IAM232- Podcaster Empowers People through Storytelling to Foster Growth

Aaron worked in software sales for 7 years, quit on a whim to play poker and figure out a more permanent solution, found podcasting and has been diving head first into the world of social branding since…

• CEO Hack: Having a circle of influence
• CEO Nugget: Be persistent and don't fear rejections
• CEO Defined: Matching internal truths to external actions

Website: http://newageinfluencers.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronbpatton

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronbpatton

Full Interview

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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 0:27

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I've Aaron Patton of the New Age Influencers Podcast. Aaron, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Aaron Patton 0:36

Awesome to be here. Thanks for having me on, man.

Gresham Harkless 0:38

No problem super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Aaron so you can hear about all those awesome things that he's doing. And Aaron worked in software sales for 7 years, quit on a whim to play poker and figure out a more permanent solution, found podcasting, and has been diving head-first into the world of social branding since. Aaron, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Aaron Patton 0:59

I am. What's up, everybody?

Gresham Harkless 1:00

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So the first question I had was, uh, here a little bit more about what I call like your CEO story, what led you to start your podcast and everything you're working on it?

Aaron Patton 1:07

Yeah. So I mean, I grew up in a couple of different states, I've always been good with change, I've always been good at adapting and trying new things. And growing up in Maine, and then going to high school in Minnesota, I was very cold. So I went, I wanted to go to a southern school. So I went to South Carolina and got my first job up in the DC area that I just found out that you are in.

Gresham Harkless 1:25

Exactly

Aaron Patton 1:26

I got my first job in software sales, and you know, really didn't have an exact vision for what I wanted to do, or what I wanted to achieve, just as a young 20-something like out of college and like just, I don't know, give me some money, give me a job. So I can go back to the bars and go hang out with my friends and get my first job up in DC. And actually, that was at a materials company.

And that was right towards the tail end of the housing crunch. And they ended up shutting down our branch and I was out of a job after like a month working there. And I just became like a manual laborer where I took the warehouse like this huge warehouse and ended up breaking it all down as part of my severance package. And then I ended up finding something else. So I actually didn't get my first job in software sales. My first job was in building materials, sales. And then my second job was in software sales.

Gresham Harkless 1:26

Okay

Aaron Patton 1:27

Started working in software sales at a company called Vocus in Herndon, Virginia. So I'm sure you know where that is in that area. And yeah, and just worked at a couple of different jobs in software sales, and really loved all the companies that I worked for, like they were all really great, like good cultures. But it all started out great. But then it always seemed to end and kind of a lesser note where something would happen with the marketing or the leads, or like the personnel would change, or my managers or something would happen. And that would cause me to look elsewhere or maybe just level up or scale up to a new position or new different company. So I've worked at I worked at four companies in DC.

And then I hit a four-year mark in DC and I got just just got tired of living in the area, all the rain. I mean, I do I love DC I'll always love it. But I wanted to be somewhere where I wanted to be permanently in my mind. And that place was San Diego. So I quit my job, I packed up my stuff, I call it going on mini-retirement. So I went on a mini-retirement and drove across the country and moved to San Diego and ended up mini-retiring for about two months and then finding another job and software and sales at a company that I you know, I won't say but it was a great company, downtown San Diego a lot of cool people a lot of great culture and I really enjoyed it.

And that was part of the reason that led me to leave the job was the fact that I actually really liked it which is kind of weird in itself. Like I was walking to work I had a great manager and great people around me the product was was was good and I got compensated well for it, you know, six figures, but I just hit a point where I was going to the job every single day. And I just got really, really tired of it really tired of just going to a job and going somewhere where I had to be accountable to someone else.

And I knew that I started listening to Gary Vee and a couple of podcasts out there and a couple of business podcasts about online marketing and different things like that. And I just got this feeling like I needed to do something that I actually wanted to do on a day-to-day basis rather than just trying to work for sales and work for money. So I was starting to build up and experiment with some social media accounts. And I was playing a lot of poker too. I'm good at math like I like doing I like the game. I like interacting with other people. And so I don't know, I just I hit a point where a couple of big deals fell through with my company.

And I was just I've had it like I had had a conversation with my parents they were in Coronado Island for the summer and I had a conversation I'm like, I don't think I want to do this anymore. And I don't think I have much longer this job, to be honest with you. And they're like no regrets always worse than not trying so that kind of you know, I'm thankful to them specifically for that conversation and kind of letting me know that and they're always going to be there for me like they would back me up even if I have gotten a hard position.

So I had that luxury as opposed to some people who might not have that nice supportive family dynamic. So I quit, I quit in the hopes that I would figure out what I wanted to do and play a lot of poker and maybe I would just make a lot of money at poker, and then just could do that. And then maybe, I don't know, find something else. But anyway, I quit and started playing poker, and then quickly realized that poker full-time is, is really, really, really hard. I played a lot part-time but full-time, it's a grind, like spending, I don't know, I don't know if you've ever played or

Gresham Harkless 5:31

I've played before, but not now

Aaron Patton 5:32

I guess, full-time or even part-time really just play kind of as a hobby here and there. Yeah, MGM in DC, I wasn't even around when I lived there. Or else I would have been there all the time. So I was playing playing a lot. And I just realized I didn't want to do that all the time. And so I was experimenting with some social accounts. And, I just realized that I really liked and loved poker, because not only because of the game, and you can make money and the math and all that, but you got to meet a bunch of different people like all the time, like different people from different backgrounds, and they would all get brought together in this one common game.

And I liked talking to different people and learning about their stories and interacting and, and I thought like, what could I do that would allow me to do this, but maybe in a more productive fashion. So I came up with this idea since I was spending a lot of time listening to podcasts about social media about where the world's going connectivity of the world.

And I thought that this would be really a good idea for New Age Influencers, exploring the stories of social media influencers, who have quit their jobs, or are trying to quit their jobs to do something they love, whether that be comedic entertainment, or talking about you know, friggin whiskey, or just being funny themselves and building up an audience or, or talking to people about fitness or something they care about, and actually just having that be their life, you know, working and playing in the same realm, as opposed to just doing something on the side as a hobby, and then just go into a job that you don't like.

So that's I don't know, that's the basics of where I'm at today. And I actually just got back from Europe, I was in Europe for two months, doing a kind of Vagabond social media slash podcast listener vote where I go, so I let them vote where I go in Europe. And I was doing I use this Europe as kind of like a reset button to just reset myself and focus so that when I came back, which is now that I can really focus on what I want to do, and hopefully I can turn this into some type of lifestyle and actually continue to live instead of having to go back to corporate America because I ran out of money. So right now, I think I'm on track. But you know, you never know, you never know what life has in store.

Gresham Harkless 7:38

So there you go. There are always ups and downs. And it's funny if I could close my eyes and listen to you telling your story, I feel like I have a part of that story where I was in a bunch of sales jobs and got laid off, it was just chaotic. There are a lot of things going on. So I completely know where you are coming from.

Aaron Patton 7:52

I here you

Gresham Harkless 7:52

And I appreciate you for doing that. And I want you to hear a little bit more about like what you're hoping to do with the podcast, I know you touched a little bit more on it, and I want to hear about that. And what you feel kind of makes it unique.

Aaron Patton 8:01

Sure. So I was listening to Well, I listened to a shit ton of podcasts, or I don't know if you can swear I listened to a lot of podcasts. And I was listening and I listened to a lot of business podcasts, which is, you know, great. And I love them. And I learned a lot and there's a lot of good self-help ones out there. But I really didn't find that there were any podcasts that explored business mixed with social media in a way that I wanted to hear, you know, now there's been a couple more that are like that, including mine, but like the entertaining accounts, like a, like a Total Frat Move or like, you know, the Barstool or, you know, not maybe a counsel on that level yet, but like some of those kinds of accounts where they're really entertaining people but also have some business acumen, you know,

I wanted to talk to those people and see what they were doing. Because a lot of those people that are just known, they're regular people, they're not making millions, millions of dollars, they're just doing something on the side that they like doing, like posting, and I like hearing their stories, I wanted to talk to those people, but also be able to mix in, you know, true business entrepreneurs and, or to social media influencers. And just, this podcast allowed me to talk to all different types of people in all those realms. So and I thought that there was a need for that. And, you know, I, I still believe I'm correcting, I'm still really in the beginning stages, I just dropped the twelfth, and the 20th episode will drop today. But, um, and you know, some good feedback, and I'm hoping that it's going to continue.

Gresham Harkless 9:25

Exactly, exactly. And what I wanted to do was 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 it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Aaron Patton 9:35

Sure. I like referring to myself as a CEO, even though I don't truly consider myself a CEO right now maybe in the mind, but not not outwardly yet. I mean, I honestly would just say it's podcasting. It's just it's listening to podcasts every day. Like I literally listen to podcasts every day, whether it's auditing or editing my own but usually it's other people's I'm subscribed to like I don't know 2025 I mean, I usually listen to all of them consistently, whether it's you know, every day, or I just bulk up and then do it in one day when I'm traveling or something like that. But podcasting is so great because even if you don't have, you know, people say like, you're defined by the people you spend your time with, you know, so if you have friends that are like, you know, just like partying or going out are friends that don't really have ambitions or goals, like you or whatever, like, you can always spend time with people in your ear that are like you.

And that's why podcasting is great because you can find hosts that are like you or find guest episodes that inspire you. And you can always be talking or at least internalizing messages from people that you want to aspire to be like. So having a circle of influence in your head, even if they're not physically in front of you, I think is huge. And then, you know, just gaining inspiration from that. And then you can always go and meet them at events or whatever to that, you know, these people on podcasts, you know, a lot of times they're reachable, they're not, you know, they're not gods, they're not, they're not George Clooney, or Leo or whatever, even though you could still reach them. But it's not like so unfathomable to reach out and have them respond to you.

Gresham Harkless 11:00

Yeah, absolutely. And that's kind of like the be in this day and age where there's like so much kind of information and expertise at our fingertips that you can literally like you said, subscribe to a podcast, and listen to this person that seems that sometimes we think walks on water. And we aren't touchable, he can't have any connection with them. But you can learn so much from them. So I definitely agree. That's a great CEO hack. And now I want to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a like 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?

Aaron Patton 11:28

Like I said before, I would just tell my younger self to just think more about what I want to do permanently, rather than just what I want to do on the weekends. Like what do I want to spend my time doing all throughout the week and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, as opposed to just Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and going out and having fun? That's what I would say. And then just I don't know, for a nugget, what served me really well being in sales is just you have to be persistent.

And you have to love rejection to get anywhere. And I don't even think that's just true with sales. It's true with anything like whether that's I don't know, going after a girl at a bar. I mean, well, you don't want to be crazy, but like different things are like reaching out cold calls or emails or DMs here like most of my podcast guests are from DMs. And that's just being persistent. Like a lot of them never responded to me. Or maybe they responded once and then ignored me for four months.

And you just got to keep at it until you get to that rejection and then move on or not. You got to learn to love rejection, like people think rejection and failure are bad. But that's what I'm also trying to change for the younger generation to understand that it's good. It's not bad. It's good. Like, yeah, you'd rather have success, on your first try. But most of the time, that's not going to happen. So failure is just a stepping stone.

Gresham Harkless 12:40

Yeah. And I think too, like when you go through that process. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of times, I feel like you have a lot more respect for any success that you do have. Because if you just woke up one day, and then everybody said yes, it would be I don't know if the word is boring, but it just wouldn't have that process. So you have respect for being able to go through the ups and the downs, the nose, the rejections, and things like that.

Aaron Patton 13:04

Yeah, it's the process for sure. And that's why I and that's why I think I'm on the right path. Because I really love the process of creating making podcast episodes of reaching out to people and meeting new people and increasing my network I just met you, you know, it's just the process, you need to love the process. Because if I'm happy right now making pretty much zero money, then you know, I can be happy making whatever sum of money if I eventually get to that point, or you know, so I think that people should definitely understand that and definitely not be disheartened when something doesn't go right, exactly in their process to making it

Gresham Harkless 13:37

Absolutely no, I would definitely agree with that. And now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And I know you've touched on this a little bit, we're hoping to have different quote unquote, CEOs on the show, but I wanted to ask you, like, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Aaron Patton 13:50

Sure. Great question. So I think really, what a CEO means to me is, is matching internal truths to external actions, like being true to what you actually want to do or who you want to impact or you know, whatever it is, and then actually doing that and actually letting that truth guide you towards whether it's a job or starting a business or trying something on the side, just having your actions be guided by your actual truth.

And then I think a step further being a successful CEO is actually accomplishing that by helping other people solve some type of problem in their life, you know, whether it's a big problem like, I don't know, like life coaching them, or like helping them with through a divorce or something like that through online coaching or something like that all the way down to you know, making a better product as a corporation or as someone who's I don't know, making a better mop to help the moms out there clean better or something like something that helps people and doing it because you actually love it and doing it because you want to be doing it and not living a life where you're pretending to like it, but don't truly enjoy it. I think that's what being a true CEO of your life really means.

Gresham Harkless 14:58

Absolutely. I would definitely agree with that. And I love that definition, that perspective. And Aaron, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out. What I want to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know. And then of course, how they can subscribe to your podcast.

Aaron Patton 15:13

Sure, I would just say to everyone out there, take action. And even if you think that you're not ready, or if it's not going to be perfect, that's fine. take imperfect action. That's the best piece of advice that I've heard on podcasts and people have given to me and what I've watched on videos and YouTube and whatnot, just do things, do things, try things take action, because the next step afterward will appear once you take the first step, and you really are never going to be able to see the second third fourth step until you take that first step.

So take that first step. And the first step for me was starting a podcast and it's called New Age Influencers. You can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Spotify, and everything where you can find podcasts, New Age Influencers, or newageinfluencers.com. And Aaron Patton on Instagram. Thank you so much! Appreciate coming on, man!

Gresham Harkless 16:01

No problem, thank you. No, I appreciate you. And we'll make sure to have those links in the show notes as well. But again, you're doing some awesome work. And I appreciate you for you know, putting yourself out there jumping out there, and starting your podcast because so many people want to do that and you've taken that first step and you're motivating a lot of people to do the same. So I appreciate you for that. And I just hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Aaron Patton 16:20

Thanks, man.

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

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