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VoiceAmerica 0:06
One problem facing people at many levels of business is how to make time for a work life and a personal life. Do you find that one seems to keep getting in the way of the other? This is the work life balance with Rick Morris. Even if you're not involved in the business world, you'll have a lot to gain by tuning into today's show. Now, here's your host, Rick Morris.
Rick A. Morris 0:28
And welcome to another edition of the work life balance on this Friday afternoon. So excited to have everybody along. We actually have a repeat guest with us today. He was first on with us back in May, and he's the CEO of the billows group, where he co founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries Beverly Hills chairs, which is the leading seller of refurbished Herman Miller Aeron chairs in the country custom tobacco, which was a one of a kind e commerce platform where customers could create fully customized private label cigars in real time. billows solutions, a technology consulting and software development practice. He's also the host and creator of a podcast called 30 minute mentors, and we're gonna bring him on right now. Adam Mendler. How you doing, Adam?
Adam Mendler 1:14
Great. Great to be here with you again. honored to be here for a second time. This is awesome.
Rick A. Morris 1:19
Yeah, right repeat customers, it means we must have liked each other the first time.
Adam Mendler 1:23
Absolutely pretty.
Rick A. Morris 1:26
That's right. So we were we were on in May. And it was interesting because, you know, we were just kind of in the midst of the pandemic, we there was a lot of uncertainty of how long things we're going to be going on, you know, maybe would just be to like June back in that timeframe. But how, how have you been doing in what's what's really happened since we last talked from from May to September.
Adam Mendler 1:50
Good question, Rick. I feel like like the rest of the country. We're, unfortunately having to come to terms with this new norm. that we're in. We don't really know how long this new normal is going to last for. But as long as it's lasting, all we can really do is try to make the best of it and try to adapt. What I've been doing professionally has been trying to figure out how to adapt the best that I can. personally very much the same. I haven't really been going out of time, but I've been focusing a lot on my businesses. I've been focusing a lot on my podcast. It's been an unusual period of my life, but I've really just been trying to stay as positive and productive as possible and using this time to work on things that I can work on and not focus on the negative, despite all the negativity around us.
Rick A. Morris 2:50
Yeah, it's been it's a difficult time because, you know, for me, a lot of my revenue comes from speaking consulting, which just hasn't been around and so you we've been focused on spinning up a couple of different online businesses, one that we'll probably be doing a show about and launching hopefully within the next week. But at the same time, I think it's been a blessing in the sense that, you know, a lot of distractions have been cleared away. But, you know, I think the people that are truly looking at this as a transitionary period are the ones that are going to come out of this in the long run. What, what kind of advice could you give? Or have you heard from some of your guests on 30 minute mentors? It has been some of the best advice you've heard on how to use some of this new time in the pandemic.
Adam Mendler 3:39
Yeah, good question, Rick. And I can tell you just from my own personal experience, and then can talk a little bit about guess. I think it's first and foremost, really important to try to eliminate whatever noise is going on around you. That brings you down So I don't remember if we talked about this, when, in our first conversation, but a game changer for me has just been eliminating things that were that I was doing before the pandemic. And an example would be watching cable news. There's so much bad news going on around us. And when you watch cable news, and I'm not the only one that watch way too much cable news in America, just cutting that out eliminating that. It's it's like someone who has a bad diet. And when you cut out unhealthy food from your diet, you physically feel better, you're more productive. You're you sleep better, you move around better, you're better in everything you do in your life. And the first thing that I recommend anyone everyone do is evaluate what your habits are, and try to understand what habits you have that you can turn around that you can change And secondly, along those lines, what are things that are taking up a significant amount of time that you can either eliminate or that you can reduce and things that are not additive to your life not additive, to your professional life, not additive to your productivity, not additive to your health, your happiness, to your physical health, your mental health, to your bottom line. So that's how I've tried to view this period. It's been a period where again, I've been largely focused on work but I have incorporated things that bring me joy outside of work. I've been thrilled that baseball has been back it's been a great opportunity for me to sort of sit back and watch a lot of baseball and you know, watch Netflix. I hadn't watched a television series for years because I've been so busy with other things and you need to have some kind of balance in your life. I have been doing home workout say, I can't go to the gym. So I started doing Beachbody workouts and the advice that I've gotten from the guests on my show. And I think it's universally applicable no matter what period you're in, but it's particularly applicable. Now. A constant theme that I hear from my guess, is the importance of lifelong learning. No matter where you are in your journey, even if you're a fortune 500 CEO, even if you're a four star General, even if you're the head coach of a sports team. To get to the top to stay at the top, you need to continually learn you need to continually hone your craft. And in a time like this, what better opportunity than to learn to grow to spend time doing things that you've always wanted to do and now we have the opportunity
Rick A. Morris 7:01
Yeah, leaders are readers are for sure. You coming back to the cable news, you you you pick something there for me because it's it's been difficult for me to have professionally I you know, business wise and tax wise I lean more right and socially I think I lean more laughs I'm really kind of in the middle. And the biggest thing I've tried to teach my kids is how to see the middle meaning. You know, one of the things that we did an activity during either one of the conventions, is you watch the convention and then we'd watch five minutes of Fox and five minutes of CNN and then discuss kind of, Okay, how do we end up where do we end up with this? But it's getting to a point that you can't even do that. It's so my daughter actually asked me a question about, you know, how did it become like this and i and i believe and I haven't gone back to make sure but it comes back to the Fairness Doctrine, which I think was eliminated in Reagan Reagan's term Which, which basically led the path or built the pathway for CNN and Fox to come out, which remove the if you're going to err one side, you have to give equal amount of time to the other side doctrine in news. And what's happened to that from a society perspective and a echo chamber perspective has just been fascinating to watch.
Adam Mendler 8:23
Yeah, Rick, so full disclosure, you and I could talk politics all day all night. I have a degree in political science. I am very passionate about government politics policy, have very strong opinions about where the country is going. With that said, I try to delineate between my content and my political views. So I try to keep my show. As a political as I can. I try to keep my content as a political as I can. We're in such a politically charged environment. Right now, unfortunately and something today and when we're doing this podcast on 911, it's September 11, which is a solemn, somber day. It's a day that lives in infamy. And it's also a day that we should all take a step back and remember that we're Americans first. We're human beings first. But we're Americans before we're democrats before we're Republicans. I feel like the country has unfortunately gotten to a place where we are so divided along ideological views and along partisan lines, and it's sort of like, you know, Rick, I'm a hardcore angels fan, and I hate the Dodgers. But the hatred that I have toward the Dodgers is nothing like the hatred that Republicans have toward democrats and vice versa. Like when did this happen. All right, oh, we need to sort of take a step back and get a little bit of perspective. And hopefully, we can live happier, healthier lives with a little bit more perspective.
Rick A. Morris 10:15
See, I don't want to rekindle the whole Lane Kiffin conversation with you again, but I do have a question around that, but you so, you know, I dislike Alabama being at being a Tennessee fan. But I don't hate them because I love them because they are so tough because I get so excited to play. So when you say you hate the Dodgers, don't it? Doesn't that come from a level of respect, though? No, not at all. Not at all that for you.
Adam Mendler 10:45
comes from being an LA native and growing up here in LA. Just being a hardcore angels fan and angels have always been my team. The first game I ever went to when I was
Rick A. Morris 10:55
the first professional game I ever went to was the angels.
Adam Mendler 10:58
Really? That's really cool. Yeah. So, I was a seven year old kid and the first game I ever went to was an angel game at Angel stadium. They were playing the Cleveland Indians. It was called Anaheim stadium back then and the big eight. And I was hooked hardcore Angel fan and look when you're a seven year old kid, you love your team and you hate the other team. So 30 years later, I still hate the Dodgers. It's nothing more complicated than that.
Rick A. Morris 11:26
Well, I was trying to make a more a better but there but I think your answer now So yeah, I was I was at four. I went out there and saw the Olympics. We caught a little we caught the angels play. I want to say Reggie Jackson was still around with the angels.
Adam Mendler 11:46
Over Yes,
Rick A. Morris 11:48
yes, twilight of his career there but I got to see him him play live as first time I ever saw a professional baseball game for sure. Same same Stadium, Anaheim stadium.
Adam Mendler 11:57
That's awesome. First game I went to is 1990 So Reggie Jackson was already gone by then. But the angels have a history of signing. Certainly when I was a kid, they did this. It would sign guys like Reggie Jackson, who were legends who are Hall of Fame caliber players, but they were way past their prime and they were sort of on the last legs of their major league journeys. And they played the last year, half a year in Anaheim, and I saw a lot of guys like that. So kind of a cool experience.
Rick A. Morris 12:33
And for a while they're kind of the Kansas City Chiefs right there were great players go to retire but but before the Chiefs went through this rebuild, so we're gonna go ahead and take a break right here. We'll be right back with that a Mendler that you're listening to Rick Mars in the work life balance.
VoiceAmerica 12:50
Are you aware that 80% of project management executives do not know how their projects align with their company's business strategy? Are you aware that businesses identified Capturing time and costs against projects as their biggest project management challenge. Are you aware that 44% of project managers use no software even though PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the use of commercially available project management software increases performance and satisfaction? Now, imagine that you could have the ease of entry like a spreadsheet and a software tool set up and running within two to four weeks. Imagine within two weeks being able to see clearly where all of your resource conflicts are. Well, you don't have to imagine because PD ware has already created it. pd where can give you real time access to KPIs easily updated views of what your teams are working on. And immediate feedback to some of project management's toughest questions. Like, when can we start this project? What happens if we delay this project? Can we do this in time? How does this new project impact our current portfolio? Find us at PD were calm and imagine not manually compiling endless reports again Are you getting The most out of your project management software. In many cases, it is not the software that is failing, but the implementation limitations or processes surrounding the use of that software. r squared can analyze your current use and help improve your return on investment. r squared can also suggest the best software for your organization and goals and assist in the selection implementation and training. Allow r squared to ensure that you are getting the value of your investment visit r squared consulting.com today from the boardroom
to you, voice America business network.
You are tuned in to the work life balance to reach Rick Morris or his guest today. We'd love to have you call into the program at 1-866-472-5790. Again, that's 186647257 And zero. If you'd rather send an email Rick can be reached at r Morris at r squared consulting.com. Now back to the work life balance.
Rick A. Morris 15:10
And we're back to the work life balance on this Friday afternoon. We're talking with Adam Mendler. And Adam has his own podcast, creator of the podcast, 30 minutes mentors and, yeah, I feel like I'm somewhat of a dinosaur in this industry now, as we're getting into our fifth year of doing this every Friday. And, you know, there's been probably 1.4 million podcasts that have started in quit in the time that I've been doing this. And so I just let's get a little bit into podcasting for a moment. So first of all, you know, why create the podcast? Do you do it all on your own? Are you using a service? Let's just talk a little bit about the creation of it.
Adam Mendler 15:51
Yeah, happy to talk about it. And I am one of those 1.4 million that started I have not quit, but I'm going strong at on episode number 35, as of today's recording and a bunch more in the pipeline, I actually have most of my episodes through the end of the calendar year already recorded, which has been pretty cool. So, or if not recorded, it's already scheduled. So it's been a lot of fun and love doing it. What inspired me to do it, Rick was, I've been working in addition to my entrepreneurial endeavors on a lot of different content over the years, I've written a lot in Forbes and Inc, and huffington post on leadership, on management, on entrepreneurship, marketing on these different topics. And I started an interview series a couple years ago, in Arianna Huffington platform thrive global, where I've interviewed over 300 of America's top leaders and You know, you can go on and read those interviews. They're 1000 to 1500 word interviews. But I felt like the right medium for this kind of content was a podcast. And what I really wanted to do was I really wanted to create a place where people could go and gain access to the best network of mentors possible. I'm a very big believer in the power of mentorship. Each and every one of us has been impacted, in ways big and small, by mentors in our lives by mentors who have begun powerful roles and by many mentors who we might have one encounter with, but that encounter could play a huge role in our personal and professional success. And what I wanted to do was I wanted to give a broad audience access to the best Networking mentors possible. And it was a pretty easy pivot for me, given that I'd already kind of been doing these interviews and what I wanted to do a 30 minute mentors, and what I've been doing is really bringing the best of the best to the show. So in 30 minute increments, doing interviews with CEOs and founders of household name companies, major celebrities and athletes, influencers, generals, admirals, leaders to listen to. And that's really, why I did it and why I keep doing.
Rick A. Morris 18:42
So having said that, you know, and again, I started I love the format, we'd started a nother podcast, we call it transformational leader podcast. We're pivoting that into breaking average, but was the same reason we had this transformational leader award that we gave out through the john Maxwell team and unless you were in the room, and saw the three or four minute clips from the 10 finalists. You really didn't know anything about them. And, you know, we have 35,000 people now in the john Maxwell team, maybe there was 3000 people in the room. So I felt like we were doing a huge disservice there. So, Paul Gustafson my Carver started that that podcast and I get to be the the interviewer for it. But it's been fascinating to kind of get those stories out. Even when you say 30 minute mentors, there's a lot you can get out in those 30 minutes. But having said all that, if I'm going to ask this question as delicately as I can. Yeah, obviously, you have some favorites. I think it's easy but without naming names. What what was a huge learning point or disappointment when you finally got on with somebody that you were expecting big things from?
Adam Mendler 19:54
Oh, that's a good one. I'll tell you I have not been this appointed in any of my guests, I can tell you some challenges that I've had. But each and every one of my guests has been awesome. On Air and author. I and I say that with all sincerity. I have not had a single guest so far. Who, again, again, it's anonymous, so it's not like I'm saying, oh, Episode 30 whatever. Every single one of my guests has been incredible onair incredible oftheir as a human being, what I would say is the biggest challenge for me. And the biggest learning experience for me is that not all guests are created equal. And brick, you know this, but your listeners might not. Not all guests are created equal when it comes to their mastery of the format. So a lot of guests really get it and our absolute pros and understand when you're doing this 30 minute podcast interview, you can't give an eight minute answer. Because if you give an eight minute answer, number one, listeners are going to turn it off, they're going to tune out. And number two, if you give an eight minute answer, the there's no opportunity to really cover a lot of ground because right then and there, that's, you know, a huge chunk of the show. So, that can be challenging. And when someone gives an eight minute answer, then I have to, I'm not, Rick, you're doing a live interview. I'm not doing a live interview. So if someone is giving long winded answers, I then have to sort of go back and and do a lot of editing and extend the interview out. So instead of it being a 30 or 35 minute interview, often turned into like a 40 or 45 minute interview, and then do a lot of work on the back end. To turn it into was hopefully an enjoyable 30 to 35 minute interview. So those to me The interviews that I would say are the ones that are not as enjoyable for me. Because it's, it's not like if you think about it from the perspective of a director or an actor, if you can shoot something in one take, that's awesome. So if I could do a podcast and there's, it's just a conversation and then no editing, I love that. But if it's something where as I'm doing it in real time, I know that I'm going to need to go back and shave this eight minute answer and get three minutes. Hey, this is a there goes my Saturday afternoon.
Rick A. Morris 22:37
Yeah, I think it's the the reverse is true for me. I get people they give four second answers. And as like, we're filling a 15 minute segment here. We've got work to do. I've really fallen into enjoying podcast producing and truly producing so not just the editing side of it, but listening to the interview and then prodding the conversation. Between the interviewer and interviewee to expand certain points or to get, you know other things out. So getting that opportunity to hear it as a listener, and then be able to interject into how we can, you know, beef it up. It's been it's been a blast for me. So what's one of the biggest things from technology or format perspective that you felt like that you had to learn in order to get that podcast out?
Adam Mendler 23:27
Great question, Rick. And the The short answer is everything. I'm not. I had I walked into the process with zero knowledge about how to launch a podcast from a technological perspective. I had a lot of knowledge on the topics of how to bring on the best and most successful people in America. I had a lot of knowledge about how to conduct great interviews had a lot of knowledge about how to Talk about leadership and related topics. But from the perspective of how to actually get these interviews into podcast format, man, that was a big learning experience for me. The best advice that I could have that I could give to anyone listening is understand your strengths, understand your weaknesses. And when you don't know something, try to bring someone in who does. And in this case, I know very little about this stuff. And what I did was I called friends of mine who have deep expertise in this area. One buddy in particular, I'll say his name, guy named Alex worser. Great guy. childhood friend of mine, and Alex worker, really just held my hand throughout this process and told me what equipment to buy helped me set the equipment up. The first interview I did there was a problem because I didn't I sort of screwed up from a technology perspective I called him up he held my hand and walk me through it and having him in my corner was integral to getting this off the ground.
Rick A. Morris 25:19
So for those of people that are interested, you can visit pm that's pm is in project management that works calm is a blog of mine in search for my my complete podcast kit, which basically walks through my entire process routine, all the tools I use all the technology I use, how I use it for social media, and that's out there completely free for you is just a way for us to give back. It's all my lessons learned in podcasting. You can find that at pm that works calm. You know, I'll tell you the biggest advice that I give Adam is you know, when somebody says I want to do a podcast is you know I pitch seasons to them. So do seasons because One of the biggest things and we talked about it on our last time that we interviewed about pod fade, right, which is after the seventh episode is when most people kind of run out of steam is to plan out 10 episodes to do a season and the season and then take a break and breathe in see if that was something you enjoy, didn't enjoy. And if you never go back to it, then there's a logical conclusion and end to the podcast. But if you did enjoy it and you loved it, then you can easily pick up a season two, what do you think of that?
Adam Mendler 26:32
If you did, that's interesting advice. I think that's an interesting perspective. I complete to be completely honest with you. I haven't had really had that mindset because I've just been so laser focused on trying to produce the best content that I can I've, from the day I started the show I've been focused on how many great guests can I get indefinitely so I, again sort of almost booked up for the rest of the year and then next year is going to start filling up. So, but I do think that that's interesting advice for new podcasters. I can tell you the advice that I give because even though I'm a relatively new podcaster, again, I only have 35 episodes up, I release one episode a week, I launch the podcast in January of 2020. The piece of advice that I give and record it curious to get your perspective on this is, I tell people before you take the leap before you make the decision to start a podcast, understand why you're actually doing it. Because there are so many people who have podcasts you mentioned the 1.4 million number which is staggering. And something that I've learned is there probably 100 different reasons as to why people have podcasts and What is the reason why you're doing it? And that will really dictate what you put into it. Because if you're doing it, because you're a hobbyist that's going to drive it in a completely different direction than if you're doing it to try to monetize the podcast, or if you're doing it because you're trying to build relationships, or if you're doing it because you're trying to build your personal brand, or if you're doing it because you're trying to gain exposure for one of your businesses. In my case, I'm doing it because I'm trying to build this platform of mentorship and giving listeners the ability to access great leaders and great mentors. So my motivation is different than the typical person out there. But I don't know Rick, what do you think of that?
Rick A. Morris 28:49
I think it's a great question. And I think what I'm gonna do is answer that right after the break. So you're listening to Rick Morrison the work life balance, I'll provide my answer right after this.
VoiceAmerica 29:03
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At the work life balance,
we like to ask simple questions to our executives and portfolio managers. Are you picking your projects based on what the organization can spend? Or is it based on what your resources can realistically achieve? This question is not answered properly can cause great strain on your staff limiting the return on investment when creating project selection criteria. Does you Organization attempt to understand the amount of resources needed to complete the work. Is this done in spreadsheets or at a high level? What if we told you there was a simple and easy solution that was built with resource planning in mind? We call it resource first from PD where resource first was built with resource planning as its foundation. We have years of experience that proves before a company fine tunes its project and portfolio management processes without a process for resource planning. The best processes and algorithms can fall flat resources should be first when deciding the strategy of taking an organization forward. Find out more at pd where.com put your people first with resource first from PD where join us at pd where.com.
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business, you'll find the experts here voice America business network.
You are tuned in to the work life balance To reach Rick A. Morris or his guest today, we'd love to have you call into the program at 1-866-472-5790. Again, that's 1-866-472-5790. If you'd rather send an email, Rick can be reached at our Morris at r squared consulting.com. Now back to the work life balance.
Rick A. Morris 31:23
And we're back to the work life balance with we're visiting with that a Mendler. And Adam, you just posed a question to me right before break as to what I thought about your advice, in terms of understanding the why. And I can't I couldn't agree more with you know, not only understanding but identify why do a podcast. It actually makes me think of listening. JOHN Maxwell talks about a book. You know, people come up to him all the time says, Well, I want to write books like you. And it sounds harsh when he says it, but he'll say but who's going to read it and his point is is you know, he Other than your mom and your family members, who's going to read it. And the point he's trying to make is to get you to focus on who you writing the book for everybody feels like they've got a story, everybody feels like they've had, you know, this unique life and most of us have. But when you're putting that into a book format, nobody really wants to read as to why your life is unique, right? So you have to turn turn it around and say, why am I doing this? What's in it for the reader? And so the same goes with a podcast, what's in it for the listener? You know, when I originally started this podcast, I used to, you know, as a professional speaker, use my speaking as my marketing for consulting and for my books. And so the podcast became a natural extension of that, but that has morphed quite a bit as my leadership journey has has morphed into more service people, more leadership, more entrepreneurship. And that's really The direction this show has gone. But I couldn't agree with your advice more on you know, finding out your why. Because I can tell you there are times as you do it that you need to tap into that Why? To keep that energy and momentum going.
Adam Mendler 33:17
You're right in to your point. I guested on a number of podcasts so far. And I can tell you and that when I talk to a lot of the podcast hosts, and when I talk to people who reach out to me who try to seek my mentorship on whether to start a podcast, how to get going, advice around podcasting and just advice in general. Some people are starting podcasts because they like hearing their own voice. They like it, they just like talking. And they're not thinking about the audience. They're not thinking about the listener. They're Not really thinking about it from a marketing or branding perspective. And you know what, that's fine. But I just think it's important to understand what your reason is because Rick is, you know, and as I know, and as anyone who's gone somewhat deep into this process knows you're, you're a lot deeper into it than I am. It's a lot of work. It's very involved. It's a big time commitment. It's not easy. It's, it's a lot of fun. It's very rewarding. It's very enjoyable. But there's an opportunity cost. It's, it's very involved. So for you to take the plunge, know the why, and align that why with your house. Because if you're doing this, for example, as a way to just have fun, and great then view it as a hobby and dedicate hobby time to it. But if you're doing this as a way to try to make money, if you're doing this as a way to market one of your businesses then view it as a marketing job. Use the same prism use the same framework as you would any other marketing channel, whether it's the same kind of budget, whether it's budgeting the same kind of time. I think having that kind of perspective, having that kind of mindset is extremely important in terms of how you process
Rick A. Morris 35:34
I couldn't agree more. So are you advertising? Have you gotten sponsorship on the podcast?
Adam Mendler 35:41
have not taken on advertising as of yet? It's kind of a loaded question. So the show is still young and I wanted to keep it ad free at the moment, sort of in until I reached that whatever critical passes this point, if I bring on advertising, I don't necessarily know that the payoff really justifies adding, adding advertising to the show, but hopefully sooner than later I will. But I'm not at that point yet.
Rick A. Morris 36:18
Yeah, it's it's a difficult process and it's one that I think is still relatively new, you know, people are still trying to figure out how that works and where that works. And I know you know, I've looked into it, you know, obviously on several different occasions but I also am the one that will fast forward the commercials when I'm listening to a podcast in the car. So you know, I'm not sure that that I want to make the listeners do that even though you know, obviously we have commercials on this show. And so advertising directly to the work life balance here that's through more than network itself. No, but I find that interesting. What so other than technology what what have you found is the hardest thing So we've heard the eight minute answers and the technology. But what is the hardest thing you feel like you personally had to overcome in order to continue the
Adam Mendler 37:10
podcast? The hardest thing for me, and it's it's an ongoing challenge is it's just the time commitment. It is a big commitment. And it's like anything else. Hey, you and I can go to a movie. We probably can't go to a movie right now. But, you know, rewind six months ago, or hopefully fast forward, six months or a year from now, when we go to the movie theater, and we watch a movie, and we see 90 minutes of entertainment. What we don't see is what goes into it. And it's sort of like when you go to a restaurant, you have your meal and the meal is great and you enjoy it, but you don't necessarily see what goes into it. And in action A 30 minute mentors, I'm working really hard to give listeners a 30 minute experience that will add enormous value to their personal lives into their professional lives. And to make that happen, transcends me just sort of rolling out of bed and jumping on the phone with a guest and shooting the breeze with them for 30 minutes. There's a lot of preparation. There's a lot of homework. There's a lot of thought. I spent a lot of time really trying to understand what kinds of questions I should ask that I think will really optimize that 30 minutes. I worked really hard during the interview to try to control the pace to try and manage the clock. I feel like I'm back in my sports days where I'm, you know, focusing on the clock whether it's football or basketball, that's how much baseball but we really are managing clock. And then once the interview is done, there's the editing process. I have an editor who I send the episode to, but he does more of the technical editing. So we'll then send it back to me and I'll do a run through and want to make sure that it sounds good for listeners that if there isn't an eight minute answer that we get that answer down to three minutes, so that it it's an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. At the end of the day. anyone listening to 30 minute mentors, has lots of other options as to how they could spend that 30 minutes. So I want to make sure that it's 30 minutes, that they're gonna walk away from and say, this was great. And I can't wait to listen again.
Rick A. Morris 39:47
Yeah, I have several friends in the entertainment industry and they were telling me their dislike for Netflix. And I was like, why is that? And they said because you know, you'll get excited for a show. They release it. You'll binge watch it In a day and a half is that was literally like a year of our lives. putting that together editing it, you know, pulling all that stuff off. So it's an interesting perspective. What What is one of the the things that has stuck with you the most that a guest has said on your podcast to you.
Adam Mendler 40:19
That's a tough one because it truly every episode, there's one or two takeaways or three takeaways that are just really, really powerful for me. And we can almost do it by the guests. So I'll just pick one out that stands out because we posted it in our social media for 30 minute mentors yesterday. And it was an interview that I did forget which episode number but was relatively early on in the podcast. It was an interview with the founder of one of the largest companies in the financial services. And told me don't hire good people. We were talking about hiring. He said don't hire good people. And I was like, taken aback. What? What do you mean don't hire good people. He said, don't hire good people. Because you can't fire good people only hire great people. And I just thought that was really interesting those just a tidbit that as an entrepreneur is extremely relevant because I've had a lot of people over the years that I've hired, who were maybe good enough, but weren't great. And over time, they're never they're never really assets to your company. The people who are true assets to your company, are the great people. Anyone who I look back on or anyone in my organization now who is still in our company is someone One who is a great person. Anyone who has stood the test of time is someone who was a great hire, who had greatness and has greatness. Someone who was good, you know there. And I never really thought about it that way. That's one example. I'll give you another one. I did an interview with general Reynolds, Hoover, retired Army General, great guy. And general Hoover told me when you go into a meeting, anytime you go into a meeting, always sit in a different seat. literally sit in a different seat. And I thought about it and I said, Well, you know, I wish I had that advice in business school because they assigned us to the same seat. Every class we had to sit in the same spot. And when I was in college, I just sort of naturally sat in the same spot and we're Naturally predisposed to go to the same spot where we sit in because it's comfortable for us. But his point was, get out of your comfort zone, physically get out of your comfort zone. And one way to do it is by getting into a different seat. It will change your perspective, you will see things differently. You'll sit next to different people. You'll talk to different people I can tell you if I had that, if I did that, if I knew general Rendell Hoover, when I was a college student, and I had that advice, I would have known a lot more people because I wouldn't have just sat next to the same people in every class. I would have been sitting next to a different person in every class and shooting the breeze with different people. Every club, got more relationships made more friends. So I have a tidbit like that for every episode I've done.
Rick A. Morris 43:53
Well, we're gonna get the the answer to our favorite question, which is what some of the best advice you've ever received, but we're going to Right after the break, you're listening to the work life balance with Rick Mars.
VoiceAmerica 44:07
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You are tuned in to the work life balance. To reach Rick Morris or his guest today, we'd love to have you call into the program at 1-866-472-5790. Again, that's 1-866-472-5790 if you'd rather send an email Rick can be reached at r Morris at r squared consulting.com. Now back to the work life balance.
Rick A. Morris 46:29
And we're back to the work life balance on this Friday afternoon with our final segment with Adam Mendler 30 minute mentors So, Adam, we asked this question always we asked it to in May, but we're gonna ask it again what some of the best advice you've ever received.
Adam Mendler 46:42
I don't know if it's changed this May and I don't remember exactly what I told you in May. But I'll tell you great advice that I got. And it wasn't from a four star general or Admiral. It wasn't from a fortune 500 CEO. It wasn't from anyone famous But it was from someone is, why is it any of those people? It was from a mentor of mine. That's my mom. And my mom told me that and I will not be able to say it as articulately as she said it. But what she told me is you only have one life and you need to live it for yourself, not for anyone else. Her message was, life is hard enough as it is. It's only harder if you live your life trying to please others. So, live your life, do what you want to do for you. Not for those around you. And it was a very powerful message. It's a message That resume resonated very deeply what she told me and resonates very deeply now and hopefully it resonates with your listeners.
Rick A. Morris 48:12
And it is the same advice you provided last night.
Unknown Speaker 48:16
I can't pick out my mom.
Rick A. Morris 48:18
Yeah, what do you got to do? So fine. How can people find your podcast find you reach out to you
Adam Mendler 48:26
try to make it as easy as possible. So I'm accessible through my website, Adam mendler.com. So just my name, Adam mendler.com. through social media at Adam Mendler. So that's Adam Mendler on Instagram, at Adam Mendler on Twitter. And my podcast 30 minute mentors is available on every major podcasting app, probably every minor podcasting app, but you just type in and spell out 30 minute mentors. It's also available at 30 minute mentors calm.
Rick A. Morris 49:05
And any final advice or things that you would like to share with the audience?
Adam Mendler 49:12
Well, we were going to talk a little bit about college football. So unfortunately, we didn't have an opportunity to get a lot as a USC. graduate. I went there during the heyday, we won two national championships. While I was there, I went to college with three Heisman Trophy winners. Unfortunately, these days, I don't have a whole lot of advice on the topic of college football. But the best advice I can give to listeners is, stay positive, stay productive. Times are tough. Let's be realistic about the situation that we're in. But control what you can control. And that is your mindset. That is your time. That is your attitude. We're all in this together. Let's make the best of it. And let's be better for it tomorrow. It
Rick A. Morris 50:01
is so you guys, so Pac, the PAC 12 canceled football correct. Now, so they're trying to think about it in spring.
Adam Mendler 50:13
They're talking about potentially bringing it back for spring, potentially bringing it back sooner. The whole situation is so fluid that it's almost like a day by day, week by week kind of thing.
Rick A. Morris 50:27
So SEC is scheduled to kick off two weeks from tomorrow. However, it was interesting that there was supposed to be a scrimmage I think two or three days ago at Tennessee, in which 46 players were either in the quarantine protocol injured or had COVID. So they could they had to cancel the the scrimmage. So it's interesting to see how that's going through. But I think the NFL you know, I don't I'm a huge fan of hard knocks. I love seeing the behind the scenes stuff. So it was really exciting. To see how they went about their practices, their training camp, and they seem to be successful, and obviously we kicked out football last night. So I'm hopeful and excited that the at least the SEC will play on the on the 27th or 26th.
Adam Mendler 51:14
I'll tell you, Rick is such a complicated issue and such a complicated subject. And look, I think if there's one sport that did it perfectly, it's the NBA. And he really executed it to a tee. Baseball was criticized by just about everyone but they've seemed to pull it off. I know it's not over yet. But they've somehow made it happen. And, look, college football, I think is the biggest challenge. I know that universities across America are facing a big question as to whether they can stay open right now and i a lot of universities, are going completely virtual. And I don't know, Rick, I really don't know this is above my paygrade. And there are some things that I'm just sort of waiting back like the rest of America and watching and wondering and really curious to see how this plays out.
Rick A. Morris 52:21
Yeah, I agree with you on the NBA. The other insight that I have so Hoover High School is is where you know, my kids go. And it's a it's a perennial powerhouse in the state of Alabama is one I want to say seven or eight of the state titles in the last 12 years. Interestingly enough, the day before school started here, Coach had everybody go virtual, so all the players went virtual, and don't attend school, but they show up on campus, obviously for practice. So it's interesting to see how that's being managed and so far they've been pretty successful in continuing to be To play, I think they're going into their third game tonight for high school football. So yeah, we're getting a little bit of it. But we hope for more. But Adam, thank you so much for joining us again. And we appreciate you coming back on a second time, and always look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Adam Mendler 53:17
Really appreciate you having me. This was a ton of fun. And thanks again. And thank you one more time to your listeners for tuning in. And hopefully, who knows, Rick, maybe third time will be the charm.
Rick A. Morris 53:30
Maybe so maybe. And of course you can join us next Friday. We're going to have Steve gave a torta on India. He's got a fascinating entrepreneurial journey that we'll have him on next Friday with us. Otherwise, we ask you to continue listening to the voice America business network. And as always, we will talk to you next Friday at 4pm Central, five Eastern, and we hope that you live your own work life balance. We'll talk to you next Friday.
VoiceAmerica 53:58
Thank you for joining us this week. The work life balance with Rick Morris can be heard live every Friday at 2pm pacific time and 5pm eastern time on The Voice America business channel. Now that the weekend is here, it's time to rethink your priorities and enjoy it. We'll see you on our next show.
