Charting a Course to Success: An Entrepreneurial Odyssey | John St. Pierre

Matt: [00:00:00]

Well, hello there and welcome to Push To Be More. Oh yes, I'm your host Matt Edmundson, it's great that you're here with us as we get to dive into another amazing conversation about what fuels the journey of life. And today I have A great guest actually, John St Pierre from Entrepreneurs United. We're going to be diving into his unique life experiences, the hurdles he's had to push through, the way he recharges his batteries, and what he's doing to be more.

Oh yes, but before we do that, let's just enjoy the music. Yes, do love this music, it's just great, it just gets you going, that is what it does. Now don't forget you can find all of the detailed show notes and complete transcript from our conversation on the website at [00:01:00] pushtobemore. com. And hey, whilst you're there, why not sign up for our newsletter, because each week we will zip all of the show's insights and links and goodies directly to your inbox absolutely easy.

Free. Now this episode is proudly powered by Aurion Media, the magic behind the scenes that lets entrepreneurs and business leaders like you and me amplify our voices by hosting our own podcast. But you might think why on earth would I want to do that? Well, let me tell you, my podcasting journey has been nothing short of transformational.

It's not just about the marketing, although to be fair, that's a Pretty big part of it, but it's about the conversation. It's about the connection. It's about the community. It's about all of it, really. It's given me a platform to celebrate my customers, my team, my suppliers, and it's created a ripple of impact far beyond what I could have imagined.

But I get it. The technical stuff can feel a bit of a nightmare, can't it? Setup, distribution, the tech, all of [00:02:00] it. What's going on? And honestly, who wants to do production? Because I sure as heck Don't, and that's why Aurion Media are the amazing team that they are. They step in, they're the backstage crew that makes sure your show goes on flawlessly and you get to do what you love, which is engage with incredible people.

And Aurion Media takes care of all the rest. So do check them out at aurionmedia.com, A-U-R-I-O-N media.com. We will of course, link them on the push tobe more.com website as well. Either way, you'll find them crack on, get your own podcast set up. Uh, and speaking of podcasters, let's talk to John St, Pierre, uh, the entrepreneurial matri, who's juggled the meteor meteoric success, an eye-opening setbacks, scaling ventures beyond the $50 million mark.

He's not just a business builder, but a wisdom sharer on the Entrepreneur's United Podcast. Oh, yes, a fellow podcaster, uh, is on the show, uh, a guiding fellow. [00:03:00] Uh, adventures, uh, sorry, guiding fellow adventurers, let me get that right, through the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys. In John's world, every setback is a set up for a comeback, making business sagas not just instructive, but downright exhilarating as well.

And if that's not enough, he's just about to launch A brand new book called The 100 Million Dollar Journey, your guide to building the business of your dreams without diving, driving it off the cliff. That's a very good book, Ty. And John, I'm not going to lie, I probably should have read that before I started out in this world.

I often say to people, I'm a guy that's had more failures than successors. It's just that my successors are Far outweighed my failures, so it's great to, uh, it's great to have you on the show, man. How are we doing?

John: Doing great, Matt. Thanks for having me.

Matt: Ah, it's great that you are here. It's great that you're here. I'm so excited to, because we were talking before we hit the record button and I've been on the Entrepreneurs United Podcast as a [00:04:00] guest.

This time. The tables are turned. In fact, I'm the one asking the questions, which is quite nice. Uh, and so , I'm looking forward to this one, revenges mind. Say if met, um, , but no, no, not at all. It was great to be on show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. So it's great that you are here. Always nice to talk to a fellow podcaster.

So let's dive straight in with our opening question,

John: Let's do it.

Matt: Aurion Media experts in podcasting. Uh, like to sponsor the opening question, which is simply this, you've obviously got your podcast, right? Um, entrepreneurs United Great podcast. Um, but I'm curious John. They may have already come on the show, they might not have done, but if you could have anybody on that show to talk to, uh, who's had a massive impact on your life, uh, present or past, um, who would be your, who would be top of your guest list and why?

John: Yeah. So, uh, great question. I think, you know, there's a lot of people that have had influence over our lives. A lot of people, including our family, parents, uh, friends, uh, fellow [00:05:00] entrepreneurs, but this person made a big impact in my life. I'll credit them with the reason why I met my wife

Matt: Okay. That's pretty

John: Although I've never met them, uh, and, uh, I basically watched one of their, uh, cassette series tapes after experiencing a massive failure, and it really helped pivot my mindset and shift, and that, that guest would be Anthony Robbins, that cassette series tape was the Personal Power, uh, cassette tape series, and, uh, When I see what he's done in his career and his life and the influence he has and he now wrote a new book called Life Force, uh, talking about, you know, prolonging life through medical advances.

Like there's just so many interesting things that this gentleman has done in his life and the impact he's had on me that I'd love to have him on and have a really, really in depth conversation with him.

Matt: You see, you're not the first person to come on the show and say Tony Robbins, uh, he's quite a popular chap, him, Jesus and my dad, you know, they tend to be the, the, or my grandfather or somebody like that. They tend to be the, the common answers. Um, [00:06:00] what, what I found fascinating was not that you mentioned Tony Robin, uh, John, but the fact that you mentioned, um, Cassette tapes,

John: That's it, Saska. That's it for me.

Matt: I'm sitting here thinking I know, I know exactly what you mean, I've probably got those same cassette tapes somewhere in my, uh, in my attic.

Have you seen that t shirt with the meme on that's got a, um, uh, it's got a picture of a cassette tape and it's got a picture of an iPod and, uh, it's got that famous line from Star Wars saying, I am your father, coming out of the cassette tape.

John: Have not, but that's a good one.

Matt: Yeah, that's a great shirt. So, Tony Robbins, what, so the, the failure that you came out of, um, and this is where Tony Robbins is brilliant, isn't he?

He's great at helping you, um, reset your thinking, um, to get you out of that, I'm feeling terribly sorry for myself, um, sort of place to a place where you feel like actually. I'm back in the game. And I can do [00:07:00] this. What was it? How did you pick up that cassette series? What was it about that that drew you in?

John: Yeah, well, quite honestly, I was just a sponge. This was, uh, younger in my career. I was probably 24, 25. And, uh, I was just a sponge for learning. So, I don't know why I grabbed it, but I grabbed it. But hadn't listened to it yet. And, uh, this was around the year 2000. 2001 more specifically, but in the year 2000, we had the dotcom crash and you know, being well versed in the e-commerce space, you know, I had jumped onto a dotcom company.

We were venture funded, and we were growing like crazy and I was a pretty young entrepreneur at that particular phase, and I thought I had life all figured out. This business thing is easy and with the stock market crash. Uh, you know, the venture firm was like, Hey, uh, we're not going to fund this business anymore.

You guys got to survive and figure this out. And sure enough, what happened was, uh, I basically got terminated by the firm, uh, after three years of building this thing and found myself broken, uh, [00:08:00] halfway across the country and here in the U S I was on the West coast and, uh, had to drive back to the, to the Midwest from, from basically, you know, Portland, Oregon to Chicago, for those who know the geography of the U S and that's a pretty much a three day ride.

And I said, well, no better time than to listen to the tapes now. And it really was what I needed at that particular moment. You know, the right message from the right person at the right time. And that hit me.

Matt: It's interesting, isn't it? You poured your life into this. Was it a startup when you started? Was it? Is it one of these things that just sort of was growing massively? And it just sucked all the life and energy out of you. But everyone was excited to be a part of it.

John: Yeah, it was, it was a com startup that got venture funded and started growing like crazy.

Matt: Yeah, it's um, it's, it's funny isn't it, you sort of give your life to these things. Um, and it, those kinds of, it's not like you just go and work at an ordinary company for want of a better expression, is it? You, you, you, you pour your heart and soul into these things. You give your life to it. And so that, I think when [00:09:00] something like that ends, it just feels a lot more personal.

It feels a lot more, I don't know, you just feel it deeper, don't you? I would have thought. Mm. Mm

John: Yeah. I mean, when you put your heart and soul into something like that and, and, you know, I think the biggest part too, Matt, is I thought I had this thing all figured out, right? This whole business thing, this is easy. I got this thing. And to figure it out that I didn't have it figured out was a pretty rude awakening for me.

And I think the lessons I learned through those personal power tapes were pretty pivotal. Uh, and I mentioned earlier that I met my wife through it. And the reason I did is he talked about knowing what you want in life and setting your goals and knowing exactly what you want, not maybe what you want, what exactly do you want?

So I took that tip and I wrote down on my personal daily planner, which is handwritten at that particular point, I wrote down the 35 things I was looking for in a significant other. And sure enough, When I married my wife, she had 35 things on the list,

Matt: Oh, what was missing?

John: on that list, right? And, and so just things like that that really made a big difference in how I set goals and how I viewed life from that point forward.[00:10:00]

Matt: so I'm sorry. I am curious. What was missing? What was the 35th thing that was not checked off?

John: Well, you know what, this is a good story because my wedding day speech, I took the list back out and I told everybody that she missed one of them.

Matt: You're a

John: And I proceeded to read the list. I didn't read everything on the list, but I read most of the things on the list. And, uh, the one she did miss was the fact that she, I had mildly religious and she's not religious at all.

Uh, but, uh, but that was the one thing that, uh, that she missed on the list. Uh,

Matt: interesting. When I was, uh, when I did something similar Uh, back in my, uh, early twenties, John, I was, I was like, um, I, I, I want a wife that does not want a pink bedroom because I just could not cope with the idea of having a pink bedroom. Um, and at the time my favorite movie was Bad Boys, you know, the, the, the Will Smith Martin Lawrence movie.

And I was like, and she's just got to really enjoy the Bad Boys movie. Um, and so we don't have a pink bedroom, but Sharon [00:11:00] does never. Never cared for that movie whatsoever, so that would be the one missing off my list, which is quite funny. Um, but, uh, how long have you been married now?

John: 20 years next year.

Matt: Ah, so your list worked.

John: It has worked. It has worked. There's a lot of other things that you have to do in a marriage to make it work other than have a list, but, uh, but, uh, found, found the one for me for sure.

Matt: well congratulations, um, it's good to hear. We've been married 25 years. This year we've, we, six months ago, we were 25 years. Um, and, and in a lot of ways it feels like it's just yesterday, you know? And, um, uh, and it's, it is quite a wonderful thing. So you're listening to these tapes in the car driving cross country.

Um, what was. Do you remember if there was one specific thing that he said on the tape that really stuck out to you that really kind of, you know, gave you that light bulb moment?

John: yeah, I think it was what I just mentioned, you know, knowing exactly [00:12:00] what you want and controlling your own destiny to go get it. I think for me, that was really, really pivotal for me because I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for at that particular moment. I was just kind of running hard and trying to create things.

I think really having that clarity of exactly what you want, go get it. Don't be afraid to be very, very specific with what you want in life and your goals as an entrepreneur and such.

Matt: yeah, yeah. So fast forward 20 years, uh, from that date to today, um, you're now You're just about to release your, your, your first book. Tell us a little bit about the book.

John: Yeah, so the book is called The 100 Million Dollar Journey, your guide to growing the business of your dreams without going off the cliff. And the experience I shared with you about the com business was the first business that didn't actually succeed. I had another one from there in early 2000s. I started two companies following this com era crash.

And, uh, grew them both to north of 50 million, uh, which was great. The problem is I lost one of them in dramatic fashion, and that was the one that I was [00:13:00] running, uh, and experienced a pretty massive failure, um, five years ago, uh, uh, approximately from today. And lost everything I'd built for 15 years. And it was a business I cared deeply about, the people about, um, and, uh, made some pretty fatal mistakes.

So I took those learnings, um, really documented, you know, my path as an entrepreneur and what I'd learned through that, you know, experience and applied seven principles of entrepreneurial success that I applied to my other business to successfully grow that to north of a hundred million dollars the right way.

And those are the learnings I'm applying.

Matt: I'm spotting a pattern, John. I'm not going to lie. Uh, this seems to be life's going well. Yeah. Life's not going well. Life's going well. Life's not going well. Which is to be fair, a pattern for most of us, uh, in, uh, in life. And I'm just sitting here thinking you had a business worth, you know, that you was turning over over 50 million and then you'd lost it in some quite.

Interesting fashion. And then I'm sort of coupling what you're saying with the fact [00:14:00] that you are still married 20 years later. So not only are you going through all of this, but your wife is going through all of this as well. Um, and so I'm kind of curious because I think I've met a lot of business people that have had business failure.

And in fact, 98 percent of people that have been in business have had some kind of failure somewhere, but I've seen it wreck their marriage. And I've actually seen business success wreck their marriage as well. You know, the sort of the two extremes. So if you don't mind me asking, I'm kind of curious, how did you navigate this as a couple?

You know, you're still together 20 years later. Um, how did, how did you guys do that?

John: well, I, I, if I was to write a book on marriage counseling, it'd be called Saturday Night Date Night. Uh, that's the one thing we've maintained throughout everything, uh, is every Saturday night. And if it can't be a Saturday night, for whatever reason, it's some other night. We're going out together as a couple.

And really sharing, uh, you know, spending time together, playtime, conversation, and really that deep [00:15:00] connection point. Uh, and there's been some, you know, trials and tribulations through business as well that, you know, we've had conversations about. And, you know, part of the reason I lost the company I'd grown to north of 50 million is I brought on some significant capital investment and lost control of the business.

Well, she was advising me maybe to not grow so fast and not take it on at the time. So when the failure experienced, right, it was part of like, Hey, sorry, honey, I, I messed up. And you were right, uh, kind of moment, uh, which is difficult to have as well. But having that support factor in somebody that's really, you know, uh, the wind beneath your sails, if you will, in terms of what you're trying to accomplish in life is so critical as an entrepreneur.

To have that partnership and sometimes it's a spouse, sometimes it's a coach mentor, sometimes it's partners in the business, but really having that support infrastructure is so critical because as you mentioned, uh, you know, life is full of ups and downs and peaks and valleys and challenges and that's what life is.

And you have to have that support factor with you along for that ride.

Matt: Saturday night, date night. I love that. In our house, it would be Sunday night, date night. Um, but the same thing. Every week, you, you always [00:16:00] date your wife and, uh, Is your wife, sorry, what's your wife called?

John: My wife's name is Amy.

Matt: So, is Amy part of the business or is she, does she do her own thing? Fantastic.

John: She does her own thing, but she does help in certain areas when needed. She's a data analyst. So sometimes I have her jump into the business and do some data analytics for us. But yeah,

Matt: Yeah. Same, same with Sharon, my wife. She's, she's, uh, she owns half the business, um, just the way the company is set up, but doesn't, she does her own thing. She teaches English, um, to refugees and asylum seekers, you know, uh, teaches English as a foreign language and loves it, loves that, can't, does not get the world of business at all.

It's not for her. Um, but she is the person that I speak most to about what's going on at work. Uh, and the insights. that she gets mainly because she's quite pastoral or, you know, will care about people. And whereas I'm, I'm quite happy just to not think about people. Do you know what I mean? I can just be so focused, driven on an [00:17:00] outcome.

Um, and, and Sharon will be like, well, yeah, I think you just need to rearrange your thinking here, dude, but you know, Oh, okay. Uh, appreciate you telling me, um, not always the easiest things to hear, but actually I think Sharon is probably the biggest reason why I'm successful in business without a doubt, you know.

John: There's the complementary mindsets, right? The yin and the yang. And like, for example, to your point with Sharon, like Amy's an engineer and I'm an entrepreneur, right? So there's different mindsets, there are different mentalities and, you know, uh, she's, she had more of a stable career, corporate, you know, type of, uh, you know, jobs.

And I was more of the entrepreneurial trying to build businesses, but having that support factor and that relationship, you'll talk through the ups and the downs because that, again, that's what life is all about. And as you say, Sometimes we experience more failures than successes. Just that the successes have to be really important.

Uh, you know, success in relationship is a big one.

Matt: yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Succeed at home first was one of the pieces of advice I was given. Uh, and I, I think it's [00:18:00] very, very true. Very true. So, you've, um, written, uh, the book, the a hundred a hundred Million Dollar, uh, book, um, was that a, was that a labor of love? Was that torturous? Was that, uh, did you think every other day?

Why on earth am I doing this? I mean, what was that all about?

John: Yeah. So, you know, when I experienced a massive failure back in 2018 of losing this business, like literally losing it, uh, and being fired from the company that I started for 15 years and grew, uh, and, and left with nothing. Uh, and you know, all my best friends were in the business and everybody I loved was in that business and losing it all.

I went into a moment of self reflection, right? Um, I took some time off. I started documenting what had happened, just telling the story in my own writing, like what, what happened here? And what were my contributions? And I think one of the big things, Matt, with failure is introspection and perspective.

We'll help you advance and take those learnings. And so for me, trying to be really introspective, like what were my [00:19:00] contributions to the situation? You know, I could have easily said, this person did this to me, this person did that to me. But at the end of the day, when you're an entrepreneur and you experience failure, your decisions contributed to the situation in one way, shape, or form.

What were those decisions I made and what would I do differently with my other business to make sure this doesn't happen again? And so I started documenting those learnings, and then, so then I had those learnings. I'm like, okay, well, these learnings mean nothing unless I can't take these learnings and apply them, uh, successfully.

So I took those learnings that I had, we applied them to my other business and grew that subsequently, uh, to be north of 100 million, but doing it the right way and applying these principles. And that's when I felt, okay, I got something here. Uh, now I got to turn this into a, to something that can help share with other entrepreneurs to make sure they don't have the same failures and pain that I had through this journey.

If I can help one entrepreneur change their lives and make sure they don't fall into those pitfalls, then I would have done something right. So, uh, that's kind of why I wrote the book.

Matt: Love it. I, this, this idea of [00:20:00] introspection and learning when it comes to failure, I think is This is something that most entrepreneurs have done at some point, maybe not to the depth that perhaps we need to quite often, because you, you, you, like you, I, I was, I was let go from one job for, for want of a better expression, uh, in a company that I'd helped build.

And then, you know, my wife was I was very pregnant with our first child, um, in fact, no, I think he'd just been born actually. Um, and so I was very quick to, to, to go, right, we just need to do something to create some kind of income as you do. Uh, and we started up again and it wasn't until a few years later that I actually sat down and went through my journals and thought, right, what, what can I learn from this so that I don't repeat the, you know, the same mistakes or, um, it's not that I would have changed it.

Um, because it's one of those things, isn't it, with regret? It's a funny thing. Would you change it? I don't know because the reason [00:21:00] why I'm where I'm at is because I went through what I went through. Um, and I don't know if I'd want to change where I'm at, if that makes sense. And so, uh, it's, it's an interesting thing, isn't it?

But it's, it is good to think about it. I mean, do you, do you do the regret thing or do you just kind of, it is what it is. What can I learn from it? Let's move on, kind of a guy.

John: Well, I think it depends on when you have those conversations, right? When I think about it right now, that failure was necessary for me. I needed to be humbled. I needed to be sat down and say, Hey, you don't have everything figured out. Listen here, right? Uh, so there's a very humbling moment that in, in retrospect I needed, but you know, a lot of people say, you know, failure is a prerequisite for success, right?

It's a lot easier to say years later when you look back at it than when you're dealing with that failure and the heartache of it in the moment, right? So you have to get through that, uh, moment of self reflection and thought and introspection to, to really extract those learnings. And then you also feel a lot better when you extract those learnings and [00:22:00] apply them and are able to find the success you were actually seeking.

And so I think there's a lot of variables there. A lot of people experience failure, don't extract the learnings. They have the victim mindset, right? It's all, somebody did this to me. It's their fault. They don't extract the learnings. That's not good. And then they don't take those learnings and apply them, uh, and get themselves back up and do it again.

Right. And so if you don't do either of those two things, it's very hard to look back on failure and go, that was, that was a good thing. But if you do do those two things, you can look back and say, you know what, that was necessary for me to go through this in order for me to progress in my life where I want to go.

Matt: So you're, you're, you're sort of stood there looking at your life now. What, what was it that you took away? I mean, I appreciate you've written a whole book. So I'm asking you to summarize your book, I suppose, in one sense, but, um, when you, when you do look back at it, you know, what was. You said it was necessary that you were humbled and that you had to, you know, you had to learn something.

I guess my question to you is why was that necessary for [00:23:00] you? Why, why at that point did you, do you feel like you needed to be humbled? What was going on? What can we learn from that?

John: Yeah, well, I think sometimes when you experience success as an entrepreneur and sometimes success early in your entrepreneurial life. You feel like you're invincible. You feel like anything you start will be successful. You can grow these businesses and you have it all figured out. Uh, and that was the humbling moment, right?

It's like, no, no, no, you don't have everything figured out. And life has a funny way too, Matt, sometimes of, you know, when you think you have everything figured out, it likes to, you know, kick you in the nuts, right? and teach you a lesson. But, but it's meant for a lesson. It's meant for something you need to really grab on to, uh, and so that was what part one.

Part two was when I was younger, I used to have mentors say to me, John, someday you'll find your purpose. Someday you'll find your purpose. And I'm like, what are they talking about? I found my purpose. I'm going to grow some companies, make some money and do well. I don't need another purpose. Uh, but when you have these failures in your life, you're like, Ooh, maybe, maybe I do need to have a purpose beyond just myself.

Like, what am I ultimately trying to do? In that [00:24:00] company that I lost, Matt, I was growing for gross sake. I just wanted to have a big company and be at the top of the mountain and go, I got the biggest company. I built this thing. I really didn't have a very wise strategy of what I was trying to do and why I was trying to do it.

And so, you know, Simon Sinek start with why. I would sit down with our company all the time and say, what's our why? We need to know what our why is. We need a strategic plan for our why, but I never really did it for myself. I didn't really have a why for me. I didn't have a purpose for myself. I didn't have a life plan.

I didn't have any of that kind of stuff. And this moment really had me sit down and go, Okay, what am I ultimately trying to achieve 30 years from now, 10 years from now, five years from now? And what's the roadmap to get there? And then, you know, that was a big, big, you know, pivotal moment for me in my life.

Matt: So how did you go about discovering then your personal why? Um, uh, which I think is such a good phrase. Uh, but I What was that process like for you?

John: I followed a few [00:25:00] different Roadmaps, if you will, from different individuals. Right. Start with wise and one example of them. Uh, the other one was, uh, Gary Keller's, the one thing, what is the one thing you're trying to accomplish? Right. That was a, that was a big one for me. And then the other one, the biggest one I've applied though is, uh, Jim Collins.

Uh, good to great. Uh, he has. A Venn Diagram,

Matt: yeah,

John: and a Venn Diagram is what does success look like? And success looks like, and where those Venn, three circles intersect is, what are you most passionate about? What can you be the best in the world at? And what drives your economic engine? That's where you should live.

And so if you, I applied those three principles together, I figured out what my Venn Diagram was. And I said, okay, now knowing this. What do I want 30 years from now? What's my one thing that I'm trying to accomplish? Let's work my way back. What do I want in 10 years? What do I want in 5 years? 3 years? 1 year?

This quarter? This week? This month? This hour? Am I doing that right now? Yes. Okay, I'm headed in the right direction. Okay, what's my true north life plan? Uh, is what I like to call it. And, and I was able to design that true north life [00:26:00] plan to kind of guide me in terms of how do I want to apply this to my business as an entrepreneur.

The problem I had, Matt, was my strategic business plan. was not tied to my personal life

Matt: mm hmm,

John: I had a business plan. wasn't tied to this. So now I've tied them together. My True North life plan ties to my strategic business plan and they work in sync to accomplish really what I want to accomplish in life.

Matt: How, um, if I can put it this way, how easy was it for you to do that? Because I get your point that actually as entrepreneurs we can be living almost like these separate lives, one at work, one at home, and you're trying to bring them together to create this one whole picture. Was that an easy thing to do or has that been quite challenging?

Mmm.

John: Um, it was challenging at first. Uh, that's where the self reflection comes in. You know, I, I, I think it's self reflection is probably one of the most. You know, uh, underrated process of one's life. We just, we just start running and we're [00:27:00] running around in circles trying to accomplish things. We've got kids, we've got family, we've got work, we got to make dinner, we got to cook, make the dishes.

Let's watch TV for a little bit. But when do we really sit down with ourselves and think? And it was actually one of the guests on our podcast that we had, Matt, that you were on as well, uh, Dr. Julie Bell. And she's like, you know, she'd start every minute with every day, excuse me, with a blank sheet of paper and write for 20 minutes.

I was like, that's interesting. I've never done that. And I started doing it 20 minutes every day with a blank sheet of paper. And the things that started coming out was really magical for me. I had never done that before. I was just running hard through life, uh, seeing where it was going to take me, not really knowing what I truly wanted.

And that, that, that kind of really was pivotal for me, but it's not an easy process. But you know, I, I challenged the listeners to this, you know, how often do you sit down with yourself with a blank sheet of paper and think?

Matt: Mm. It's a very, very powerful question. How d And I, I, [00:28:00] if I, if I reflect slightly, John, I, I find that I go through seasons. where I'm very good at sitting down with my journal first thing in the morning, um, and just writing and creating space in the diary, um, to think, uh, and I find for me, actually, location is a big part of this as well.

So, um, I will travel, I will. Um, I'm, do I, we're looking at buying a, do I buy a holiday lodge like 50 minutes away from the house? Would that be helpful looking into that? Um, I'm converting the back of my van to be like a sort of mobile office so I can just go sit down by the river, you know, near where I live.

Location's a pretty big deal for me. So just getting away from place and, and into a different space, even a coffee shop with just a notebook and a pen. or going for a walk in the hills or something like that. Super powerful. But there are seasons where I do that, right? And there are seasons where I don't do [00:29:00] it because life just takes over a little bit, doesn't it?

It just becomes hectic. Um, how do you, how do you stay on top of it yourself? Um, or are you a little bit like me? Whereas, you know, there are, you're kind of up and down in terms of how effective you are with this.

John: Yeah, I mean, I've, I've been fairly disciplined over the past several years, um, partly because it's been working for me. It's really helped guide me and, and shape me, but no doubt my kids play sports and we travel all the time. And when I'm traveling, you know, it's the same thing, Matt, when I'm at home, I go work out every day.

When I'm traveling, I have a hard time going to work out. When I'm home, I eat well, when I travel, I have a hard time eating well, right? So. Yes, that absolutely happens. But there's, you know, it's habits. It's creating a habit in your life that directs you and guides you, uh, that I think is really important.

But absolutely, uh, I would say everybody kind of deals with those, the seasonality of discipline in anything that they do. Uh, but it's just important to always go back and find your center. And once you know that exercise, like you know that exercise, that it's very healthy for you, [00:30:00] When you find yourself veering off path and being unhealthy, I bet you revert right back to, what works for me when I'm on top of my game, that works for me and you revert right back to it.

Matt: Yeah. No, absolutely. Absolutely. When you, um, staring at your blank piece of paper, because I know this is going to be a question that's going to come up, but do you, do you have an agenda? Do you have an, do you write a question at the top of it? Or is it literally, I'm just going to start writing where I'm at or what I did yesterday and to see where it takes me?

John: So the format that I use is pretty simple. It was, I put grateful or put just a G on the top and I said yesterday, today. So what was I grateful for yesterday? What am I grateful for today? And then the rest of it is blank. Now, sometimes I got just something on my mind. I have a big meeting later this afternoon, or I have to have a conflict conversation with somebody, or I have to make a big decision.

And that's what guides my, what am I going to think about today? In a lot of cases, it's like, well, I don't have that big thing today. So what am I going to think about? And it's, that's the first question I'd ask if I don't have that big, you know, one thing I really want to be focused on [00:31:00] in that moment.

It's like, okay, what do I want to think about? And then, then that can take me in all any direction that I go. And in some cases I start writing something else. I'm like, oh yeah, no, I want to talk. I want to think about this and start going in a different direction. So. I kind of let it guide me. I let the white paper kind of guide me in terms of which direction.

Um, but if I, it's not a to do list, right? It's not, I don't go put down everything I got to do today. That's a different process. This is just more, what do I want to think about? What do I really want to digest? And in some cases, Matt, it really is helpful because. I have to make a big business decision.

Okay. I'm going to do a pros and cons analysis of this big decision, right? Or, uh, I want to do, I have a conflict conversation with somebody. What are all the reasons I'm having this conflict? What's going on in my mind and what's going on in there? Let me review from their perspective, what's going on in their mind.

And then you get into that conversation later that afternoon, you're prepared. You're prepared to have a healthy conversation. So just, you know, really helping thought. create thought versus, you know, instead of having the white sheet of paper, guess what I would do? Go straight to my emails, go to my calendar, return the voicemails I got to return, and I just get going.

And once you, as you know, once you [00:32:00] get going with your day, it's gone, right? The day just happened. So starting it really early is

Matt: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. No, I totally appreciate that. It's, um, it's quite, it's quite lovely actually sitting here listening to you talk just about the simplicity of a pen and a piece of paper in a world which is digitally crazy right now. Um, and, um, you know, this, It's like my kids. Actually, I shouldn't pick on my kids because they're, they're, they're okay.

But you know, certainly one of my kids has almost lost the ability to write. You know, just different eras, isn't it? Different world. Um, so it's quite, it's quite lovely just to sort of sit and think about that in, in, in a lot of ways. If I can ask you, what else do you do? What, what sort of stuff do you do to recharge your battery?

So you sat there at the start of the day You've got 20 minutes where you're just going to, you know, in your blank piece of paper, I would call it journaling. I don't know what you'd call it, but, um, that, that type of thing, you obviously work out when you're at home. Um, but what, [00:33:00] what sort of things do you do to sort of fill your tank to stay sharp yourself?

John: So I, I listen a lot, uh, whether it be podcasts like yours or I, you know, YouTube videos or, you know, whatever's going on. I was trying to sharpen my saw right now. I'm really big trying to sharpen my saw, artificial intelligence and what's going on in that whole world as well as the medical advances and what's going on in that world.

So. As you know, when you host a podcast too, it's like, it's like reading a book every week, you know, when you have these conversations with people. So I love just sharpening my saw like that. I can then in turn assist other entrepreneurs as well, which is kind of my passion. So always trying to sharpen the saw that way.

And then obviously family, right? You know, it sounds like we have a lot of alignment there, just spending time with the kids and trying to be present. For everything that they have, uh, is really, uh, you know, enriching experience for that as well. So, you know, that's, you know, I'd say that probably fills in, right?

Family, health, workout, uh, you know, reflection, and then sharpening the saw through education.

Matt: Is that, um, is that why you [00:34:00] started the podcast? So you could, you could actually learn from other entrepreneurs or were there other reasons behind it? And that's maybe, you know, one of the sort of the fringe benefits. It sounds quite nice.

John: Yeah, no, it is actually one of the fringe benefits, uh, that I love. Um, I started the podcast because when I did that Venn diagram of, Where do I want to spend my time? Where do I want to live? Uh, that Venn diagram for me is I want to make an impact to entrepreneurs. I want to help them build the business of their dreams without making the fatal mistakes that I made and what better way to touch that, right?

So, uh, you know, that's why we did the Entrepreneurs United Podcast and building different, um, types of services for entrepreneurs. Uh, I have a holding company myself, so I own, uh, five different businesses now within our private holding company. So I work with entrepreneurs day in and day out. And try to bring them the best practices of what's going on in the entrepreneurial space as well.

So that's where I kind of spend my time and why that podcast was really important.

Matt: fantastic. I mean, other than me, obviously, uh, who's been some of your outstanding [00:35:00] guests? Um, and what, what does some, I mean, you, you've mentioned about the paper, but what are some of the other things that you've, that, that, that, that, that you sort of learned from a guest that sort of helped change your outlook on life a little bit?

John: Yeah. You know, you know, it's been fascinating, uh, actually, it's been a common thread, uh, in people we've had on the podcast. If I had, you know, I used surveyed at the beginning, you know, who would you have as a guest? And you said, they're here the top three Jesus Tony Robbins and their father or grandfather.

The one thing I find amazing is, uh, if we had to do a recap of the number one book that has influenced, Most of our guests over their lifetime, it was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon

Matt: Okay.

John: And some of the guests that we've had on talk about, uh, how that has changed their lives and how they change other lives through just the process of, you know, whatever you believe and conceive may just happen, right?

Um, it's just a really powerful moment. So we had a guest, John Mitchell, uh, he's, uh, down at the University of Texas. He teaches what does success look like at the [00:36:00] University of Texas.

Matt: Uh huh.

John: Students, and then he teaches it to the entire athletic department, which is a pretty big athletic department here in the United States.

And just that, that conversation was very fascinating to me to just talk, think about how it changed his life. And now he's trying to help others really think about what they want to achieve and what is the secret to the science of the mind and how this instrument works. Uh, I thought that was pretty fascinating.

Um, we have a guest coming on pretty soon. I'm really excited about. Talking about Tony Robbins is, uh, Dr. Cap, who's the CEO of Fountain Life, uh, and where they're trying to prolong life through medical advances and just, you know, so many fascinating conversations I can go on and on, but most importantly, I've also had a chance to interview, uh, you know, former, uh, partners, former, uh, bosses of mine, mentors and coaches of

Matt: Wow.

John: uh, throughout the years as well, and just kind of go back and extract all the learnings they've had in their experiences in life, uh, is really important to me.

Matt: I don't know about you, John, but I, when I do the podcast, um, I have four [00:37:00] different podcasts which I'm involved with, right? So this is, uh, one of four, and this will be the second of four podcasts I'll actually record on this day. Uh, three of the podcast recordings are mine. One of them is I'm a guest on somebody else's podcast.

Um, which I also enjoy doing. I much prefer hosting than being the guest cause I get to ask the questions. Um, and, uh, it's, uh, like you, I, I love having great guests on the show cause I feel like I learn things every time I take a lot of notes. Um, and, um, you know, and it's, it's been one of the most incredible things, uh, about podcasting is the, is the conversation you get, the conversations you get to have with extraordinary people.

Um, uh, who have, who, who either think about things differently or, do you know what I mean? Or they've gone through something that you haven't, but you can learn from that and you just kind of, every time, um, like today I've just, I've written down in my notes, I, You know, I need to get back into journaling.

It's just, it's just [00:38:00] that simple remark, just get back into journaling. What's wrong with you? Uh, and, uh, that's not what I wrote by the way. That's just to be clear for you. Critics call me about self criticism. Um, but it's, it's one of those things, isn't it? Every time you have a guest on the show. And I love that.

I love those conversations because you can, you can go into these conversations. It's just a matter of fact, like this is, I just need to get the podcast out, I just need to get content. But I think one of the things that, because I get asked this all the time, I don't know about you, John, but like, you know, what makes a good podcast host?

How do you make sure your podcast works? For me, it's always be interested, always be interested in the person opposite you, right?

John: Yeah, I, you, you, I think you apply the same methodology we do in a way, which is, you know, ask questions that you're genuinely curious about. And know that if someone's listening to your podcasts, they probably have the same question you're gonna about to ask. Right? And so, uh, we have a lot of fun with that.

My co-host, rich and I, uh, [00:39:00] really just, we're gonna ask questions we're genuinely interested in, and the notes we have after these conversations. I just even gave an example here today, but my white sheet of paper by Dr. Julie Bell three years ago, uh, kind of changed, you know, and, and so. For me, you know, one of the best parts about this, if you can extract one or two learnings yourself from each podcast, you know that your guests will as well.

Uh, and then those, those, those, uh, learnings you extract compound over time, uh, in terms of your education and sharpening your own saw.

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. And like you say, it's like reading a book every week. I love that. I'll quote that, John. I'm going to steal that quote. I'll credit you if I remember, but I'm totally stealing it. Listen, let's, um, let's do the question box because I feel like this is a good time to do the question box, where I draw from the box all my question cards.

I'm going to flick through them. You're going to tell me when to stop and wherever you say stop, that's the question we're going to ask. Okay.

Who's the best boss you've ever [00:40:00] had?

John: Hmm. Whoa, that's a tough one. There's been a lot of, a lot of really, really good one. Um, it, it, it, Your first boss in any role that you ever have as a young person, as a young entrepreneur, uh, can really direct your future. And Yeah, my, my first, my first boss out of college, his name was Jeff, really became a mentor, uh, a really, really close friend, uh, guided me, was, was tough on me, but also loved me and, and, and paid attention to me and really helped me develop the skills required to grow as an entrepreneur.

Uh, and really made a big impact in my life. And, uh, you know, to this day, uh, I was with him a few weeks ago in Austin when I released the book, you know, just, just having him as a part of my life and having that first mentor really can help shape guide, uh, you know, a lot of times we talk about young entrepreneurs in terms of their first roll out of [00:41:00] college.

I don't care how much you get paid. I don't care what company you go work for. Go find a good mentor. It's so critical for success.

Matt: Dude, it's like we're twins. Seriously, because it's, it's like, um When I came out of uni, uh, I volunteered at my church for a year, and then I ended up working for a friend of mine, um, because I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I, I knew, I didn't know a lot, but what I did know was I needed to be mentored in this, you know, and so I spent five years working for this friend of mine who's a great entrepreneurial guy, and to this day we are still very, very good friends.

Um, and, uh, we speak at least once a month. He lives in New Zealand now. Um, and we speak at least once a month and I try and go over and see him. Um, you know, I've not been over because of COVID obviously, but, um, I do try and go and see him a lot. And I'm listening to you talk and go, yeah. Cause [00:42:00] one, as you were talking, one of the questions in my head was how bearing that in mind, you obviously employ people, right? I'm asking myself the same question, John, it's like, given the impact your first real boss has on you, I don't know if I'm aware of that when I employ people maybe as well as I should be, if that makes sense?

John: That's pretty deep thought. Yeah, I don't know that I think about that either, right, in terms of my thought process when I'm hiring people or working with people, but I do think that if you apply the same methodologies that you were mentored by in your practice, it will happen inevitably, right? So I think that's an important factor, I believe, in terms of how you apply it.

You know, that training you had, you know, similar to parenting, right? Yeah, chances are we're going to parent somewhat similar to the way we were parented, uh, just by, it's been ingrained in, in who we want to be. And, but that's the one thing I also learned from my mentor and first boss was how to [00:43:00] be a situational leader and how to not manage everybody the same, but manage them based on the situation and their, their learning ability.

So, uh, you know, but I, I do think it's important for entrepreneurs to really think through. Uh, are they a manager? Are they a leader or are they a mentor?

Matt: Mmm. Very good. Very, very powerful stuff. John, listen, I'm aware of time. I, and I'm, I'm aware that there's a whole bunch of questions I've not, I've not yet got to. Um, when you're thinking about the future, you know, you've got your, your, your, your life, your North Star, I think you called it, and your life plan sort of mapped out.

What does more look like for you over the next sort of five years or so? Where's the future heading, do you think?

John: Yeah. My mission is to impact more entrepreneurs. Uh, to me, that's really, really important. I feel like if I can impact more entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams, I'll ultimately accomplish my goal in life. Uh, and you know, what I'm trying to achieve in my life, which is to maximize life's offerings and what we [00:44:00] have to offer.

So that's where I enjoy time. That's where more is for me.

Matt: That's lovely. It's um, hence the reason you've got the podcast, hence the reason you've got the, the book, hence the reason you're sharing, uh, wherever you can. One of the things that, uh, really, I, I don't know if you've noticed this, um, John, but certainly people that have gone through a process like you've gone through where, um, like you, I've sat down, I've read the book good to great, and I've, I've looked at the, the Venn diagram and figured some stuff out, and you kind of write your North Star down.

Um, and yeah. And you, and you put these things down. When people seriously do that, the one thing that I've noticed is most people's guiding North Stars are about giving back to someone or something. Um, very rarely do I come across somebody that says, my North Star is to make 30 million over the next 30 years, regardless of cost.[00:45:00]

And what drives people and what, what keeps people motivated? It seems the things that we want to, whether we live them or not, I think is an entirely different question. We could do a whole show on that, I suppose. But when we write these things down, it, it intrigues me how a lot of it is based around what can I give?

So for you, how can I help entrepreneurs, you know, and it's, I find that fascinating.

John: There, there, there's a funny saying I learned when I was younger, which is. You know, money doesn't buy happiness, but people would be a lot happier with, you know, a few million dollars in the bank.

Matt: Ha

John: you're right. Money doesn't buy happiness, but sometimes money is a means to what you're trying to accomplish, right?

So in my True North life plan, I want to maximize life's offerings, maximize what everything life has to offer me. That can be easier to attain with more financial. Uh, wealth or with more freedom in my, in my role as an entrepreneur or whatever it may be, but [00:46:00] also I truly believe that, you know, if it's all about the monetary role and you know, this as well, there's a lot of billionaires out there and millionaires are just really, really unhappy.

Uh, and so to me that that's not what it's all about. And I think people realize that once they achieve some level of wealth, they're like, Oh, this is what it is. I didn't re I thought this was just going to make me happy. I didn't understand. Uh, that's not what it all has to be about. So. I truly believe you need to have your true north plan and know exactly what you want to achieve.

But if, if what you're writing down is how much wealth you want to accomplish, you know, I'd like to say this too, like think and grow rich, you ask people, what is think and grow rich about? Oh, it's about making a lot of money. No, no, no, no. It's about being rich in life. It's about being rich in whatever you want to be rich in.

It's not necessarily just money. Uh, so that's really important.

Matt: Yeah. Very good. Very good. And on that mic drop moment, um, uh, John, listen, appreciate you coming on the show, man. And thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. And, uh, Loved it, [00:47:00] genuinely loved it, like I say, lots of notes. Um, if people want to reach out to you, if they want to find out more, maybe get a copy of the book, what's the best way to do that?

John: Yeah. So go to 100mjourney. com is the website for the book. Uh, we're entering the pre order phase now. The book will be out November 30th of 2023, uh, or you can go on Instagram or any social media channel at John St. Pierre 100.

Matt: Very good. Uh, go pre order the book now. And the best of British with it, as we like to say here in England, best of luck with your book. Uh, I hope it goes well. I will definitely be ordering a copy. I can't wait to read it. Um, and, uh, yeah, I hope it gives you, I hope it delivers everything you hope it does.

Uh, in, in terms of opportunity and, and, and, and impact. Um, because why not? Why

John: Thank you very much, Matt. I appreciate it.

Matt: No. Great to have you. Thanks for coming on the show. And of course, we will link to John's info, uh, in the show notes, which you can get along for free with the transcript at Push to Be more.com. And of [00:48:00] course, if you've signed up to the newsletter, they're gonna be coming straight to your.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a wrap on another fantastic conversation. A massive, oh I'll do this now, hang on, let me get, got to get it all set up, a massive cheer, oh yes, huge cheer to John for joining me today. Uh, and let's just keep that going, no, no, stop. And, it's just been awesome, absolutely awesome.

Also, a huge thanks to today's show sponsor, Aurion Media. For all you change makers out there contemplating podcasting, uh, like me, like John, uh, as a vehicle of expression and connection, definitely reach out to them at aurionmedia. com and of course they'll be linked on the website as well. Remember, keep pushing to be more.

Don't forget to follow the show wherever you get your podcast from because we've got some more seriously compelling conversations coming up. I don't want you to miss any of them and in case no one has told you yet today, let me be the first. You are [00:49:00] awesome. Yes, you are created. Awesome. It's just a burden you have to bear.

John has to bear it. I've gotta bear it. You've gotta bear it as well. Now push to be More is brought to life by aurion Media for transcripts and show notes, as I said, swing on by the website. Push to be more.com Big kudos to the team that makes this show possible. Sadaf, Beynon, Tanya Hutsuliak, and a shout out to Josh Edmundson for our incredible.

So, from John and from me, thank you so much for joining us. Have an awesome week and I'll catch you on the flip side. Until then, keep pushing and bye for now. [00:50:00]