My timing was awesome for a change.
After months of coordinating details for a Smart and Simple Matters (SASM) episode with one of our Simple Sages – Scott Dinsmore – we got to chat shortly after Scott starts blowing up the Internet.
It's not just his recent How to Connect with Anyone course/community launch or his powerful TEDx Talk on How to Find and Do Work You Love. He's on Zen Habits, Smart Passive Income, and just about everywhere else I look.
I've been following Scott's journey at Live Your Legend for three years and I see why he's taking off like a rocket. The clarity and impact behind his message resonates because of statements from our SASM episode like these:
Doing work you love, doing work that is you…is a right. – Scott Dinsmore
and
I believe the purpose of most of us trying to help people is to inspire possibility. – Scott Dinsmore
I've been fortunate to have other Simple Sages like Pat Flynn, Courtney Carver, and Colin Wright on the show. Adding Scott to the lineup fills me with gratitude and his words are going to help a ton of folks.
Scott and I have much in common like our shared passion for the power of “why,” building amazing relationships, and doing the impossible. But we have different approaches to a number of things.
For example, Scott has investors outsource responsibility to him for growing their money while I empower others to insource their investments through Start Investing with $100. Both are principled positions with the same goal, yet we help people meet a need in very different ways.
With that said, I can't wait for you to listen to these 45 minutes of awesomeness. Like the other Simple Sages on SASM so far, there was much more I wanted to cover. But I'm super proud of the value we generated in the time we had.
Just make sure you check out the resources from this episode I link to below. There's a ton of great stuff waiting to be discovered, so please click a link or two after listening. If you want my curated list of Scott's greatest Internet hits as well, let me know in the comments.
As I say in the intro to the show, get ready for some serious fireworks baby!
What You'll Learn
What will you learn in this one? Geez, where do I start? I'll give it a shot though.
In this episode you'll learn about:
- Scott's definition of success and how it leads to remarkable relationships.
- Why you want to “brainwash the impossible” (and how you do it).
- What event in Scott's life was the ultimate 80/20 return on investment.
- How much bigger your “why” can be than your “how” and “what.”
- What Warren Buffett knows a ton about besides investing.
- The formative event that sent Scott down the path to success.
- What relationship step out of twenty being connected via social media is.
- How to build a habit of “controlling what you can control.”
- What's in the Passionate Work Framework (and why you want it).
- Reciprocal inspiration and how it starts.
- Why field learning is more powerful than classroom learning.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now and Never Miss an Episode: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS
Resources and Items Mentioned in This Episode Include:
- Websites:
- Resources:
- Live Your Legend Passionate Work Toolkit
- Start Investing with $100
- The Personal User Guide
- Books:
- Videos:
- Partner Charities:
- Scott's (impossible2Possible)
- Joel's (Second Harvest Heartland)
- Live Your Legend Blog Posts:
Topics
- [04:52] What's shaped Scott since his college days
- [11:49] What success with relationships means
- [16:34] Insightful investing commentary and Scott's role at Cumbre Capital Partners
- [21:11] Weighting the role of “why,” “how,” and “what” at Live Your Legend
- [27:50] Scott's partner charity impossible2Possible
- [34:40] A vivid verbal recap of Scott's TEDx experience
- [37:49] The Mt. Everest of physical challenges
Awesome Ways to Subscribe to the Show
If you're not already subscribed for automatic notifications of a new show, please do so with one of the links below.
- Click here to subscribe with iTunes
- Click here to subscribe via RSS
- Click here to subscribe via Stitcher
Transcript
- Click here to download the transcript
I'm Grateful for Your iTunes Reviews!
If you enjoyed this specific episode or the Smart and Simple Matters show in general, I always appreciate when people go to the iTunes page and leave an honest review. Every single review is a huge help and received with gratitude!
If you want to make me incredibly thankful, like the people who have recently left an iTunes review, here are the four quick steps (assuming iTunes is already installed):
- Visit the Smart and Simple Matters iTunes page here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/value-simple-podcast-joel/id545208089
- Click the blue button on the left labeled “View in iTunes” below the cover art of the show
- When iTunes loads, scroll down below the “Customer Reviews” section and click the link labeled “Write a Review”
- Write a review with whatever title you like, whatever length you have time for, and give the show an honest rating. If you don't think it deserves five stars, don't rate it as a five star show.
And if you have someone or something you'd like us to cover on an upcoming show, tell us in the comments below.
Love it! Of course I’m a bit biased, being a fan of Scott.
“Leave it to me to pull my hamstring in a freaking yoga class.” No, Scott! Bikram hot yoga has the highest injury rate among the different forms of yoga, it’s not just you!
Reading this reminds me that I need to get my butt out of farmville ASAP.
Happy holidays!
I wonder why Bikram has the highest rate of injury Amit. I’m half hoping you already know the link to the research and will provide it (so I don’t have to find it myself). On second thought, forget about replying to this with the link. Get your butt out of Farmville and start doing the impossible!
P.S. Happy holidays from one atheist to another.
Enjoyed listening to the interview and clicking on the links. When I clicked on the TED talk and read the first 2 comments below the talk, rather than asking ‘How to find and do work you love?’ I wanted to know the answers to the questions asked in the comments, when you find that work,and the changes take much longer than expected, how do you persist?
And the second comment, I have noticed that most people become successful not from following their dreams but in teaching others to do so.
I like the observations you made Priska. As of 10 months ago, I finally found work I loved. The changes to my life since then have been profound and mostly unpredictable (with the unpredictable part being intentional). Although some expectations – rational and irrational – have crept in, I’ve been pretty successful in limiting them. I might not be able to say the same thing next year and I guess that’s where your question comes in about how to persist. I’ll see if I can get Scott over here to address your comment as he will have more insight than I do.
P.S. Following your own dreams first sometimes is a prerequisite to help other people follow theirs, don’t ya think?
Thanks for chiming in Priska!
When it comes to things taking longer than expected (which they always do) you just have to remember and embrace the journey of it and recognize that meaningful things often take time. So that often means doing things on the side or part time as they get up and running. That’s how many people get started and is much lower risk. As Pam Slim calls the “Side Hustle”. I call it the no excuses method ;). That is also why surrounding yourself with inspiring and passionate people is so absolutely crucial to long term success. They will keep you inspired and committed, especially as the road gets longer and longer, as it surely will.
As for expertise, yes – teaching someone how to do something that you are particularly good at is a great way to start making money from a passion. The key is finding a way to leverage your passion to help people in a meaningful way to THEM. That is all that really matters. There are lots of ways to do that. Teaching an expertise is definitely one of them.
Hope that helps!
-Scott
Great podcast. This it the first one I have listened to of yours. You have a great rapport with Scott.
I am familiar with his story since I am a LYL reader but there were a lot of things I learned as well.
I met him a few months ago at his first live LYL event in SF. I was impressed with the event and all that he has built. He puts 100% + energy into his endeavors and you can see the results with the success of LYL and the community he has built.
I didn’t realize you were in the Bay area Wendy. I’m a bit envious because there is such a huge concentration of awesome people doing awesome things there. I know Scott has plans for LYL events in other cities throughout the world and I’m hoping the Twin Cities will be one of those in 2013.
Thanks for listening!
I too find it’s absolutely true about the confidence you get by breaking physical barriers. I always worried I was kind of soft, that I wouldn’t have the mettle to finish things when the going got tough, but my stint in the oilpatch really cured me of that– if it’s important, it’ll be done.
This was a great interview with Scott. Looks like Live Your Legend is only the smallest part of his activities. It’s always interesting to see that.
I never worried about your toughness after reading your guest post on Puttylike (a vivid story and great read for those of you not familiar with Shanna).
It sure is fun to explore people’s back stories and see how much more they are than what you can find online.
I agree with Shanna – I felt that way after I started running, which I always assumed was “too hard” and it does feel that way, but it’s true – you get a lot of confidence when you break those boundaries.
I really like what he said about relationships. My main goal for the new year is to do a better job in that aspect of my life.
You mention that “the purpose of most of us trying to help people is to inspire possibility” — but, I believe that most people know that anything is possible (some might be afraid to admit it, though, because that would make them accountable – but deep inside, they *know*), SO…. I think helping people is about something deeper. My point and question for anyone who would like to answer…
After one has “inspired possibility” how can we continue to create something useful and challenging for that person?
The question you pose is worthy of a blog post length response Denise. But I’ll give you an abridged version for now and hope that other people will answer too. I think this could be a great jumping off point for more discussion about Scott’s message.
For me, my primary goal is not to inspire possibility (I think of it as a by-product to what I do and why I do it). But once that’s occurred – and I rarely know when I help someone achieve it due to the silent majority on most blogs – it’s all about putting the best resources possible in front of that person.
I see myself as a breadcrumb delivery man. Some of the breadcrumbs I take from my own loaf of bread (e.g. this website, my podcast, videos I create, in-depth courses like Start Investing with $100) and the rest I borrow from other people who are building amazing tools to improve everyone around them in a specific way. I actually spend more time teaching and sharing other people’s principles and content than my own. And that’s because what I am, what I do, and where I’m heading is a beautiful miss-mash of all these various motivational sources.
To briefly sum up, I see it as my role in the world to not always be the one creating the “go-to” stuff to continuously challenge others and help them grow. I can funnel attention back to the person I’m trying to help and let them see that I’m just a small piece of their desire to change. The curator in me is always looking to aggregate and show everyone else how many sources we should be using for change. Focusing on too few sources for your inspiration, motivation, and action is limiting in my opinion and I try to show others that it could be for them too.
Sorry, I guess that question could be answered with a blog post! But, your abridged version is perfect! Seriously. I like how you put it. Creating & sharing resources from others is what it’s all about. Thanks, Joel!
Cheers, Joel. I really enjoyed hearing Scott talk more in depth about his philosophy around doing the physical challenges. I never thought I’d hear anyone say that they thought running an 100 mile ultra-marathon might be “fun.” I admire your dedication to your chosen charity partners as well, and love how the organizations line up so well with your missions.
Oh, and dinner parties are on the top of my list for this year too! I’ve always used my tiny apartment as an excuse, but I think I’m going to just get a big ol’ pile of nifty floor cushions and pillows for the living room and do it eastern style. Keith Ferrazzi definitely convinced me that it’s worthwhile.
Congrats on another great episode!
I think Scott will be happy to see me and you spreading the Keith Ferrazzi gospel. 🙂
Just back from vacation, and, man, this post has me excited about 2013.
“Build a habit of controlling what you can control.” What an awesome thought. I know I get way bent out of shape trying to focus on all of the stuff I can’t do a thing about.
I’m checking out Scott’s planning guide for the year now!
Hey Michael,
I’m glad you’re fired up after hearing our chat. A word to the wise though: Scott normally publishes a new version of the Goal Setting and Action Workbook in the first few days of the new year. You might want to hold off on digging into it until the new version comes out…or you might not. I certainly couldn’t wait to get started myself at the beginning of December!
I like Scott’s stuff (thanks for the introduction, Joel!) and so can’t wait to listen to this interview. Just your list of teasers has me fascinated! I keep trying and then realizing this time of year and the environment I’m in (away from home) just aren’t conducive to losing myself in podcasts. So until then, I’ll just enjoy the anticipation.
Thanks to both of you for putting this interview together!