Seanwes Podcast

I used to think writing was boring. I thought writing was only something writers did. So why did I write over half a million words in 2014? I realized that everything I did started with writing. Blog posts, videos, courses, speaking engagements, podcasts—all the best pieces of content began with writing. If it all starts with writing, why not begin my day with writing? 100 episodes ago, I talked about starting what I call Early Wake Daily Write. This habit of daily writing a couple thousand words a day has drastically changed my life. Everything I’ve accomplished in the past year I owe to writing. In this episode, I talk about why you need to write, why you don’t write, how to start writing, what to write about, where to use what you’ve written, and getting better at writing on purpose.

Isn't it crazy how one conversation can change the course of your life? If I had written a “Best of 2014” list on December 27th it would already be wrong. Normally, I do mini sabbatical episodes. Normally, they are short. Normally, they are solo shows. Normally, they have me playing kalimba in the background. Normally, they're pre-recorded. Nothing about what you're going to hear in this episode is normal. 2014 was an amazing year. More than a quarter of a million dollars from one product. Two new full-time employees. Over 100 podcast episodes. A daily video show. Redesigning my entire website. Live streaming a fully-produced, multi-DSLR video show multiple times a week. Starting Small Scale Sabbaticals. Launching and growing the Community to 3-figure membership and beyond. But I haven't even told you the crazy part yet. That's because the crazy part was one conversation over coffee just 2 days ago that changed the course of everything. You're about to hear a recap of this past year, but what the seanwes

I want to help you make a living with your passion. This is why I started working on a book in early 2014 called The Overlap Technique: it's a down-to-earth, practical guide to becoming an expert and making more money than your day job before you even quit. I got about 20,000 words into it, and then had to put it on the back-burner. I continued teaching a lot of the principles in the podcast, but I put the writing on hold to work on my website and building the Community. During the time that elapsed between starting the book and returning to it later in the year, I'd received hundreds of emails from people telling me their biggest struggles with pursuing their passions. I decided to throw out the first 20,000 words and start from scratch. The book will launch next year, but in the mean time, the tremendous feedback I've received has really shaped the book into being a direct answer to your most pressing questions. Giving the material some breathing room has really allowed me to refine the message. It's b

It’s about that time where we start reminiscing over the year that’s taken place and begin thinking about the new year to come. We talk about setting goals when it’s hard to think long term. How far in advance should you set goals? Should your goals have a time frame? How do you account for changing factors? I talk about the difference between timelines and time frames and how using the right words can help us when it comes to goals. What if you set a time frame for a goal and realize you’re not going to make it? What’s the best way to approach that situation? Should you have short term goals? How far in the future should we plan specific actions? We answer these and many other questions on goals, including whether or not they can serve as a tool to kickstart long-term thinking when it’s difficult.

As a followup to our recent episode on remote working, we discuss the challenges and benefits of working from home. We talk about identifying workspace problems, creating focus time, eliminating distractions, why you need silence, and how interruptions are kryptonite. It's better to have 90 minutes of focus time than it is to have 4 hours of potential interruption time. Though you work from home, how you dress actually has an impact on your productivity. You'll hear us share a tip that sounds harsh on the surface but actually enables you to be intentional with your family time. We dive into the benefits of coworking and how it might be more of an option than you think. Not only does it require less commitment than you might imagine, but there are also digital opportunities to connect with people that are a great option for super-remote home workers or introverts.

Earlier this week, I shared a new video called Lambo Goal. I talk about my big dreams, my friend Matt and I share some huge aspirations, and we inspire you to set bigger goals than you’ve ever dared. But that’s not the crazy part. I setup a website called LamboGoal.com and shared the video saying, “If you’re not inspired by this video, I’ll send you $5.” I’m dead serious. There’s no joke about it. I honestly believe so strongly that this video will be life-changing, that I’m willing to pay real money to anyone who doesn’t believe in me. It sounds crazy (probably because it is), but in this podcast episode I take you behind the scenes on why I’m doing it. I explain the 3 reasons I’m doing it from a marketing perspective as well as answer a bunch of questions about the Lambo Goal.

A lot of jobs want you to move to work there. They want you in the office. There are certainly a lot of benefits to being in person, but there are a lot of things you give up. Technologically, we’re trending in a direction of remote working, but a lot of companies are still resistant to it. Can you really get work done when working remotely? We have a special guest today who’s living proof that you can. Our very own Aaron Dowd joins us—The Podcast Dude! He edits the seanwes podcast as well as many other popular shows. He does all of his work from a laptop wherever he happens to be. He, Ben, and I talk about the beauty of flexibility when it comes to work. Whether it’s the ability for Aaron to tour with his band, or the opportunity for Ben to spend time with his growing kids, or the chance for me to work from my home office and travel when I want to, having that freedom is something you just can’t put a price on. People stereotype homeworkers: they say they sleep in, they don’t wear pants, they never get w

When you have a supportive family, it’s hard to imagine things any other way. If your family supports you in what you do, consider yourself blessed. I know I do. I get a lot of emails from people asking how to pursue their passion or do the things they love to do when their family or parents don’t believe in them. They say they’re not “rational” or they’re being unwise simply because they’re not choosing the common path of the 9-to-5. On the surface, it’s heartbreaking. You’d think your family would be the most supportive of everyone! While initially it seems disconcerting, we dig into the deeper meanings of why they might be offering contrary advice (hint: it often stems out of caring). Regardless, sometimes you need to just say, “You know what? Screw being rational!” Rational is what is proven. Rational is mediocrity. If you want to be average, be rational. I’m not satisfied with rational and I don’t think you are either. In this episode, we talk about taking risks. We talk about the facade of safety an

The dying never wish they lived for more tomorrows. They never wish they obsessed more over unimportant things or cared more about what other people thought of them. Eventually you run out of tomorrows to live for and that’s when you realize all you had was now. Eventually you spend all of your time catering to other people’s fleeting thoughts about you, only to realize you never actually thought about what you wanted to be. Are you living for the next thing?

Is debt ever a good idea? What about credit cards if you pay them off quickly? Should you save for retirement? What's the difference between saving for retirement and investing? How do you differentiate between personal spending and business spending? Ben and I share our thoughts on these and other questions and I talk about whether $4 coffees or a Netflix subscriptions are a bad thing when it comes to keeping expenses down.

Tenacity. Are you born with it? If you don’t have it, is it a learnable skill? Could you handle 800 rejections in a row? What if they all took place in the same year? I think a lot of people are living vicariously. They consume so much of what others in the entrepreneurial space are producing that they trick themselves into thinking they’ve done anything at all—that they’ve actually tried and failed. I think a lot of people fail once and they call it quits. Forget 800 times, they throw in the towel at the first resistance. They take it as a “sign” that it “wasn’t meant to be.” We talk about whether passion only comes from things that work, the hand-written letter that changed the life of one artist who makes a comic strip you know and love, and why you should keep showing up even if no one is listening.

I was sitting at the bar right behind the espresso machines while they were making the coffee. They were announcing the other drinks and I wasn't really paying too much attention…

How can you amplify your message in a way that sounds enthusiastic rather than angry? Most people think of speaking as talking. But according to vocal master Roger Love who has coached stars from John Mayor to Kiera Knightly and the entire cast of Glee, we should really think of it more as singing. Your speaking has an inherent melody to it. If you’re not conscious of this when you’re speaking, you will have a very flat melody. Just like in music, you need an audibly intriguing melody to not only bring people in, but also to keep their interest. In this mini sabbatical episode, I share notes I took from Roger’s advice broken down into 3 sections for improvement: Melody, Volume, and Continuity. You’ll learn to be aware of the “squeaky hinge” you didn’t know you had, the power of intentional silence, and where to begin improving your voice if you’re just getting started with speaking or podcasting.

Kevin writes in to inquire about the deeper motivations for doing what you do beyond just monetary. He asked me to share stories and anecdotes from people who have been impacted by my work and efforts. This led to a discussion on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. If we're only motivated by external validation, what happens when there are no accolades for fuel? On a whim, Ben conjures a beautiful analogy featuring an iceberg and a buoy that really ties everything together. This is definitely an inspirational episodes that will not only motivate you but get you thinking on deeper issues of purpose.

As a content creator, you simultaneously face two challenges: providing relevant content for your existing audience and coming up with something intriguing enough to also attract new people. There's a tricky balance between delivering the depth your long-time followers crave while creating entrance points and handles for first-timers to grab onto. As if this wasn't challenging enough, you then end up dealing with yet another party: the hecklers (aka the "Trolls"). These people aren't within your existing audience, but can be easily mistaken for people in your potential audience. How do you recognize the person who is never going to be in your audience? How do you avoid catering to their criticisms out of hope that they turn into a loyal fan when really they were never interested in anything other than heckling? We talk about finding your message, going deep with the audience you have, growing your audience, and navigating the confusing nuances between legitimate criticism and full-on trolling.

Look, I get it. You’ve worked hard to build up your expertise. You’ve put a lot of effort into making your product. You know it’s good! You know you can help people! Can’t they just pay and see for themselves? Must you really go through the awkwardness of selling? It seems so... dirty. The trouble is, you do have to sell. It’s a noisy world and selling is the cost of entry if you want to do business. You have to promote. You have to market. But you can do it in a way that doesn’t make you feel gross. In this episode, I tell you how to market your products and services without feeling like a slimy salesman. You’ll hear a trick for how to market every day without feeling like you’re selling every day. I give you a way to keep from feeling spammy when you promote, two ways to prevent over-spamming (and how I plan to do the second one), as well as the reason I only ever make a single promotional post on social media for any one given thing. Lastly, we talk about why you feel bad selling, I share my “don’t be

What’s in a name? Well when it comes to your business, a whole lot! It may seem inconsequential, but your name bears with it a lot of implications. A personal name implies personal involvement. The nice thing is you have a great deal of flexibility, but it requires long-term participation. A business name may have less flexibility, but it can get you traction sooner and is much easier to sell later on if that’s what you’re planning. Which is better? Which should you start with for your first business? What about your second business? Third? I break this into two parts: Part 1: Should I brand myself with my name or as a business? Part 2: Should new projects be under a separate brand name? I talk about transparency, your brand umbrella, and why you need to know your long term plan to make effective brand decisions right now.

I’ve got a MASSIVE episode on client relations for you here today. I’m going to share the top 10 mistakes you’re making with clients that cost you. These mistakes are costing you in a number of ways: They’re causing you to lose time, to lose money, to miss great opportunities, to miss out on working with the right type of people, to devalue your work, to get paid slower, to be seen as a novice, and to lose the respect of your client. It’s been awhile since I talked specifically about the nitty-gritty details of client work, so I have an overwhelming amount to share on the subject and I don’t hold back.

Hey, you’re good at a bunch of things. There are a number of pursuits you enjoy and really like doing. There are even more things you would love to do if you could. Does pursuing just one of those passions give you a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction? Do you feel like no matter which passion you’re feeding, the others get jealous? If you’re good at multiple things, not doing one almost feels like a waste of talent. You feel like you owe it to yourself to pursue them all. In this episode, we talk about whether it’s possible to have multiple passions (spoiler: it is, and you’re normal for having them), the way you know if you truly are passionate about one of them, and whether or not you should be diversifying your time investment. Each fire pit represents one of your passions. It’s tempting to rush from pit to pit to stoke the embers. But this multitasking and split focus ensures you’ll never build up any one of the fires to a roaring blaze that can be seen for miles around. We talk about why it’s bett

You’ve stumbled across 90 completely free days. You’ve got three whole months where you’re able to work on any project without worrying about money. Your bills are covered for these 90 days. The question: can you build sustainable income in this amount of time? Can you use these three months to build something that generates revenue and supports you? No question, you can make some money, but I’m talking about building something that will support you. I’m talking about something that consistently makes money so that you don’t have to worry about paying bills anymore. Is it even possible? Yes, but it requires 3 things. The 3rd is the only one that can be done in 90 days. If you already have the first 2, it just might work. I tell you what those 3 things are in this episode. I also explain the reason you should do client work in the beginning whether you like it or not and why client work is the key to products. Depending on where you are right now, you may or may not be able to build sustainable income in