Geoff Woods: From Employee to Entrepreneur - The Power of Finding a Mentor

Get ready for an extremely powerful and emotional episode of The Bold Life Movement. Today’s guest is Geoff Woods, host of The Mentee podcast, General Manager of the Publishing Division at Keller Williams Realty, Inc., and currently building a business with Jay Papasan at The1Thing.com.

Geoff worked in medical device sales for five years. He made a good living selling a device that actually saved lives, but he knew he was meant for more. He knew he wanted to own a business that made a massive impact and provided financial security for his family, but he didn’t have a compelling reason to make a change.

“I didn’t have a compelling reason to make change. There wasn’t enough pain in my life that forced me to make change.”

In one week, things changed dramatically. One of his colleagues suffered a stroke at 35, and then his income was slashed by 40 percent. Geoff was compelled to move forward, and that’s when he heard the Jim Rohn quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

None of Geoff’s five closest people were doing what he wanted to do – owning a business that made an impact in the world and provided financial security – and he realized that he could either take the easy road or the hard road to level up his five.

• The Hard Road – Setting a goal, settling a plan and figuring out how to get it done. You’re waking up every day and guessing.
• The Easy Road – Establish what you want, meet the people who already do it and let them tell you what to do.

“I can take the easy road or the hard road. Most people are offered this choice everyday, and they don’t realize they’re choosing the hard road.”

How did Geoff connect with the mentors that inspired him along the way? He started by gaining clarity on what it was that he wanted and identifying the people who inspired him. Then, when given the opportunity to speak with his ideal mentors, he dropped his ego and made himself vulnerable. There’s two ways to make the initial connection with your ideal mentors:

• The Six Degrees of Separation – The idea that you can be connected to anyone in the world through six connections.
• Be a Connector – Go out of your way to add value to the people around you. “If you become a person who goes out of their way to add value, people will go out of their way to be in a relationship with you.”

“Extraordinary results are not hard.”

Every time I talk to Geoff he blows my mind. I really wanted to share his powerful story because it demonstrates that we can choose to make our lives more Bold, and we can all have a massive impact on the world. Learn more about Geoff and his businesses by listening to The Mentee podcast or heading over to The1Thing.com.

 

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

• Did Geoff know at the time that being a business owner was something he aspired to, or necessary for the life he aspired to have?
• When Geoff first launched The Mentee, what did the podcast look like?
• How did Geoff connect with his mentors?
• For people who don’t know what it is they’re looking for, what types of mentors should they be surrounding themselves with?
• How do people get that mentor-mentee relationship kicked off?
• What is one thing that has surprised Geoff during his journey?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

• How Geoff went from employee to entrepreneur in just 10 months
• How to surround yourself with five people who inspire you
• How to be a connector
• How to start a mentor-mentee relationship
• Plus much more…

DON’T STOP HERE…

• Guest Links & Resources: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• The Mentee podcast
• The ONE Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan
• Profit Factory

 

Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters