Yuval Noah Harari once wrote that the reason why humans became the dominant species on the planet is probably because of the stories we tell and our ability to communicate through stories. So here’s a story I’d like to share.

When I was a child I wanted to become someone like Elon Musk—inventor of solar-powered cars and other cool gadgets. We had a family friend who was about 90 years old and I would show her sketches of my “inventions.” When I saw Jurassic Park, my cousin and I let our imaginations run wild as we “planned” how to convert some of his family owned land into our own dinosaur park.

Reflecting on these memories of my childhood, I can see that I already had some entrepreneurial spark within me from a very young age. It wasn’t all about the money but on creation. How do I create experiences? How do I create new products? How do I push humanity forward? How do I nurture these really cool ideas?

Fast forward to several decades later, I have become an inventor of sorts. I haven’t invented gadgets. Instead, I’ve invented services, systems and strategies that create scalable businesses.

In this episode, I share more stories with Darren Saul of the Suspended Animation Podcast about my personal development journey, going from a naive, introverted high school entrepreneur to a bestselling author and financial retiree at 31. I reveal the motivations behind my decisions and actions in both my professional and personal life. I also share my thoughts on various business models and success secrets on how to build a business that works without you. Spoiler alert: it’s all about the teams you build and the systems you implement.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Red Means Go by Carl Taylor
• Becoming Bulletproof: Survive and Thrive in Any Situation by Carl Taylor
• How to Write a Book in Seven Days or Less by Kylee Legge
• How to Be Rich by J. Paul Getty

Some business owners focus on growing their profits and sales, while others want to scale their business. Although these are all important aspects, have you ever considered making your primary goal to create a business that can eventually thrive and grow even without you?

In this episode, Samantha Riley and I deep dive into how to look at your business as a product that can be bought, sold, and added value to. We delve into really finding freedom in your business and the power of building a business that can work without you.

A business that is independent of its owner is a great asset as it gives you valuable free time. Creating a business that is not fully dependent on the owner, not only makes the business more valuable but gives you, the business owner more time for other aspects of your business and your life.

Have you prepared your business to run without you?

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Red Means Go by Carl Taylor
• Business Builders Academy
• Action Coach

Sometimes you have a product that seems to be going well, but it doesn’t get to the point where you want it to be, or the direction you’d like to go to. Sometimes you have a nagging feeling at the back of your mind that there’s a problem with your business but you can’t pinpoint the exact root of the issue. Sometimes you have cancellations that are concerning for the future of your business.

If you’re going through these scenarios, then you will want to listen to this conversation with James Rose. A software entrepreneur, who has worked on SEO, digital agencies and SaaS products. SaaS is a challenging business that is hugely based on volume. We discuss his current SaaS product; Content Snare, which helps industries that struggle to get information or content from clients.

We discuss ways to reduce the cancellation percentage for this product. We also analyse James’ pivot plans so he can offer Content Snare to industries that need his product’s service.

If you’ve got the same problems as James, you might find the possible solutions recommend to be helpful as well, so tune in until the end of the podcast.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

Find out more about Carl at CarlTaylor.com

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Content Snare
• Xero
• Silver Siphon
• Intercom
• Active Campaign
• Atlassian
• HubSpot
• Salesforce
• WP Elevation
• Webflow
• WP Engine
• Manage WP
• GoDaddy
• Host...

I believe that owning a business is the best personal development journey any person can go on. You can share your values and make it the foundation of your company’s core values. You can create systems that make your work and that of your employees more efficient. You can find your purpose in life. You can learn to love yourself and take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health.

In this episode, I share with Caleb Lesa how I created my company’s core values and how unwritten values like gratitude can be promoted through little things like saying thank you. By making people realize that you appreciate and care for them, then there is a high chance of people around you returning that gratitude tenfold.

I also share my tricks on how to maintain inbox zero at the end of the day or week, and how I remove bottlenecks from the SOPs in my company.

Finally, I have a heart-to-heart with Caleb about how to take care of yourself, especially when you suffer from a personal loss, and how to find your purpose in life despite the noise of everyday life.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

Find out more about Carl at CarlTaylor.com

Connect with Carl on Facebook and Twitter

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• BlackBelt
• Slack
• Google Hangouts
• Microsoft Teams
• Basecamp
• Whatsapp
• Freshdesk
• Help Scout
• Intercom
• Tony Robbins

As a business owner, it’s important to create a strategy that will not only scale up your venture, but make it sustainable and operational—even if you’re not involved with the business anymore.

The idea of building a business that works without you is not new. Brad Sugars, founder and president of ActionCOACH Global, has been advocating for decades that a true business isn’t a business unless it works without you.

I’ve considered Brad a mentor for many years now. Although his idea is not unique, you can imagine how earth shattering his words were to me when I was just starting out with my business ventures. I now firmly believe that if you’re involved in the day-to-day operations of your business, then it’s a job and not a business.

In this episode, I share with Angela Henderson the four-stage framework I created based on Brad’s vision. I’ll share my tips on how to move from the lowest stage of self-employed to the next levels of manager, the owner and finally, the investor.

If you enjoy a stage, there is nothing wrong with staying there. But if your goal is to spend more time with your family or have a lot of free time for multiple income streams, then you need to strategise your business model to achieve this goal. Some strategies you could employ include automation, operations, distractions, and outsourcing.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• How to be Rich by J. Paul Getty
• Billionaire in Training by Brad Sugars
• Think and Grow Rich
• Instant Leads by Brad Sugars
• Red Means Go by Carl Taylor
• Tony Robbins

The mind is a powerful thing. When it comes to living a fulfilling life, the first step we can take is a change in our mindset. The past 12 months have taught me these three key things in life that I use as my pillars until today.

#1: “Life happens for you, not to you.”

Have you ever experienced something bad, challenging or tragic, and asked yourself “why is this happening to me?” When you shift your mindset to meaning rather than misery, you start opening your eyes to learnings instead of always looking for relief. Instead of wanting relief in a challenging moment, you’ll be more interested in asking yourself “What is this teaching me? What can I learn from this?” This way, you give your experience meaning by getting something out of it.

Remember that life is just a series of stories and the little things happening to you today will connect you to your future. Each event in your life is guiding you to where you are meant to be.

Life presents a series of lessons to us at every given moment, and it is up to you to decide whether you take it or you don’t.

#2: “Will power is less than self-love.”

Many people would assume that the key to a better life is to have strong willpower. The thoughts in our head tell us “If only I can exercise better self-control to quit junk foods or exercise more.”

The actual power of willpower is much less than that of self-love because if you love yourself, you will do whatever it takes. Self-love will always trump will power.

#3: “Goals are about the journey, not about the destination”

We’ve heard this saying before: “Success is about the journey, not the destination.”

If you are attached to your outcome and you fall short on what it is that you want to achieve, that’s where the suffering and disappointments will come. On the other hand, when you see your goal as a journey, it becomes easier to sustain the habits and actions you make to help you achieve your goal. Remember to set your goal but be flexible with the journey.

As you carry these three mindsets with you every day, remember that you make your own story, so why not make one that you love.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

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RESOURCES

Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life - Byron Katie

Everything in life is a story and we each have our own story to tell.

There are two major stories that make up who we think we are. The first one is our identity story. These are the stories that we use to define who we are. The second type is the incident stories. These are the things that happen to us. Most of our identity stories are shaped through the incident stories. Both types of stories shape our life.

Without realizing it, you may have allowed other people, events and situations in your life to write your story for you. When you are having a struggling chapter, know that this is only one chapter of your whole book. A single chapter of your life. There is no single plot that has already been written out for you. You get to re-write your chapter and choose stories that empower your life.

You are the narrator of your story, you and only you are responsible for creating one that you love. So write a story that you’re proud of.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

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The truth is, most people won’t immediately buy your service or product at first glance at your website, especially if they’re only just becoming aware of you today. The buying process takes time and a carefully planned strategy to take your prospect from a browser to a buyer. In marketing automation, your businesses’ sales funnel is a multi-step, multi-modality process that moves prospective browsers into buyers.

The goal of your entire sales funnel is to solve your customer’s problem. Once you understand their problem, you can create content to draw them in, and then offer your services that can help solve their business problems.

In this episode, we speak with Louis Lucas of The Property Education Company on how to architect a sales funnel that can be used to promote your services and grow your business. We deep dive into the ideal number of automated emails to send before sending a more nurtured and customized email to prospective clients.

A great sales funnel is an effective way to access insight into your potential customer’s thought process, challenges, and decisions. Turn cold prospects into hot leads through a great sales funnel.

CONNECT WITH CARL TAYLOR

Find out more about Carl at CarlTaylor.com
Connect with Carl on Facebook and Twitter
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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• GoDaddy
• Wordpress
• Thrive Architect
• Ontraport
• Active Campaign