“I value an entrepreneur I can get behind and trust, because I know they are attempting to move forward in life.”
Daymond John
How you start matters.
And the first 2 weeks of this year have already been amazing. No PR. No B.S.
Save the Entrepreneur. Save the World.
From January 7th to January 14th, I was a Keynote speaker along with the celebrated photographer and fellow entrepreneur Denice Duff for an international business convention with entrepreneurs from Germany, USA, Siberia, Spain, France and other countries—ranging from professional services to products to entertainment professionals, real estate folks and more. The goal: to give tomorrow’s leaders insights into branding, into differentiation, into the tools of branding and business and growth all in alignment with “Rules enable one to follow. Knowledge enables one to lead.”
In short, it was mind-blowingly successful with astonishing transformations for every entrepreneur present in an inspired setting aboard a cruise ship. A vital part of “the magic” was having the honor of speaking and providing one-on-one coaching to many of these incredible attendees.
Entrepreneurs Never Stop. They Just “Power Nap”
As a side note, I’d been planning this year since last year (which was already proving to be a very powerful year).
Why? Because we as entrepreneurs never stop. We can’t afford to, not because of economics, but because momentum, personnel and colleagues rely on us for that continuity. We know planning the future is not just a strategy that’s proven to work. Even if we appear to be “simmering on low heat”—we ensure we remain a roaring inferno of inspiration and tireless rebellion.
How powerful a year was it? In addition to many breakthrough milestones for clients in so many different industries and working to complete my next book (which will crush it like Gary Vaynerchuk), there are some of the highlights:
- I was interviewed by Forbes.com 2X
- Klout ranked me #3 in the world for Branding (ahead of ADWEEK magazine)
- My “What is Branding” animated video went live in February has exceeded a quarter of a million views and was featured in ADWEEK and Design Taxi
- My Slideshare presentations have eclipsed 860,830 views worldwide (as well as being in the top 5% of presenters on Slideshare)
- On Twitter, we reached over 35,000 followers, almost another 13,000 on Instagram and from zero to over 8.2K followers on Medium and
- I reached #1 on iTunes on Grant Cardone’s Power Players show. Why would I expect anything less from the world’s #1 sales expert?
Part of the planning was kicking off this year in a big way: reaching out to my man, Daymond John, business mogul and fashion legend Daymond John (Shark Tank, FUBU, etc.) about doing an exclusive interview about his new upcoming book (which is now out). That interview goes live within two weeks.
So, after flying in from overseas from this entrepreneur convention, I had a layover in Miami.
I called my office. I was told a very special package had arrived.
While away, Daymond had sent me a signed copy of his brilliant new book with a personalized hand-written message inside. That wasn’t all.
He further presented me with a stunning (and surprisingly heavy) “Presidential Ambassador Coin (Medallion)” (last year, Daymond was designated by the President a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.)
So before I ever sent foot back on US soil, after helping entrepreneurs from around the world, I received this “instant karma.”
It’s like another entrepreneur shared with me, “When you do good, you get ‘done good’ spiritual credits.” Love that philosophy.
What’s better is just doing it for the sheer pleasure of helping others, not for the “karma,” simply because helping others offers value, and the best way I know to be a success is by helping others be an unstoppable force of nature and an inspiring success.
This is what I came home to the day of my return after spending a week with these amazing entrepreneurs from around the globe. Talk about Instant Karma. 😉
What an honor.
And this came after I decided to dramatically help others (on a larger scale than ever before).
Shut the Front Door
With Branding, your goal is to “shut the front door” by which I mean, close the door to easy copycatting and the use of stupid cliches and empty “marketing speak.”
Just two quick examples from the coaching sessions to share with you.
One entrepreneur is a young, fired-up photographer with focus on weddings and families. After a brief chat, I suggested to her this slogan, “True love is worth a shot.” A home run.
Another was a lovely German skin care specialist who offers amazing results and services raising the bar even more than the finest in America. For her, I developed this, “Cracks in your self confidence are like wrinkles on your face. I eliminate both.”
THAT is the kind of hour-to-hour magic that was happening aboard the ship.
Inspiration You Can See (and Feel)
I managed to capture some shots of these incredible entrepreneurs and the spirit they are known for.
From Germany:
From France (that’s Denice Duff far left):
From the US:
From Colombia (on the left, Colonel Ricardo Prado of the Colombian National Police):
Including the next generation of entrepreneurs:
I even ran into the great Australian singer Kate Ceberano, the first Australian woman to be inducted into the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA) Hall of Fame with five Platinum albums and five Gold albums:
The Next Generation of Greatness
After the convention, one of the non-English speaking attendees sent me this email: “I attended just 3 workshops with David and I already have the tools and means to make my brand and company more efficient and more effective. I also understand and can apply the information, in such a way, that it puts me in control! David is brilliant, funny and very professional. (I want to say he is a ‘genius’ but then he won’t have anything to work for.) :-)” — Fabrice
And Gerhard from Germany wrote, “It was the best convention I’ve ever taken part in—and I’ve attended many [business] conventions.”
To Fabrice, Gerhard and all those who participated, greatness breeds greatness.
And as I’ve alluded above, the upcoming articles and content this year will hit a whole new level in quantity and quality, with some being exclusives for our invite-only community.
Make sure to take advantage of this brand new wave of awesome.
P.S. Check out this video that premiered at this incredible event:
