To say the least, Lewis Howes had a focused vision. He wanted to make the Olympics and figured that the best way in was by joining the national handball team. There was a slight problem, he never played the game. He brought his athleticism and Arena Football experience to New York City, practiced intensely and now finds himself tantalizingly close to his daunting goal after an incredibly brief quest. He has some sage advice for the longer road to greatness as well.


Lessons:

1. Live in the moment, in the flow and take tiny steps.
2. The health and performance benefits of quitting, or limiting, simple carbs and sugar are a game changer.
3. If you lack natural talent, you must seek out alternative means to gain an edge.

Tucker Max is an author who pioneered the genre known as “fratire,” an irreverent,  tongue in cheek description of his testosterone and beer fueled exploits that gained a decent following about a decade ago. Now CEO of Bookinabox.com, his life appears to have taken on a decidedly different tack as he stands head to head with Joe in the MMA octagon. By his own admission, he’s only achieved modest success in the ring, but what he has learned is priceless. In the ring, as in life, there is no such thing as “losing.” There is only winning and learning.

Lessons:

    1.    There’s no reason to worry about losing. There’s only winning or learning.
    2.    Great mentors shorten the learning curve and speed the way to mastery. Take the effort to find one.
    3.    If you want something, make sure you have something to offer first.

Unwittingly paddling into hippo infested waters on the Zambezi was the perfect, if unintentional, predictor of later success for Juliet Starrett who co-owns the San Francisco Crossfit with her husband Kelly. After the most lethal mammal to man upended her canoe, she was already strategizing her plan to survive midair. This is the perfect metaphor for making it in business: peril will gauge a sneak attack at the most inconvenient times and you gotta summon up the fortitude and flexibility to adjust your strategy when suspended at the height of danger. There is simply no time to lick your wounds.

Lessons:

    1.    Taking risks in your day to day life helps prepare you for the risks in business.
    2.    Be or recruit someone who is highly organized as an essential member of your team.
    3.    To retain quality staff, create enough space for them in the company to diversify and grow.

“Chefrepreneur” Jeffrey Zurofsky, co-founder of Wichcraft sandwich shop and judge on Bravo’s “Best New Restaurant,” suggests the obstacles of running an efficient kitchen and a successful restaurant should be a model for entrepreneurship. A high quality restaurant is like a virtuoso pianist playing a finely tuned piano: a great deal of talent, coordination and practice goes into an end result that appears graceful, effortless and exquisite. As paradoxical as it seems, for him creativity thrives within the bounds of a certain amount of discipline. In this episode Joe and Jeff discuss some of the finer points of applying these lessons to your business and life.  

Lessons:

    1.    To get the job done effectively, follow the kitchen inspired concept of mise en place--organize everything into its proper place before getting down to work.
    2.    In it’s essence, service is a well crafted method of preparation that ensures that the results are consistent and high quality. It is well worth honing this technique.
    3.    Avoid the big mistakes but accept the small ones as necessary obstacles to shape the unique character of your business.