What would you do if you had to start over? From scratch. You have no access to your current resources. You have no home. No car. All you have is ten dollars and a laptop. How would you begin rebuilding your life?
Sounds crazy scary, doesn’t it? To most sane people, this would be your worst nightmare. In today’s episode, Greg Hartle joins Phil and me to talk about how this has been his journey since January 5th, 2011, when he left on an epic quest to discover what it takes to succeed starting from scratch.
Greg is one the smartest people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting in person, but what is even more humbling to me is learning from him through his actions. I carry a Greg Hartle mantra with me every single day of my life, which has made me a better person. In our chat with Greg, we talk a lot about making contributions and leaving an impact in the world. This is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Watch the show (uncensored & unedited)
Share Some Shut Up Love –> I wake up thinking how can I put my fingerprints on the blue print of tomorrow. @greghartle via @_theshutupshow
Fun Facts:
- Greg started his first business as the age of 22.
- Greg has been nomading for over 763 days, reached 32 states, and helped 502 entrepreneurs.
- Greg has escalaphobia, a fear of going up escalators.
- Greg is an introvert and having conversations with strangers scares the crap out of him.
- Greg started a new business called Academy On the Go, the busy person’s solution to continual improvement.
Defining Shut Up Moment:
I’m really afraid of reaching the end of my life and looking back and saying ‘boy, I didn’t make a strong enough contribution.’ I’m very good at accomplishing things and achieving things but they have a beginning and an end. A contribution keeps going. I get so nervous and so scared that maybe I’m not going to make the contribution I think I’m capable of making. That’s what fuels me every day. I wake up thinking how can I put my fingerprints on the blue print of tomorrow. Before I got my kidney transplant, I was told by my doctors I had 3 months to live. I know very well the thing that scares me most. I was 25 and doing a death tour. The best way for me to make a contribution is being an entrepreneur.
Shut Up Tips:
When you first start out as an entrepreneur, it’s all about digging deep. – Greg
You are not defined by your circumstances. Your personal resourcefulness will always be greater than the resources you have access to. – Greg
I know you can go no further than that which you are attached to; whatever it is you’re attached to or what you hold on to, that’s as far as yo’ll go. – Greg
Constraints make you creative. – Greg (via Berni of Srini’s quote on BlogcastFM)
Necessity breeds innovation. – Greg
When we get lulled into living a comfortable life, we lose that sense of personal creativity, enthusiasm and passion, and it becomes difficult to express it. In my business, we play games where we create some constraints. – Greg
Some people need a security blanket. Some need to protect other responsibilities. Some people can jump off the cliff and build the wings on the way down. You have to know yourself first. There isn’t a right answer there. – Greg
If you’re someone who continually makes an excuse or waits for the next thing–when you play that game–you find yourself in a nice comfort zone that you never get out of. That’s when you have to start creating constraints for yourself. – Greg
We shouldn’t be mimicking and saying so can I. We should be asking ‘what trait do they embody that I want to embody?’ Not necessarily actions I want to mimic. – Greg
As an entrepreneur or in creative work, you cannot play the game of odds. – Greg
When I first had my kidney transplant I was told I would take 53 pills a day for the rest of my life. Today I take zero every day right now because I don’t accept those as the rules. – Greg
You don’t have to choose from the options you have available on the table. You can create your own options. – AJ Leon (via Greg)
We get a lot of sunshine blowers and naysayers and we need a combination of people that give us a balanced perspective; to look at the other sides of the elephant we cant see right now. – Phil
If you try to play this game on an island, you’re not going to succeed. If you think you have your little baby–your idea–and you’re almost afraid to show people because you’re afraid they’re going to tell you the truth that maybe its an ugly baby. You need the flip side too; you need good people to be honest with you. – Greg
Greg Recommends:
Greg’s goal with Ten Dollars and a Laptop is to get to all 50 states by the end of 2013. He wanted to help 500 entrepreneurs and to-date has crushed that goal. While Greg is still nomading the country, he wants to help more entrepreneurs. If you’re interested in working with him, email Greg here.
Find Greg:
GregHartle.com – all about Greg (what he’s up to and where to reach him)
TenLap.com – on a journey to explore all 50 United States starting from scratch.
Academy On the Go – co-founder of a life-skills academy for modern living.