SFR147: The REASON Im Here Today...

This is quite an emotional post for me.

 

I’m sitting in a hotel room in San Diego. It’s the hotel where we've been doing an event for the ClickFunnels ‘Two Comma Club’ Coaching Program. It’s been an intense few days - loads of fun, but extremely busy.

 

On Thursday and Friday, I had my own event.  On Sunday, I took a flight to San Diego and finished some big projects. Then on Monday night, I stayed up until 2am to complete the slides for my ‘Two Comma Club’ presentation on Tuesday.  It’s been event after event after event. Kinda crazy, but I really enjoy it.

 

Today, I’m sitting in my hotel room feeling tired. Tired, but incredibly grateful. I’m looking out over San Diego Bay and thinking about how much my life has changed. If you've been to San Diego you’ll know that the bay is beautiful - it’s absolutely amazing.  When I walked into my hotel room, I saw it had these windows all over the place and a fantastic view of the whole bay. I actually started crying - because only two years ago, I'd bootstrapped my way to San Diego to attend Funnel Hacking Live. And… it was THAT event that changed my life.

 

In the grand scheme of my lifetime - two years is no time at all. Seriously, I can hardly believe that two years ago my family struggled to afford anything more than the basics of life. Financially, things couldn't be more different now. However, more than the financial changes, I can't believe how much I've changed as a person. I can't believe all the things that have happened to me- and the lessons that I've learned.

 

From my room, with the amazing windows, I can see the hotel where the 2016 Funnel Hacking Live Event was held. It's right there between two of the buildings in front of me - that's why I cried. So many memories came flooding back.

 

 

You probably know the story of how I broke I was in 2016; I had a young family to support and seventeen failed businesses to my name. All of which doesn’t make you feel great. I had people depending on me, but I just couldn't get things to work out the way I wanted them to. I think most entrepreneurs have a similar story. It's not like you get taught this stuff in school. Most of us just kinda 'try it’ until we find out what works and what doesn't work. What sells and what doesn't sell. We go through a process of elimination. Man, but sometimes, it’s tough.

 

In March 2016, I was determined to get to Funnel Hacking Live. I didn't have enough money, so I’d decided that I’d adopt the entrepreneur's attitude that Robert Kiyosaki talks about. I decided to get resourceful, and get myself to Funnel Hacking Live anyway I could.'

 

“Never say you cannot afford something. That is a poor man’s attitude. Ask HOW to afford it.” -Robert Kiyosaki

I knew that if I could just find a way to get to FHL, that my life would change. Looking back, I had no idea how much - but somehow, I knew that it was imperative for me to go. So I got resourceful and bartered funnel builds for a ticket, followed by flights and hotel rooms.

 

I was so pumped when I made it to FHL.  But even when I got there, things weren’t exactly easy. I didn't eat much - because I couldn't afford to. I cycled to the event on one of those city bikes. You know, those little street bikes. I literally took my luggage, put it over my shoulder, and while I was balancing it over my shoulder, I pedaled all the way around the bay to the event.  I didn't have much cash, and what little I did have, I wasn't gonna spend on a freakin' taxi.

 

Imagine how I feel today-

 

From my gorgeous hotel room with all the windows and the view of the bay, I can even see the hotel where I stayed in 2016.

 

The hotel that I didn’t barter enough for a bed in for my final night. The hotel where I spent a night sat in the lobby going over my FLH notes like they were gold dust because I didn’t have a room. Those notes meant everything to me- I didn’t want to forget anything I learned. I didn’t have a bed, but I felt rich and excited in so many other ways.

 

Last night, I stood at my hotel window watching the ships going out on the bay, and I got a bit introspective. I stood there for a long time thinking. Then suddenly, the thought came into my head, 'Man, how did this all happen? How did I go from a broke college student struggling to support his family to the Lead Funnel Builder at Clickfunnels, then to running a successful business with so many opportunities around me all the time?'

 

I felt a bit shell shocked- so I went for a walk around the pier, right out there, eating Haagen-Daz and talking to my wife about how it all happened. It's just fascinating for me to think through all the pieces that brought us here. And the more I started to think about it, the more I realized that:

 

'I don't think I'd actually be here if I'd had money to get to Funnel Hacking Live 2016.  I don't know that I would have treated everything that Russell said with so much conviction at that event - if I'd had the cash to get a taxi.'

 

Interesting, isn't it? That the pursuit of my dream to get to FHL is what actually opened the gateway for all these other cool things to happen.  That the pursuit of hard stuff is what got me to where I am now. It’s why it's all worked out. Let me explain...

THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY

 

In my office, I have a wall full of quotes that I use to inspire me and keep me on track. One of then is from Ryan Holiday (I totally recommend his books btw). Anyway, this particular quote has come to mean a lot to me. It kinda symbolizes my journey in so many ways. And when I talk to other successful entrepreneurs, they always have the same story.

 

'The obstacle is the way' - Ryan Holiday.

 

This is such a useful mantra to have in your life. For instance, every time I don't know what to do, I make an effort to think about where the blockage is- and it's always in the pursuit of solving the problem that I move forward. Everything else that I try to do is just an easy distraction. Each time I overcome an obstacles, not only does my business grow, but it also adds to my attractive character- which helps people to relate to me even more. In short, the path of the obstacle ALWAYS ends up being ‘the thing’ that I needed all along.

 

I don't know that I'd have been hired at ClickFunnels if I’d had the money to get to FHL. I wouldn't have ferociously built funnels for other companies in exchange for tickets, flights and hotel rooms. I learned ClickFunnels so freakin' well by not having the cash. I had no other option. Before I got my fourteen-day free Clickfunnels trial, I planned out an entire funnel to make sure that I could start building straight away. Then I kissed my wife goodbye and hid in a room for two weeks. I worked solidly because I needed paying customers before my trial was up. I learned at a ferocious, desperate pace because of this limitation.

 

When I saw an advert for Funnel Hacking Live, I knew that we didn't have the cash to get me there. I could have got all despondent, but instead, I decide to lean into the obstacle and get resourceful. I remember thinking: 'How ...