Entrepreneurs’ Golden Nuggets of Wisdom

Serial Entrepreneur: Secrets Revealed! EP114 with Steven Foster

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Today we are so happy, um, to bring to the members here of Startup Club, Steven Foster. So, Steven Foster is an awesome person who has made his life mission in gathering and interviewing over six hundred people or so to just really help us all understand what their golden nuggets are, what are their secrets, what does it all come down to that has helped them thrive?

When they are, you know, put up against diversity or obstacles, whatever it might be in life, and especially in business. So, you know, I’ve had the privilege of working with you, Steven. Um, I know Colin, who’s one of the founders here [00:01:00] on Startup Club, he’s going to be in your next book. But, um, what an amazing, you know, project this is that you have and how you’re sharing it with everyone.

I know in your next book you also have Evander Holyfield, right? That’s correct. And good evening. I would say I’ve interviewed now over 4, 000 people for this. I was way off. Oh my god. Yeah, no, no, it’s fine. And it’s, it’s completely transformed my, uh, my, my life, you know, just to, to hear people’s stories and especially hear their stories of their, their most difficult times and how they got through them.

You know, you can’t help but be changed. Yes. So you’ve done the hard work for us. You’ve spent a lot of time doing this, you and your team, but, um, You know, tell us a little bit about the project. I know you just said you’ve interviewed over 4, 000 people and then we will just kind of, you know, we’d like to understand what are the [00:02:00] top golden nuggets that you, that you hear on a repetitive basis.

That helps people thrive in their personal and business life and, um, every, all the, um, members of the club here in the audience, um, we’re going to let Steven talk for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then we want you to come to the stage. We want you to share your stories. We want you to ask questions because this session is really about you and we’re all here, you know, to help each other out quite honestly, and I’m so thankful to have you here and that you’re going to share.

With us stories of others. So go for it, Steven. Yeah, absolutely. First of all, thank you for inviting me. It’s great to be here. Um, I would firstly, you know, just give you a little bit of backstory. You know, I spent 28 years trying to build businesses and, um, and messing it up all the time. And by the time I got to 47, 48, you know, I was really, This is just actually at the start of lockdown.

I was [00:03:00] living in my office and, you know, I’d lost everything. All my customers went because of lockdown and, you know, I’m living in my office and it’s, it’s another one of those really challenging situations. So that’s only three and a half years ago. Uh, and I’d always had this idea of nugget. So what I did was I had no idea how I was going to make any money from it.

I knew that it was what I, what I should be doing. So I just. dived into it and started asking people for their One Golden Nuggets. And, and it just exploded pretty much straight away. You know, everybody had a story to tell. Everybody had been through so much and often the most successful people have been through the hardest, toughest times.

You know, they’d lost everything many, many times. Uh, and it was a real eye opener for me. Um, so when I reached out to people for nuggets, um, Everybody would say yes because they wanted to share their story, you know, and, and weirdly enough, the, the, the most successful people were the [00:04:00] easiest people to reach.

So it became this incredible connecting tool. So I went on this journey and I wrote a first book about, you know, my discovery of, of one golden nugget and the people that I’ve met and the journey, because life is a journey. It’s a bit of a cliche, but it really is, you know, there is no destination. We’re just on this path.

And you meet people and they join your journey, and then they. Then they go. Some people stay for life. Um, and I started interviewing these people and I found out so much. And the thing that I learned about my own life is that I’d always built businesses to make money. And that was the critical error. And when you build a business and there’s a lot of people here that have the, uh, building startups or they’re progressing through their career.

It’s build a business with purpose. Don’t build it to make money. And I know Probably everybody knows that, but it took me to 47 to realize it. That actually, if you’re going to build a business, create a big dream, create a big vision, the world doesn’t need small thinkers, you know, [00:05:00] go for something massive, um, because that’s what the world needs right now.

There’s so many problems we’ve got to fix. So if you’re going to do something, do it, go big. Um, and, and, and, you know, just, just believe in yourself and. So, so, so, so that, that, that, that was incredible. So that was the first thing I learned that is if you’re going to be in business, build a business with purpose.

Um, the other, the other thing I learned was about intention and expectation because I’d always had expectations of how things would work out. For me, you know, I build this vision, I’d set goals and it’s like, I’ve got that expectation. It’s going to be that, and I’m going to do that. And I’m really going to believe in what I’m doing.

And, you know, this is going to be incredible. And of course, life doesn’t give a hoot about your expectations and often things wouldn’t work out as I planned. And then, and then you kind of get, you know, delusioned and disappointed. And I learned that it’s about intention. So the [00:06:00] process I learned from all of these incredible people was that.

It’s okay. Create a vision and an intention of what you want to create. And then you have to let it go. You have to let go of the outcome because life will guide you. And sometimes what you’re going after, actually, you can achieve far more. And it’s, it’s about intention. And it’s about having the feeling now of what you want to create and sticking and staying in that vibration rather than expectations, which often always lead to disappointment.

And that’s a really nasty. The feeling to have, so it’s about creating intention and sticking like glue to that intention and just allowing the path to unfold as you wish. So that was, I’m going to intrude here a little bit. So, all right, so have a purpose and just be, have a dogged when I’m prayer face and hear persistence.

So why don’t you, I want to step back just a little bit. I want everyone to understand, [00:07:00] you know, just the kind of people that you’re interviewing. The C level people, the founders, et cetera, that you’ve been interviewing. And my gosh, that’s a lot of people to interview. You know, you just said it was just since COVID and I think that was an amazing project you took on, but let’s step back here and maybe you could share, you know, some specific names and, and, and tidbits, bits and pieces from some specific people and, you know, how that made you feel and what the learnings were.

Thank you. Absolutely. Well, the first nugget I ever collected was from a guy called Warwick Davis. Um, and if you know Warwick Davis, he was in Star Wars and he was in a film called Willow. He’s the little, little tiny guy. Uh, and actually I had a business with him years ago and he gave me the first nugget and that was just about loving what you do.

And again, not having expectation. And that was the first nugget. Actually, he paid, he played Yoda in Star Wars. So thank you. Thank you. You know, what a [00:08:00] kickoff nugget to get, you know, from, from, from him. Um, and that was the first one. Uh, I interviewed the head of universal music, uh, a guy called Olivia, Robert Murphy, um, and his nugget was about letting it go.

That was it. Let it go. Three words. Now, obviously the Disney film, we’ve all got that, that song going into our head now. But it’s, it’s very important, you know, to, to let the baggage go, let, let those, those feelings and emotions go sometimes that clog up our system. And they, you know, they drag us down. It’s that barrack, that baggage that we carry around with us.

Um, and, and, you know, that was, that was absolutely profound. Uh, and then of course I met the, the, the, the, the most incredible man, Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok, who’s, uh, no relation to me. And, you know, he changed my life and that was three years ago and you know, his nugget was just keep going, you know, building Reebok and I know you’ve had him on your show and I’m doing obviously the survive and thrive project with him now, but you know, his, his, his nugget of just keep going, you know, and I learned [00:09:00] that when you, when you reach a tough moment, that’s the time.

to keep going. That’s the kind, that’s the time to push through it. Because often that’s the final test to get to the next level. And most people, they give up when they reach, you know, they’ve been going and going and going and then they reach a really tough experience and then they give up. But that’s the time to push through.

Um, you know, and that, so that was, that was a, you know, a profound thing for me. So I think those three people have been my top nuggets, so stand out in my head. So, So I know it’s, it’s kind of panacea, but like, did they share any like tips or ideas about how they actually just kept going? Cause you know, we have a lot of entrepreneurs here in the audience.

You know, we’re all just looking to like when to know to push and when to know to quit, you know, the whole [00:10:00] nine yards. So did they, is there any takeaways and like how you actually manage through pushing? What are your thoughts on that? Well, first of all, I don’t think the goal changes, the approach might change, and you might be trying something and it’s not working.

So then it really comes down to intuition as to when you stop, and that can only come from the individual because they’ve got to assess their situation, right, and then make a decision. Because sometimes you are riding a dead horse and sometimes you’ve got to get off it. you know, and I, and I, you know, it’s about testing things and then going again, seeing what works and making progress smoothly and slowly.

Um, but the goal never changes. So, so that it then really comes down to a mental attitude of just keep going because everything is mental. Your entire life is built up from, from a collection of your thoughts. And then they, they obviously translate into actions. So it’s about, it’s about the quality of thought.

And when [00:11:00] those tough times come, it’s about looking for the opportunity within the problem because problems are not delivered to slow you down or stop you. They’re there to teach you a lesson, and they’re there to teach you to grow and expand as a human being. I remember interviewing the head of Facebook for Asia, a lady called Kirthika Reddy.

Uh, and, and. You know, she told me this, and I kind of knew it, but, you know, she said the higher you go up the ladder, it doesn’t become easier, the problems get bigger, you’ve just got to get better. So then it comes down to, you know, through those tough times, developing yourself, believing in yourself, surrounding yourself with an incredible group of people.

And most importantly, and this is a key nugget, is asking for help. You know, because when you encounter a problem, someone else has already been there. Many, many people have already been there. Go and ask people for their help. And that was something I never did previously. Now I get a problem. It’s like, you know, I go out to my network and, you know, and I’m very blessed to have thousands of [00:12:00] people.

I go, who do I need? You know, and, and, and I think intrinsically within human beings, there’s this need to, to want to help, you know, good people, they just want to help others because it feels good. So go and ask people, you’ve got a problem, either read a book, educate yourself or go and ask, you know, people that you know for help and then draft a plan and solutions and go again.

So I don’t think. You know, I don’t think the goal ever changes. It’s just your approach, you know, and, and, and set where what’s the problem, define it, feel good about it, send thoughts of love to it, which can be difficult sometimes because the problem is overwhelming, you know, flood it with love and, and, and get, get, get excited about it.

Um, you know, the co founder, Ted Baker taught me that. So did, you know, I’m curious because for us, we’re very much about community. And, you know, having people that are close to you to help you through good and bad times. And, you know, I’m [00:13:00] curious, did anyone, you know, make mention about having a network, having a group of trusted advisors or friends or family?

To help them get through the tough times. What were the tools like what, you know, it is, it’s hard, right, man. It’s hard to like, just sit at home and you’re working so hard trying to get your business off the ground or trying to get your business profitable. Were there any specific techniques, obviously, as you said, mindset is critically important.

And I agree with you, you have to start there, but was there any other. Things that people did to help and support them along the way. I learned this from a, um, a very, um, very successful lady who’s in the Survive and Thrive book, uh, Dr. Christina Rahm, and that is to quiet the mind, first of all. So she goes into meditation four times a day and, and she’s sitting with the problem.

You know, and it’s [00:14:00] really because in the silence you can hear everything and that’s where the solutions come. So, so it’s about eliminating the fear of the problem first of all. Because if you’re in business, you’re a problem solver. You’re going to be constantly faced with problems and it never ends. So if you can quiet the mind, go into meditation.

and just let it settle, you’ll find that the thoughts eventually start to come and the solutions come and you see a way forward that perhaps you hadn’t. But I, you know, I think, and this is what’s beautiful about your community. It’s, it’s, it’s, you know, involve yourself with others. You know, like this sort of community and ask for help.

And I think that’s probably one of the major nuggets of running a business. It’s surround yourself with great people who, you know, are not going to put you down or criticize you because there’s plenty of those people, you know, you need to silence them and go after the people that have already been there.

that and take their advice. Um, because often, you know, you know, and it feels good to share something, right? If [00:15:00] you’re going through something, it feels good to discuss it and talk it through and write out the problem, define it, you know, without emotion rather than getting all you know, hellbent about something.

It’s like, actually, what are the facts? And then create a plan. How can I get through it? How can I deal with this? What are the solutions? Who can help me meditate, feel good about it, and then proceed? And yeah, I don’t, I want to stop there on that point because it’s so critically important, even in our personal lives, right?

Is to be able, and I think you said to kind of quiet yourself and just look at things objectively. And not always react so emotionally. I mean, that, that really is important. And then the second point, you know, find people that really can help you. You know, I, I, what I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people that I feel like make a mistake.

And I’ve done it myself, right? It’s where I call, they’re taking a survey. Where they [00:16:00] just go around asking people’s opinion or help until they find somebody that agrees with them. That’s not what we’re talking about, right Steven? Sometimes these things are hard to hear. What do you think? Absolutely. You know, I remember on a personal note, I had a mentor and he said to me one day, Do you know you’re overweight?

And I was like, No. And I was. I was, you know, four stone in English, weight, overweight. So I did something about it and then I lost the weight. I lost four stone, which is, you know, how many pounds, a lot. Um, and so, so what you need to do is when people, when great people give you advice. It’s like you need to take the medicine, you know, and then ego is a problem because, you know, some people are, you know, I don’t need that.

I don’t, you know, certainly for me over the years, I don’t need any help. I can do this. You know, I’ve got this all sorted. Um, and then so humility comes into play. And I think as a, as a founder, you need to be immensely humble. You need to [00:17:00] be open.

Yeah, we lost you there. Sorry. That was the count of Monte Cripto phoning me. Um, uh, and so you need to be open and receptive to ideas and, um. really, really be from a point that actually you don’t know anything at all. We don’t know an awful lot, really. We think we do sometimes. So I’m always coming from a position of a complete novice and a learner.

And it’s like, teach me, you know, how did you do that? You know, and I would, anybody that’s listening to this, you know, go out and ask somebody massively successful, how they did it. And I’ll tell you what, they’ll give you the time. They will give you the time because, because they, they, they, they want to help.

So don’t ever be afraid of asking for help and taking that advice and then you’ve got to internalize it and then you’ve got to do what you want to do with it. Yeah. And move forward from there. Excellent. So, you know, I’m, I’m taken away here. Like you, [00:18:00] you’re politely emphasizing someone who’s successful.

I think that is critical. We have to be careful who we do take advice from. We really do so, um, on that note, you know, for us, we have recommended to people and we’ve had great success doing this ourself. You know, if you’re a startup, you know, seek out maybe like, um, an incubator. Program, whether it be at a college or something local, like seek out people that have varying different opinions than yourself.

So you’re just don’t get in that group think, but we have found like, um, you know, workspaces and incubators are a great place to, you know, to, to practice what you’re saying. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Ask for help. You know, it’s not, sometimes as an entrepreneur, it feels so lonely. You know, there’s so many times I’ve sat at my desk thinking how the hell am I going to get out of this one?

And, and, and, you know, probably you’ll, [00:19:00] you’ll agree. We’ve all been there. So it’s like, you know, just pick up the phone or email somebody and just ask for help because And, and anybody who wants to message me anytime, I’m, I’m always available to give help to anybody because, because it makes me feel good, you know, when I share nuggets and I share what I’ve been through and the things that I’ve learned from other people, you know, it feels good.

You want to help people. So it’s, you know, don’t, don’t feel that you’re on your own, but I, you know, I, I saw a quote from Elon Musk, um, just yesterday, actually, that the start in your own business and trying to become successful was like eating glass and staring into the abyss. And it’s, and it does feel like that at times, you know, so it can be really painful, but that’s part of growth, you know, without, without, there’s no pain with, you know, pain and growth come hand in hand, um, you know, you know, it’s unavoidable, so you may as well accept it and then learn how to deal with it.

And you have to have a huge pain threshold and get used to it. [00:20:00] because, you know, you do get periods where it elapses and you’re kind of in flow and then something will happen, something will side swipe you, um, and then you have to deal with it and expect those, those, those, those situations to come. Yeah.

And that’s very important. Expect those situations to come because I’m trying to be as prepared as you can for them, you know, and often whatever situation arises, you know, often. There’s a monetary cost to it. Normally, you know, something ends up costing you money. So, you know, that then as a business, you know, it’s like, you know, try and get some cash reserves into protect you.

So when those, because you make mistakes, I make so many mistakes, you know, even now, and they invariably end up costing money. So, you know, don’t, don’t think that it’s all going to be rosy. And that was one of my other. You know, problems over the years. I just thought I was invincible. Uh, and I, and I certainly wasn’t.

Yes. Yes. Okay. So we’d love to hear the members stories. [00:21:00] So please do raise your hand. Um, we’d love to bring you to the stage or if you have questions, please, um, feel free to raise your hand and we’ll bring you right up. But Steven, just circling back to your last point. I think the flip of that exists to like people that are successful.

You know, lend your time and help other people. It, you know, it is a circle of doing good. It is a bit of karma as well. And, you know, you can always, you know, there’s always something for us to learn obviously from each other, but moving on to the next item. So I think we’ve heard two points of what you have.

Repetitively heard from our successful CEO, C level people, whomever founders that you’ve been interviewing. What would be a third point that is a standout point that you can share with our members here today?

That life is energy. everything [00:22:00] is energy. If you put, if you put your hand under a microscope, it’s vibration energy. So don’t think of the world as solid. Think of it as just one energy system and what you put out into that energy system is like a mirror. It comes back to you. Um, and that’s the, that’s the way, that’s the way life works and thoughts have power.

You know, the great book by Napoleon Hill, you know, thoughts become things. I’m a great, having spoken to so many of these amazing, amazing people. They all, they all understand that actually the world is an illusion and it’s just energy. So, so there be careful and mindful of your thinking, but be, be kind to people, you know, don’t, don’t, don’t intentionally go out there.

And I’m sure nobody on this call would, but don’t intentionally go out there to damage other people. Many people do. But you can’t do that. You’ve got to be a loving, kind person. And especially, you know, these days that that’s, that’s what you need to be as an entrepreneur. You know, uh, young people won’t come and work for you if you’re, you know, fear driven and that’s the culture, you know, they want to go and work for great [00:23:00] people.

So it’s cultivating, you know, a culture of kindness. And actually that was one of the other big nuggets. I learned that, you know, that if, if the result is happiness. The kindness is the route to take you there. So, you know, be a kind person, be kind to everybody cause you never know what they’re going through, especially in business.

And, um, and I just think that’s a great way to live. All right. Excellent. I think that’s all good advice. And we have our first person on the stage today. Um, D’Angelo. Please feel free to share with us or ask any questions. We’d like to know your thoughts on how you strive to thrive and what helps you.

What can you share with us, please? Well, I think sometimes, uh, well, not sometimes I came to a point [00:24:00] where I realized I didn’t like my life and I just kind of started over and a lot of rocky road moments happened and I came to a point where I realized certain things were missing in my community and I constructed a plan To bring some relief to some of the problems that we have here, um, it’s not ready for funding yet, but it’s pretty good.

And I’ve got a lot of good responses from it. So, I’m kind of at the point where it’s just like, um, Steven was saying. Just go for it.

So, I’m at the point of solidifying the, uh, the codes for the scallop umbrella corp I’m trying to build [00:25:00] to run a program for homeless people in my community and be able to control the property. As to making sure people who are unsavory don’t live there. To cause payouts and we’ve had to give family stability and comfort.

So, establish a real safe zone, you know, we can only do that through ownership and, uh, serving each other a little dignity on the side, you know, so that’s what I’m about in a nutshell, but I just wanted to listen to people who have already been through the things that I’m facing, uh, explain how they made it through.

Because every heel is uphill battle, and [00:26:00] most of the time you have to conquer yourself. And you can see yourself and others in their experience, if you just pay attention. I’m finished.

Yeah, you go, Steven. Yeah, well, that’s, you know, that’s very good, mate. I mean, you know, all, all, all credits to you for what you’re doing with the homelessness. You know, when I started Nugget, I had no idea I was going to make any money from it. I just knew that it was my purpose and it was the journey I was supposed to be on.

So I just went for it. And then, and then life kind of supports you, I find, when you’re on a big budget. purpose. So, you know, good luck to it, you know, and, and, you know, love what you’re doing and, and, and just put as much positive energy into it that you can without expectation. And, and, you know, see where, see where the journey takes you, you know, wonderful.

Thank you. I’ll go back to work. All right. It looks like [00:27:00] we have Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok, Steven, who’s joined us on the stage. Let’s get him involved in the conversation, Joe. Steven is giving us some amazing stories and, you know, things that he has learned from all the amazing people he has interviewed about how to thrive.

You know, in the face of adversity and Joe, I know you’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. You’re a very successful man, you know, why don’t you share with us? Maybe what has helped you persevere? And I know you persevered for many years through a lot of personal and business diversities. Yes, I mean, it is incredible.

Um, uh, and I, and I think, you know, if you, if you have that optimism, the, you, you have to look at the, uh, the problems you go through in life and, uh, I’ve been through many, you know, while she’s still around, you’ve got to think of the positives. Um, we have so many [00:28:00] positives, so many absolute positive, you know, meeting Steven, meeting yourself and meeting college.

You know, these are exciting things. They’re wonderful. And the more you put yourself out there, the more people you meet, the better life is. And I think this is it. To survive, it’s find people, work with those people. You know, we’ve just had a weekend at the Vatican, would you believe, meeting some amazing people.

And, uh, it’s incredible. I can’t believe where these people think that we’re going. But, uh, this is all part of. Life as it changes and as it changes, that’s part of surviving. And then once you learn how to survive, you thrive because these guys, they just give you an enormous sudden lift. And, uh, we had one guy there and he was just doing wonderful car tricks, magic.

And everybody, everybody just enjoys that. And, and I think this part of surviving and thriving [00:29:00] is when you need, when you’re at that point where you’re surviving, try to find out where the fun is. Look for that, and that will just lift you, and it really will. And, you know, so many times that, uh, we’re out and about, and we meet people, and, uh, and there’s so many people who can give you that lift.

And I know we’ve been there in, uh, Fort Lauderdale, we’ve been there with, uh, Steven, and we have fun. So, look guys, if you want to survive, loot for fun. Loot for somewhere to go. Talk to people. Meet people and it’s surprising they will help you and we’ve had so much of and I say this This last few days have been incredible going to the Vatican.

We couldn’t believe it and Going into the Sistine Chapel Absolutely incredible. So there are places you can go to to reach out and find What did these guys do so long ago, and it’s incredible. So surviving is a massive, really, you’ve taken the next [00:30:00] step. Always take the next step. Look for it. Look for help.

And we’ve done that, and I’ve been so lucky in life. So lucky. And it’s great. Lucky to know you guys. And really, we enjoy it. So, please. Keep on enjoying life and look for that. And while you’re striving, believe you me, it’s out there. If you, if you look for it, it’s out there. So after that, you will thrive.

So it’s great. Great to talk to you guys. Cheers.

Do we lose it? Yep. We’re here. We can hear you. So Steven, I’m going to let you take it from here and, um, moderate the conversation. We have some new folks on the stage, but let’s, uh, ask Joe a little bit more.

Yo, can I ask? He’s very quiet. Is it too low for you not hear [00:31:00] me? No, we can’t hear you. We’re a bit, uh, we’re half a mountain in, uh, in France and, uh, you need to shout.

All right, Steven, take it from here. Let’s, let’s let you fill in the gaps and ask Joe some questions as well as our new guests on the stage, Steven. Uh, yeah, I can, I can, uh, hello, Joe, how are you doing? Hello, Steven. We’re doing well. Yeah, nice to see you again. So, what can I ask Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok, that I, I, oh, goodness me.

Um, so, When, when a problem is, when a problem hits you, how, how, how do you, men, how do you mentally do it? Do deal with it, you know? So the problem arises. Is there a [00:32:00] process that you follow? When, when, when? So when something bubbles up? Yeah. What’s the first thing you do? I, I, I guess it go, go back in history and sort of look at all the problems that we, uh, without.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, with Reebok. And, you know, the first problems you get, because you’re not used to sort of having to deal with these sort of things, uh, you feel a bit sort of, oh my god, why, why, why, why me? Why do I? And then you think, That’s not a problem. That means you’re doing something wrong, or maybe you could do something better.

So why don’t we turn that problem into an advantage, into an opportunity? Why don’t we say, it’s just like Reebok. You know, we started off as Mercury Sports Footwear, and because we couldn’t register that name, we had to find a new one. And, uh, it’s in the book, we went through the process, but we came up with Reebok, and Reebok was a far better name.

So, I think with any problem you get, it’s like, where’s the advantage here? You know, maybe I’m doing something [00:33:00] wrong, maybe I could do something better. So, I think with any problem. And this is, and to me, optimism as against pessimism. And, um, we faced that this weekend, or these last few days, when we were out there in Rome.

And they were talking about optimism and pessimism. And optimism, that’s the thing that drives. So, if you’ve got a problem, if you’re an optimist, you will just look at this as an opportunity. A pessimist… Well, that becomes difficult. And I feel sorry if people are pessimistic about life. If you can change that around, and I don’t know if that’s possible, but looking at a problem, it’s saying, wow, this has got to be an advantage.

There’s got to be something here that gives me an opportunity. I think these days you call it pivot. And if you pivot, you go somewhere else. You know, don’t close your mind to the fact that a [00:34:00] problem is going to stop you. A problem can actually give you an advantage somewhere else to go. And with Reebok, we did this all the time.

And we used to find white space. So, white space is good. Because if you’ve got a problem, you say, Well, just a minute, where is the advantage here? Let’s see where there’s some white space. That is something that gives you a new, what can you say, a new path. And take it, and enjoy it. And, uh, yeah, it’s, Surround yourself with other people.

Who are also optimistic, who share those values. And it’s amazing. You can turn those problems into some fantastic advantages. And as we did, Reebok is a good example of our early days facing problems, finding answers, which well, gave us a bit of an advantage. Yeah, that’s amazing. And there’s an important point to remember there that every problem you’ve ever had.

You’ve got through it, it’s past, [00:35:00] you know, and problems are like the clouds, aren’t they? They come and they arrive, they teach you something and they move on. You know, so anybody that’s listening to this, you know, remember that every bad day you’ve ever had, you’ve got through it. Every problem you’ve ever had, you’ve sorted it in some respects and overcome it.

So, so whenever the next one arrives, it’s like, you know, and this is your point about having fun. If you’re having fun and you apply fun to solving the problem, the solutions comes much, the solutions come much easier. Because you’re in that state of optimism and gratitude. And it’s like, yeah, we can do this.

Okay. What solutions do I need? Who do I need? You know, let’s create a plan. I remember very quickly, um, when we’re doing nugget, you know, you remember this Joe, you know, we ran out of money and I remember phoning you and it’s like, you know, together we crafted a plan and then we started doing some live shows and you saved us at that point.

I mean, you know, it’s just amazing. Uh, yeah, they’re not on. We went and we did something else. Um, and, and, you know, and that’s what you need, you need, you need people that you can brainstorm with and look for the [00:36:00] solution. And I think that’s probably one of the major things I’ve learned from you is, is having fun with the problem almost rather than, you know, diving into, uh, fear and, and, and, and, and disappointment and thinking, yo, this poor old me, it’s nothing to do with it.

Just, you know, find a solution, get on with it, you know. Um, and that’s, that’s an incredible thing. And then you get through it and that feels good. I agree. Definitely. I agree. And, uh, yeah, so, so many, so many times. And I think everybody faces that problem that, uh, they seem to be going on a path, a path, which is, oh, this is okay.

Then something happens. And, you know, if you look at that as why, why are they stopping me? You’ve got to think, Hmm, just a minute. It’s not just, uh, they’re stopping. They’re, they’re in my way. That’s not white space. White space is where you can actually move. So you’ve got to look for that difference, you know, we look, we changed our name and we found a better name.

We changed our silhouette at Reebok and we got a [00:37:00] better silhouette. And this is where you’ve got to look for it. And I’ve got to tell you guys, optimism, look at things with a positive light. And in fact, invite the problem, invite the problems, because that way you, you will find different, uh, different avenues.

And we’re having fun, Steven, aren’t we? Well, you know, I mean, we’re, you know, we’re doing this new book called Survive and Thrive with Joe and it’s amazing, you know, we’re, we’re getting nuggets of wisdom and stories from the most incredible people and I’ve learned so much and, you know, I would just say to anybody listening on, on this call, yeah, if you’ve got a nugget of wisdom you’d like to share, come to the website and do it, um, you know, we can, we can potentially put it in the book.

Um, you know. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Stop. This sounds amazing opportunity for our members because we have some amazing members. So where would they go to submit a golden nugget that may make it into the book? Where would they go, Steven? They go to onegoldennugget. com slash Reebok, the [00:38:00] founder, um, and they’re there, they can come and submit their nugget of wisdom, something that they’ve, they’ve learned on their journey.

And, uh, you know, we’re, we’re creating a movement with, uh, with Joe called Survive and Thrive where, where we’re sharing these nuggets of wisdom and stories. And um, you know, we really want to come, especially to America and inspire the nation with Joe. We’re going to get him on US TV to promote the movement.

That, you know, you can get through tough times, um, because everybody faces them. It’s part of life. Problems are a part of life. Um, okay. So, so Mimi, can you post that in the chat and, and save the link for everyone? Like that’s amazing opportunity for people to give back and share. I love that and I’m going to really look forward.

I know Colin Campbell, who we work with here is also going to be in the book, but I’m going to go submit a golden nugget and I’m going to really look forward to seeing what other people submit. Yeah. And you know, we’ve got some incredible [00:39:00] people in the boxer Evander Holyfield, we’ve got. Keith Chapman who invented Bob the Builder and Paw Patrol, a multi billion dollar industry.

Um, it’s, we just got some phenomenal people and obviously Joe as well. So Joe does the interviews. We talk about surviving and thriving and sharing those stories and as I say, the most successful people have been through the most because they, they make the most mistakes. They try the hardest. Um, and, uh, there’s so many, there’s going to be so many great learnings.

So, and also we’ve got loads of, loads of nuggets on the website as well. Come and have a look. You know, that’s, uh, that’s a really cool, inspiring, free content opportunity to be in your book and opportunity to be part of this amazing community. But let me just say, Joe, obviously I I’ve had the privilege. I think I can call myself your friend, but we’ve had the privilege like you’re, you’re so optimistic.

And I love the way you frame that about just looking at the positivity and, you [00:40:00] know, just how do you get past those adversities and those struggles, you know, in a positive way. You can’t let it beat you up. I mean, that’s, that’s, a resounding critical, you know, thought, habit, et cetera, that sets people aside.

So thank you, Joe, for sharing that. And I want to get to some of the other folks here, Joe, on stage two. Yeah, go ahead, Joe. That’s been an absolute pleasure because I got to go now and carry on. Absolutely. Yes. I know you’re on the other side of the world. Thank you, Joe, for joining. We really appreciate it.

Tell Julia, been an absolute pleasure. Been an absolute pleasure. Bye guys. So we have Caleb. Caleb, um, love to hear your golden nugget, your questions, your, your thoughts on this conversation. Caleb, go for it. Hey, what’s what’s great. I actually, I know Joe as well. I met a while ago and I just want to say hi real quick, but he, he just left.

So [00:41:00] that, but I didn’t want to be part of this conversation. Um, I’ve been listening in a little bit. I love what you guys have been talking about. I was just looking at the website and I was trying to figure this out. Um, is this a community? Uh, I saw become a founder and become an author and then I saw some sort of forum.

Uh, is this like a, is this a community? And what is a Golden Nugget? It is. Yes, it is a community and it’s a movement that we’re building with survive and thrive. And what is a golden nugget? A golden nugget is a piece of life advice. So when you’ve been through something, my friend, you know, think back to a tough, challenging time that you’ve been through and then think what was the golden nugget in that, that moment, you know, what did you learn, uh, you know, and then who you became because of it, you know, there would have been a gift in it.

And that’s what those nuggets are. Often when people have been through a tough experience, they then, uh, share the learning from it. Oh, okay. Yeah, that, that’s awesome. Um, I’m trying to think of anything other than the, the boring thing that I’m thinking of right now, but this [00:42:00] happened, I don’t know, six, seven, eight months ago.

Um, And I, I had been struggling as a founder. I couldn’t find anything that was working. Um, but this is actually not about my, my business. Um, because now, now I’ve evolved in terms of that, but I was trying to get to Texas. I was trying to cross the country and my car just broke down before I was able to go.

And I was kind of stressed about this. I, it was like a 1, 200 expense. I was like, where am I going to find this? Um, I was already struggling. To put money into my business. Um, and I just, I told myself that, that I could do it. And this is kind of the point with what I’m saying. Um, I’ll wrap up the story, but my, my point with what I’m saying is that anybody can do anything if you set your mind to it, um, you have no idea how.

Powerful the human mind is I, I personally, I’m not going to get into my spiritual beliefs, but I think that it goes beyond anything that we’ll ever discuss today, but in [00:43:00] terms of business, your, your mind is so resilient. It can get anything done. If you tell yourself, I’m gonna have five clients for this.

Random business idea that I have that cost 20, 000 a month. It just something random. Um, but you really believe in it. If you really believe in that and you’ve done the research and you think that you can provide that you see self worth in yourself and you know your value, you can make it happen. Um, so anyways, I saw that in that weekend.

Uh, I don’t know how I’ve never done this before. I reached out to people, uh, on Facebook. I found odd jobs and somehow. Within three days, I made 1200 bucks. Um, some of it was for my business. I had a podcast back then as well, but I just, I’ve never done anything like that, but I just, I knew, I just, I felt it was right.

I wanted to get this done. I set my mind to it and I got that all done. Um, I literally trans, it was an engine problem. So I went, I bought the engine on my own. Uh, I had a, I used my dad’s trailer. To bring the engine to my house. [00:44:00] Uh, this was this was I don’t know in the dead of winter and in New England So it was cold.

I mean it was like 10 20 degrees out. Um, and yeah, it was just crazy So anyways, I just I just want to share that I don’t know if it was if it was supposed to be specific to business um, but that’s very relevant because Again, if if you set your mind to something Um, there’s a great book on this by carol dweck.

It’s called mindset. That’s what i’m talking about. I’m not talking about Fairy tales and gumdrops. I’m talking about, uh, real scientific stuff, um, that attests to the power of the mind. Um, I think the mind is incredible. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s all power. You can create anything you want. And I, I don’t think there’s any difference really between my personal life and my business life.

It’s just the same thing. You know, as an entrepreneur, I don’t, I find no separation between the two. Um, because I love what I do and I love my business and I love my life. So therefore it’s just all one thing. Um, and that’s [00:45:00] the way it’s always been. And that’s the way it always will be. Um, you know, I just, when I’m not working, I’m thinking, you know, um, and that’s the other thing is, is, you know, you’ve got a problem.

Think it through, you let it sit, let it sit, you know, you don’t have to always solve it straight away. You know, just allow sometimes the problem to sit. And if you allow sometimes, you know, two or three days and you just sit with the problem and you’re, you’re easy with it, solutions then come. And that’s when you talk about the mind, the mind will then find the solution.

That’s what the mind does. It’s what it’s designed to do. It’s designed to solve problems. So rather than acting from fear in the moment, I must get this sorted right now. It’s like, no, no, ease off. You know, I do a lot of yoga and, and it’s amazing that the clarity of mind after doing yoga, it’s the same with meditation, you know, all, all those kinds of techniques that I’ve learned to do doesn’t mean to say I’m, I’m perfect, I’m not, you know, I still have days when I sit at my desk and think, Oh, for God’s sake, you know, [00:46:00] maybe I should be going to work in McDonald’s cause I’ll get a free lunch.

Uh, but that’s, that’s kind of like normal, I think. I think most people feel that, and it’s okay sometimes to have a bad day. It doesn’t mean you’ve got a bad life. It just means it’s, you know, that day. That’s great. It’s all context. And, you know, I would go a step further to Steven and Caleb is when you do get weighed down, you know, just feeling beaten or distraught, it actually has such a negative.

Effect on us, right? We actually should. It’s almost like we should be doing everything we can striving. You know, I’m going to say, right, using your language to get ourselves out of that headspace because we can’t be good. We can’t be all that we need to be business or personal if we let ourselves stay in that state.

So that’s a really good point about how, you know, it’s the whole [00:47:00] thing. The head, the heart, the body are all connected. Absolutely. A dear friend of mine is a guy called Akhtar Badshah, who ran Microsoft Philanthropy. He was the head of Microsoft Philanthropy for Bill Gates. Gave away billions. And I do a lot of business with him now.

And I asked him, I said, you know, when you’ve got a problem, you know, what do you do? You know, how do you deal with it? He goes, I just walk away from it. I’ll go for a walk, I’ll go in nature, I’ll let it sit, I’ll come back to it in a few days. I feel differently about the problem, solutions will come, you know.

And that’s a man that’s been at the top, top of his game. Incredible man, you know. So, I’m not clever enough to come up with any other idea. I may as well just copy, you know, that’s the point, I just copy other people. You know, if you’re telling me to do that, I tell us a great idea. I’ll do it because I’m not clever enough to come up with my own solution.

I just, I just copy great people, um, you know, because they’ve been there. They’ve done it. Yes. Yes. That’s a great way to learn. [00:48:00] And I see we have, wow, like an amazing, um, group of folks here that are ready to give their golden nuggets. So next we have a kill. Yeah. I hope I said that right, but you’re up. Tell us what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling.

It killed you. Um, you’re on mute. Just make sure you unmute yourself on the bottom right hand corner. There you go. Awesome. It’s actually Aquila. It’s okay though. I’ve heard so many pronunciations of my name, so I’m used to it by now. Um. First of all, I just want to say that I am so thankful that I found this app and that I ran into you guys today.

Um, I was napping with my dog and, um, I. Clicked on and I mean, this has been a beautiful, [00:49:00] beautiful conversation. Um, really quickly. I, I’m 47 years old. I have a 14 year old and a 22 year old.[00:50:00] 

All right, everything that I tried to do. Right. So. When I finally realized five years ago, when I stopped drinking, I realized that it’s not so much that everything I tried in business failed as much as it was a learning. opportunity. I was just looking at it the wrong way. And what Joe said about being optimistic and having happy people around you and looking at things differently, it just clicked with me.

And it makes so much sense when you’re happy, when you’re at peace, you make better decisions. You do and you can come up with better solutions when you’re happy But when you’re drowning in sorrow and you feel like everything is just oh, you know Oh my god, and you’re stuffy You [00:51:00] can’t think and I just feel like I just got released a few minutes ago I’ve spent The last five years banging my head trying to figure out what is it that I’m not doing correctly.

I thought it was something I was doing in, in, in trying to start my photography business and really make it a thriving business. No, I just needed to stop and think. We made a peace. Remain happy and I would come up with the solution and I just want to tell you guys Thank you so much. That is it just makes me so emotional Just for me to hear the things that you all are saying and everything and how it’s clicking with me And I also want to say really quickly that You know, I’m a woman that has been through a lot of ups and downs.

Um, I pride myself on being able to, um, acquiesce to any [00:52:00] situation. Um, I can walk into a room of very rich people. I can walk into a room of very poor people. I can walk into a room of just regular working people and I can fit in. Okay, and I love that and I feel like as long as I have that if I keep that with me I feel like I can do anything.

I can make it anywhere. And so now it’s not so hard For me to really get my photography business off the ground the way that I want to do it I’ve been doing it for many many years. I’m very very good at it But now I know what I need to do to go and achieve what I really want to achieve with it. And I just want to say thank you and thank you for letting me share.

I hope I made sense just now.

Thank you so much. What an amazing person you are. Yeah. Go, you go, Steven. No, I was just saying what an amazing person [00:53:00] you are, you know, you should go and look in, go and look in the mirror right now and say to yourself, I love myself. In fact, everybody should do that. It’s very difficult to do that. Go and look in the mirror and say, I love you because you know, and let’s, let’s not forget, you know, all the struggles that we go through as human beings, you know, none of us have a manual to this, you know, we’re, we’re, we’re, we’re.

We’re good people. You know, go and look in and love yourself because it’s so important because nobody else can love you to the degree you can. You know, you have to internalize that love and have a massive respect for yourself. And that’s what I got from what you just said then. So, you know, well done.

You’re amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much. You are too. And you are too, Michele Thank you. And you know what members like you and all the other members like you make it worth it for us and we’re so grateful that you are, you know, really receiving something into your heart from this. Yes. Thank you.

Beautiful. Thank you so much for doing what you do. Thank [00:54:00] you. Thank you. All right, Steven, we’re getting near the hour, but we’re absolutely going to go to the next three people that are here on stage. So we have Catherine. Catherine, you’re up. Hello, thank you. Um, first of all, what a great room. This is, this is amazing and in itself is, um, what was talked about earlier, an opportunity, a great opportunity to learn and listen to others.

Um, My, my job, I work in a very niche area and I support entrepreneurs in the space sector, um, to, to grow and develop their businesses, which could be satellite businesses, building rockets, whatever it is. But what’s interesting about it is they’re all, they’re all grand ideas and what they’re essentially trying to do is make the impossible possible.

So they’re businesses that really do have to keep their eye on that vision that Steven mentioned before and, and really. Persevere through through quite challenging and difficult times to bring their [00:55:00] businesses to life. And one of the, one of the young entrepreneurs that I worked with recently said something great and I thought it was just, it just hit me.

Um, he said, I’ve, I’ve been looking for an idea for years. He’d had a couple of failed startups previously. And he said, whilst I’ve been looking for my idea, um, as I haven’t had anything, anything solid to go off, what I’ve done instead is. built myself up in small incremental steps. And that’s the part that hit me and I thought that’s such a great way to approach life, just that development of yourself so that when that opportunity does arise, you’re ready to grasp it with both hands.

Um, and I thought that was a fantastic comment from someone that’s only 26, 27 years old. Um, From my own perspective, I’ve, I’ve had startups. I’ve had startups that have been successful and startups that have failed, more that have failed than, than been successful. And I think when, when we use the term failure, I, I suppose I reframe it.

I never look [00:56:00] back and perceive any of the business ventures to be failures. They are all learning experiences. And I take the advice of the entrepreneur that I spoke to and learn from every experience that I’ve had. So that when the next business opportunity comes around, um, I’m ready to, to persevere and to, to go at that with full force with all the learnings from, from my previous business experiences.

Um, I think the one thing that keeps me going and keeps me, keeps me setting up new startups again and again and again, no matter how many fail, um, is that. I always start up, um, off the back of a passion, so it has to be something that I care about, which comes back to that fun element that was discussed before.

It’s got to be fun, um, but it’s also got to have meaning. So it’s got to, it’s got to translate to my values, um, and what I believe is right, morally, ethically, socially, um, and it’s got to have purpose. Um, and I think those will be my golden nuggets just from the entrepreneur that I work with perspective and also from my own.

Nice. Hello, Catherine, fellow English person. [00:57:00] Hello, fellow English person. I don’t know you, do I?

No, no, I’ve worked with a lot of people in the space industry actually through their nuggets. So I thought, I thought we may have, I might have come across you, but yeah, you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re absolutely right with everything you say, you know, good for you. I wish you every success. Thank you.

Excellent. So. As we go to the final person, last but not least, coach, I just want to remind everyone, we are talking to Steven Foster today, Steven is the founder and author of many books, um, and they are all around the topic of golden nuggets, and it’s how people strive to survive. Um, he’s interviewed, I think you said over 3, 000 people, right, Steven?

That’s, yeah, nearly 4, 000. Nearly 4, 000 people. So he is rather expert [00:58:00] on this topic. And, you know, I’ve been personally involved in some of his projects and they really are so inspirational. So we do thank you for that and for attending and sharing this with our members today. But coach you’re up. We want to hear your thoughts, your experiences, what you can share with the audience today about how you survive and how you strive to be your best ever.

Go ahead, coach. Thank you very much. Greetings to everyone in the room. My name is Lakeisha Matisse. I’m a mindset and manifestation coach, author, educator, mother. And I, I just give thanks right now for being allowed to come on stage and share. What my golden nugget, uh, is about persevering and getting back up when life knocks you down.

I have this saying, it says, set your goals, aim them high, you can make it if you try. If by chance you miss your aim, it’s okay, just try again. But I [00:59:00] put on the end of that, but. Do not give up. Never, ever give up. And that’s my golden nugget, is this other mantra that I use. A lot of times I say, you know, I may not get it li.

I write all the time. But see, I will keep on trying because I was made for a special purpose and I will complete my destiny every day. I choose to get myself together because I know out in the world I can be something greater. I am a force for good. I’m an agent of change. No matter what happens in my life though life may be hard.

Hallelujah. I will continue to push on. I may fail. But I will never quit. I will never give up. I’ll get myself together because I will become something greater. And so can you, this is what I do. This is who I am. It all started off with identity. You know, when life knocked me down, I had to always make up in my mind, not to stay down, but see, I had to learn to rejuvenate, to renew and to reinvent myself because I know knife.

Could be beautiful and it was worth living. But see, there was once upon a time that I didn’t feel that way. I didn’t feel it was like life had hit me so [01:00:00] hard and I was down for the count, you know, and I was, I didn’t want to get back up because I didn’t feel that life was worth living. But then I’m telling you something deep inside side of my core told me, no, honey, you have to get up, you have to get up and you have to learn what it takes.

To rebound yourself you have to get up and you have to learn what it takes to reset your life And that’s how I came up with the eight strategies to rebound and reset your life And from this I was able to not just learn about myself But to learn about and my shortcomings and to learn about but to also focus on my victories Just like it was mentioned in the room.

Listen, we’ve been here before like our brains our brains are meant to to To solve problems and the issues we may have, and no, we may have not come from the best side of town, or maybe we did come from the best side of the town, but at the end of the day, a mindset is a mindset and mindset, it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t, it doesn’t, it, it, it, it, it like, um, It’s not about the race you are. It’s not about how much money you make. It’s not about where you find yourself. Mindset is mindset. You can [01:01:00] have somebody that’s in poverty and have a great mindset. You can have somebody that’s a millionaire and has a messed up mindset.

It is what it is. But at the end of the day, what I would say for my golden nugget is just to make sure we’re setting our goals and we’re aiming them high and we’re understanding who we are in our identity. We’re building upon the identity that we want for ourselves. We are creating what we want to see.

See in our lives, we are moving, living and having our being understanding that I believe that I am a creator because of who I was created by. So I create, right? I choose to create, I I’m not going to destroy. And when I find myself trying to go back over into that negativity, just like a gentleman on here mentioned Carol Dweck, absolutely.

Mindset is everything. And also Angela Duckworth talks about grit as well. So I would just say, Hey, continue to set your goals and aim them high. And another thing. It doesn’t matter if you missed the mark, just go ahead and try again. But I tell you, I tell you, I tell you never give up, keep going. Even if you got to stop and pause for a minute, pause, cry, [01:02:00] you know, catch your breath and then get back out there.

It doesn’t matter how slow you go. As long as you’re moving in the right direction. And I thank you very much for your time. This is Lakeisha Matiz and I, uh, released my mic. Thank you so much. I love her energy, Steven. I mean, what a great way to end this session today. Wow, my vibration’s gone right up.

Well done. I know, I feel good, right? So, Steven, why don’t you kind of like give us the highlights, the high points here, and something for our members here to take away today as they strive to survive. And then we’re going to close out the session. Steven, it’s all yours. Yeah, I mean, firstly, I just want to thank everybody for listening.

You know, everyone’s time is very precious. And, uh, it’s been wonderful to hear these stories. I would just like to leave you with a last nugget, actually. I remember… Couple of years ago, um, you know, building nugget, I was just experiencing resistance everywhere. Yeah. Everything I was [01:03:00] trying, I just, you know, the resistance is build and build and build and build.

So I thought, okay, what do I do? So I reached out to a guy called Dr. Joe Vitale. He was in the secret. Who’s a, who’s a dear friend of mine. And I said to him, Joe, you know, I’m just experiencing resistance, you know, against everything. And he emailed me back and he said, um, you know, Steve, life doesn’t resist, it’s you.

You’re creating the resistance. There is no resistance out there. What you need to do is drop it and allow and accept, and this is very important, accept how things are right now and just. Because, you know, be easy on it, you know, he goes, you’re doing great, you know, just relax and, and the resistance will melt.

And he was absolutely right. And then the resistance did melt. So life’s never resisting. It’s just, you know, it’s an internal thing. So if you’re going after something and you feel resistance, actually take ownership of it and realize it’s you resisting, not life. That’s great parting words. I love that, [01:04:00] right?

You know, we create a lot. Our mind is so powerful and it can really propel us to the next level or just drag us down to the lowest levels. So. You know, on behalf of startup club and all of our members here, thank you, Steven, for sharing your, your experience, all the wisdom that you’ve gathered from all the almost 4, 000 people that you have interviewed.

We really appreciate it. And we hope everyone has an amazing weekend. Just a reminder. We are serial entrepreneur. And we are here every Friday at 4 p. m. Eastern time. We have different topics, authors, business leaders, um, every week. We also have an amazing website that Mimi here, right beside me, works on diligently.

We have over 200 recordings, transcripts, blogs. I’ll post it on the website for you free of charge. [01:05:00] Uh, of course the club is always free as well. And if you’d like to know upcoming events, you can join our email list. Um, we, we never spam people and we only email out about once a week. So it’s that time of the week.

We’re wrapping up serial entrepreneur, and we hope to see you next week at the same time. Everyone be well. Thank you so much. Thank you. Goodbye.

 are too, Michele. Thank you.

 And you know what members like you and all the other members like you make it worth it for us and we’re so grateful that you are, you know, really receiving something into your heart from this. Yes. Thank you.

Beautiful. Thank you so much for doing what you do. Thank you. Thank you.