How A Top Entrepreneur Can Win Both At Work And Life With Justin Breen

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur

 

Many people consider a top entrepreneur as someone who runs a thriving business that creates handsome revenue. Although it is indeed one major thing to consider, it is not the only element that dictates success. For Justin Breen (@BrEpicComm), if they cannot put their loved ones first, they are winning the wrong game. Joining Dr. Patty Ann Tublin, he discusses how to build collaborative global companies while keeping personal relationships healthy. Justin also talks about the four main excuses that hinder entrepreneurs from succeeding, how to avoid falling into the empathy rabbit hole, and the role of his unstable family in shaping his current endeavors.

Listen to the podcast here

 

The #1 Secret to Building a SUCCESSFUL Company with Justin Breen

In this episode, I have an amazing entrepreneur who is an Amazon bestseller with his book. Before we go any further since you are going to love this show and interview, make sure you like, comment, share and subscribe to the show. Let me tell you a little bit about our guest. He is the CEO of a global PR firm called BrEpic Communications. He is a number one international bestselling author from previous books.

He is an active member of the number one coaching organization in the world called Strategic Coach. He’s also a member of Abundance 360 Summit. He has an incredible global network of visionaries and exceptional businesses. Make sure you buckle up because you are going to be in for a treat from Justin Breen. Thank you so much, Justin, for agreeing to be a guest. I’m so excited to have you on.

That was a tremendous intro. I don’t usually say that much. I’ve been a journalist for several years, so that was a nice way to open. I appreciate it.

You’re welcome. You make it so easy. Usually, I share a little bit less, but you are incredible. Why don’t you start and tell us a little bit about who you are and what floats your boat from a person, not just a business perspective?

I’m not a business owner, just a full entrepreneur. I read your interview with Scott Danner. It was good.

Thank you for reading. That’s where you got the Brooklynese comment from.

I’m amazed. I’ve been a journalist for several years, and I like to know who I’m talking to a little bit ahead of time. The most insulting question anyone can ask is, “What do you do?”

That’s an American question. Only American gets that.

It’s a weird question to me. Also, I like to know who someone is. I don’t care what they do. I like to know who they are.

I have a very dear friend who’s a physician. He said when people say, “What do you do?” he goes, “What I do is practice medicine, but who I am is David.”

He’s a smart guy. That’s a high level of thinking. The second most annoying question is, “Can I pick your brain?” That’s code for, “Can I waste your time?”

“Can I buy you lunch and pick your brain and get free advice?” I don’t think I’ve ever asked anybody those questions on this show. I’ll go back and read or be in trouble with you.

It’s funny because I never come prepared for interviews. As a journalist for several years, there were only two questions that I always asked, and then everything else was organic, but the first one was, “Who are your parents?” It’s because if someone knows where they come from, they can know who they are, where they are, and where they’re going, but most of the time, it starts, “Where you come from?” Most people don’t think about that or know. The last question I’ve always asked people over tens of thousands of interviews is, “Is there anything else you’d like to add something else that would be good for the story? Am I missing anything?” Many times, it’s something they wanted to say, but it was never framed the way they could say it.

That’s interesting. I haven’t asked it on the show, but I ask it when I’m coaching or consulting, “What’s the question I need the answer to that I didn’t know enough to ask?”

That’s the same question. What I found is this is the first time we’ve talked in this format. I can tell right away whether someone’s a high-level thinker like you or whether they don’t know what they were talking about. The way you and Scott bonded immediately. You can tell. I found that it’s a product of having the right mindset that creates the right network and opportunity. I still haven’t answered your question, but I will.

Which I have taken note of. I do have to do full disclosure in terms of doing shows because I like to make my show different than others. I like to try to ask different questions. One of the reasons why I developed the skill is that I’ve done TV for years. It didn’t just happen. I had a Dr. Patty Ann Tuesday Tips for Success and what they would do in one of the segments is the viewers would call in or however they would do it and ask a business and a personal question. As you’re trying to answer, you have the producer in your ear, “Thirty seconds, we’ll go into a commercial.” You learn to get to the answer. That’s what’s helping.

There are a couple of things from that. What I do most of my day is talk to the world’s top entrepreneurs, not business owners, consultants, or employee humans, but the world’s top entrepreneurs. It’s usually global visionaries, but not always like us who are married to stabilizing humans. There are exceptions to that. My wife is a pediatrician, so warmth, empathy, rules, order, and schedule.

Honestly, because I have a medical background, not only as a physician, but I believe being a pediatrician is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Not because of the kids, but because of the crazy parents, and they’re getting worse.

Our first date was the day before she started medical school. If there’s anything comparable to being an entrepreneur, I would say it’s going through medical school. I’d be the worst doctor ever.

Why?

I don’t like medicine, following rules, and waiting for things. I would never deal with annoying parents. That’s a no. My wife would be the worst entrepreneur ever because she needs to feel safe and secure. She needs structure, and I don’t. Global visionaries create their own structure because they don’t like structure.

We laugh in the face of the structure.

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur
Top Entrepreneur: Most people would choose to make money as equally as they would like to spend time with their families.

 

This interview is completely unstructured, which is funny, but that’s good. I like that. Most of my day is either spending time with my wife, the most wonderful human I’ve ever met.

Is she still practicing medicine?

Yes.

How are you spending most of your day with her?

That’s an interesting follow-up question. Because of my company’s success, she works part-time now. We have a lot of time together. We have two young sons. We spend a lot of time with them, and I’m just a dad who happens to be an entrepreneur. I talked to one to two folks like us every single week. You’re an exception with four kids, long marriage, and twins.

I guess you’re reading my bio.

No, I’m not. You’re very perceptive. No one’s ever mentioned that. I don’t like looking straight ahead. I’ve learn and think by looking around.

It’s so funny you say that because I was getting critiqued for something. I was told that when I’m thinking, I look up. I forget to the right or the left. I’ve been practicing to try not to do that because as much as I can connect with my eyes, I like to, but you’re an entrepreneur, so I get it.

I read somewhere that a good part of communication is non-verbal, but if people don’t like the way I communicate, I don’t care.

Stop right there. You run a PR firm, yes?

Yes. I haven’t done outbound sales or gimmicks in years. The people who do like me are top global visionaries. They love the directness. They don’t care where I look. They just give me the answer. I talked to top entrepreneurs all day. One to two a week has let entrepreneur life destroy their family life or prevented them from ever having a family. I will never be that person. That’s what my new book is about. It’s how to build collaborative global companies while putting your loved ones first. They’re like, “You can put your family or loved ones first and build great companies?” Yes, you don’t have to destroy it.

In fairness to us entrepreneurs, it’s not just us. I’d love to know your thought on this. I could say a lot of negative things about the younger generation, but I’m chuckling and enjoying them. People don’t like the term work-life balance. I wrote a book on it. I don’t want to get caught up in the nomenclature. We can call it work-life harmony or call it whatever we want. We all know that we’re talking about having a life and working.

I feel that our culture has given us the message that you can’t have it all. If you put anything before your career and whatever that looks like, especially as entrepreneurs, we have the freedom to work 25 hours a day if we want, it’s hard to set up boundaries. There’s no unplugging. I don’t know if it’s in the entrepreneurial world where I see that family life and personal relationships have been sacrificed for financial success. We know success is not supposed to be financial, but when most people talk about success, they’re talking about money.

One of the chapters in my book is Winning the Wrong Game. Most of my days, I hear, “Blah, blah,” and then here’s your answer, “Simplify. Less is more.” Most of the people I talked to have ADD diagnosed or undiagnosed. It’s not a disorder. It’s a sign of a genius. It’s mislabeled because people don’t understand it. I can keep up with them and then provide an answer and execute.

It was an interesting thing reading your interview with Scott Danner because you were talking about empathy and all that stuff and that people get lost in empathy. There are 34 Gallup CliftonStrengths. I am 34 out of 34 in Empathy, dead last, and 33 out of 34 an Includer, so second to last in that. However, there’s a caveat to that. Talking to people like you and top entrepreneurs on the planet, I have endless empathy. If your dad dies and your mom has to carry the burden, I feel that so strongly. My dad died when I was young, and my mom carried the burden.

What separates entrepreneurs from everyone else is I haven’t met one entrepreneur at the highest level. I’m not talking about consultants or business owners. I’m talking about a few percentages of the population that hasn’t overcome at least one of the following four things. Most are 2 or 3, and it’s gotten higher up on the food chain. Most of the folks were all fours now.

This is all it is. Here’s what separates entrepreneurs from everyone else. 1) Bankruptcy or potential bankruptcy 2) Depression 3) The highest level of anxiety you can imagine, and 4) Likely and/or possible traumatic experiences as a child or young adult. Humans, consultants, and business owners use those as excuses. Entrepreneurs at the highest-level figure it out.

They use it as rocket fuel. In my background as a clinical psychologist, the research is that anxiety and depression are at the highest levels it’s ever been. There are many reasons for that. I would never ever vilify technology, but a lot of it has to do with technology. Everything in life is yin and yang. With every benefit comes the downside. It’s physics, equal and opposite reaction.

We’re in the middle of a revolution. When you first get something new, it’s like you are learning a new word. You use it all the time and then use it wrong. Over time, you use the word correctly, not try to impress people and then internalize it. That’s what we’re going through with social media. I would also argue that, to varying degrees, I don’t think you can get through childhood not having experienced trauma. I’m not so sure that what you delineated separates the entrepreneur from anybody else. Let’s have that discussion.

I’ve talked to over 1,000 people. With what I said, you’re the first person who’s ever questioned it, so I’m glad.

I’m not saying I’m right.

Most of my days talking to the top entrepreneurs, and I still haven’t met one that hasn’t overcome at least 1 of those 4 things.

Entrepreneurs are the most damaged people with the best coping skills.

I don’t doubt that. I don’t want to take us down a rabbit hole. I want to have an interesting conversation. What I’m saying is I’m suggesting that perhaps most people have had those things to overcome, so maybe there’s more or another variable.

There are 34 StrengthFinders. I’m 32 out of 34 in ideation. Almost all of my good ideas come from these conversations. This is how I learn in real-time. I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole. I want somebody to give me the answer. I don’t care about rabbit holes or overthinking things.

What do you think it might be?

I don’t think there’s anything else. That’s what I’ve seen. It’s funny because I say those four things, and then these top entrepreneurs are nodding and are like, “Check, check.”

I agree with you, but what I’m saying is that only entrepreneurs have endured that. I want to make sure I’m clear.

I appreciate that. However, my entire life has been talking to top entrepreneurs. Everything else doesn’t concern me. It’s not that I don’t sympathize. I don’t understand excuses. It makes no sense to me. When people make excuses, I’m like, “Why are you here?”

A famous person said something about, “The person that will criticize is the man that was never in the arena.” You set up an excuse because you’re giving yourself an out not to try. You miss out.

That makes no sense.

Were you always like this? Where did that come from? What’s the history there?

My research comes from talking to top people in the world and then them saying, “That makes sense.” You’re either born like this or you’re not. Most people would choose to make as much money as they want, spend as much time with their families as they want, do what they like to do and what they’re good at, and only partner with a certain type of person.

I’m guessing they would choose that, but if you’re like, “You have to overcome bankruptcy or potential bankruptcy, depression, and all those four things,” they’re like, “I’m not going to do that.” I was born to be this person. What does that mean? I was born with a story and born to be like this. When I was born, my dad was 61. My mom was 27. This is what the first chapter of the book is about.

Can I ask you what number of marriages it was for your dad?

I don’t know the actual answer to that.

Wasn’t it number one?

I don’t know. We think he might have been married after the Korean War. You’re the first person that’s also ever asked me that. It’s interesting how your brain works.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I love to do this.

You’re probably a 9 or 10 Quick Start in Kolbe. I’m a seven, and you’re like, “I must ask this immediately.” I’m like that as well when I interview people.

That’s just being a New Yorker.

That’s the Brooklynese. I live in the Chicago area, and people are like, “Are you sure you’re not from the East Coast or West Coast?” It’s because of the Midwestern values and a little slower here. I get stuff done. My top StrengthFinder is Activate, the second one is Maximize, and the third is Achiever. It’s result and result.

You’re an entrepreneur through and through.

Talking to me is meaningless without doing anything. Empathy plus action, which you and Scott were talking about, that’s what was so interesting. You get lost in an empathy rabbit hole, and I do not do that. I take action. I just do it.

Back at the ranch, you’re born, your mother is 27, and your dad’s 61.

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur
Top Entrepreneur: Make sure you only do what you like to do. School is fine, but be sure to create other stuff as well.

 

My father was a World War II hero. He came from nothing. He was shot down nine times in combat, many times without a parachute, got back in the plane, and became an attorney.

Was he a pilot?

He was a bomb spotter. He got back on the plane with no excuses. He died when I was thirteen. After he died, I found his diary, which there are some excerpts from it in the book.

Were your parents married?

Yes, they were married.

There’s so much you don’t know about him. I thought maybe he wasn’t in your life.

No, he was the best dad ever. He was shot down multiple times in combat. I found this diary after he died of his experiences fighting the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. It was a very deadly battle toward the end of World War II. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever written. There are some excerpts in the book. It was horrific, and no excuses. That’s my dad. When he was in his late 50s, a drunk driver went across the median of a highway and hit him head-on. The drunk driver was killed instantly, and dad broke every bone in his body. He survived because he didn’t make excuses, and then my mom was his nurse, so that’s how he met my mom.

Was your mom literally his nurse?

Yes. All I do is talk to top entrepreneurs, but I have not met anyone with more hustle than my mom ever, ultimate survive and thrive.

Why do you say that?

It’s because what she’s overcome in life is more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life ever.

Such as?

Her cousins committed suicide, multiple ones. My youngest brother died. She’s been married multiple times. She came from nothing.

What happened to your youngest brother?

Opioid overdose.

I’m sorry.

That’s childhood trauma.

I just read the book Empire of Pain, the Sackler family. I’m in Connecticut down the street where Purdue Pharma was. When you read that book, you will be disgusted with the corruption of the FDA. It was disgusting. I’m so sorry to hear that.

It’s a global crisis. I appreciate that. Entrepreneurs are the most damaged people with the best coping skills. Unfortunately, not always. You’re not an example. I’m not an example. Many times, they use those coping skills to build material measurements, big companies, revenue, employee account, and office space, and then they have nothing meaningful. No time with family, friends, and loved ones. When you talk to people like that over and over, I’m like, “That’s a bad idea. I’m not going to be that.” I’m a dad who happens to be an entrepreneur.

Let me you back for a moment. It’s just you and your brother because you said younger brother, so do you have other siblings?

I have an older half-sister, one living younger brother, and my youngest brother who passed away.

Your mom raised all of you pretty much alone?

Education is the opposite of entrepreneurship. It’s about competing against everyone as opposed to collaborating with all.

Yes, which you can relate to. I was 13 when my dad died, my middle brother was 12, and then the youngest one was 10.

Was she nursing the whole time? Was that her job?

My mom’s had 300 jobs. She got her degree or bachelor’s when she was 40. That would have been right before my dad died.

Here’s my question to you, and this has to do with entrepreneurs. I’m trying to figure out what you’re telling me. Was there a sense of stability or a sense of chaos growing up that you pulled up?

Here’s where I am different from many entrepreneurs that have no concept of meaningful measurements. My father was essentially retired, and he was a wonderful father. He was around most of the time then my mom was out hustling in a good way. My family was still incredibly unstable, certainly after he died.

In what way?

Arrests, drug issues, yelling, screaming, and things like that. I’ll explain it like this. My youngest brother was ten when my dad died. He tried to jump into the grave as the coffin was going down. I don’t think he got enough of my dad.

There was some instability there before your dad died.

Certainly, but it was a pretty calm family up until my dad died. I see your background coming into play here, which I appreciate. I’m like that too. People are like, “I’ve never told anyone that before.” They tell me that all the time. You just ask the question. That’s what you need to do. I wanted to be a good dad because my dad was a great dad, and I know what it’s like not to have a dad around. I was not going to torture my family and not be around them.

You got both ends. You got a good dad, and then you also got the missing dad. Help me understand this. Having worked with high-level entrepreneurs, professional athletes, and Olympian athletes, they don’t quit or give up. They’re incredibly admirable qualities. However, to have that personality as a parent can be torturous. “I can’t do it.” Maybe you really can’t do it, and your parent is like, “Yes, you can.” How did that impact you growing up?

One, people like me are usually aliens, so nobody understands us except the top entrepreneurs on the planet. No one understood what I was talking about, and I didn’t understand what people were complaining about. Since starting my entrepreneurship, I’ve been like, “The only people that understand me are top entrepreneurs on the planet.” As a dad, if my kids can’t do something, I’m like, “I don’t know how to hold a pencil. I’m not kidding about that.”

Are you a leftie?

I don’t know how to do it. If my kids ask me to put their bike helmets on, “Ask your mom, it’s hard for me to do.”

Tell them to go on YouTube.

It’s great because our conversations are like, “What’s your Kolbe score? Are you a Simplifier or a Multiplier? Make sure you only do what you like to do and what you’re good at. School is fine. Learn math and reading, but create stuff.”

Don’t let school get in the way of your education.

Education is the opposite of entrepreneurship. It’s competing against everyone as opposed to collaborating with everyone. Higher education is a factory to get a job.

It’s indoctrination, but that’s a whole other discussion.

Half of the folks I partner with can barely read, 1) Because they’re dyslexic, 2) Some of them barely even graduated high school and ttey’re geniuses in a different way. It’s a blessing doing this so my kids can see this world even exists. Most people don’t know it exists.

Have you seen entrepreneurial traits in them?

They’re both nine Quick Starts in Kolbe and have low follow-through.

We have a family with four people where you have you, a crazy entrepreneur, and then there’s your wife. How does she fit in, the structured pediatrician, and she’s the only woman?

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur
Top Entrepreneur: The formula for creating a successful global company is identifying the problem, creating a solution, and solving the problem.

 

Incorrect, we have two female dogs. They’re both stabilizers also. That’s why most people like me and marry a stabilizing human. There are exceptions, but that’s what happens. There are two things that have happened. One, my wife takes chances in life now that she’d never would have, which is great. She taught me how to say, “Thank you,” and, “You got to remember to pick up the kids.” The kids have her love, warmth, empathy, and rules, but they also have my, “Go for it.” I can’t wait for my kids to rebel because all kids rebel.

I’m going to check back on you with that.

You can. You can follow through with me all you want on that, but I’m excited about it. Why? All the great entrepreneurs were rebels. I’m excited about that.

They say, “No good girl ever changes the world.”

I only talked to people changing the world. The purpose of my life is to be a connecting superhero for every visionary, abundance, and investment mindset entrepreneur and share their stories with the world. Their world people bore me. I don’t understand that. I’m fully the world. My kids are thinking on a global level too, which is great.

Are your kids homeschooled?

There are two reasons why. The reason why that is a good question is a lot of the folks that are partners with my PR firm and our members of the connectivity platform, which my partner and I built, had been homeschooled, and they homeschool their children. Two, my kids are not. However, the school they go to is a public school, but it’s not really a public school. It’s super small.

Is it like Montessori?

Yes, but it’s not. It’s a public school, but it’s a great neighborhood school that almost feels like a Montessori-type private school. To your other point, they’re getting a much better education here than 99.9% of the world gets because they don’t know this world exists and they’re getting the ups and downs from things as well.

Let’s talk about this because this is relevant to your work as well. It doesn’t matter what I feel. You’re the guest. What I feel has been lost though in school or education, whatever you want to say, is critical thinking. I want to know your thoughts on that because entrepreneurs are critical thinkers. There’s a problem, and we solve it, or we find a problem that didn’t exist. Steve Jobs with Apple, nobody knew what a cell phone was. Now, we can’t live without it. That is the by-product of critical thinking. When I mentioned indoctrination, that’s what broke my heart. Don’t tell me what to think. Give me the facts, and I can think for myself.

Give me the answer. I just want the answer. My brain, “Here’s this and that.” Simplify and make it better. That’s all it does. Here’s the formula for creating a successful global company. You see a problem, create a solution, problem solved, a successful global company. That’s the same formula. I’m talking to top entrepreneurs in the world. They will get it.

I have zero business background. I got a full academic scholarship in college at a Big Ten school. I have somewhat of a brain. I never took one business class. I still don’t know what an S Corp is. I didn’t have to pay taxes for it. I don’t care about any of that stuff. Now, I have two global companies that partner with top people on the planet. Why? It’s the same formula, and I won’t make excuses. I’ll do it.

I was a journalist for several years. I created an entire business model based on how PR firms annoyed me for several years. I saw a problem, created a solution, problem solved, and a successful global company. The second company, I’m annoyed by all these platforms that let everyone in. People at the highest level don’t want to waste their time with that. I saw a problem, create a solution, problem solved, and a successful global company. In the new book, the problem is many entrepreneurs torture their families or don’t have a family for this life. That’s a problem. Create a solution which is the book, problem solved, and it’s been number one on Amazon.

What are some of the solutions?

The solutions are, are you winning the right game or the wrong game? Is the cream rising to the top? Do you care about the material, measurements, or meaningful ones? The most miserable people I meet are the ones that lead with how much revenue they have. If I ask how’s their family and they’re like, “I never see them, or I never had one,” those are the most miserable people I’ve ever met in my life. They have all this stuff, and it’s just stuff.

This might sound like a weird question, but do they know they’re as miserable? Do they know they’re miserable?

I’ve never thought of it that way. You’re trained for that. I’ve had these interesting discussions with top entrepreneurs about this. We have these breakout sessions like Strategic Coach, Abundance 360, and groups like that, and they’re like, “I sold my company. We hit the Inc 5,000 list.” They then go to me, and I’m like, “I took my sons on a five-day baseball trip around the Midwest. We went to all these cool parks. I went fishing with my kids,” and the usual response is, “You’re doing it right.” I’m like, “Thank you.”

I asked them one-on-one, “Do entrepreneurs want meaningful measurements? Do they want to spend time with their family?” This does answer your question, but most of the time, not always, they do say yes. They do want it and don’t know how to do it because they’ve used their coping skills to create a company or companies. They’ve never used them for anything meaningful, so that’s one.

The other conversation I had, which is fascinating and you and your audience will find interesting, is that I was talking to this genius. He has an IQ of 153. I’m like, “Why are entrepreneurs the only ones that understand what I’m talking about?” He’s like, “Most people are sheep, and entrepreneurs like us are sheepdogs. We’re protecting the sheep from the wolves. They’re scattering around. When you have to go home, usually you marry a sheep to raise sheep because it’s not who you are.” ScienceDaily did an article about the primary role of sheep dogs. There are only two roles that they have. It’s 1 sheepdog for every 100 sheep, which is very similar to an entrepreneur. In my case, it’s 1 for every 1,000. If you want to guess, I’ll quiz you on this. What are the only two roles of a sheepdog?

To protect and lead.

That’s it, keeping the line and moving forward. That’s visionary. That is a job of an entrepreneur.

I saw my whole reputation go down the drain if I answered wrong.

The most miserable people are the ones who lead with how much revenue they have.

You’re higher on empathy than I am. I’m six on Self-Assurance. Do you know where you are on StrengthFinders and stuff?

No, but I have to tell you something. I’m going to push back on you again. You can call me Kolbe me and StrengthFinder me and all that stuff. On a surface level, maybe you’re low on empathy, but I suspect that if I scratch the surface, you are incredibly emphatic, and I’m going to tell you why. I’ll use a Lee Brower.

I love Lee Brower. He’s a member of Strategic Coach and a nine Quick Starter.

I’ve spoken at Lee’s events. He’s one of my best friends on the mastermind. I love him. Here’s the Lee Brower statement. The reason why you are more emphatic than you want to see yourself is evidenced by the way you value the people you love. You have built a life. You are not distracted by all that glitters and gold. Your mission is for global entrepreneurs to have a life, not just a company or a business. To me, I can’t think of anything more empathic.

One, I greatly appreciate you saying that. Two, I have endless empathy for people. I don’t understand people that make excuses. Here’s the other thing. This is my entire litmus test. This is the whole thing. If I meet someone like you and I can provide value to them and provide value to me, someone like Lee Brower, it’s an endless, lifelong relationship. Someone like Scott Danner. I’m talking to him. If I talk to someone, I know it right away because I’ve talked to people like you. If I realized I couldn’t add value to them, and they could not add value to me, I would never talk to that person again unless they change their mindset because if they don’t, they’re taking time away from my family and me. That’s it.

You’re a little intolerant.

I’m 100% black and white. My wife is 100% gray. I have no tolerance for someone that will not get back in a plane without a parachute after it got shut down. I have zero tolerance for that because that is someone who’s taking time away from my family and me, which is what I care about most. I’ll dovetail that with the pattern that I’ve seen over and over.

I keep making bigger investments in smaller rooms, like Strategic Coach and Abundance 360, and the people in those rooms, like Lee Brower, make a bigger impact. Bigger checks, smaller rooms, and bigger impact. It’s the same formula. That allows me to spend the biggest investment in the smallest room, which is my family, where I can make the most impact.

You’re discriminating against your most valuable commodity.

That’s an interesting use of discrimination, but I look at it as, “I want to spend time with my family.” I guess it is.

It’s not a bad word. You discriminate who you want to spend your time with because when it’s spent, it’s gone. You’re giving me your hour, and I appreciate that hour. You can make money, lose money, and make it again, but you can’t get this hour back.

Here are the chapters, Avoid Boring People and Avoid Boring People and Time Vampire.

I use that when I speak all the time. Let me read it. “We can create when you trace them.” I got to go back to the time vampire.

They’re the worst.

When I spoke about it, I said, “We all know who they are, and everybody feels it. They suck the time out of your life.” It’s the person that says what you said earlier, “Can I take you to lunch?” You want to pick my brain and suck my time.

Those people hate it when you say no because they’re entitled.

They don’t understand that you’re onto them.

I know right away. I have some tips about how to spot a time vampire. I’m going to read it, “If someone sounds too good to be true, they are almost certainly too good to be true.” That’s one. “If they ask for endless advice or your context without making an investment, they are wasting your time.”

They’re users.

“If you ask how a time vampire is doing and 30 minutes later, the time vampire on the other end is finished with their sentence, they are a time vampire.”

Did you write that?

This is from my book.

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

Everybody’s going to get the book because you’re going to tell them where to get it.

I’m halfway through. Do you want me to get the other three?

Yes, please.

“If, after several meetings, they decide to concoct gimmicks to try and pay for your services, they are a time vampire. Those are the tricky ones.”

Those are the ones that want to barter.

“If they are more than five minutes late to a meeting and do not apologize.”

They should text ahead of time, “I’m running late.”

“If someone asks, ‘What do you charge within the first 5 to 10 minutes of an initial conversation?’ instead of what an investment with you or your firm looks like, they are a time vampire.” There you go. Those are the six things. That’s what I’ve seen.

I like it. When I get the book and read it thoroughly, I’m going to try to add one.

You’ll do a deeper dive into the book than I did.

I read books, and when people say they want feedback, I give them feedback.

I read your book Money Can Buy You Happiness. I scanned it because I never read. It’s an easy scan for me. The best part was I left a review on Amazon. There are the top ten things why women don’t get paid what they’re worth. I’m not going to say it on this. People have to get it, but it’s like, “Would a man really ask?”

You know my joke about men. Many men are overpaid, but nobody thinks they are.

My wife does.

This is my book that speaks to your work. It took me 50 years to write. People don’t read it this much, but this is how to create a family and business plan that complements it. I’ll talk to you about it. Are you going to be at the annual event?

Which one?

Genius.

That’s the one I’m not in yet. If I do something, I’m either all in or I don’t do it. I’m in Strategic Coach® 10X. I’ll be joining Free Zone, and that one’s $50,000 a year.

I guess you’re with Tony Rose then.

Tony is 7-6-6-1 Kolbe.

I love Tony. I’ve coached him. He is a good man.

He’s my Kolbe twin because I’m an 8-6-7-1.

If someone sounds too good to be true, they’re almost certainly too good to be true.

You told me everything I needed to know before we started.

You wrote back that I knew you more than you knew yourself. The way you communicate is you’re at least an eight Quick Starter.

Do you know Cameron Harold? Cameron told me I’m exactly like him because I’ve coached Cameron too.

I don’t know his Kolbe, but he’s got to be an eight.

He’s a Quick Starter.

Most of the people I talked to are 8, 9, or 10 Quick Starters. That’s a true visionary. They have 1, 2, 3, maybe a 4 follow-through. They’re ADD-diagnosed or undiagnosed. It’s not a disorder but a sign of genius. If they don’t hire a million people, it would be complete chaos. Tony is like this, but I have the unicorn score of 8-6-7-1, where I have a high Quick Start, high Follow-Through, and high Fact Finder.

That is a unicorn.

I’ve never met another 8-6-7-1. I don’t think I ever will. My wife is an 8-7-4-2. She’s a high Fact Finder, 8, and high Follow-Through, 7.

She’s got to be a high Fact Finder as a physician.

That’s a good point, but the entrepreneurs who happen to be physicians are a 4 Fact Finder or a 5.

It’s because they’re entrepreneurs and not practicing medicine.

They still are. They started the practice.

I love this, which is why I don’t like when people hide behind their scores. Sometimes I feel people do that when I’m coaching them. I say, “You got to finish this project. I don’t care.”

If they can’t do it, someone else has to take it. That’s 100%. I can keep up with the visionary because I am one too, and I have the follow-through.

What I love about humans, entrepreneurs, and everything is that it’s like our fingerprint and DNA. There are no two alike. That’s what I love about my work and talking to people all day long. You could have the same exact score as Tony, but you’re not Tony. I love Tony. Honestly, I had no idea how much I was going to love this interview. I wanted to support you with your book. You reached out so quickly.

You’re going to laugh at this. Genius IQ is 140 and above, so that’s 1% of the population. I am 139. I’m one below genius, but that’s good. I talked to a lot of the 150s and 160s. They’re geniuses, but they can’t communicate. I’m a bridge between them and humans.

My work with all these smart people is, in a nutshell, it’s emotional intelligence. All roads lead to Rome, so we go about it through many different paths.

Have you done your IQ?

Yes. I don’t share my scores because it doesn’t matter. I’m not low. I’ll tell you the problem I have with kids knowing their IQ. The teachers then teach to whatever their level is, and IQ is what success is about. It’s about your EQ, but it goes back to full circle, the problem with education. Let me give you a number. I want the kid that’s smart enough. It’s like the Navy SEAL, “I will die trying.”

You will get back on a plane without a parachute. Figure it out.

I would love a part two with you. Let me ask you this question. What is the last book you reread, and why?

I’ve never reread a book. However, the book I’m reading is Dopamine Nation. It’s fascinating.

TTD 44 | Top Entrepreneur
Epic Business: 30 Secrets to Build Your Business Exponentially and Give You the Freedom to Live the Life You Want!

What is the one song you cannot live without and why?

You said the word already. It’s With Or Without You by U2. I love that song.

Do you see what I mean? You are empathic.

I sang that to my wife when we were dating. It’s a nice song. I just liked the song.

What was your wedding song?

That was May 4th, 2008. It’s You Are The Love Of My Life.

I love it. How can people learn more about you? How can they get your book, which everyone’s going to read?

Thank you. The book is called Epic Life. I’m very grateful that Dr. Peter Diamandis wrote the foreword. It’s all over the world.

He’s a real genius.

I don’t know his IQ, but it’s probably over 180. He doesn’t write forewords for anyone. I’m very grateful he did that. It was number one in all of Amazon Kindle. It’s a message that needs to be said. I’m glad. My name is Justin Breen.

It’s BrEpic Communications.

I haven’t done anything up in so long. I like doing it.

Justin, thank you. This was an exhilarating conversation. I am going to have part two with you if you’re game.

I’ll do it. We can talk forever.

That concludes this episode. As promised, Justin Breen took you for a ride, so I’d like you to like, read, share, and subscribe to this show. Until next episode, be well.

 

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About Justin Breen

Justin Breen @justinbreen is CEO of the global PR firm BrEpic Communications and global connectivity platform BrEpic Network. He also is author of the No. 1 International Best-Selling Book, Epic Business, and his second book, Epic Life, which features a foreword from Peter Diamandis, launches Aug. 23. He is an extremely active member of Strategic Coach 10x and Abundance 360 Summit, and he has an incredible global network of visionaries and exceptional businesses.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! The purpose of my life is to be a connecting superhero for every visionary, abundance, investment mindset entrepreneur and share their stories with the world. And I find the best stories when I network with super high-level entrepreneurs who are visionaries that understand the value of investing in themselves and their businesses.

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