The Maximum Impact Podcast

Welcome to a new series of solo rounds recorded on the fly. They cover a variety of topics from meditation to mindset. In the episode, I walk you through the basics of meditation. 

I love people who do the impossible. Those rare gems that don’t just talk about ideas but actually do it.    Ken Kragen is one of these rare gems. Not only did he manage Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Trisha Yearwood, Olivia Newton John, The Bee Gees, Burt Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers and many other top artist but he also got into TV and film producing and married a beautiful actress. Oh, and he’s a graduate of Harvard Business School. Most people would just coast on their past success but not Ken.   He came up with the USA for Africa campaign and brought together the producers and artists behind We Are the World, a song that everyone knows and that raised millions of dollars to help the world hungry.    How many people do you know that could just call Quincy jones to ask   Enjoy the show and check out Ken's websitehttps://www.kenkragen.com/ for information about his books and his speaking and consulting work.  

I love people who do the impossible. Those rare gems that don’t just talk about ideas but actually do it.    Ken Kragen is one of these rare gems. Not only did he manage Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Trisha Yearwood, Olivia Newton John, The Bee Gees, Burt Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers and many other top artist but he also got into TV and film producing and married a beautiful actress. Oh, and he’s a graduate of Harvard Business School. Most people would just coast on their past success but not Ken.   He came up with the USA for Africa campaign and brought together the producers and artists behind We Are the World, a song that everyone knows and that raised millions of dollars to help the world hungry.    How many people do you know that could just call Quincy jones to ask   Enjoy the show and check out Ken's websitehttps://www.kenkragen.com/ for information about his books and his speaking and consulting work.  

When you hear the word disruption, most people think technology but perhaps the most import thing to disrupt is yourself and Adam Lewis Walker is one individual that has disrupted himself several times over. As you’ll learn, Adam, after pushing himself too hard had no choice but to change gears. Adam went from screaming in pain on the ground and in the rain in front of his family on a day that was supposed to be his big comeback to a powerful man, father, leader and author. Enjoy the podcast, read his book (http://www.ayalpha.com/book/) and subscribe to his podcast (http://www.ayalpha.com/blog/)

It is rare to meet someone who could be your brother. Born in the same country (Romania), left around the same age, both love tequila, Mexican music, life, family, travel, business, adventure and having fun while making money.  Andre has been hustling in business ever since his family landed in California when he was 9 and he has been ultra successful. We we met, he had just kicked off a successful business in the CBD space and I was intrigued. I knew very little about Multiple Level Marketing aka Network Marketing and frankly was negatively biased. Mostly because others were so I decided to investigate and figure it out for myself. Consider this part 1 of many. I'm learning a lot more about network marketing and truly believe it is a powerful model that so many ignore it because they don't understand what it is. As a result, they miss out on a life changing opportunity that can lead to serious life changing revenue for those that take it seriously. It requires little investment and become a great side hustle and even a full-time gig for the truly dedicated.  PS. The badassery factory website mentioned in the recording is still being worked on. I'll update this when it is ready to go.     

I had the pleasure of doing a podcast with  Steve Sims a while back when he was only running an exclusive concierge service for the ultra rich and working with guys like Elon Musk, Elton John and Andrea Bocelli.  He had hinted about a book that was under discussion and now that the book Bluefishing has been out for while and has seen great success, including translations into many foreign languages and a 4.9 rating on Amazon, Steve is a man in motion. He's been to jail (listen to learn why) and is now working more closely with entrepreneurs to help them move the needle instead of focusing just on consulting for luxury brands. I HAD to get him back on the podcast. In this episode we touch on some of his core ugly and raw philosophies, we discuss jail and why he's decided to help independent entrepreneurs.  We recorded this episode at Ye Olde Kings Head in Santa Monica. A bit noisy! Learn all about Steve and find his book here: https://www.stevedsims.com/ Thank you to Kaitlin Isfan for all the hours spent editing this episode and especially making it sounds 100 times better than the original recording. Also, big thanks to Big Swede Studios (Downtown LA) for graciously allowing me to use one of his musical composition as background music. His music has ben used in hundreds of TV episodes and commercials and I feel privileged to know him and to have the rights to use one of his songs. Thank you!

I could not think of a better way to kick off season 2 of Maximum Impact than by having Jordan Harbinger as my guest. Jordan Harbinger is a lawyer turned podcaster and media personality who could easily have his life turned into a movie.  The movie would start with a young boy listening in on his neighbors phone conversation by splicing in to the green box down the street. Fast forward, he helped use his tech chops to help the FPI catch pedophiles in the early days of the internet and many other adventures. Jordan ultimately built one of the worlds largest podcast over the last 11 years only to start over in January after a falling out with his partners.  His new show is better than ever now that he has full control of every aspect. It is funny, entertaining and you're guaranteed to learn something with every episode, even if you don't necessarily know the guest. Just listen. https://www.jordanharbinger.com/podcast/

Welcome to Maximum impact with my guest Allan Isfan. Wait, what? That's me!   It was time for a solo round and I also want to let you know about my upcoming 90 minute webinar that dives deeper into the five habits. More info (and a longer video) here: http://maximum-impact.co/webinar     Today, I want to talk about the 5 Crucial Habits to help entrepreneurs lower stress gain energy and clarity so they can take massive action. This is the foundation of my Clear Map Framework which I’ll tell you a bit more about in future episodes.     The five habits: #1: Meditation #2: Gratitude #3: Diet & Exercise #4 Sleep #5 Planning & and developing daily rituals to make the habits stick   Enjoy the show and please register for the webinar if you're a stressed out entrepreneur: http://maximum-impact.co/webinar

Welcome Jason Flick to Maximum Impact on C-suite Radio. Jason flick is co-founder and CEO of Ottawa based You.i TV. The company is killing it having been recently named to XYZ profit 50 among many awards. Given the success of the company, I knew Jason would be in a great position to share important lessons with entrepreneurs. We discuss bootstrapping, launching a startup when the market is down, fundraising, hiring, scaling, working in the TV space, an industry under significant disruption and much more. I also invite you to check out his TEDxKanata talk.

Welcome to C-Suite Radio Big Swede. Big Swede landed in LA as a drummer in 1995. He found studio work and quickly became part of the LA music community. He is friendly, engaging and very skilled. But he really hit his stride when he was introduce to a computer program called Logic Pro. He fell in love with the electronic tool and started using it to compose and edit music. He dove in head first and didn’t leave his studio for five solid days. He was in love. He started working with other musicians and began composing electronic music that quickly found it’s way onto TV. Over 1,000 compositions later and appearances on more than 300 shows, Big Swede has found a different way to run a music business and he’s already beginning to explore new horizons. So amazing to see him succeed in the world of music. Enjoy the show C-Suite Radio listeners!

Per Bristow became the worlds top vocal instructor with students in over 130 countries and is now helping entrepreneurs reach the peak performance. I sat down with Per in his beautiful LA home to figure out how this all happened and to draw out the lessons for entrepreneurs. He just came off a hugely successful 8 country tour and celebrated the start of 2017 with 150 great people in his beautiful brand new LA home. Business is very good and he’s looking to grow his impact even more in 2017. For more on the Singing Zone and Speak with Freedom, check out https://www.perbristow.com/

Per Bristow became the worlds top vocal instructor with students in over 130 countries and is now helping entrepreneurs reach the peak performance. I sat down with Per in his beautiful LA home to figure out how this all happened and to draw out the lessons for entrepreneurs. He just came off a hugely successful 8 country tour and celebrated the start of 2017 with 150 great people in his beautiful brand new LA home. Business is very good and he’s looking to grow his impact even more in 2017. For more on the Singing Zone and Speak with Freedom, check out https://www.perbristow.com/

I am thrilled and honoured to announce that Maximum Impact has joined C-Suite Radio. I love entrepreneurship and want to do my part to help move civilization forward. Entrepreneurs innovate, create jobs and improve people's lives. I'm fortunate to know thousands of them around the world and to be capturing their stories.  If you're new to Maximum Impact, check out this episode to get a snapshot of the guests I've had so far and why you should check it out. 

Todd Herman was a very competitive athlete and had been looking forward to an athletic career but his mind was getting in the way. Through some coaches and education he started to learn to master the mental game and was asked to share what he had learned with young athletes. He gave many free workshops in stinky hockey locker rooms inspiring your athletes and teaching them how to master the metal part of sport. Todd found his stride and has since coached Olympians, business leaders, billionaires and even the Spanish Royal Family and recently launched the 90 Day Year, a unique program for business owners. We touch on many fascinating topics ranging from the value of mentors to the crucial difference between vision and goals and the next 90 days is so crucial. This is one podcast you're going to want to share and re-listen! [Disclosure] I was not paid to promote Todd's 90 Day Year program. I just happen to think Todd is exceptional at what he does and this program is a great way to get assistance outside of a direct coaching program. Look out for the relaunch of this program and reach to Todd to get on the waiting list.

I have few regrets in life. If I could turn back time, I would send my kids to Green School in Bali. It is something I looked at years ago but got wrapped up in business and deep roots in Ottawa after designing and building our own custom home in Ottawa, Canada. I have admired the Green School from afar and always dreamt of meeting John Hardy, the founder of the school. Little did I know that his daughter, Elora, took the bamboo construction skills that were developed during the school construction and shifted her career from fashion design to bamboo architecture. To get a sense for what the Hardy family has created, I encourage you to first check out the videos below before listening to the interview. Given my infatuation with the Green School, you can imagine what a thrill it was to run into John and his daughter Elora Hardy at C2 Montreal 2016 to have the privilege of speaking with them right there on the floor of the conference. Lastly, I encourage you to check out John's blog.  

Adrian Salamunovic is a hyper successful entrepreneur and innovator. With his business partner, they launched a DNA art company DNA11, a large format printing company CanvasPop, Crated and PopKey, the first GIF keyboard. What is fascinating is that these companies were built by observing behaviour, building the first company and then building new businesses on top of that without killing the old one. There are tons of lessons in the short episode recorded at C2 MTL in 2015. PS. One interesting piece of news since we recorded this episode - Adrian and his team have launched pretty cool kickstarter project - a personalisable phone case with a twist: the case comes with a series of magnetic phone skins that use your images. Search for “CanvasPop Phone Case” and support the project https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/179604092/the-canvaspop-phone-case Disclosure: I'm not being paid in any way to promote this project - just sharing because it is cool.  

Kevin Kelly is one of todays best known futurists. He was the founding Executive Editor of Wired magazine and is a prolific author. His most recent book The Inevitable is in my opinion one of the best books of the year. Kevin has an unusual ability to explain the future as if it has already happened and it makes it feel real.   In this episode you will learn about:   Kevin’s narrative technique that describes the future in present term as if it has happened already Artificial Intelligence what it is how it works examples of AI today and where it is all going the tools that are being built to help non experts tap AI engines through new APIs the wtf is that bot http://www.wtfitbot.com/ which uses the Google AI via an API (6 cents per 100 requests) we’re at the early stages - next businesses will be based on “take X and add AI" need less data than you might think to start teaching AI engines and make them useful to 10x or 20x today’s capabilities without AI Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality living in a pure VR world may not come that fast but some people will spend some time in these virtual worlds mixed reality is closer to Augment Reality may end up being more popular mixed reality may end not requiring special glasses the future of displays and interfaces The Future of FREE - what will happen? electricity? food? need to look at it from different perspectives: ubiquitous and free are two different things Self driving cars and the attention economy (why Google is interested) The future of jobs and work why now is the best time ever to launch a business Check out kk.org for more info and get the book!  

Philip is the type of individual that will shake your foundation and get you to ask yourself who you are, what you want and why.   He gets straight to the heart of the matter, pulls no punches and can call bullshit a mile away. Philip is an author (Rich on Paper, Poor on Life and Dead Man Walking, a very powerful keynote speaker you simply cannot ignore, holds retreats all over the world (Ireland, India, Peru …) and coaches executives and many other things.   He was instrumental in helping me make some big decisions in 2015 by continuously helping me dig deeper and deeper. I’m convinced you won’t come out of this chat the same. You’ve been warned!

Welcome to Maximum Impact with my guest David Usher - Musician, Entrepreneur, Author, Keynote Speaker and Activist. We discuss creativity and an exciting new project called the Human Impact Lab and in particular the COUNTDOWN TO 2 DEGREES CLOCK.   This interview was recorded at the amazing C2 Montreal 2016 conference. I’ve known David for a long time. Most people know David a  the founder and lead singer of the band Moist as well as a solo artist.   Our family listens to his music all the time and we’ve caught many of his shows but there are several other sides of David that people may not be as familiar with. He is the author of Let the Elephants Run, an amazing book on creativity that has received praise from Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada. He is also a very engaging Keynote speaker. Hopefully we can drill in to that in a future podcast.    Lastly, he’s a very creative entrepreneur as well as big supporter of important causes. It is at this intersection that David and I have hung out most occasionally bouncing ideas over coffee in Montreal.   What I find really amazing is that David gets directly involved and takes action. We touch on this during this podcast and discuss creativity and his Human Impact Lab that helps humanity visualize the impact it is having on this earth. More specifically, we touch on a major project David has launched called the COUNTDOWN TO 2 DEGREES CLOCK If you view the podcast page on my website at maximum-impact.co, you’ll see some videos and an embed of the clock.

I’m here at the C2 Montreal 2016 conference, the most creative and mind altering conference I’ve ever attended. And I’ve attended the big one with a three letter acronym. In this third stage of my career, I’m looking for big challenges and the one Rangu Salgame is focused on is a big one. Connecting the next 3 billion to the internet. It is very difficult to communicate how dramatically this will impact the lives of those 3 billion people who are currently unable to connect to the internet. It is going to change absolutely everything from healthcare to education to their livelihood. But I think it is even bigger than that. It will bring the world closer together and make everyone’s lives dramatically better. It will both improve the world AND create business opportunities for everyone that helps make this happen and of course, those new Internet users. We touched on the major impacts this will have on people's livelihoods, funding women's initiatives and ultimately the incredible innovation this will lead to as we add 3 billion people that could become global entrepreneurs and innovators - they already have the lead in terms of mobile commerce due to the lack of banks, credit cards and other technologies we take for granted, I can only imagine what the next 3 billion will come up with.  Rangu Salgame, as Growth Ventures and Service Provider Group at Tata Communications is extremely well positioned to make this happen together with a large set of partners. He has had a stellar career and yet is extremely humble and determined to make this happen.  I came out of this discussion really pumped. I hope you enjoy it.