Alex Hanse is the owner of Foolies Clothing and the host of Dream Without Limits Radio. In this episode, Alex talks about why many people don’t pursue their dreams, why you need to have the right mindset to succeed, and why you shouldn’t give up.
Here are three things you can learn from Alex:
Don’t Give Up
Often times, what separates those who make it from those who don’t is giving up. We focus too much on trying to figure out exactly how to get it right. We want to find the instant path to success.
Even when he hasn’t made a sale in a month, Alex never gives up. Every time he thinks about giving up, Alex reminds himself up Nick Vujicic. Nick has no arms or legs, but is still a motivational speaker. He has many disadvantages that most of us don’t, yet he still has the power to continue on.
Don’t go down without a fight. Fight those negative thoughts away and continue on.
The Power of a Good Mindset
The problem many people have is adopting the wrong mindsets. Our minds are the most powerful tool we have. It determines how we approach the world and everything around us.
If you want to improve your place in life, Alex suggests having a $2,000 mindset, not a $2 mindset.
People with $2 mindsets don’t think they can achieve anything. Instead of pursuing their goals, they do nothing because they think they will fail.
People with $2,000 mindsets ask themselves the necessary questions to achieve their goals. They are inquisitive and they take actions on their goals.
Your success is dependent on you. Stop getting in your own way. Do everything you can to change your mindset for the better.
Give People What They Want
The key to a successful business is giving people exactly what they want. Alex did not start off wanting to start his own clothing company. He was just wearing shirts he thought were cool. Eventually people started approaching him, asking where they could get his shirt. That’s when he knew he had a business.
Instead of trying to come up with ideas out of nothing, Alex asks people what they are having trouble with, then makes shirts out of it. He looks for common problems among the people that he talks to, and creates shirts with positive messages to encourage people who have those thoughts.
Successful businesses are always about fulfilling a need. Listen to what people are telling you, and give them exactly what they want.
Shownotes
- about Alex and origins of Foolies
- Foolies – being different and stepping out of the box
- was rapping with his friend and just discovered the name by accident
- used to just say it in music, but started to print it on a shirt
- making things appear bigger than they are
- started on CafePress and ReverbNation
- made t-shirts for popular songs, but didn’t want to just jump on trends
- wanted to inspire people to live by the idea behind the shirt
- hit a nerve with the phrase “Dream Without Limits”
- people started to say “I need one of those”
- striking a chord and emotions
- started to having conversations with leaders and recording them
- wants to give people hope again
- musical background
- grew up liking rap/music
- family didn’t recognize those people as successful, but he did
- people told him he should get into medicine, science, et.
- everyone around his was interested in money, but they weren’t happy
- what prevents people from pursuing their dreams
- fear and working hard
- metaphor of jumping out of a plane
- taking time out of your life to do something extra
- expecting immediate results
- to do podcast you have to schedule, email people, make sure everything works, etc.
- people wanting the easy way out
- being the same as Oprah, Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk
- the difference between us and those who have found success is the willingness to do the work
“It’s all mental, and I think that people just don’t want to put in that work.”
- thoughts about giving up
- outside factors affecting the way you perceive the world
- when he wants to give up, he thinks of Nick Vujicic who has no arms or legs, yet he is a motivational speaker
- fighting negative thoughts even in the toughest circumstances
“I think I want to give up every 10-15 minutes.”
“This has to be magic…There’s no other way to explain why we want to still do this when I’ve had months… where I didn’t make a single sale. But I’m still speaking in classrooms, I’m still motivating somebody else to live out their dreams…”
“I believe in people. I believe in missions. I believe in seeing the change that I want to see, but it really does have to start with myself.”
“Am I willing to go down with a fight? Like Ali in the last round, or am I just going to get knocked down and cry to everyone else about what didn’t happen, and what if, and maybe…
- determining who to follow or where to get information
- the internet as a valuable resource
- using memes as a way to capitalize on opportunities
- 3 part seminar – You Were Born Rich – Bob Proctor
- step back from Netflix, Facebook, Youtube, and build your mind
- Melrose Center at Orlando Library
- having all the resources you need to learn and create
- Super Bowl tweet from Oreos
- Prince Harvey recording rap album at Apple stores
- the internet as a valuable resource
“The internet is amazing and it’s powerful, and it’s going to keep changing the lives of people who their lives to be changed.”
- $2 mindset vs. $2k mindset
- $2 mindset – thinking you can’t do anything
- $2k mindset – asking yourself the necessary questions to accomplish your goals
- stay away from people who have $2 mindset
- look at the situation, see how you can solve it, and find out who can help you
- doing it with less and facing more adversity
- you are the summation of the five things around you – friends, things you read, tweeted, thoughts, etc.
“Be willing to be around people who are about strategy and not complacency.”
“What were your last five thoughts? and could you honestly say that those last five thoughts could produce wealth in your mind and wealth in your pockets… could that produce life, did that promote anything that could make someone better?”
- recommendations for someone who has idea but doesn’t know what to do
- surrounding himself with people in tech community
- Startup Weekend and Minimum Viable Products
- don’t worry about people stealing your idea
- using Amazon to write a book based on feedback
- be willing to talk about ideas
- Facebook and iTunes innovating constantly
- smallest step to achieve your goal
- Jay Abraham uses Amazon 3 star reviews and creates products from those gaps
- start from the top and work backwards to figure out what steps it takes to get there
- kids being able to tell what’s good or bad
- Richard Brason starting Virgin Airlines
- children teaching other with computers and no teachers
“If you want to start a business, think big, but then scale it down to the smallest, smallest possible sense… and get feedback.”
- building Foolies and marketing it
- reached out to people he respected and saw what they were having trouble with
- seeing common problems among people
- ex: Do What You Love
- people tell you exactly what they want, so give it to them
- listen to people, the world is crying for help
- make products based on what people are having trouble with
- learning what to do and what not to do
- don’t overthink things, keep them simple, and go back to childlike basics
- Dream Without Limits podcast
- reach out to people through Twitter
- send people tweets telling them you love what they do and you want to have them on your show
- people responding to tweets faster than e-mails
- uses Instagram to contact up and comers
- Paul C. Brunson – matchmaker
- If you’re not learning, you’re not living
- don’t invest time in things that aren’t working
- reach out to people through Twitter
“Start investing in people and content. Listen to more podcasts… Read books outside of your work.”
“Just find time to learn and grow. Just learn about different people.”
- what Alex is going to do next
- considers himself a magician
- get off the call and grind and keep working
- be a resource to help friends
- learn about the world and be a solution not a problem
- Malala created Books not Bullets movement
- got shot overseas defending kids
- opened up school on 18th birthday
- having a plan and being able to adapt
- have faith and know it’s about the process
- be humble through the process
“How can I make a solution and not complain about every problem?”
“I just want to make a stain on the world we’re living in for the better.”
“I just have to keep working and grinding.”
- morning routine
- Beat the Sun – wants to work before everyone else
- Good Leaders Ask Great Questions by John C. Maxwell
- used to sleep on the ground to stay grounded
- likes to stay grateful
- wants to wake up and inspire others
- books, podcasts, resources
- Creative Live
- Tony Robbins – donating every sale of new book to help third world countries (donated up front)
- learn but also take action
- creative people
- surrounds himself with creative people
- Gary Vaynerchuk – being honest and providing information to help people succeed
- definition of creativity
- looking at the land in a community and watching it get built up
- every time we create something new, everything around it changes
- circle of creation and destruction
- on how he creates and destroys
- takes ideas and runs with them
- doesn’t tell people his idea, asks them questions to see if the idea makes sense
- doesn’t ask if he should make a podcast, instead asks what they want to hear
“The moment you plant something… everything around the space begins to transform and shift and I think that’s the power of creativity.”
“Watching something build and watching something get destroyed is the best way to understand creativity. “
Twitter: Iamthatgreat | Foolies.com
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