From getting shot at to creating 4Networking, which has over 5,000 networking events in the UK, with Brad Burton
Founder of 4Networking, Brad Burton has achieved success while refusing to compromise who he is. He notes, “If you’ve got to pretend to be something you’re not in order to win business, that’s not success.
He joins me in this episode as we discuss:
- How Brad turned his life around — from getting shot at to founding 4Networking
- What it takes to succeed while being yourself
- Why people struggle to make decisions
In this episode we discuss:
01:02 Quick Introduction to Brad Burton
01:27 Brad recounts the worst day of his life
03:16 How Brad turned his life around, from getting shot at to founding 4Networking
09:35 Brad talks about delivering pizza to support his marketing business
12:29 How to create drive in your life
15:35 Brad’s first step in creating 4Networking
18:59 Brad on breaking free from conformity and being yourself
20:03 Why people struggle to make decisions
23:49 Key lesson Brad learned from a huge failure
31:38 How Brad rebuilt his life 7 years ago post-depression
37:55 How Brad prioritizes his family and still is able to grow 4Networking
42:45 Tip for people that don’t listen enough to their own inner voice
Quick Juice Questions
44:08 Do you invest? If so, what do you invest in?
“I invest in myself. I don’t have to worry about volatility in the market. I am the market.”
44:45 What most inspires you? When and where are you most inspired?
“I find inspiration in everything.”
46:18 Which book has inspired you and changed your thinking the most?
“When the shit hit the fan back in ‘95, I was homeless and I had a copy of this book with no cover on it — Twenty-three Steps to Success and Achievement by Robert J. Lumsden.
So many lessons that are not appropriate anymore. However, it kept me going.”
47:58 If there’s one last bit of Executive Juice you can share for people who want to get to the top of their game, what would it be?
“Be you.
Quotes
On making better decisions faster
- Fundamentally, my success or my failure has been all defined by my ability to make decisions.
- The reason we always get ourselves in messes in our lives […] has generally been down to making the short-term decision
- Every decision you’ve ever got yourself into some trouble has generally been down to making the short-term decision.
- The reason people don’t make decisions is they’re scared they’re the wrong ones. If it’s the wrong decision, it moves you one step towards being an expert. If it’s the right decision, it moves you one step towards success. You can’t lose.
- When your decisions are causing you to be unhappy, you’re making the wrong decisions.
- Ask yourself, “What is the downside of any decision?” If you can live with the downside of the decision, you should go for it.
On what it takes to succeed
- I know what it takes to be a success. It takes that ability to do stuff you don’t want to do, whether it’s cold calling, sending out 100 letters a week, licking stamps, delivering pizza. If you’re not prepared to do that, then go get a proper job.
- What are you willing to sacrifice in other to be a success? If the answer is, “Nothing,” then you need to go get a proper job.
- Put your focus on something other than money. Money is not a big enough motivator.
- Don’t let the world tell you what you can be and what you can’t be. Just be you.
- If you’ve got to pretend to be something you’re not in order to win business, that isn’t success.
- Success is about being you.
- I believe an expert is someone that has made all the mistakes in a particular niche or field.
- If you’ve got a Plan B, you don’t believe in your Plan A. And if you don’t believe in your Plan A, those people you’re trying to sell your products or services to, how on earth do you expect them to believe in something you don’t.
- This is where people go wrong in life and business — they spend so much time planning.
- Where we go wrong in our life is we confuse fun with happy.
Connect with Brad Burton:
Books mentioned: