DREAM. THINK. DO.

My guest today is Greg Layton. Greg is the founder of Chief Maker. For over a decade, Greg has been a trusted advisor to CEOs and executive teams of multi-billion-dollar companies around the globe. He's the author of a the bestselling book, Chief Maker: How to Rise Above the Pack and Get a Seat on the Executive Team. He's also the host of a popular podcast called “The Inner Chief.” In addition, Greg has spent 15 years traveling the world to learn and master the world's foremost performance techniques. From living with Shaolin monks in China, all the way to racing in desert ultra-marathons, Greg has spent a lifetime studying the limits of personal endurance, as well as finding the best paths to mental strength and peak performance. Listen To The Podcast: RESOURCES: Chief Maker Book: http://bit.ly/2uusEOW Website: chiefmaker.com.au Save an Hour Video Series: chiefmaker.com.au/saveanhour INTERVIEW: Let's get to it, Greg. Welcome to DREAM THINK DO, buddy Mitch, thanks, mate. Great to be here. I love it, man. All right, so I want to talk about your book. I want to talk about the power of routine, all the stuff you do for managers and leaders. But it's my show, so I get to go wherever I want. And I want to go to the Shaolin monks you hung out within China. How the heck did that happen and what was that like? Well, it started out as a bit of a journey. One question I’ve had since the early days is, “Who out there is an outlier in performance?” I've seen the Shaolin guys on the telly and even at a circus kind of show once. I always thought they were out of this world. They were sticking swords in their bellies and all sorts of stuff, but it wasn't hurting them. So, who are these guys and how the hell do they do that? About six months later, I started doing Kung fu feverishly where I was living at the time. Six months after that, I found myself up to my knees in snow in the mountains in a remote part of China at a very small Shaolin Monastery and academy. I was welcomed into this little Shaolin school, and I can tell you now, it was like going back in time, it really was. The training was 1000 years old, and just nothing seemed to have changed. We trained 12 hours a day, every single day, dawn till dusk. We didn't just do Kung fu, which I found very interesting. They started off the day with Tai Chi and meditation. Even though Tai Chi is actually a form of martial art, the training is that it was a calming process and balancing the body and the mind and the spirit to begin the day. Throughout the day, we did everything from Qigong to power stretching and conditioning to Sanda, which is China's kickboxing, and also Kung fu. It was dedication to your art form all day, every day. You were there for three months? Three months. Yeah, three months. Interesting - I was never injured, and we did some crazy stuff. An example of one of the things I do is we did this thing called power stretching. I love to tell this story. Instead of a brief, gentle stretch, you get nice and limber and warmed up. And then you'd get into a splits position, with your feet out wide. You might. I don't. Yeah. I truly do. My first day there, I couldn't do splits. I don't know. I was reasonably flexible, but no, I couldn't do the splits. So, I'm in this vulnerable position with my feet out wide, and my hands on the ground. So, my back is parallel to the ground. And a guy comes in, and he starts sitting on my back because he thinks I'm not deep enough into this stretch. And then another guy, because now I'm finding that like a really difficult stretch, he starts kicking my feet up. Wow. It gets to be such a brutal stretch that I can't breathe. I'm in that much pain with the level of stretch; I can't breathe at all. I'm gasping. And then you actually at a certain point, you stop breathing. And then my shifu, my master who they've got a few key things there. One,

My guest is Travis Ensley. Travis is one of my best friends on the planet. This guy, over the past 20 years has been a successful leader within the tech industry. He's worked with startups all the way to fortune 500 companies. I can say that he's successful because the companies he's helped have been wildly successful. But I can also say that because I've gotten to know many of the people that he has led. And they love working for and with him. Here's the thing, as you'll see, Travis has this kind of no-nonsense Ron Swanson quality to him, so I'm guessing that he's already bristling at my accolades, but I'm going to go further. He's been successful in business, but I can also tell you he's successful in life, too. He's an awesome husband and dad, and I'm also grateful to say that he is an “bonus uncle” to my boys, and that means the world to me. We talk about a lot of subjects, but today we’re going to dive into the subject and focus on one area of expertise that Travis is just incredible at, and that is establishing systems to manage your time, your tasks, and your priorities. He is a black belt level genius at this. And I benefit from his wisdom on this front weekly, so I wanted to get him on DREAM THINK DO, so you can benefit from it, too. Listen To The Podcast: INTERVIEW: So pour yourself a cup of coffee and let's get to this. Travis. Welcome to DREAM THINK DO, buddy. I'm honored to be here. Thank you. Absolutely. So, we're going to talk about systems and strategies. I mean, you use technology, but your brain works in this way. There's been a couple of questions I've been dying to ask you as a long-time friend. I assume I know the answers to this, but before we dive into the specifics, I want to start a little bit more in your brain. How about that for being scary? So, I wanted to ask you. You're one of the most organized systems oriented people that I know. But have you always been that way? Like, were you that way in junior high and high school? There's very little chance my mom will listen to this. So I will say yes. I've got your mom on speed dial. I’ll check right now. I was one of those kids who would open the bag of Skittles and organize them by color because it made sense for me to do it that way because I wanted to know exactly what I was doing. I'll tell you that my room was not very clean when I was young, but after high school, I went into the Navy, into service, and they beat that out of me. And so, coupled with that, I like to say that I'm just this side of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The healthy side of it, right? The healthy side. Yes, the healthy side of it. With my experience in the service, the very regimented leadership they gave solidified the kind of lifestyle that I choose to lead that way. Absolutely. I wondered if that experience just kind of ground that into you for the first time, or whether that was bringing out natural tendencies. But I assumed it was bringing out those natural tendencies. It allowed me to understand why I thought that way. I think it encouraged that behavior. It showed me a lot of interesting ways to do it, too. But it's also interesting to think about how the world of technology that can support systems for helping navigate our time and our task has evolved so much. I've seen you experiment with different things, try different things, so that was something that I was looking forward to diving into with you. I think sometimes technology can be a benefit, but I think sometimes technology, with all of the options, can also start to bungle that up a little bit. I think in a lot of cases it comes down to discipline. I think technology, in general, can be a huge distraction. It's designed to be that way. Hey, it's a cool thing, or this is the next widget or the next flashy thing that's going to come up, and so everybody has great ideas. In this day and age, it's very easy to take those ideas and translate that ...

Kelsey Merritt | Getting Clarity on Your Dreams In this episode, Mitch Matthews interviews Kelsey Merritt. When they first met in 2016, Kelsey impressed Mitch with her list of 300+ things she wanted to do, see or experience in her lifetime. Since then, she’s gone to check many things off her list... including setting a World Record. They talk about the importance of clarifying your goals and dreams as well as dig into practical strategies for achieving them... even when time and budgets are tight. Listen To The Podcast: In 2016, Mitch and his Dream Team met Kelsey Merritt when they brought the BIG Dream Gathering to campus. She stood out because she brought her Bucket List of 300+ things she wanted to do, see or experience in her lifetime. Since that time, she’s stayed with it and checked a number of items off the list. In fact, Mitch and the crew brought the BDG back to Kent State and helped to make another of Kelsey’s goals (involving honey bees) a reality. Check it out it out below: In this episode, Mitch and Kelsey talk about how to get clear on your goals and dreams. Then they dig into practical strategies for making them happen! Comment below and let us know what you connected with from Kelsey’s story and strategies. We’d love to hear from you! Also... here’s a summary of the interview with a few more details too! Enjoy. Summary Kent State University student Kelsey Merritt met Mitch and the BIG Dream Gathering Team in 2016 and impressed them with her bucket list of about 300 items she wanted to do, see or experience in her lifetime. She’d already checked many items off the list, but she keeps adding items to it. However, this is not a list of mere achievements, it’s a list of experiences. Her focus is to be in the moment and enjoy the process. And she’s not afraid to dream big — one goal she recently went after was to break a world record. Time-Stamped Show Notes [03:12] Introduction and background of Kelsey Merritt. [06:57] The list. [09:39] Why the list is important. [13:35] Genuine curiosity. [17:34] Education outside of the classroom. [20:22] Failures. [26:20] Don’t be afraid of emotion. [28:03] World record attempt. [31:28] Why attempt to break a world record now? [33:45] Challenges in breaking the world record. [40:25] Wisdom of the week. Kelsey Merritt, Getting Clarity on Your Dreams The List Kelsey Merritt’s list journey started when she was a junior in high school and her English teacher assigned her class the task of creating a bucket list of 25 items, then completing and documenting two of them. Merritt completed her two items and stashed her list away in her room, only to find it the next year. “I pulled it out around the end of senior year when I was cleaning out my room, getting ready for college,” Merritt says. She decided to complete her list. “From there, it exploded into the beast that it is today,” she says. Although ever-evolving, at the time of this interview, the list has 348 items, 184 of which have been completed. It’s Important “It’s important because it’s helped me live my best life,” says Merritt. “I don’t want to go through the motions of life. I want to experience this world as much as possible.” People are concerned that she won’t finish her list before she dies, but that’s not the point. “I’m not preparing myself to die,” she says. “It’s taking what this world has to offer and just doing it.” People who assume it’s a death preparation are thinking about it backwards. Experience is what gets people talking, because when you start to talk about something you’re passionate about, you light up and your heart starts to sing, and it’s opened up doors for her at career fairs and networking events because of that excitement. “It’s made me who I am today,” Merritt says. “It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone. It’s taught me a lot about life, living,

Mitch interviews Robert Dickie, author of Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career. If you’ve had the inkling that there might be a change on the horizon for you and your career, you’re going to want to listen to this interview. My guest on the DREAM THINK DO podcast is Robert Dickie. We talk about his newest book, “Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career.” You know I LOVE this subject... and we dive deep into specific strategies you can use to get clear and find more of the work that you were created to do. Listen To The Podcast: Robert Dickie was a decorated Air Force officer and a successful executive, but then he found himself in a “bad fit” job. He needed to change. He needed to be intentional about it. He started to experiment. That lead him to work that is fulfilling, rewarding and profitable. Over the past few years, Robert has started to teach others these strategies and people have benefited from them too. They have used them to redesign their careers and/or find entirely new ones that we’re a better fit! So, I wanted to bring him on the show so we could share some of these concepts with you! If you’ve been thinking that you might need a change... listen in for some real world strategies that will help! Plus, I’d love to hear from you! What’s a story or a strategy that stands out to you? Leave a comment and let me know. In the meantime, keep bringing your awesome, Mitch IMPORTANT LINKS: Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career Robert’s website: http://robertdickie.com/ Here are the show notes... Summary You can’t underestimate the importance of not just settling for a job, but finding your best and most fulfilling work. Robert Dickie, author of Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career had a career that was anything but linear. He was a decorated air force officer, an executive for hire, and now, with Crown Financial Ministries, he helps people in over one hundred countries. Time-Stamped Show Notes [03:22] Introduction of Robert Dickie and his book, Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career. [05:02] Discussing Career Pivots, how he has used them, and how you can use them too. [10:05] Why facing your fears and adding new skills are crucial to your success. [15:40] Examining the Four Career Quadrants, from Dickie’s latest book. [22:10] Crafting your plan, and who can help. [28:09] How to approach your boss for a win/win situation where you will both benefit. [37:15] Strategies to reinvent yourself and take advantage of the newest high-growth industries. [44:30] What that gnawing feeling in your gut really is, and how to cure it. [47:07] Reach out to Robert Dickie, read his blog, and pick up a copy of his latest book. Robert Dickie and the Reinvented Career A Non-Linear Career In his newest book, Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career, Robert Dickie explores how you can find your best and most fulfilling work. He was a decorated Air Force officer, an executive for hire, author, coach, mentor, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. Now, with Crown Financial Ministries, he is privileged to help people in over one hundred countries around the world. Dickie is married and lives with his wife, six children, and two dogs in Knoxville, Tennessee. Two Signs That It Is Time for a Pivot in Your Career Dickie has implemented pivots on his career path. The first was when he terminated a successful military career. In late 2000, he left his job as CEO in Flint, Michigan. He felt stagnant in his career, and knew he had to take a radical leap. In that pivot, he launched a start-up, and people thought he was crazy for leaving such a successful career. But others who had gone before him helped him craft a plan of intentional design which ...

There’s so much division and polarization in the world right now. BUT at the same time, I think there’s a pendulum swing that’s happening too. There seem to be more and more people who are saying, “Enough!” Let’s find some common ground and let’s work from there to find real solutions. They’re looking for a place to start! Because that’s what we do... when we are at our very best. We find a way to find a way. We find a way to band together to help. We find a way. That’s where the “We Agree to Pray” project comes in. We don’t have to agree on everything, but what if a small group of people could come together to say, “We AGREE to pray.” What might happen? Well... let’s talk about that! RESOURCES: To sign up for WE AGREE TO PRAY, go here: WeAgreeToPray.com. Episode 282: “Empathy - A Secret Weapon for Thriving in a Divided World.” Click here: mitchmatthews.com/282 Mitch’s “6 Miracle Story.” Click here. We AGREE TO PRAY PROJECT EPISODE MINUTE-BY-MINUTE: 0:02 What to expect today 2:00 Are you sick of the polarization? 3:15 Why Mitch Learned from a Derecho 8:09 The human spirit 10:56 The phrase that sparked the idea 13:47 The power of prayer and what to do when you feel “the nudge” 27:11 What’s coming up in September 32:21 Will you join us? 34:43 How to join MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE: Recently, on an early morning drive... I was reminded of how we... as human beings... find a way. That’s right. When we are at our best, we find a way to help each other, encourage each other, push each other and come alongside each other. That idea planted a seed. What could we do... if we gave ourselves permission to find some common ground? As I was praying about this question, I got hit with a phrase. “We Agree to Pray.” Well... I’ll be honest. At first, I pushed back on the idea. I thought, “People can't seem to agree on ANYTHING right now. They can’t agree on big stuff like politics, COVID... or the little stuff like who makes the best French Fry or how to eat an Oreo. But... WHAT IF? What if a ragtag group of us was willing to put aside our differences for a month? What if we... a group of very different people... took a month to pray for healing, hope, grace, unity, solutions and breakthroughs? What might happen? Now... here’s the deal. Prayer may not be your thing. If that’s the case... TOTALLY cool. No harm no foul. We’re good. And hey... if you want to drop out of this episode... that’s totally fine. We can TOTALLY still be friends AND you are still TOTALLY part of the DREAM THINK DO family. Because we are TOTALLY willing to recognize and honor our differences and our similarities here! At the same time... if prayer IS your thing... or you’ve always been curious about it... cool. Let’s keep talking. See... prayer hasn’t always been big for me. But over the years... prayer has brought me a lot of peace, hope, strength, grace, AND love. PLUS... it’s also become a part of our core business strategy and something I depend on as we navigate the wild waters of life (especially in 2020!!!). Now, I don’t do it perfectly. When I pray... it’s messy. It ain’t poetic. It’s not beautiful. #IloveJesusbutIcussalittlebit But it has become powerful... and amazing. In the episode, I share some examples, plus I mention our “6 Miracle Day.” (Click here to read that story: mitchmatthews.com/our-6-miracle-story/ Most importantly, we’ve seen the power of prayer help people to experience a sense of peace, hope, and strength. And we’ve seen incredible things happen when a group of people comes together to pray. So... for the month of September, we’re wanting to do something we’re calling the WE AGREE TO PRAY project. It’s where people from all walks of life agree to pray... together. We’ll send out a daily email to: Offer some encouragement Provide a shared prayer focus for the day Share some stories and breakthroughs