Community Made

Jayson Gaignard shares how his rock bottom became a solid foundation upon which he rebuilt his life. CommunityMade is a mix of solo episodes, exclusive talks from the MMT library from folks like 4 time NYT Best-Selling Author Tim Ferriss, Social Media Maven Gary Vaynerchuk, and Supermensch himself, the Legendary Shep Gordon, along with intimate conversations with inspiring entrepreneurial friends of his where you could feel like you’re a part of the conversation. Think of this podcast as an all access pass into the lessons, learnings, insights, and wisdom of some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. People who are not only winning in business, but winning in at life as well. Welcome to your tribe. www.communitymade.com

In this very special Wildcard Wednesday episode it is my privilege to sit down James Altucher and A.J. Jacobs to discuss the art of the interview. James is the host of the top rated podcast The James Altucher Show and best-selling author of over 17 books including Choose Yourself and The Power of No. He’s also a contributing writer to publications like the The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. A.J. is a contributing editor for Esquire, commentator on NPR, and the author of six books including New York Times bestseller, My Year of Living Biblically and his latest work It’s All Relative. In this episode the three of us sit down to discuss interviewing big names like George Clooney and Scarlett Johansson, how to build instant rapport with interview guests, and what to do when your interview tanks. Ever wondered happens when you put three interviewers in a room together for over two hours? This... Select Links and References: It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs Know it All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs Fractured Fairy Tales by A.J. Jacobs The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs People mentioned in this episode: Tim Ferriss Louis CK Jerry Seinfeld Garry Kasparov George Clooney Scarlett Johansson Adam Grant Eva Longoria Joe Rogan Marc Maron Gerard Butler Biz Markie Tim Kennedy Chuck Klosterman Bill Maher Sarah Michelle Gellar Shane Claiborne

“I’ve been doubling down on relationships for the last 4 years and I’ve never felt more fulfilled, I’ve never been in a better financial position. To me it’s the safest, wisest investment you can make.”  Jayson Gaignard Click to Tweet Season two of the podcast - How to Grow, Nurture, and Amplify Your Business Relationships - is just a few short weeks away and I figured what better way to introduce the season than this rapid fire, actionable chat with podcasting pro Andrew Youderian. So I’m turning the tables in this Wildcard Wednesday episode of Community Made and sharing a recent interview featuring yours truly on the eCommerceFuel Podcast. How to connect with influencers, deciding when leverage the power of your network, the rules of facilitating warm introductions for people in your inner circle, and so much more... The perfect primer for season two, I hope enjoy this intimate, one on one! Select Links and References eCommerceFuel Community eCommerceFuel Podcast Tribe by Sebastian Junger People Mentioned in this episode: Kevin Rose Seth Godin Tim Ferriss Gary Vaynerchuk Elon Musk  

“I do dinners selfishly because I’m fascinated… I just have an addiction to being around people who are passionate about what they’re creating in the world. Period.” - Dan Martell   In this episode of Community Made I sit down with my dear friends Sol Orwell and Dan Martell to talk about their signature styles of hosting catalyst dinners in their own communities. The three of us discuss everything you need to consider to become an excellent host. From best practices for invitations, to seating assignments, venue selection, tips for facilitating great dinner conversations and so much more….   Select Links and References Sol Orwell Dan Martell Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi   People mentioned in this episode: Clay Hebert Michael Litt Tim Ferriss Keith Ferrazzi Jeff Walker Lewis Howes Ryan Holiday Shaa Wasmund Joey Coleman Chris Plough Chris Ashenden Mark Cuban Derek Coburn Richard Branson Dave McClure Ryan Holmes Michael Lind Rick Perreault Nicholas Kusmich Trivinia Barber Jack Canfield Steve Hanselman Frank Bouchard Matt Bertulli Neil Patel Jim Estill Darryl Hicks

“The bad news is that time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.” - Michael Altshuler We often don’t make change in our lives until we reach a point of crisis. I’ve been guilty of this as well. Intellectually we only really get it when we’re staring death in the face or we’re facing short term deep pain. But by then it’s too late... we need to get ahead of it. And everyday life is deceptive, it allows us to believe our time is limitless on some level, but obviously it’s not. Selected Links & References: Tim Urban; The Tail End https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html Neil deGrasse Tyson: https://youtu.be/M3G9LOJZTmM Steve Jobs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR6-elnwBmM People mentioned in this episode: Harvey Mackay Tim Urban Neil deGrasse Tyson Steve Jobs Michael Altshuler

“There is nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency something that should not be done at all.” - Peter Drucker In today’s episode I’m going to challenge what I see as a religion in business... The religion of scale. Scaling has it’s benefits, but has it’s shortcomings as well. I call this a religion because entrepreneurs tend to have very strong attachments to this view point and get very defensive about it.  So what is the Religion of Scale? It’s the belief that success is equal to, or measured solely by, your ability to scale your business by growing your team, doubling or tripling your revenue, going national or maybe even international, that bigger is always better. Selected Links & References: 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries, Jack Trout : http://bit.ly/2h5arkm The Fisherman’s Fable: http://bit.ly/2xC3phS The Five Regrets of the Dying: http://bit.ly/1sxPDpR People mentioned in this episode: Ghandi Philip Mckernan Peter Drucker Seth Godin

“You don’t need to make a million dollars a year in order to live like a millionaire." - Jayson Gaignard Entrepreneurs are the some of the only people in this world who really have the privilege of true freedom. When done right, entrepreneurship can afford you the freedom of time, the freedom of money, the freedom of relationships and the freedom of purpose. We can create a life to do what we want, when we want, with whoever we want. That is an incredible gift! So why then do most of us live a life of packed calendars? The fact that being busy in today’s society is often celebrated truly baffles me… Always on planes… Marriage in shambles... Don’t see the kids... Sleep 4 hours a night… That’s chaos, not clarity. It’s not something we should be proud of... Selected Links & References: https://sivers.org/relax http://clayhebert.com/ https://lewishowes.com/ https://youtu.be/sr07uR75Qk0 https://www.cameronherold.com/ https://medium.com/@awilkinson/the-power-of-anti-goals-c38f5f46d23c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlTfbGemGcM People mentioned in this episode: Derek Sivers Steven Dubner Clay Hebert Steve Jobs   Charlie Munger Warren Buffet Cameron Herald Kelly Kelley Andrew Wilkinson Ben Hunt Davis  

I really believe in tripling down on your strengths. I am not a big fan of working on your weaknesses… ~ Gary V.    This episode comes straight from the MMT archives and features the most candid Q&A session Gary Vaynerchuk has ever done, in front of an audience of friends and peers. He goes deep, speaking frankly about his approach to running VaynerMedia and scaling it from 650 to 1,000 people in under a year, how emotional intelligence is his greatest strength, and what he sees as the next big retail boom: Starbucks for meditation. This is what happens when Gary Vee goes deep...  

“I’m the happiest person with cancer in the world. It’s made me really love my family, it’s really made me appreciate my kids...waking up every single day and seeing the sun, and seeing the mountains and just appreciating that has been phenomenal.” - Jordan Guernsey This is one of my most treasured interviews. In this episode I talk with a dear friend Jordan Guernsey just weeks before he passed away. Jordan was an incredible person, father, and husband who was diagnosed with stage three melanoma cancer while in the midst of scaling his business. In this conversation we talk about the dangers of being a tunnel-visioned entrepreneur, Jordan’s struggle to step away from the business in order to focus on his health, his perspective on life and death, his family, meditation, and his spiritual journey during that time. To this day I am truly moved by the tenacity and hope with which Jordan dealt with his diagnosis, and the affirmation with which he chose to live out the limited time he had left. Be prepared to question everything...

“Culture is the DNA or soul of the organization. It’s how the company shows up.” - Tony Gareri  When it comes to scale, culture is king. You can’t successfully scale a business without having established core values to help build your team, and great internal culture to keep them for the long term. Tony Gareri is the CEO of Roma Moulding (http://www.romamoulding.com/), widely considered the gold standard for incredible company culture. Matt Bertulli is right there with him, famously managing to keep 10 of the original 12 employees in his company Demac Media (https://www.demacmedia.com/). In this episode the three of us sit down and have a frank conversation about everything from seeing A-Players move on, action items for creating a great internal culture, working with family and spouses, and why they chose to scale their businesses. Have your notebook handy because this one’s a gold mine…

“It takes the same amount of time and energy to solve a small problem as it does a big one, so why not go out and attack a big one?”  - Naveen Jain Click To Tweet Naveen grew up in a small village in India so poor that he and his family rarely had enough food to eat. Today, he’s the billionaire CEO of two game-changing companies: Moon Express, the first company permitted to mine for minerals on the moon and Viome, the health tech startup whose mission is to create a world where sickness is optional. In this MMT archive episode of Community Made, Naveen talks about why you have to find your moonshot and take it, setting audacious goals, thinking not just outside the box but in a different box, and how he builds teams capable of changing life as we know it. Warning: This episode will make you feel like your dreams aren’t big enough and you can do anything…

“To scale, it’s not what you start doing, it’s what you stop doing… the only way to scale is to give things up.” - Jim Estill In this episode my good friend Saud Juman and I have the privilege of interviewing Jim Estill, one of Canada’s most eccentric and notorious entrepreneurs. This man has invested in over 150 businesses, boasts 99 consecutive quarters of profit, and successfully scaled his first business, which he started out of the trunk of his car, from zero to $2 Billion dollars. In the last couple of years Jim became famous for giving 1.5 Million dollars of his own money to secretly launch a resettlement program that brought 58 Syrian families into Ontario and provided them with housing, language training, and employment. He coordinated the entire program and didn’t even tell his own wife until it was ready for launch. In this episode the three of us talk about the struggle of giving up control in order to scale a business, what to look for when you’re considering investments, understanding your company’s niche, finding your micro competitive advantages, and why Jim does not give money to his kids. People mentioned in this episode: Zig Ziglar Robert B. Cialdini Al Ries & Jack Trout Malcolm Gladwell Daniel Pink Select Links and References: https://torontolife.com/city/life/jim-estill-the-man-who-saved-200-syrian-refugees/ Time Leadership; Lessons from a CEO http://amzn.to/2z4UGp4   Think and Grow Rich http://amzn.to/2a2PSmU  Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion http://amzn.to/2cxgptc  22 Immutable Laws of Marketing http://amzn.to/2zBfz7I  Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference http://amzn.to/2xklMny  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us http://amzn.to/2laOp50  The Five Minute Journal https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal  

“If you want and need complete control, go solo... But if you’re looking for scale, and massive impact, I believe that partnership is the absolute best way to accomplish scale” Chris Plough The idea of partnering with someone else to scale the business is a non-starter for a lot of entrepreneurs, myself included. But others absolutely swear by it. In this episode my friends Chris Plough (founding partner of MavenWire) and UJ Ramdas (co-founder of Intelligent Change) try to convince me of the many benefits partnerships can have if you’re looking to scale. What you need to know about yourself and the person you’re thinking of partnering with, how to develop shared core values and a common vision to drive your business and your partnership forward, and the Pros and Cons of partnering to scale in this episode of Community Made. People mentioned in this episode: Alex Ikonn Samuel Levin Cameron Herold Marshall Rosenberg Philip Mckernan James Wallace Chris Hatfield  Shaa Wasmund Dan Martell, James Altucher  Select Links and References: The 5 Minute Journal & The Productivity Planner"   https://www.intelligentchange.com/ Marshall Rosenburg - Non Violent Communication: https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034 Cameron Herold - Double Double: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Your-Revenue-Profit-Years/dp/1608320995

“Being exceptional at gift giving is not rocket science, but it does require you to go the extra mile. However when you go the extra mile, it’s never crowded...” ~ Jayson Gaignard Click to Tweet In this very special Holiday Edition of the Community Made podcast I share 3 important reasons why gift giving during the holidays is a big mistake. You’re better off spending your time, money, and energy on gifts that will leave a lasting impression. Consider your colleagues and clients from a Biggest Fan Perspective and learn how to 10x your gift giving efforts in this episode of Community Made...  Select Links and References: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention People mentioned in this episode: Charles Duhigg Danny Meyer The Heath Brothers (Dan Heath & Chip Heath) Tony Robbins John Rouland William Arthur Ward

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you just need to trust that they will somehow connect.” Steve Jobs   In 2011 I attended an invite only event hosted by Tim Ferriss geared towards authors who wanted to become New York Times Best Sellers. I had no desire to write a book at the time, but with a price tag of $10k USD, I had a strong feeling that there was bound to be some interesting people in attendance. That event fundamentally changed the trajectory of my life.   In this episode I share...   - Why you never know the value of your relationships until you really need them.   - How Seth Godin’s Q&A inspired me to host my very first Mastermind Dinner (which later led to the creation of MMT).   - and why I bought 4000 copies of Tim Ferriss’ book.   Enjoy!   Also, a special shout out to our reviewer of the week Lee DeBoo! Select Links and References: Opening the Kimono Mastermind Dinners The Four Hour Chef The All You Can Eat Campaign of Goodness by Tim Ferris People mentioned in this episode: Tim Ferriss Seth Godin Thornton May Scott Kavanagh  

“You can't change the people around you, but you can change the people you are around. Who you surround yourself with is who you become, so choose wisely.“ ~ Jayson Gaignard Click to Tweet Studies prove time and again that strong relationships are the key to lifelong health and wellbeing, yet in today’s digital age we are drowning in contacts and absolutely starved for genuine connection to other people. Entrepreneurs, who already tend to be socially isolated due to the demands of their professional lives, are particularly susceptible to depression and the detrimental effects of lacking social connection. In this episode I dive into the importance of establishing your tribe, the power of peer group influence, and how to assess whether you should love them, lift them, or leave them. You really are the company you keep. Reviewer of the week: Gordie Bufton Select links and references: “4 Words That Will Get Your Email Opened” by AWeber Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness by Robert Waldinger People Mentioned in this episode: Keith Ferrazzi John Wooden Dan Sullivan Jim Collins Warren Buffett Jim John Sebastian Junger

 “Anybody I know who really makes the most out of live experiences, judges an event not by the content, but by the potential connections.” Click to Tweet Events have the power to deliver a disproportionate amount of value for the amount investment made. Almost every time someone has helped me overcome an obstacle, opened a door of opportunity, or made a profound introduction, it’s been someone that I originally connected with at a live event. Investing your time, money, and energy into attending events is an absolutely critical part of building new relationships and growing your network. But for so many of us, events are a serious pain point. In this episode I offer you an event networking guide that anyone can use to maximize the ROI of attending events, with particular tips and tricks for all you introverts out there. Because growth begins at the end of your comfort zone... Reviewer of the week: Josh Stanton Links and References: Mastermind Dinners: Build Lifelong Relationships by Connecting Experts, Influencers, and Linchpins by Jayson Gaignard An easy conversation trick that will make you more likable from CNBC Why talking about yourself can be as pleasurable as sex from The Daily Mail People mentioned in this episode: Yanik Silver Joe Gebbia Clay Herbert Satya Twena Vanessa Van Edwards

“What’s funny is why we get introductions wrong. We either never get taught how to do it, or we learn this stupid thing called the elevator pitch.” ~ Clay Hebert Click to Tweet A good introduction should engage you, draw you in, and leave you wanting more. It’s not a slogan or a sales attempt, and if it comes across like one it will turn people off. If your nervous, unprepared, or a little too aggressive you not only compromise what you’re saying but how you’re saying it.   The good news is that how you introduce yourself is completely within your control; something that you can and should prepare in advance. In this episode of Community Made I sit down with Clay Hebert to discuss how to craft the perfect introduction, engage in small talk, and nail first impressions each and every time... Reviewer of the week: Melissa C Select Links and ReferencesNever Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman Automattic The Perfect Calendar The Perfect Introduction Facebook Group People mentioned in this episode: Brian Kurtz Phil Randazzo Michael Fishman Joey Coleman Matt Mullenweg Richard Branson Elisha Otis Jim Kwik Simon Mainwaring Dan Martell Doug Brackmann

“I have been able to build a lot of relationships with speakers and mentors – not by being the most exciting person in the room – but by being the most attentive person in the room” – Vanessa Van Edwards Click to Tweet Vanessa Van Edwards went from struggling with social interactions in college to becoming the recognized expert on relationship building communication skills and author of Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People. In this episode I sit down with Vanessa and UJ Ramdas, the creator of the Five Minute Journal to discuss tips and strategies for building meaningful connections at conferences and how to nurture those connections for genuine relationship building over time. How to maximize your time and energy at conferences, approach speakers and VIPs, master the art of small talk, and so much more… Review of the week: Jay Wong Select Links and References Vanessa Van Edwards UJ Ramdas Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards Tribe by Sebastian Junger People mentioned in this episode: Adam and Jordan Bornstein Jason Feifer Mark Manson Richard Branson Jesse Katz Tim Ferriss Pellegrino Castronovo Dan Martell Sol Orwell Dave Chappelle Yanik Silver

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is that people will reward effort. The success of your outreach is often in direct proportion to the amount of effort you put into it.” Click to Tweet Connecting with big names is more of an art than a science and in today’s episode I’m going to talk you through 3 real life examples of reaching the unreachable to dissect the strategies used in each case to make those connections finally happen. If you listen carefully, you’ll discover ways to cut through the noise, how to work with gatekeepers, and how to turn rejection into opportunity…. Reviewer of the Week: Ryan France Select Links and References The Art of Charm with Jordan Harbinger Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon They Call Me Supermensch: A Backstage Pass to the Amazing Worlds of Film, Food, and Rock’n’Roll Underground - Online Marketing Seminar Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio Board Meetings Retreat by Jim Sheils MixMax