The Six Steps to Unimaginable Success: A Strategic Roadmap for Entrepreneurs with Jerry Mark Fish

0:01Boom! Shake the room, 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 the six steps to unimaginable success, a strategic roadmap for entrepreneurs. To drop these value bombs, I have brought Jerry Mark Fish into EO Fire Studios. Jerry is a bestselling author, speaker, and founder of The Black Dot Philosophy, helping people overcome personal and professional challenges through a strategic roadmap for success and transformation. In today's foundation, we'll talk about a personal crisis that led to the creation of The Black Dot Philosophy.

0:37We'll talk about the six-step process of this philosophy and a real-life example of it applied to achieve unimaginable success and oh, so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Jerry and our sponsors. If you've ever considered launching a show on YouTube, I may have the solution for you. After launching a very successful show on YouTube in 2024, MicroStrategy Today, I've learned a lot on what it takes to create a successful show and have launched a one-on-one mentorship program called YouTube 100. If you wanna jump on a call and learn more about this program, shoot me an email, john at eofire.com.

1:13This is the year of YouTube. Let's go. Jerry, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Good morning, John. First, I wanna let you know how excited I am to be on your show today. And that's a great question. I think most people associate success with money. And I've never really been motivated by money. And I think at the end of the day, there's a lot of people like me who find more satisfaction about accomplishing the goal or taking a vision and turning that vision into reality. I have always felt empowered. empowered.

2:02I've always felt confident and excited when I accomplish something that's significant. And I tend not to think about the financial benefits. I look at that as a byproduct of the success. And Fire Nation success is one thing we're talking about here today, a lot of, because we're talking about the six steps to unimaginable success, specifically a strategic roadmap for you, Fire Nation for entrepreneurs. Now, Jerry, you actually had a personal crisis and this crisis led to the creation of the black dot philosophy. Tell us that story. Well, it was actually more than one crisis, but I'll put it all together for you.

2:43But to put it into perspective, I really need to take you back in time. You know, like everybody else, John, I had my fair share of challenges or what we call black dots going back to my teens. But that said, one day during my senior year of high school, I came home after school and I could hear my mother crying from her bedroom. So I immediately went into a room to make sure she was okay. And then what proceeded to happen was very shocking, especially to somebody who was 18 years old. She proceeded to tell me that her doctor had called and she was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer and she only had six months to live.

3:26And she actually lived another one and a half years and passed, but did pass away at age 41 after fighting courageously until the very end, which is a story for another time. But that was my first big life-changing experience and my first big black dot. If I fast forward to 1990, my sister Terry passed away unexpectedly at the age of 30. And then two years later, my cousin Debbie, who was more like a sister than a cousin, was also a close friend of mine, was diagnosed with terminal cancer as well, and she passed away two years later at age 36. Now, I tell you this, and I'm going back in time, because when my mother and my sister died, I just powered through it.

4:10But as you can imagine, you can just barely, you know, you can you can bury your head during heartbreaking events in life without having to deal with it then. But at some point in your life, it's going to surface. And that's exactly what happened to me. So my cousin was diagnosed. It hit me differently, especially knowing she had zero chance of survival. I knew what was coming. I had already experienced the heartbreak of watching my mother and my sister suffer, which was unbearable, obviously. In the midst of all this chaos, and now I'm in 1993, I started a new career in management with New York Life.

4:53And the timing could not have been worse. So by the end of my first six months with the company, I was failing miserably and I was at risk of being terminated if I didn't turn things around in the next six months. And the good news, John, is that I was prescribed an antidepressant because it was so bad that I could barely get out of bed. That's how depressed and how overwhelmed I was. But I was given some antidepressants and I was feeling a lot better, at least well enough to focus on my work. And, you know, survived the passing of my cousin, which happened a couple months later. now what happened next changed my life so at that same time as this is all going on my mentor gentleman by the name of mike cropland he and i went to lunch one day and the lunch was to talk about how i was going to be able to keep my job never mind have success he drew three circles on a napkin that I took from the waiter.

5:58And it was very spontaneous. And the three circles represented major objectives that I had to achieve. And those circles representing those major objectives later became what I now call black dots. So to make a long story short, what we did is we created an action plan around those three objectives, which were metaphorically attached to the circles. And I applied the strategies and the tactics that he and I discussed. And ultimately, over the next six months, I was not only hitting all my objectives, but I was at the same time well on my way to a successful career. So it was a it was a it was a an accumulation of events that ultimately created the black dot both in my personal life and in my professional life.

7:03And it was concurrent. In other words, it all happened around the same time. So Jerry, what exactly is a black dot and why does it hold the key to transforming both personal and professional challenges? Well, black dots really a metaphor for your central focus point. It represents what demands your energy and attention, whether it's a challenge to overcome or a goal to achieve. So here's the thing. Black dots vary in size and complexity. For example, large black dots, John, these are significant goals or challenges like launching a business or transitioning careers. Medium black dots are manageable issues like refining a skill or addressing a reoccurring problem.

7:50And then you have the smaller black dots, and those are quick wins like organizing your workspace or setting up a meeting. So the philosophy works because it provides a structured way to address all of these. Large black dots often feel overwhelming, but when you break them down into smaller actionable steps, they become manageable. Small to medium dots, on the other hand, can be tackled more quickly, creating momentum and clearing your path forward. So it's not just about fixing problems. It's about achieving aspirations. by focusing on your black dots with intention, you unlock the ability to create meaningful progress in your personal and professional life.

8:33Now, of course, we're going to share with Fire Nation a way they can dive deeper with your six-step process, but I want to really go through it now in a concise manner. What is step one of the six-step process of your black dot philosophy? The six steps are the backbone of the black dot philosophy. So step number one is about uncovering your challenges. And that starts by identifying the black dots in your life. They're everywhere. And nobody's immune to black dots. We all have them. You want to ask yourself, what's demanding your attention? What are the challenges or goals you need to address?

9:13And then we use a mapping process to categorize these black dots by size and priority. That's step one. Let's break down step two. Well, that's charting your course. There you define what success looks like for each black dot. And then you create a vision and then you break it into smaller milestones. This step is about clarity, knowing where you're going and how you're going to get there. What's step three? That's all about committing to your aspirations. Um, so for example, this step is about discipline and accountability, about dedicating time daily or weekly to put work, to put the work in on your black dots.

9:58You share your goals with someone who can hold you accountable, and then you build habits around that to keep you on track. Fire Nation, we're going to get to the last three steps in this process, as well as a real life example of how this philosophy has been applied and a lot more. when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Let's talk YouTube. Have you ever considered launching a show on YouTube or do you currently have one that's struggling to gain traction? I may have the solution for you. After focusing on audio for 13 years, I launched my first YouTube show in late 2024 and have seen fantastic results.

10:36Over 12 ,000 subscribers, every show getting well over 10 ,000 views, all 100 % organic, zero dollar spent on promotion or advertising. That is the beauty of YouTube. If you create the right content with the right cadence, YouTube will make sure it gets in front of the right people. My show is called MicroStrategy today and I'm having a blast creating content on a daily basis because it's on a topic I love about a company that I truly admire. What excites you? What fires you up? If you want to launch a show around that passion or improve your current one, I'm launching an exclusive coaching program called YouTube 100.

11:11where in 100 days I will mentor you one-on-one and together we will create a show that you love and that's successful. I hired the best mentors when I first started and have learned so much along the way. I'm ready to help you ignite your show and let YouTube do the heavy lifting of building a meaningful audience that will allow you to grow and monetize your show in ways you might not currently think possible. If you wanna jump on a call and learn more about this program, shoot me an email, john at eofire.com. Put YouTube 100 in the subject line and we'll schedule a time to chat. J-O-H-N at eofire.com.

11:47This is the year of YouTube. Let's go. Jerry, we're back. Let's dive right into steps four through six. Go through all three of those right now. Well, step number four is crafting your game plan. So this is where strategy comes in. What you do here is you break down each black dot into specific actionable tasks. Then you prioritize them and assign deadlines to create a step-by-step roadmap. Then you move to number five, which is about maintaining your momentum. And here you celebrate small wins and stay resilient in the face of obstacles. Here you want to have regular reflection, which helps you adjust your approach and then ensures you keep moving forward.

12:37And six is harvest your success. Here you want to recognize your achievements, John. Celebrate the journey. Identify new black dots. This step turns success into a springboard for continued growth. And if you follow these steps, you create a clear, actionable roadmap for addressing any black dot, whether it's a challenge or a goal. Now, I know that I love this and Fire Nation does as well, which are real life examples. So share one of how this philosophy has actually been applied to achieve unimaginable success. Okay, so I have two quick stories. One is about my career as it relates to unimaginable benefits or success.

13:28And then, of course, my personal life. So the first one is in terms of my career, I was promoted to what is called a managing partner with my former company. This was in 1997. And that's where you're given an opportunity to lead an agency that is comprised of financial advisors and a leadership team plus staff, trainers, et cetera. And there was 140 of these general offices or agencies in the U.S. when I was promoted in 97. The office that I was given was ranked 140th out of 140. So there was nowhere to go but up. But I used the philosophy to turn around this unperforming organization where just two years later we won multiple trophies.

14:23And I also did that with the next three offices that I was promoted to. All three were underperforming, struggling, dysfunctional. And, you know, by implementing the black dot philosophy with everybody involved, I was able to turn around all these offices and turn them into trophy record breaking offices. And so by identifying the black dots of an office, because you can do this with an organization, whether it was clear, unclear goals, poor communication or lack of motivation, we were able to implement strategies to address those issues. In a matter of months, those teams became some of the top performers in the organization each time I was moved to a different agency.

15:19My nickname was Mr. Fix-It. I was always able to turn offices around and turn them into high-performing organizations, and I attributed that to the blackout philosophy. And then in my personal life, in 2014, I was in Los Angeles running the Los Angeles agency for the company. And in June of that year, my son graduated from UCSB. and I went to his graduation and at the time, at the very end of his, the few days I was there, I started to feel poorly. And to fast forward, within a week, I had symptoms that were off the chain. I literally thought I was dying. When I looked up my symptoms, you know, which you should never do.

16:11Right. None of it was good. You know, it was basically, I was thinking, how was I going to be leaving this planet? Because it did not look good. So I went through a bunch of diagnostic tests and it turned out, even though the first test was negative, that I was diagnosed with HIV. And just for clarity, I was living with my girlfriend at the time. And apparently she got it from her former husband, excuse me, she didn't know she had it. And so when I went back to tell her what happened to me, of course, I was telling her that she also had it. I was expected in June to be at the office running the agency because June and December are the two most important months for the company.

16:59And whether it was a great decision or not, you know, that's up for discussion. But as soon as I was diagnosed, started taking medication, started feeling better, which was within two weeks, I was back at work. Never discussed it, never shared it with anybody. I went public with it five years later. But if it wasn't for the blacked out philosophy, allowing me to strategically work through the issue at hand and then come up with a game plan so that I could go back and continue to be a top performer. And I have to say that that experience and how I got through it and where I am today is nothing short of a miracle.

17:45And I do attribute my success on the personal side of this to the black dot as well. I mean, wow, that is such a powerful story. And Jerry, thank you for being vulnerable with that. Obviously, it's not always easy to talk about these things are alive, but it can help so many people who are resonating, who are experiencing something similar or a loved one could be as well, that, you know, there is hope, there is guidance. And this, you know, is where it kind of comes back to this black dot philosophy. So why don't you take a step back, Jerry, and really take this home? I mean, how do you want to end this episode with Fire Nation?

18:24We've already shared a lot about, you know, what you have going on in your life with a black dot philosophy, the six step process, real life examples. What do you want to make sure Fire Nation really gets from our conversation all around black dot philosophy? Well, I think what's important for me to articulate to the audience is, and again, everybody's going to have challenges in their lives. Some not so big, some significant. it. We all have goals, but the question then becomes, what is your process? What is the system that you use to overcome challenges and obstacles in your life? Do you power through it?

19:04Do you wing it? You know, going back to my earlier example of dealing with the death of my mother and my sister and then my cousin passing away, not much, not longer after that, my sister passing away. It was like the straw that broke the camel's back. It wasn't healthy. You know, yeah, I powered through the first two and it was devastating, but you know, I was able to move forward. It didn't, it didn't slow me down. It didn't get in the way of my life. And then when of my cousin passed away, I had a meltdown because it all kind of hit me at one time from those past experiences. So I would say that if you don't have a way to release the anxiety, maybe the frustrations that one feels when dealing with big black dots like a tragedy, somebody passing away in your family or business black dots, if you don't have a system or a process and you're winging it, it will catch up with you.

20:11Now, you like to use the analogy, probably seen the visual where you see this guy pushing a boulder up a hill. And ultimately, this person gets to the top of the hill or the mountain. And of course, accomplishes this great feat by pushing this boulder up a hill. And the boulder could be a metaphor for that person's challenges, problems, goals, what have you. My mentor used to say to me, Jerry, it's not what it does for you. It's what it does to you. I've used that really for the last 30 years when approaching big decisions. What's it going to do to me and what's it going to do for me? So you take that visual and this person gets all his challenges and goals, gets to the top of this mountain, But what did it do to him?

20:59See, without a process or a system to take you through a step-by-step process to ultimately achieve success or overcome challenges, you're keeping it inside. And it's just not healthy. And people make terrible decisions when they're under stress. And it's hard to think when you're under stress. it's hard to act when you're under stress. And so you alleviate all that pressure and stress by having a well-thought-out strategic plan, which is what the Black Dot philosophy is, so that you can move forward in a thoughtful and mindful way. Jerry, if Fire Nation wants to connect with you and wants to learn more about the Black Dot philosophy, what is your call to action for our listeners today?

21:53Well, I would encourage you to visit the website. The book, The Black Dot Philosophy, is on Amazon. It's a bestselling. It was a bestseller in three different categories to her business. and the other way you can reach me or learn more about the company is through www.theblack.philosophy.com. You'll learn about my upcoming objectives in 2025, which includes speaking, a coaching platform, workshops, all tied to the Black Dot Philosophy. beat. We've only scratched the surface today. It goes much, much deeper. And that's how you can learn more. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

22:47You've been hanging out with JMF and JLD today. So keep up the heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Jerry, J-E-R-R-Y in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. And Jerry, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. 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 Jerry for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free.

23:25Freepodcastcourse.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. If you've ever considered launching a show on YouTube, I may have the solution for you. after launching a very successful show on YouTube in 2024, MicroStrategy Today. I've learned a lot on what it takes to create a successful show and have launched a one-on-one mentorship program called YouTube 100. If you want to jump on a call and learn more about this program, shoot me an email, john at eofire.com. This is the year of YouTube. Let's go.