A 6 Step System to Connect Your Dots Forward and Turn Your NOW into an Even Better NEXT with Sam Horn

0:01Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down a six-step system to connect your dots forward and turn your now into an even better next. To drop these value bombs, I am brought to Sam Horn and the EO Fire Studios. Sam, CEO of the Intrigue Agency, three TEDx Talks, author of Pop, Tongue Fu, and her clients include Oracle, NASA, Accenture, and others. And today, Fire Nation, we'll talk about the 2025 Agency Project. We'll talk about the four-minute now-to-next BOT quiz, the six-step agency system, and oh, so much more.

0:41And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Sam and our sponsors. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now? For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level. Email me at john at eofire.com with the subject line mentor, and we'll schedule a 15-minute chat to go over the program and see if it's the right fit for you. Over 41 ,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform.

1:21Download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning for free at netsuite.com slash fire. Sam, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. John, I think most people think we have to know to go, and I think it's just the opposite. Oh, and we'll be talking about that, Fire Nation, and a six-step system to connect your dots forward and turn your now into an even better next. Now, Sam, you've created something called the 2025 Agency Project. Break that down for us. You know, if it's not on the calendar, it's not getting done.

2:05So, John, I'll ask everyone listening to think of something they would like to become a reality, a successful reality in 2025. Do they want to launch their book? Do they want to land a TEDx talk? Do they want to get a new product out in the world? Do they want to be hired by a certain client, speak at a certain conference? if it's not on the calendar, it's not getting done. So in our time together, we're gonna figure out what would light you up, what would give you some ikigai, something to look forward to, and then we're gonna use our agency process to make it happen. Oh man, I haven't heard the word ikigai in way too long.

2:40It used to be something I would talk about a lot back in the day, because it just kind of kept coming up, because I love the conversation myself and the whole idea around that. So can you just take maybe a couple sentences, you know, less than a minute, and just explain exactly what ikigai is? You bet. As you know, John, it's a Japanese term and it means purpose. It means a reason to get up in the morning. So once again, I'm asking everyone listening, what gets you up in the morning? What lights you up where you're actually looking forward to? It's not just top of mind, it's top of heart. It imbues your days with this energy and this anticipation where you just can't wait for what comes next.

3:21that's what ikigai is. I love that. Top of mind, top of heart. Now you created a four minute now to next box quiz, and this will help us quickly determine what we both do and don't want. Tell us more about this. All right. Now, unless people are driving, I hope they quickly grab pen and paper because you can do this exercise right now in real time, and it's going to turn uncertainty into clarity. So write a box on your notes. And John, if you would like, we can send this to people afterwards and they can actually. How's that sound? Perfect. Let's do it. Wonderful. Okay. Draw a box. Now, divide it into four quadrants.

4:01So, draw a vertical line down the center, horizontal line across the middle. Now, you've got four boxes. Now, in the upper left box, put the letter one. Upper right box, put two. Lower left box, put three. Lower right box, put four. All right, now on the top of box one, put the word doing, D-O-I-N-G. On the top of box two, put not doing, not doing. Now to the left of box one, put want to. And then to the left of box three, put don't want to. Now, I'm going to ask some questions and you're going to write down the first thing that comes to mind. You're not going to second guess it. First thought, best thought, most honest thought.

4:57So in box one, ready, go. What are you doing that you want to? All right, I'll give you some prompts. Maybe you're walking your dog every morning. That feels good. You know, maybe you're listening to these podcasts and you're learning something every single time JLD interviews one of his guests. Maybe what you're doing that you want to is you're scaling your business. It's growing. You're making more money, getting more customers. It feels good. Maybe what you're doing that you want to is that you've got a hobby and you're playing tennis or pickleball or you're surfing. Maybe what you're doing that you want to is that you're out in nature on a stream trail.

5:31All right, let's switch over. Now we're going to keep it short, right, JLD, so that we can do it on the call and then run with it. Okay, so over in box two, what are you not doing that you want to? Maybe what you're not doing is you're not building a successor for your business. You're working in your business, not on it, and you really need a successor. Maybe what you're not doing that you want to is dating. Maybe you're not in a relationship and you want to. You really want to find that partner. Maybe what you're not doing that you want to is writing. Everyone tells you you should write a book.

6:01You want to write a book. You just haven't gotten around to it. So what are you not doing that you want to? All right, let's move down to box three. What are you doing that you don't want to? Maybe you're working 70 hours a week and you don't want to. Maybe you're on the road all the time. And while you're grateful for the business, maybe you really miss being home with your family. Maybe what you're not doing that you want to is that you are not taking courses on AI or you're not taking courses on different business practices that could really make you more effective. What are you not doing that you want to?

6:37Now you see this one coming, don't you? Over in box four, what are you doing? And you don't want to. And yes, that's a double negative, but I call this the Pema Chodron box. Pema said nothing ever really goes away until it teaches us what we need to learn. So see, these are our lessons learned. Maybe we used to smoke. We don't smoke anymore and we don't want to. Maybe we used to commute and we hated that two hours on the road. And so we move closer and or we're working remotely and we're not doing it. Okay, now you can fill out those boxes more later. However, let's get to analyzing what these answers mean.

7:16Right now, circle your answers in square one, what you're doing that you want to, and in square four, what you're not doing and you don't want to. That's what's right with your life. That's what's contributing to your happiness and your health and to a lit up life, to your icky guy. Now, now circle what's in two and three. So what are you not doing that you want to? And what are you doing that you don't want to? Guess what? That's what's wrong with your life. And often these things we know our gut just told us are important to us. But for some reason, we're putting them off. Maybe we think we're too busy.

7:56Maybe, you know, we'll do it someday, etc. Those are regrets waiting to happen. And what we're going to do now, JLD, is we're going to look at what we put in that box. We're going to figure out a top priority for 2025. And then we're going to use our agency to turn that priority into reality so that we are acting now on what really matters instead of putting it off until later. Wow. I mean, Fire Nation, if you took the time to jot some of those things down, power to you, because I think you've probably already had some revelations that, believe me, we're going to be getting to a lot more because Sam's going to keep dropping some value bombs to us.

8:38So first off, thank you, Sam, for just walking us through that because I was actually jotting down on a little piece of paper right here that I have. And I'll actually share one thing because you did mention walking dog and listening to podcasts. I mean, that's one thing that I do every single morning. I have a 5.30 a.m. wake up. And by 5.45, I am out on my road walking my dog. He's a 75-pound gold noodle. So he needs a lot of exercise for three miles. And while I'm doing that, I am listening to podcasts that I love, to YouTube shows that I love, to content that I want to, to audio books that are helping me and making me better in different areas.

9:12Maybe it's business. Maybe it's health. Maybe it's finance, whatever that might be. So that's just a little something that I'll share because I was going along with Sam Fire Nation. I hope you were too. and we have so much more to talk about when we get back from thanking our sponsors. It would be really nice if we could predict what the future holds for our business. Talk about saving a lot of time and frustration, but predictions are just that, predictions. Rates will rise or fall, inflation's up or down. Can someone please invent a crystal ball? Until we can actually see into the future, over 41 ,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one fluid platform.

9:54NetSuite gives you one source of truth so you can have the visibility and control you need to make quick decisions. And with real-time insights and forecasting, you can see into the future with actionable data. If our businesses needed this type of software, I'd use NetSuite in a heartbeat because whether your company is earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities. Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning at netsuite.com slash fire. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash fire.

10:26netsuite.com slash fire. Question for you, Fire Nation. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now? For me, mentorship was everything. From when I was just getting started in podcasting, webinars, course creation, book writing, you name it, I hired a mentor to guide me every step of the way. For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level. It's a three-month program, and together we will achieve massive results. If you're interested in learning more, email me at john at eofire.com with the subject line mentor, and we'll schedule a 15-minute chat to go over the program to see if it's the right fit for you.

11:15That's john, j-o-h-n, at eofire.com, but only if you're prepared to ignite. Sam, we're back, and you have a six-step agency system to turn our now into an even more rewarding next. Break down those steps for us. Okay. Once again, I hope people are inking it when they think it. And JLD, I want to double back real quick to your response about what you said about what you put in box one. I hope every single person listening understands these are non-negotiables, right? John, I'm sure there are mornings you don't want to get up at 530. I'll go for a mile instead of three miles, right? It's raining out sometimes.

11:57So I hear that. So everyone understand that, that you have the answers to the test. What's in box one is what is contributing to your quality of life. Keep doing those no matter what, because as long as you do, you're helping yourself. If you start dropping off some of those in that box one, that's going to be a regret. So, all right, ready for that six step process? Let's roll. All right, let's put a G E N C Y. You know me, JLD, I got acronyms, Right. So our six step process, let's start with the A, is to align with what lights you up. Now, if there are things on your box that you should do that, you know, you ought to do, those are responsibilities.

12:44Many of us already have enough responsibilities. We're just going to keep putting that off. We want something that's going to that's going to prompt that ikigai. And that means something that you would look forward to. So maybe you used to play guitar and you don't do it anymore because you quote unquote don't have time. Maybe you used to go to a gym and work out but haven't been doing it. So let's pick something that you already know would light you up that you would look forward to. Hey, JLD, what's that for you? Man, I have a lot of things I look forward to, but traveling with my 15-month-old son is something I'm really looking forward to.

13:19Do you see how it's a lead domino? Do you see how if you just do one thing in your box that you want to do, you're not doing? life is already better. It already feels good. So yay. We're talking about traveling with your 15 month old son. A, you just aligned with what lights you up. All right, let's go into G. Go now because GLD, most people wait to know how they don't go now. And clarity happens in iteration, not in inertia. So let's get out your calendar right now. Do you have a trip already on the calendar you're already looking forward to. Where are you going to go? Yes, we do. So we have a trip coming up.

14:00It's going to be to Italy and London specifically coming up in April. So see, you have it on your calendar and you know how that gives you something to look forward to. Everyone else, if you want to write a book this year, it's not going to happen unless you have your launch date on your calendar right now. Let's pick a date and do you have a significant birthday or an anniversary or you're giving a TEDx talk. What is something this fall where you can put it on your calendar right now? You're having a launch party with your best friends and family members at a favorite place. Once you put something on the calendar, you can reverse engineer it.

14:38So if you want to get back into pickleball or something like that, no, no, no, not an intention, an action. Who are you going to call? When are you going to get back on that court? Because once again, And G, if you don't go now, you'll never go. Ready for E? Let's keep rolling. Okay. Engineer systems that kickstart and sustain process. Now, do we have time for a 60 second story? I love stories, so take it away. Okay. So very quickly, my son was working as an executive recruiter. I had dinner with him and the light was out in his eyes. And I said, what's happening? He said, mom, he said, I'm making good money, but wearing a suit every day, reporting to an office building and making cold calls all day is not what I want to do with my life.

15:22I said, well, what do you want to do? He said, I want to start a nonprofit. And at first, this conservative voice thought, nonprofit, health insurance. Thankfully, the wiser voice came out and said, Andrew, you've always been entrepreneurial. If you put a date on the calendar and if you move this forward, I know you can make it work. Well, what did he do to find a system? He Googled that stuff. He put in, how do you start a nonprofit? it. And up came how to file for a 501C. Up came that there was a co-work space, Affinity Lab, five minutes from where he worked, where he could rent a desk for$100 a month.

15:56Boom, signed up for$100 a month. First week there, someone walks by, says, what you working on? He says, well, I'm trying to get some grant money and so forth, but the paperwork's a nightmare. She said, oh, here's, you know, we just got a grant. Here's our paperwork. You don't have to start from scratch. Next week, guy walks by, says, Andrew, you look frustrated. What's happening? He said, well, I'm running this nonprofit called Dreams for Kids, and we get kids out of wheelchairs and out of their walkers, and I want to put on a water ski event at Pohick Bay, but we need permission, and I could never get anyone from Parks and Recreation to return my call.

16:31He said, oh, my friend Mike works there. Here's his number. Tell him I sent you. And, John, that's how two months later, I'm standing on the shore of Pohik Bay as 20 kids get out of their wheelchairs and away from their walkers. And there's a woman standing next to me and she's got tears rolling down her face. I said, are you okay? She said, I'm more than okay. She said, you see that boy they're helping into the boat? That's my son. He's smiling. It's the first time I've seen him smile in months. And JLD, that was because Andrew aligned with what lit him up. He went now, instead of waiting to know how, had he ever run a nonprofit before?

17:11No. But if you Google that stuff, you can have a system that will expedite and sustain your process right now. Man, that is so powerful. I love stories like that. So keep it rolling with agency. All right, let's go down to network. Network with one plus one equals 11 individuals. All right, now who is doing what you do? Where can you go where you will have other people sharing their best practices, expediting your forward progress? For Andrew, it was his affinity lab. I think JLD, for many people, it's your podcast. This is where they hang out with entrepreneurs. This is where they get their best practices and systems.

17:54This is where if they're starting to lose hope or they're feeling like it's never going to happen, every single week by networking with you and your community, it keeps them energized. It keeps them persevering even through the roller coasters. So whether you're going to conferences, whether you are listening to podcasts, whether you are part of a membership community, if you're trying to go it alone, you're not going to go for. No, network with other people and there'll be the wind beneath your entrepreneurial wings. Sam, loving this. We're ready for the next one. Take it away with C. Ah, this is C is communicate the vision, not the variables.

18:34And I get to share one of my favorite success stories of someone who did this. I was speaking at Conscious Capitalism and John Mackey is the founder of Whole Foods. And he talked very honestly about what it was like to be in the middle of a takeover, a coup. And he talked about, if you know John, you know he is a conscious capitalist. He founded that organization and he wanted to reach out to this individual who was attempting this coup. So they set up a meeting. No sooner did he walk in than the guy stood up. He pointed at John. He said, I am taking you over, and my first job is to fire you. My second job is to go to your board, and if they don't play ball, I'm firing them, and there's nothing you can do about it.

19:16Well, that's a dark night of the soul. However, John just kept communicating the vision. There's got to be a win-win-win solution to this. He'd go to bed telling himself that. He'd wake up telling himself there's got to be a win-win-win solution to this. And one morning he woke up, he thought, Amazon. He'd met Jeff Bezos the year before. He reached out to Jeff Bezos and his team. Jeff and his team reached back out within 24 hours and they inked a deal. Wow. Because Desmond Tutu says, language does not just describe reality, it creates reality. What reality are you creating for yourself with the language you're using?

20:00These stories are fantastic, Sam. Take us home with why. All right. Why is yes to the smiles along the way. You know, let's go back to Andrew for a moment. I mean, was it easy funding this nonprofit? Was it easy trying to find interns? No, it wasn't easy. However, every time Andrew was tempted to give up, he would think back to the smiles of those kids up on those water skis. He would think back to the smiles of those family. So I'm asking you, well, JLD, let's do this in real time. You're talking about spending time with your 15-month-old son, and you've got this trip to Italy coming up. But put me in the scene already where you spent time with your son traveling, and it was at the core of what you do that makes it all worthwhile.

20:47Put us in the scene. I love that. We were just at PodFest in Orlando where I was the opening keynote speaker. And as part of that trip, I was talking with the creator of the event and he said I could take my son on stage with me and give the keynote presentation. Now, of course, at 15 months, we had somebody on standby. So I had to hand him off after about five or six minutes when he got a little squirmy. But it was such a cool experience to be on stage with my son, giving the presentation and talking about being an entrepreneur with a family. Oh, I hope people are listening and literally and figuratively taking this to heart.

21:24It is one of the most important aspects of agency is that we bring humanity back into our business. So many conferences I speak at, all the language is linear, is logical, is about numbers. It's about, you know, conversions. It's about comments. It's about forwards. It's about money. It's about, and I ask myself, where is the beating heart of our humanity? And you are showing us that when we bring the personal into the professional, we're not taking time off work. We're taking time on life. And I'm hoping every single person is picking an agency goal for 2025 that doesn't just light them up. It won't just quote unquote, move the needle with the numbers of our business.

22:11it will give us a soulful, personal and professional life that is what we want out of life now and not someday. Wow, this is powerful stuff, Fire Nation. Sam is dropping these value bombs. And let's end with a bang because the Fire Nation is listening right now and they wanna take the agency quiz to understand why it is the lead domino to a well-led, lit up life. What is your call to action? What do they need to do? Okay, just write down these questions and think about them over lunch. Think about them on your next run, treadmill, whatever. It's what? What does agency mean to you? In one sentence for me, agency is improving what happens to us, by us, and around us.

22:57Notice I didn't say control, but agency is what happens and then what we do about it to improve it. Next question, who? Who modeled this for you growing up? Or who gave you agency growing up? Who encouraged you to take responsibility, to do what you want instead of listening to the noise? So who was an agency role model? All right. Now, who was the opposite? Who maybe with the best of intentions, they were overprotective. They came in and rescued you or they gave you the feeling that you couldn't do it on your own, that you were not able. And now when? When is the time you exercised agency? When is the time you got clear about something you wanted to do, you set it in motion, and you're still reaping the rewards?

23:46Now, when is the time you didn't? When is the time you wanted to do something, but you kept putting it off, or you waited to know how, or you waited until you had the right time, right money, and that's a regret that you wish you could undo? So those are just a few questions of the agency quiz, and we'll make that available with the four box, the now to next box, so that people can do a deep dive. Because once you do, you will realize that agency impacts every single thing you do on a daily basis. And if you commit to exercising agency, you will have an aligned, lit up life. And Sam, what is that call to action for Fire Nation to take the next step?

24:30I want to put something on the calendar. Who are you going to talk about this with because if you say you know what I'm going to go out with a friend on Friday night you know what I'm going to sit down with my partner for dinner tonight I want you to think when are you going to meet with someone so you're not going alone you're already networking one plus one equals 11 and then do the four box quiz with them and then have this fabulous conversation where you do a deep dive into the role agencies played in your life so you're committed to doing it on a daily basis. Sam, what's the URL? URL, real easy, samhorn.com, S-A-M-H-O-R-N.com.

25:11And, oh, there's posts there, quotes there. I think that just going there is going to light you up and is going to motivate you to carry this out and apply it in your life. And it's pretty clear on how to get the agency quiz at that website? It's right on the banner bar. That's right. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with Sam Horn and JLD today, so keep up the heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Type Sam, S-A-M, in the search bar, and the show notes page will pop right up. And of course, samhorn.com is your direct call to action, Fire Nation, to get these awesome resources that we've been talking about here today.

25:52And Sam, I want to say thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks, John. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Sam for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who is looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for entrepreneurs on fire. To learn more, visit eofire.com slash guest. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Do you have the right mentor in your life right now? For the first time in seven years, I'm opening up a few mentorship slots for individuals who know they need the guidance and accountability to take their business and life to the next level.

26:38Email me at john at eofire.com with a subject line mentor and we'll schedule a 15 minute chat to go over the program and see if it's the right fit for you. Over 41 ,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com slash fire.