AND HOW TO BE OKAY CLOSING BOOKS HALFWAY THROUGH...AND NOT FINISHING VIDEOS YOU START...be a frugal, disciplined spender of your most valuable asset. Ep 65

Alex, the host, emphasizes the importance of selective content consumption and the skill of knowing when to disengage to preserve time and attention. He advises listeners, especially small business owners and self-employed individuals, to focus on content that directly applies to their current business stage—first sales, then marketing, and eventually team building and leadership. Alex also introduces his book "100 Million Dollar Offers" as a resource and shares his personal strategy of deep-diving into specific topics for content creation. The discussion concludes with a reminder to prioritize relevant learning and the benefits of working undisturbed during holidays.

• Alex opens with a greeting for the holiday weekend, acknowledging those who work during this time.
• The topic of discussion is the importance of content consumption and how to effectively do it.

On, everybody. Happy Saturday for the long weekend. I will be your host today, Alex, and I am saluting you because if you're anything like we are, then that means that holiday weekends and things like that are only days that you just work and don't get bothered by anyone else.

Alex is acknowledging the audience who, like him, spend holiday weekends working without distractions.

• Alex emphasizes the importance of knowing how to consume content wisely.
• The skill of starting to read a book and being okay with putting it down is highlighted as a way to preserve time and attention.
• The ability to spend time and attention wisely is considered a critical skill to master.

And I think it's just as, if not more valuable of a skill to know how to consume content, because right now there's so much information that's out there, like you could literally consume content all day, every single day.

Alex suggests that the skill of content consumption is extremely valuable due to the overwhelming amount of information available.

And so having the skill of being able to pick up a book and then being okay with putting it down, I think is incredibly valuable because it preserves the one asset that you have, which is your time and your attention.

The quote explains that the ability to stop consuming content is crucial to conserving one's time and attention, which are limited resources.

• Alex talks about the significance of what we choose to give our time and attention to.
• He stresses the importance of guarding time and attention and mastering the skill of spending them wisely.
• The concept of return on time is introduced, emphasizing the need to say no to many things.

Right. Because what you put your time and attention to is what will come into you. And so guarding yourself for that now.

Alex is explaining that the things we focus our time and attention on will influence us, so it's important to protect our attention.

• The challenge of choosing which influencers or gurus to listen to is addressed.
• Alex provides an easy guide for those who follow various people.
• The importance of understanding the context of what influencers talk about is highlighted.

But there's a ton of influencers out there. There's a ton of business people, there's a ton of gurus, whatever, right. And how do you know which ones to listen to?

This quote raises the issue of the abundance of influencers and the difficulty in deciding whom to pay attention to.

And one of the key things to understand is context, right.

Alex points out that context is a key factor in determining the relevance and value of what an influencer or guru says.

• The tendency of influencers to speak about their current business concerns is noted.
• Alex acknowledges that he also talks about issues pertinent to his business at any given time.
• The mismatch between an influencer's business stage and the listener's business stage is implied.

But the reality is that a lot of times, a lot of influencers, a lot of gurus will talk about what's on their mind for their business.

The quote indicates that influencers often share content that is specific to their current business interests, which may not always align with the listener's needs.

• Alex discusses the disparity in skills and challenges faced by businesses of different sizes.
• He emphasizes that the majority of the audience likely consists of small business owners or self-employed individuals.
• Alex suggests that the advice given at large conferences is often not directly applicable to this majority.
• The content aimed at motivating and finding passion is described as more suitable for seekers rather than providing tangible ROI.

"The things that are relevant, the skills, the deficits, the bottlenecks that they're experiencing are really not relevant to the majority of the marketplace, right?"

This quote highlights the disconnect between the challenges faced by very large businesses and those faced by the majority of the marketplace, which consists of smaller businesses or self-employed individuals.

"Most people would be raising their hands. If you go to a conference like ten x or clickfunnels or anything like that. A lot of these types of conferences, most of the people there are just beginning have yet to begin. Or just beginning, which is why when you see the content around, find your passion and the things like that, get motivated."

Alex points out that the majority of conference attendees are at the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey, and the motivational content is targeted at them.

• Alex advises owner-operators and self-employed individuals to focus on marketing and selling.
• He argues that skills related to running teams and culture are less relevant for those without a team.
• The primary goal for small businesses and self-employed individuals should be to generate revenue through effective marketing and sales techniques.

"All of your attention should be on learning how to market and sell, because that's the only thing that's going to feed you running the team, culture, motivate. That stuff's all done now. You've leveled up, right? This is what you need to focus on."

This quote advises small business owners to prioritize learning how to market and sell as the key driver of their business's survival and growth, rather than focusing on aspects like team culture, which are premature at this stage.

• Speaker C briefly interjects to promote their book on Amazon titled "100 million dollar offers."
• The book is noted to have a high number of positive reviews and is available for purchase.

"Hey, guys, real quick, if you're new to the podcast, I have a book on Amazon. It's called 100 million dollar offers. At over 8005 star reviews, it has almost a perfect score. You can get it for K"

Speaker C uses the opportunity to plug their book, which is relevant to the podcast's entrepreneurial audience, emphasizing its success and availability.

• Alex highlights the importance of learning sales as an initial skill in business.
• Sales is considered easier to learn than marketing but less valuable.
• Sales is about the direct transaction of convincing people to purchase.

Now, once you know how to sell, selling is going to be the first skill that you acquire. I think it's easier of a skill than marketing is. It's also less valuable because selling you can get a lot of people to plug in for sales.

This quote emphasizes that sales should be the first skill to master in business as it is foundational and more straightforward than marketing, although it doesn't hold as much long-term strategic value.

• Marketing is described as a more valuable skill than sales.
• Learning to market equates to learning how to "make it rain," meaning generating significant business.
• Marketing is the next skill to focus on after mastering sales.

If you learn how to market, you learn how to make it rain, right? Much more valuable.

Alex suggests that marketing has a higher value than sales because it involves generating interest and bringing in customers, which is crucial for business growth.

• After mastering sales and marketing, leadership and team management become the next essential skills.
• Alex advises consuming content through the lens of current skill needs.

After that, that's when leadership and running the team become the skill sets that you need.

This quote points out that once an individual has developed skills in sales and marketing, they should then focus on leadership and team management to further their business career.

• Alex advises being selective with the content one consumes based on its relevance to current business needs.
• Time and attention should be invested in learning that directly applies to one's business stage.
• It's okay to stop consuming content that isn't beneficial at the moment.

And so if you only have x amount of time or attention under your control, then invest 100% of it laser focused and be okay with closing books, be okay with closing books.

Alex emphasizes the importance of focusing one's time and attention on learning that is directly applicable to their business needs and being willing to stop engaging with content that does not serve their immediate goals.

• Alex shares a personal experience of feeling obligated to finish every piece of content started.
• He advises against the mindset of finishing for the sake of finishing when the content isn't providing value.
• The goal should be to consume content that contributes to one's business success.

So it's like, no, I'm a finisher. If I start a video, I'm going to finish it. Because that was the mindset I had. I was like, I'm not a quitter, but it's not like that.

Alex reflects on his past mindset where he felt compelled to complete every piece of content he started, even if it wasn't helpful, and how he learned that this approach is not effective for information consumption.

• Emphasize the importance of consuming content that is relevant to one's current situation.
• Suggests a sequential approach to learning: starting with sales, then marketing, followed by teamwork and leadership.
• Advocates for a "low information diet" focused on a single skill at a time.
• Recommends binge learning on a topic to create new content or optimize processes.

"So look, like go consume from a pipe. The only things that you need in your current situation."

This quote highlights the need to be selective in content consumption, focusing on what is immediately relevant and necessary.

"If you're in the beginning, it's sales. Next it's marketing. Next it's going to be teamwork and leadership to build a team that scales."

Alex outlines a structured learning path for personal development, suggesting that one should focus on mastering sales first, then marketing, and eventually teamwork and leadership.

"If you feel good about cutting things out and going on a low information diet, that only is about one specific skill, which is what I would recommend."

The quote suggests that narrowing the focus of content consumption to one skill at a time can be beneficial, likening it to a "low information diet."

"I'll bookmark a bunch of things on one topic and then I'll binge. I'll binge sales stuff, I'll binge marketing stuff."

Alex describes his personal strategy for consuming content, which involves concentrating on one topic at a time and immersing himself deeply to generate ideas and improve his skills.

• Discusses the process of creating new training or optimizing existing processes.
• Explains the benefit of reading multiple books on a topic and then using the ideas to create something new.
• Mentions passive consumption as less effective compared to active, focused learning.

"I'll read two or three books in a few days and then have all the ideas kind of spinning in my head and then create something."

This quote explains Alex's method of absorbing a lot of information in a short period, allowing for a creative process where ideas from various sources can be synthesized into something new.

• Talks about the concept of "interruption free workday."
• Refers to weekends as workdays without meetings, implying that work and personal time are integrated.

"Saturdays and Sundays are just work days without meetings."

Alex shares his perspective on weekends, suggesting that they are not days off but rather days with a different type of work, free from meetings.

"Have an amazing 4 July."

This closing remark from Alex indicates the time of the conversation and extends well wishes for the upcoming holiday, suggesting an awareness of work-life balance even while discussing work-centric topics.