of helping the sport your listeners and your readers and what you're doing for that?

Michael Leonard 5:36

Absolutely, yeah. So when I, when I left, like I mentioned that I had basically thought in my mind, okay, this is I'm just going to, you know, have this blog, and then I'm going to create blog posts, I'm going to create courses, I'm going to, you know, make all this money and help people. And I was quickly shown that it's not that easy. And it was good, I needed that. And so what I did was I started trying all kinds of side hustles. I mean, I would literally do anything from walking dogs to selling stuff online to literally anything I could because I had savings. But again, I was starting to see that like bleed out.

And I'm like, okay, this is like, this isn't like blogging is gonna take a little while. So luckily, that led to freelance writing. And that's kind of where I really started going. And started working with a lot of big blogs and sites like fearless motivation, goal casts, and all kinds of different blogs and clients and personal finance, and personal development. And so basically, all of last year, I really worked on my copy-writing and content writing and have grown that to a pretty successful business right now. And so now what I'm trying to do is kind of grow that and help others get started with that.

So I have a few online courses coming out. And then the podcast coming out next week, just because in 2018, my biggest thing was I couldn't have the end of 2017 after I quit be the same as 2018. So I spent a lot of money on myself. Last year, I went to a lot of seminars really changed up I was like, look, if you want life to change, you have to change. Life's too short to be chained to a desk. 80% of people hate their job, any other studies. See, I mean, that's not like a made-up thing that's worldwide. I mean, like you see people that are so depressed, and just makes me so sad.

So my passion is to help people free themselves from that. And to find what they're passionate about. It might not be instant, but it's really just about giving them the tools and resources. Because there's so much out there. There's so little of it taught in school, and so much of its mindset and beliefs, and really looking into your subconscious and figuring out what's holding you back from becoming the best version of yourself. So that's really my goal now with my YouTube channel, podcast, and blog I just want to produce content to help people because it was those avenues that helped me change my life. And I feel like it's my obligation. And I love doing it.

Gresham Harkless 7:43

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I wanted to ask you now for you might have already touched on this, what I call it like your secret sauce. And this is kind of like what you feel kind of distinguishes you or sets you apart?

Michael Leonard 7:51

Absolutely. I mean, there's so much information out there. We live in an absolutely gorgeous time. I think that sometimes though, we have a little too much information. And I know I'm super guilty of like buying every course on every subject watching every podcast, and then like nothing happens. And I'm like, wait a second, No, Mike, you actually need to take action, you need to move forward. But the biggest thing for me is that I try and bring a different approach because you can find out how to make money online, and you can learn how to do all this stuff. It's all out there. It's just scattered. There are different types of content and things like that. But for me, I really dive into mindset and beliefs and why people do what they do, and why some people are successful. And some aren't, even though they're doing the same thing.

And so I've spent the better part of a year and a half now really diving into understanding the subconscious mind what you can do to reprogram yourself to lose the weight or to start the business to really reestablish your beliefs because again, it's not taught in school and it really really frustrates me. So once I really like dived into that and listen to endless amounts of podcasts and read books like psycho cybernetics, and mindset and all these other ones like that, you start to realize that the most successful people are very aware of their thoughts. They're very aware of what they're thinking how they're reacting emotionally, and then like what in their past might be holding them back from the future success and life that they want to create.

So that to me is a big thing. Like, I'm not going to just tell you, here's how you like start freelance writing, or here's how you start copy-writing. Like, with all my life, people, I coach or my courses, there's like modules about mindset and routines and like having that set up. Because if you don't have that stuff in place, you might get successful for a while, but it's never gonna last. Like if there's a problem in your business. It's almost always with you. It's not your business. It's your mindset. It's your belief of, oh, I can't mark it. I can't do this. I can't do that. Well, no, that's just a story you're telling yourself, then you just have to figure out like, why is that? So I try and really hone in and ask people questions like that. Not like, why isn't your business working? But like, oh, what's working with your life? Like, what's the story you're telling yourself? So that's kind of the thing I try and really dive into is the mindset side.

Gresham Harkless 9:49

And I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or book or a habit that you have, but something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Michael Leonard 9:57

Yeah, absolutely. So my biggest thing is having a set of empowering morning rituals. I talk about morning rituals just all the time. Prior to 2018, I had zero routines, I was really good about waking up early. I love working out and getting after it in the morning, I was super obnoxious in the morning, and my girlfriend was like, Why are you so loud, like, I'm just so excited to like, start the day. So I've always had that like getting up early side of things. But when you're an entrepreneur, you don't have anybody like babysitting you, it's you all day, if you're in your office, coffee shop, or wherever you want to be. But if you don't have any sort of routine, it's easy to fall into the same thought patterns, the same beliefs, and the same habits that aren't helping you.

And so I have really tried to study morning routines. And if you just read any book, like the success principles, or just talk to entrepreneurs, like it always pops up like they're always doing something that doesn't mean it's an hour, it could be 10 minutes could be two hours, like I talked to so many people that do different routines and stuff. But it's about finding something that makes you energized that makes you feel creative, and that it makes you really excited for the day. So like I do all kinds of different rituals. And I try and mix it up because routines get stagnant. So I don't like to even call it a routine. But I like to do different things in the morning. But it all starts in the evening.

So like for me, it's like setting up my evening routine, like 10 minutes, I write down three wins for the day, what I'm grateful for, and what I'm doing the next day, so that way I have like a plan, I wake up I'm not like thinking What should I do or anything like that I'm not leaving anything up to chance I'm waking up, I'm brushing my teeth, drinking water, and then I'm right into meditating or writing in a journal or working on my business, like whatever it is that I really want to like to start out but I think having a morning routine is so crucial because you can't control the middle of the day. But you can always control the beginning and the end. So if you have some sort of structure there, it can really help make the middle a little less hectic.

Gresham Harkless 11:44

Here you go. Yeah, you try to kind of be intentional about the beginning of the day, because as you said, the middle could sometimes be crazy. But because you've been so intentional at the beginning here like you mentioned, intentional at the end. And it helps you to kind of control that craziness that sometimes pops up that often pops up, so I should say, in entrepreneurship. I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Michael Leonard 12:09

That's a great question, man. There's a there's so many different things, I would say the first thing is to get super clear about what you're trying to do. One of the things that has constantly plagued me and my business is the shiny object syndrome. I love new projects. And so one of my biggest things would be to really like to make focus and clarity more of a priority. Because if you can get clear on what you're trying to do, whether it starts a podcast or become a writer, or start a blog, or whatever you want to do, like if you just know like, you can't really move on to the next project until you do this or until you have some sort of like tangible thing. I think that would help me a lot just because again, I was just kind of throwing stuff and seeing what stuck.

And I think it definitely held me back for a while. But yeah, I would say just getting super, super clear on your business, but then also getting clear about yourself and like what you really want. Because again, I knew I wanted something with online business. But I still wasn't like very clear. And so I think if you can narrow that down, it just makes taking action so much easier. Because if you're cluttered and distracted, not really sure it's easy to like not really take like the action that's needed to take and actually get results.

Gresham Harkless 13:18
Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEO's on the show. So, Michael, I wanted to ask you what being a CEO means to you.

Michael Leonard 13:29

Being a CEO, to me, it just means being in control of your life. And that's your schedule, your income, your fulfillment, your relationships, it's really to me, it's just like getting total 100% control of your life and knowing that if you do the right stuff, you can help a lot of people and, and again, entrepreneurs are nothing more than problem solvers. So if you can find a problem that's big enough, you know, they always say if you want to be a billionaire, help a billion people.

And so it's really just being resourceful and figuring out what you want. And that way, you can just have that kind of, I guess, excitement towards the day. Like that's what I really love about being a CEO I couldn't even sleep last night, I was so excited about some of the stuff I'm working on. Like, I wanted to go to sleep so bad, and I just literally couldn't and I know I need it. But just one of those things where you just kind of have excitement back in your life. And, you know, I think it's just a journey of yourself as much as a business. So it's really fun.

Gresham Harkless 14:22

Yeah, definitely, definitely sounds like that. And I could definitely echo exactly the same. So Michael, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out and helping you know so many people find excitement in their lives as well too. And what I wanted to do was pass you the mic, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then of course how best they can get a hold of you. And of course, subscribe to your podcast.

Michael Leonard 14:50

Yeah, definitely. I'd say just the last thing is to like in 2019, make it your year. Don't make it 2018 and 2017 all over again. Like, do different things. Meet new people. Mixing up your routines to drive a different way to work. switch up your workouts like most people go through the motions of life and your body and your mind are just programmed for the same thing over and over and over again. And your body and your mind are amazing if you actually put it to the test. So I just challenge you in 2019 to not settle for where you were. Because you can do amazing things. If you read some new books, meet some new people go to events, like listen to new podcasts, like whatever it is, or just consume content.

So figure out what you really want to do if you're not happy. And even if you are in a great spot, and you're in that 20% That love their job, that's awesome, but you can still get better. Like, don't be okay and complacent with 2019 just being another year and having the same results. Like, you can do amazing things if you really put your mind and focus on it. Yeah, the best place to find me again, is Inspire Your Success, got a lot of great content on there for the blog, and then all the podcast episodes are gonna be on there and then to the Inspire Your Success Podcast, keep it easy on iTunes, and that's going to be released on Tuesday. So, very excited about that gonna have a lot of entrepreneurs on there sharing their stories, whether they're digital nomads, working halfway around the world, or six seven-figure CEOs so it's gonna be really fun. But yeah, check me out on there and then on Instagram and my business account is going to be Inspire Your Success as well.

Gresham Harkless 16:05

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, we'll make sure we have those links in the show notes so that anybody can follow up with you and connect with you. And Michael, I truly appreciate you again and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Michael Leonard 16:17

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you having me and good luck with all your endeavors.

Outro 16:21

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co

I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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