What is your what? with Steve Olsher

Steve Olsher has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years; he's a speaker, coach, Founder and Editor in Chief of Podcast Magazine. Steve is also the original founder of liquor.com. To boot he hosts the top-rated podcast, Reinvention Radio. In this episode you can learn:

• How to distinguish your what from your why.
• The four paths to “What”
• How and why you should re-invent yourself
• The importance of growing and expanding the vision of the team

 

Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com

Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA

Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services

Find out more about Steve below:

Steve’s Website https://steveolsher.com

What is your what (Book)

Steve on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveolsher/

Steve on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/steveolsher/

Steve on Twitter https://twitter.com/steveolsher

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Full Transcript Below

 

Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker.

 

Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you.

 

Our special guest on today's show is Steve Olsher. He's known as the world's foremost reinvention expert. He's an award-winning author of What Is Your What? He's a 30 plus year entrepreneur. Having founded many businesses, including being the editor in chief of Podcasts Magazine, stick around to the end of today's show and find out how you can unlock our lifetimes free subscription of podcasts magazine. But before we get a chance to speak with Steve, it's The Leadership Hacker News.

The Leadership Hacker News

 

Steve Rush: In the news today we're going to explore what sets entrepreneurs apart from the rest. I've had the pleasure of working alongside some of the world's best entrepreneurs. And during the podcast, I've interviewed dozens and dozens of world-class top entrepreneurs. And here's my top five things that I think sets them apart.

 

Number one, they all have a really clear vision and they stick to it. Dr. David Lennon, who's the co-founder of Tibor Health said there are two reasons why this is important. One, you must be able to communicate the value of your vision to your team in order to keep them focused, enthusiastic and on task. And two, you must be able to clearly and concisely articulate your vision so that you can attract capital and drive investment into your business too.

 

Two, build a brand. These days, personal branding, isn't just for celebrities. And it’s there to help everybody, including entrepreneurs stand out in a competitive market. The most recognizable brands that you will notice come with traits that most people can identify with. Adrian Fisher, who's a CEO of Property Simple said, “Think about Apple, clean lines of aesthetic and cutting-edge technology, or the nostalgia that comes with a can of Coca-Cola classic. A well-crafted personal brand has exactly the same presence and it's helped drive my business faster forward.”

So, having a clear social media presence and blogging a really good places to start building your own personal brand. Three, most successful entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to solve real problems and create concrete value for their customers. Now, this might seem obvious, but with the hype that's around fundraising and seed funding and creating grand visions for global domination, this is often unfortunately forgotten. Jesse Nieminen who's the co-founder and chairman of Viima said, “Regardless of some of his shortcomings, Elon Musk is not just an incredible visionary. He's also a skilled engineer. Who's able to break down huge engineering problems like building reusable rockets at SpaceX into smaller, more manageable parts.”  Number four, follow a system. Most entrepreneurs will be following a system and see this as the most important thing to their success in any business. They have a pattern or a path to keep them on track. Katherine Adams, who's the founder of Creative Legacy Group said, “We have proven success within our insurance agency to keep it new and all agents on track. Don't reinvent the wheel. You have to be able to duplicate yourself to be successful. I want my agents to be strong and better than me. And in order to make that happen, there must be a system for them to follow that has proven results. Number five, the ability to accept failure as a learning, what does set entrepreneurs apart from the rest is their ability to accept failure. It can take a lot of time to be invested and many failures before you go on to be successful. So, having that combination of perseverance and the ability to pick up, keep moving forward is something that's ingrained in entrepreneurs. They are in a constant situation where they are hyper-focused on improving experience of their team, as well as of their customers. Building and managing deeper relationships, and at the same time remain open-minded in order to change focus when required. That's been the Leadership Hacker News today. If you have any news, stories or insights, you'd love our listeners to hear, please get in touch.

Start of Podcast

Steve Rush: Steve Olsher is the special guest on today's show. He's been an entrepreneur for over 30 years. He's a speaker and a coach and founder and editor in chief of Podcast Magazine. Steve also been the original founder of liquor.com and he now hosts the top-rated podcast, Reinvention Radio, Steve, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, I appreciate you having me on.

Steve Rush: I feel like we're kind of in the presence of podcast royalty today. So, thank you for choosing to be on our show, but podcasts haven't really been your thing all along. So, tell us a little bit about your backstory as to how you've arrived at doing what you're doing right now?

Steve Olsher: Over the course of my career and reality is, man from catalogs to dot.com, raking lawns, you know, or raking leaves and mowing law and shoveling driveways. If it paid a dollar or two, I've probably tried it over, you know, at some point in my career. But yeah, you know, it's just one of those things where I've always been kind of wired to try to rub a couple of dimes together to make a quarter. So, it's one of those gifts and those curses where my mind is just always moving and trying to figure out where the next opportunity is.

Steve Rush: They say that entrepreneurship is in your blood. Where was the first moment that you can recognize that you felt that entrepreneurial spirit?

 

Steve Olsher: Entrepreneur can be made; they are not born. I don't know, I mean, I think that's either in your DNA or it's not, for me, it's just always been a, you know, really a part of who I am. So, I don't know, man, you know, when I look back at my career, I don't think I would have had any other choice, but to be, an entrepreneur and to do what it is that I naturally do on a day-to-day basis. As you start thinking about the entrepreneurial landscape and where the opportunities are and what that looks like to be an entrepreneur, just the whole idea of a really controlling my life and my destiny. I can't stop doing that. Like even if I try to get a job, I’m just now wired to work for somebody else. So yeah, you know, it's just kind of in the DNA.

Steve Rush: So, Podcast Magazine is growing beyond, it's getting lots and lots of followship and getting some great recognition globally, but what is it you're doing at the moment beyond the Podcast Magazine?

Steve Olsher: Things that are going on. I mean, as you say, we've got Podcast Magazine. Podcasts Magazine is a division, so to speak, of a larger parent company that we call Air Control. And so, the bigger picture around Podcast Magazine and Air Control. Podcast Magazine really represents the main media piece of the equation. So, we've got the magazine, the email subscriber list, the website traffic, the social media following, et cetera. So that's really like pillar one, pillar two under air control is our own network of shows. So, we're actually in the process of developing our own network shows. And that's something that we're pretty fired up to do, in 2021 and beyond is get shows under the Podcast Magazine or the air control network umbrella.

Number three, pillar three is our technology piece. And so, we're in the process of developing, an app that helps with discovery for both podcast fans and of course for podcasters as well. And then we've got some other technology pieces that we're developing there in terms of a podcast valuation tool and a marketplace for buying and selling a podcast, et cetera. And then pillar four, that's more of our, should we just say our event department where we've got a virtual event called the new media summit. There we give people the opportunity to pitch top podcasts on who they are and what they do, and they get booked on the spot and then we've got pod expo, which is our, I guess, the best way to put it is, it's kind of like Comic Con for podcasts. Really fan focused.

Steve Rush: Cool, yeah. So not much going on then. Sounds like you are really busy.

Steve Olsher: Nah, nothing's going on.

Steve Rush: Now from the last time that we spoke together, I remember you saying that you believe there's only one thing that really prevents somebody from living that life of happiness, fulfillment and purpose, what is it?

Steve Olsher: Discovering what I call your what and your what being that one thing, if you will, that you were really meant and made to do. And a lot of people will go a lifetime without having clarity around what their what is, and that's to be expected because we don't really teach this stuff in schools. And that's not something that a lot of people talk about or around the dinner table. But once you have clarity on what your, what is, it really does make all the difference.

Steve Rush: Now, often people talk about their why. In fact, Simon Sinek has made a career out of that famously so, but you employ people to really start to think of discovering their why. So, what's the difference if I'm listening to this, that will help me understand the difference between my what and my why?

Steve Olsher: I love what Simon does. And we had a chance to sit down with him on Reinvention Radio, and that was an interesting discussion around the why versus the what. Your why is super important, and it is really the driving force in terms of your choice around what it is that you do. So, like your, why can be to feed your family, your why can be to provide clean drinking water for people who don't have clean drinking water, your why could be to provide food for those in need, right. And that's all well and good. And those are really external factors, right? Again, you can choose what your, why is because it's outside of who you are. You're what is really that, which has chosen you. It's not that which you have chosen. So, what I know to be true is that you're what is really just an inherent part of who you are, and you can spend a lifetime in denial about what it is, but ultimately, it's there for you to tap into. So, your why is external, you're what is really internal.

Steve Rush: How would you describe what your what is?

Steve Olsher: I do think that my, what is really helping people discover theirs, but then because of my entrepreneurial background, I then have the ability to help them market, share and monetize it. And so, I think it's just a really unique combination of skill sets that I don't see a lot of other people having.

 

Steve Rush: Sure, and you've written the book. What Is Your what? And it's the principle of discovering that one amazing thing that you're born to do. And within the book, you mentioned these four paths. So, what are the four paths, Steve, and how might we identify which one we're currently on?

Steve Olsher: The four paths. What I'm talking about in the book is the fact that, when you look at just the people that kind of walk the earth here, I think we all have one of these four paths that we can take. And most of the time, we don't even know that we're on one of these paths. But the four paths are, well, I'll start with the easiest one, which is the path of the birther. And so, the path of the birther. These are the people that we really just kind of look at. And if you don't know what you were really fired up to do, and you don't have that kind of clarity, you look at these people and you go, you know, you just don't like them. Cause they really known like from day one.

Steve Rush: Just have a vibe.

Steve Olsher: Almost from day one, just how they're naturally wired to Excel, yeah. They just know who they are, you know, and they just know what they love and they know what they're good at. And they might get off path here, there, otherwise. But, you know, the reality is at most points in their life, they get back to really who they inherently are, okay. That's one path. The second path is the path of the wanderer and the path of the wander. This is someone who lived to really wonders through life without ever really figuring out what their, what is. And as I said earlier, it's really through no fault of their own. We just don't have these sorts of conversations. They have a job, they do this, they do that, and they get by. But they really don't wake up with a fire in their soul every single day.

The third path is the path of what I call the shifter. And so, the shifter, that path reflects someone who just kind of needs to make a subtle adjustment to what they're doing. So, when we talk about what is your what process here and what is your, what framework. There are three elements of what is your, what framework. There's the core gift, which really reflects again, how you're inherently wired to excel. There's the primary vehicle that you use to share that gift. And then there are the people that you're most compelled to serve. And so, it's a combination of the gift, the vehicle and the people that make up the, what is your, what framework. And so typically shifters just have to make a subtle adjustment to one of those three pieces of the equation. And then that typically makes all of the difference. And then the fourth path is the path of the reinventor. And the reinventor is someone who literally does a 180. So maybe they were an attorney, and now they're helping people to learn how to surf off the coast of Hawaii, you know, like that sort of thing. There's a completely different career. Like my wife reinvented her life. She was a Chicago public school teacher. And then after we had kids, when she decided she wanted to go back to work, she tapped into the calling that she's had since a very young age and pursued her degree in mortuary science. And now we're actually opening a funeral home for her here in San Diego, California. So that would be a perfect example of a reinventor.

Steve Rush: And you've also become known as America's reinvention expert. And it seems like an easy thing to say, but what actually does reinventing yourself entail?

Steve Olsher: Thrown around quite a bit since, I'm not saying I invented the term, I don't own the term by any stretch, but yeah, I've put together my first episode of Reinvention Radio in 2009. So, I've been talking reinventing for a long time. And, you know, when Burger King starts talking about reinventing the hamburger, it's probably time to revisit how we're thinking about the term. But, you know, look to my way of thinking, reinvention is really not at all about changing who you are in any sort of meaningful. It's really just about shedding the shackles of the, kind of the expectations and the whims and the agendas that others have thrown out at us over the years, and just stripping away at all of that to give back to the core, really the essence of just who you inherently are.

Steve Rush: It' easier said than done though, isn't it? Because we've come with all of this baggage, that's created us to who we are. Are there some simple tips that you could share that would help me kind of reinvent, reframe?

Steve Olsher: Yeah, and so really it all starts with just turning on the light switch. I mean, like that's, the first and perhaps the most important step, because when you think about a light switch, I mean, it's either on or it's off and most of us will go through life with it in the off position. In other words, we're not really thinking about, you know, how am I naturally wired to excel? What am I here to do? Is there something else that I can be doing that I'm potentially not doing that I shouldn't be doing? And so literally, if you just think about it from that standpoint, in terms of, you know, hey, here's the light switch moment, and I'm going to go ahead and turn this on. Once you make the decision that you want to figure out what your, what is, and you really want to jump out of bed every morning, knowing that they're just aren't enough hours in the day to do what you got to get done. That's a super important first step. And when we can get more granular, but if you could just do that, that in of itself can make a tremendous difference.

Steve Rush: It’s that awakening almost, isn't it?

Steve Olsher: It's sure. It's definitely, you know, definitely an awakening of sorts. But, you know, look, we can then be awake, but at the same token, we then have to figure out what to do with that awareness. So that's step one, step two of course, is then making the conscious decision to say, hey, I'm going to figure things out.

Steve Rush: Right, and in your experience, Steve, you've been through this yourself on a number of different occasions and being an entrepreneur for 30 years. I wonder if this is almost a similar process that venture capitalists and entrepreneurs go through when they explore new business ideas, can you see, there is a parallel there?

Steve Olsher: Look at the successful quote, unquote successful entrepreneurs. They've tried a million things before they've gotten to the point where now they have some degree of notoriety and elevated status and people look at them and go, oh wow, this company, this person is really doing some incredible things. It's very similar. It's very similar. I mean, you have a very similar situation with how you go about reinventing your own life. And yeah, you just simply have to try a number of things before you get to the point where you're like, yeah, this really puts fire in my soul.

Steve Rush: Yeah, and I guess when you head off on the journey of your new, what. You might actually find that what you thought you were heading towards might be something different and you might need that to reinvent yourself once more.

Steve Olsher: Well, and that's exactly right. I mean, the reality is once you get in motion, that's when amazing things happen. So, you know, it's step one of discovering your what is really just turning on the light switch and then step two is taking action and really, you know, making the conscious choice to seek out various modalities. You know, whether it's, what is your what are Myers-Briggs or what color is your parachute or whatever it might be to try to get to those answers then yeah. Perhaps step three, could certainly be looked at in terms of, okay, great. Now I need to run on some parallel paths and I really just need to get into motion here and bringing what I discovered to fruition. And in reality, it's when you get in motion, you start doing those things. That's typically when you come across the answer to, okay, this is what I really love doing.

Steve Rush: Yeah, and it's driven by then passion. And I suspect it becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy where you get that passion, follows energy, follows action.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, and, you know, look, I mean, I'm all for passion. Don't get me wrong. But at the same token, there's a lot of people who are moving in, so we say passionately or enthusiastically and there running in the wrong direction.

Steve Rush: Yeah, I see that too. So, can you give us some examples, maybe of people who you've worked with or coached who have really discovered their what and how they might be changing the world as a result?

Steve Olsher: Yeah, there's a couple of examples that I love sharing. One really concrete example, that isn't going to be one of these earth-shattering types of stories where you're going to go, oh, I know that person kind of thing. Let me just share this with you. So, there was a woman who came to, for years I used to teach something called The Reinvention Workshop where I would help people do exactly this, which is figure out what their, what is, and then just really help them create that plan of action for bringing it to fruition. So, there was a woman who came to the event and I'm old enough where I've learned not to ask women their age, but I'm going to guess that she was probably in her late fifties, somewhere right around there. And she came to the event, just feeling pretty good about things, but just knowing that there was maybe a piece of the puzzle that was missing for her. And so, as we started working together, she explained that she was a nurse and she was a, kind of like a general nurse in a hospital. I don't know the exact terminology, but she was a nurse in a hospital. I just put it to you that way. And so, she was clear as we looked at the what is your, what equation. She was really clear that her gift, if we remember, we go back to the gift, the what is your what framework. It's comprised of the gift, the vehicle and the people. She was really clear that her core gift is healing. Like she knows she's a healer and there's a lot of people who are healers out there. It shows up in different ways through their vehicle. And her vehicle of course, was nursing. So, she was very clear that her gift was healing. Her vehicle, it was nursing. She loved what she did, but she just felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing. And so, as we dug into things, it just really became clear to her and to us that where she was just slightly off again, if you go back to the past, she was definitely a shifter where she was slightly off as with the people that she was serving. And I remember as we started going through the exercise of trying to bring to the surface for her, the people that she's most compelled to serve. I remember when she wrote the words on the board disadvantaged elderly, and it's like, it's almost like when you have a treasure chest and you turn the key, and then it opens up and everything kind of glows the angels sing, oh, you know, all that fun stuff.  Like that's what happened for her. Like you could literally just see her light up when she wrote the words, disadvantaged elderly on the board and for her that really spelled all the difference. She had been working in this hospital and you know, and again, liking what she did, but she just realized that she needs to be working with the disadvantaged elderly, and that's who she's really compelled to serve. And so fast forward, you know, a number of years now, but it took her about a year or so to land a job as the head, I believe they call it a charge nurse at a veteran’s administration hospital. So, she was working with the disadvantaged, elderly, the veterans who couldn't really take care of themselves at that point. And she's really just been loving it ever since.

Steve Rush: That's an amazing story. It just goes to show that somebody who's already on that path, but just a little off kilter with a little bit of realignment can make a real difference in the world, love it. Great story. So, at this part of the show, Steve, we get the opportunity to tap into that 30 years of experience you've got in leading teams and businesses and organizations and ideation. If we were to kind of break that down as best you can, what would you say your top three leadership hacks would be?

Steve Olsher: Well, I'm not sure that I've got leadership hacks per se. I'm not one of those people that has all these magical spells and tricks and these sorts of things up my sleeve. But you know, one of the things, and I'll throw out a few leadership strategies, if you will, that I've learned over the years. I wish I could sit here and say, these are all rocket science, but, you know, maybe these would-be good reminders for some. So, number one, as a leader, it's really your job to give ownership to your team. And so, a lot of leaders want to hang on to as much of the process as possible. And if you want to create real wealth and you want to create real growth, you just have to be willing to, I guess, for lack of a better term, grant ownership to your team of what's going on. And, you know, they may not do as good as you necessarily, like no one does what you can do, but I liken it to a sales team, right. And if you have, you're the best salesman, right? And pretty much hands down most of the time, you're the one who can sell what you do better than anybody else, but that's not scalable. So, let's just say you bring in somebody who's 60% as good as you. So, you go in and you close 10 out of 10 deals. They go and they close six out of 10 deals. Are you leaving money on the table? Yeah, you're leaving some money on the table, but let's say you then hire a second salesperson who is again, 60% as good as you are. Well now, and I don't want to get into a debate about if this math is actually correct or not, but now if you have two people who are 60% as good as you on the street, the results hopefully are that you actually have 12 deals closed as opposed to the 10 deals that you would have closed if you were in control.

So, giving them that ownership and giving them that trust, definitely something that's hard for a lot of people to do. And that's really one thing to think about. Number two, you know, from a leadership perspective, I believe that many of us tend to operate with a little bit of a heavy hand. And I'm not saying that we have to wear kid gloves and just be overly sweet and that sort of thing. I mean, there are times where correction is needed and things didn't go exactly to plan, but I am saying that, you know, you got to be really aware of the fact that people want to be respected and they want to be treated well. And especially today, if you have talent, you can find a job just about anywhere, if you're any good at what you do. So, holding on to talent, really requires a different approach today than it did even just 10, 15 years ago, right. So that's number two. And then number three, you really have to paint the picture, your job as a leader, more than anything else is to enroll people into your vision. So, do whatever you've got to do, get involved with a mastermind group, hire a coach, do whatever it is to expand your thinking. Because a true leader is always growing and expanding the vision of their team is really buying into. And so, if you're having trouble seeing where your biggest opportunity is and what that bigger vision can be for you and your company, and then you may need someone from the outside to help you to really see where that blue ocean, so to speak is and where your biggest opportunity is.

Steve Rush: I agree on great it. One thing I say that really sets those successful businesses apart from ones that are less successful, the greater clarity, the business leaders and leaders in every sense of the world from, you know, junior staff to senior staff, the clearer their vision is, the more likely of success they are.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, for sure.

Steve Rush: That's some great ideas and tips Steve, that our listeners would absolutely buy into. So, thank you for sharing those.

 

Steve Olsher: Yeah.

Steve Rush: The next part of our show we stick into is what we call Hack to Attack. So, this is typically where something in your life or work has screwed up. It's not gone well, but the learning you've got from it now serves you well. Now being an entrepreneur for so long, I suspect you might have a bunch of these, but what would be your Hack to Attack?

Steve Olsher: Well, I mean, I would just simply say that that's pretty much every day of my life. There isn't a day that I don't fail in some way, shape or form. I think maybe on a more macro level, what I would offer rather than a specific experience. Cause I've been on a brink of bankruptcy, not once, but twice. I've had millions in the bank and I've had zero in the bank, you know? I mean, the thing that I can offer that might be more helpful just in terms of, again, a sort of a macro perspective, as far as this is concerned. Is just embracing the notion and that there really is no such thing as failure, right? Failure is one of those terms of ignorance that weak minded people like to throw out, and those who dare to soar in an attempt to bring them down.

And so, I choose to view failure as success with an unintended ending.

Steve Rush: I like that.

Steve Olsher: We're really just in the business of one particular, like our game as business owners, it boils down to one specific thing and that is gathering data. Because at the end of the day, it's not that you did something, right. It's not that you did something wrong. It's just that you're gathering data. And if you can look at this whole world of business, as that game of being in the data gathering business, and that's the game you're trying to win as gathering the most data.

Steve Rush: Sure.

Steve Olsher: I mean, like just getting inputs so that you have a better understanding of the decisions to make, that's how you ultimately make better decisions. So that's the best advice that I can offer, not as it relates to any particular failure or shortcoming or wish I did better. And believe me, I've left so many zeros on a table with at least one [Audio Gap 00:2914]. But I think this probably serves people better than that.

 

Steve Rush: Failure is a really interesting one. It keeps reappearing. It's almost a word that we should ban in business because it creates the wrong thinking, the wrong mindset. And I love the way that you've reframed that. So, thanks for sharing it. The last thing that we want to do, Steve is give you a chance to do some time travel. You get to jump in a time machine, go back and bump into yourself at 21 and you get to give yourself some advice. What would your advice be?

Steve Olsher: Yeah, it's interesting, right. So, at 21, I had opened my own nightclub when I was 19. Yes, it was a non-alcoholic nightclub for those wondering. And so I just got done leaving that and turning it over to my manager and business partner. And I walked away from that. And I was contemplating on coming back to Chicago from the city where I'd opened up nightclub, and joining the family business. And what I would have said to my 21-year-old self at that time, because there was a pretty interesting opportunity that was 1991 ish, somewhere right around that, is that even correct? I don't think my math is right, whatever it is. And so, this was the point in time where I started working with my mom and we worked together actually for about nine years, building a business called liquor by wire. And so that eventually became liquor.com and we launched on CompuServe Electronic Mall in 93, built a fully functional e-commerce site and 95, I mean really early into the space. And so, the 21-year-old self would that 21-year-old self needed to hear? Was, you have, I believe the word is, is it prescient? Just like, you have the ability to see the future, prescient. So, I have the ability to see trends really, really early. And what I would have told my 21-year-old self is, trust the trend that you see and listen, when you get that voice of this is something that you need to do, because ultimately the things that I decided to do were on point, but I began to second guess my decision so much so that I even signed away the management rights to our company at one point, because I didn't believe in myself enough to take us to that next step. And so that would be the advice is just really trust yourself to do the right thing, trust yourself, to make the right decisions and trust what you see in terms of where you is, Wayne Gretzky used to say, right? I mean, where you see the puck going.

Steve Rush: Where do you think that comes from that ability to see trends and predict things? Because everybody doesn't get that, right. That's not a common thing that people have. Where does that come from?

Steve Olsher: Yeah, I have the ability to, and I'm not saying I'm great at this. I mean, I'm good at it, but I mean, I missed Bitcoin when I had been in the conversation around Bitcoin. Like I had an account opened with one of those exchanges. I don't even remember which one in like 2012. So, it was one of those things where I was like, oh man, this is going to be great. And then the other part of me said, yeah, just don't pissed money away, this is stupid, right. So, you know, that would be, just an example there just like it was with dot.com space and seeing where everything was headed in the world of dot.com But, you know, the reality is that I have the ability to gather a lot of data and I've always been open to getting data from a lot of different sources. And so, I think it's because of the input and the data that I received from so many different sources that I'm able then to step back and go, you know what? This is pretty interesting. And I think there's serious potential here. And so, I guess I'm able to delineate between what I think is hype and something that might be bordering on unrealistic and where a true opportunity lies.

Steve Rush: It's a gift. So, if we look forward to 2021, throw it out there. What's your hunch for this year? What are the emerging trends that you think are going to be the future success factors in our lives?

Steve Olsher: Yeah, I mean, look, I can only do that from my business standpoint. That's what I'm really good at. I mean, whatever you choose to do on your own personal level, so to speak is, you know, I'm not going to give you personal advice.

Steve Rush: Of course, yeah.

Steve Olsher: Yes, but what I will say, is that from a business perspective, I've been playing around with Clubhouse, which is an iOS specific app. And I've been playing around with Clubhouse since all of December 14th of 2020. And as I said, I've been online a long time. I mean, almost 30 years. And I haven't seen anything like what's going on with Clubhouse in terms of the stickiness, in terms of the engagement, in terms of the stratospheric growth in expedited periods of time. I haven't seen anything like what's going on with Clubhouse in a long time. So, my personal take is much like I miss the opportunity with Bitcoin. I'm either going to sit here and I'm going to watch people do really amazing things with Clubhouse and not get involved, or I'm going to get involved with it. I'm going to devote at least six months to it to really build it up and see what we can do with it. And if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But if I'm right, I think there's an opportunity to write a meal ticket here for some time to come.

Steve Rush: Yeah, it could be the next audio Facebook I've heard it been discussed as.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, I mean, that's a fair, I think that's a very fair description. But I think it's even more than that because Facebook, Facebook is very much a one-way conversation. This is as much of a dialogue and a conversation as you can have with, with people who both you want to learn from, and people that you can teach as I've ever seen.

Steve Rush: Neat, I will make sure that I spend more time focusing on that. Because it's been one of those things that just have appeared in the ether recently. And yet haven't had the opportunity to fully immerse myself in it.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, trust me on this. It's if you miss the Instagram boat, if you missed the Facebook boat, if you missed all that fun stuff going on with social media, I don't want to say the opportunity of a lifetime, cause I've seen a lot of opportunities come across during my life. But this is about as compelling as it gets right now.

Steve Rush: Sure, I'm on it. So, Steve, for those that are listening today that want to learn a little bit more about the work you've done, maybe get some insights to some of the writing that you have when you're speaking, where's the best place for us to send them when we are done?

Steve Olsher: Well, I mean, we started out talking a little bit about Podcast Magazine and all that fun stuff. If you go to podcastmagazine.com/free, it's a backdoor private link to grab a free lifetime subscription. So just simply podcastmagazine.com/free. And if you want to connect with me on Clubhouse, my handle is @podcasts with an S and you should join our ClubPod. And we'd love to have you join that conversation as well

Steve Rush: Awesome, and make sure all of that information is in our show notes and on our website. So, folks can literally just click in and join up with you there.

Steve Olsher: I appreciate it.

Steve Rush: Steve just for me to say thank you. You've been an awesome guest, fabulous learning from you. And I'm delighted that we're connected through this wonderful medium of podcasting. Thanks for being on The Leadership Hacker Podcast.

Steve Olsher: Yeah, appreciate you having me.

Steve Rush: Thanks, Steve.

 

Closing

 

Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers.

 

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