083: How I Became the Number One Writer on Medium with Ben Hardy

Overview

On this episode of Build Your Network, Host Travis Chappell interviews Ben Hardy, the number one writer on medium.com and author.

Topics Discussed:

  • About Ben Hardy:
    • Finishing up his PhD in business psychology studying the difference between wannabe entrepreneurs and real entrepreneurs.
    • Does a lot of speaking and spends time with his foster children.
    • Most excited about launching his book Willpower Doesn’t Work.
      • If you do not create and control your environment, your environment will create and control you.
      • Launches March 6th.
    • What is the difference between real entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs?
      • What’s the difference between dreamers and doers?
      • When a person starts investing money into their goals and their dreams, they experience the “sunk cost bias.”
      • You can use investment to create motivation.
      • Change your environment so you can change yourself.
      • When you invest into yourself, you never lose your money.
    • When you become invested in something, two things happen:
      • You feel like you need to make good on your investment.
      • You put yourself in proximity to have great mentors.
    • How much time and money did you invest in your blog before you saw a return?
      • He had been reading and studying before he started investing dollars.
      • Writing a year and invested a lot of time and around $5,000-10,000 before he made any money.
      • Started consulting and made $21,000 in a week.
      • You have to think long-term and you’ll have a lot of nay-sayers.
      • Consistent, quality effort will gain traction over time.
      • Just because you’re spending money, doesn’t mean you’re going to get results.
    • Do you believe that what you know or who you know is more important, and why?
      • Both, you need to know the right people to get the right leverage, but if you don’t know how to contribute, you can’t get what you want.
      • You have to have something enormous to contribute to a mentorship, even if you’re paying for it.
      • Travis paid for a mastermind with John Lee Dumas and switched his thinking to “how can I give something to John Lee Dumas?”
        • He’s now introduced as John’s friend.
      • Why do you think so many people neglect to network?
        • People just don’t understand it, they don’t want to throw their money at something that doesn’t make sense.
        • A lot of people are unclear on where they want to go.
        • Once you know what you want and the skills you need to develop, then you need the right relationships to get you there.
        • If you want to play in the big world, you have to take risks.
        • You need to have vision.
        • When the why is strong enough, you’ll figure out how.
        • When you spend time with people who are on completely different levels than you, you start skipping levels.
      • Talk into your mastermind experiences.
        • If you invest in failure, you’re going to fail faster and learn quicker.
        • Winning is rarely the path to learning.
        • With masterminds, it’s not what you get back, it’s about collaboration.
        • In western culture, we’re so individualistic, but it’s really about how the environment transforms the individual.
        • Just getting access is the starting point.
      • When you finally started to connect with people at a higher level, did you experience a lot of rejection?
        • Rejection is par for the course.
        • It’s better to have people come to you than to go to them.
          • If you’re pumping out work that can’t be ignored, it’s very easy for people to want to connect with you.
          • Don’t let that stop you from making the ask, but double down on the work.
        • You can buy your way into any relationship, but if you have a lot to give, people want to be in your circle.

The Random Round:

  • What profession other than your own do you think it would be fun to attempt?
    • Acting
  • If you could sit on a park bench for an hour with anyone past or present, who would it be?
    • Michael Jordan, he’s fascinating.
  • How do you like to learn best, books, blogs, podcasts or video?
    • Audio Books
  • What’s one of the best audio books you’ve listened to recently?
    • The Body Keeps the Score
  • Give us a glimpse of your morning routine?
    • Drive to a parking lot and journal
    • Meditate and pray
    • Starts the day
  • What is your go-to pump up song:
    • Duel of Fates – Daft Punk
  • What are you not very good at?
    • Organization and Logistics
  • Find him online at benjaminhardy.com or medium.com

Tweetable Quotes:

  • “When you invest into yourself, you never lose your money.”
  • “If you want to play in the big world, you have to take risks.”
  • “When you spend time with people who are on completely different levels than you, you start skipping levels.

Resources Mentioned:

Buildyournetwork.com – Podcast website

BYN.media/fb – Facebook Group

Willpower Doesn’t Work – book by Benjamin Hardy

Benjaminhardy.com

Medium.com

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Book

Give and Take Book

The Art of Learning Book

The Body Keeps the Score Book

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