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Engineer. Musician. Entrepreneur.

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April 19, 2018 by Julius Campbell Leave a Comment

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats…But Are You In A Boat?

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats…But Are You In A Boat?

“This is an outrage! Someone should do something about this!”

90% of Americans had been failed by the financial system and I was looking at the proof.

In my line of work, I deal with data. As such, I’m interested in cool ways to visualize data. Back in 2011, I came across one of those data visualizations that was cool. But the story it told…not so much.

It was a chart titled “When income grows, who gains?” I was shocked to discover that from the period of 1969 to 2008, average income in the United States grew by $11,684. The shocking part of that statistic was that ALL of that income growth went to the richest 10% while average income for the bottom 90% declined.

I was born in 1970, so I was confronted with a phenomenon that had been happening my entire life. Meanwhile, I had always been taught that “a rising tide lifts all boats”.

Well, if average income in the US is the tide, then 90% of Americans are not in boats.

When I saw that chart, while I was outraged, I was also grateful. I had just started my home-based business and it was reassuring to me to know that I had a supplemental financial vehicle to take advantage of this rising tide.

Years later, I was not satisfied with the growth of my side business. I believed in the vehicle, but somehow I couldn’t motivate myself to work my business as consistently as I knew I needed to.

Well, since 2016, I’ve experienced renewed motivation that allowed me to write and publish my first book all while maintaining my full time job, transitioning from part time dad to full time dad, and marrying my sweetheart.

What happened in 2016? I remembered who I am, which helped me remember my purpose.

You see, prior to 2016, I was focusing on what my side business could do for me and my family. Consequently, I worked sporadically.

What really burdens my heart is the rest of the 90%. I want to change things for everyone—not just me and my family. I want a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a capitalist. I am not for a dictator-mandated redistribution of wealth.

What I am for is dispelling the notion that employment alone is a suitable vehicle for the financial health of families. I would like to see more individuals participate in our capitalist system.

That’s why I promote the side hustle. I believe it is the lowest-risk way for more people to get into a financial vehicle that is capable of rising with the economic tide.

I am also for putting an end to the notion that the only goal of business is to maximize profit.

I recently learned that business has largely followed the Friedman Doctrine my whole life. What is the Friedman Doctrine? Basically it says that the only social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits for its shareholders.

That means, if you live in a society where laborers earn so little they can’t afford the goods they produce, or where discrimination is rampant, or the environment is polluted…you should thank the businesses that made that society possible as long as they consistently deliver profits quarter after quarter.

You’re welcome…

I wholeheartedly disagree with this doctrine.

If a business has the power to exploit workers, discriminate, and pollute, it also has the power to do the opposite. Business can be a great force for good—and make a profit at the same time.

Of course it’s important for a business to be profitable. Without profit, you can’t stay in business. But to ignore social responsibility is…well…irresponsible.

So now, it’s much easier for me to say “no” to an afternoon of binge-watching my favorite TV show and “yes” to activities that can grow my business. I have now connected with my true purpose.

As long as there are people who need to know there’s a better vehicle for the financial health of their family, I have work to do. As long as there are side hustlers who need to be reminded why it’s important for them to do what they do, I have work to do. And as long as I have work to do, it’s easy for me to do it, because I’m coming from a place of love.

So if you’re a side hustler or you’re interested in becoming one, I’d like to help. An important step in this journey is to discover who you are and your unique superpower. I have a 3-day video challenge to help you do just that. Just follow the link, enter your email address and I’ll walk you step-by-step through finding your “do-everything-you-want” superpower.

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: entrepreneur, mlm, part time business, purpose, self development, self improvement, side business, side hustle

March 31, 2018 by Julius Campbell Leave a Comment

Who Wants To Change The World?

Who Wants To Change The World?

An engineer I know told me about a time when he was called in as a consultant to help a customer improve their manufacturing processes.

He analyzed their operation top to bottom and met with them about his findings.

The customer was pleased to learn they could improve efficiency and cut costs. Adding money to their bottom line meant they made a good decision hiring my friend as a consultant.

But before ending the conversation, my friend—concerned for the future of this customer—leaned in and said:

“You do know cassette tapes are going away, right?”

You see this customer was concerned about cutting costs to make a product that soon no one would want. When was the last time you played a cassette tape?

I happened to find an old cassette tape lying around my house and it reminded me of this story. Also, I feel it illustrates another phenomenon in the business world that I’ve encountered during my career. And that’s the phenomenon of what businesses do when things around them change.

You see, I’ve held several different jobs. Many of those job transitions were involuntary because of layoffs, downsizing, reduction in force—all because of changes in the marketplace. So as I progressed in my career I became curious why companies have to downsize. Why are companies seemingly unprepared to respond to change?

I gained some perspective on one job where I worked for a high-tech company. At the time they were about a half-billion-dollar-a-year company.

But in order to keep their competitive edge, one of their strategies was to investigate and invest in what they called “disruptive innovation”. Up until that point, I had never heard that term. I had an idea what “innovation” meant. But I wasn’t sure what was meant by “disruptive.”

I asked an executive to help me understand it better.

He explained it to me as an innovation that doesn’t just provide incremental improvement, but disrupts the way business is done in one or more related industries.

What immediately came to my mind was the documentary “Who Killed The Electric Car?”

Way before Tesla Motors, electric cars had a brief run in the United States. The documentary suggested that the dominant players in the oil and gas and automotive industries used their power to stop the electric car—a potentially disruptive innovation— from threatening their market share.

Ultimately the electric car was pushed out of the marketplace and effectively “killed”—at least for the time being.

I understood that any innovation that threatened to disrupt an industry would likely be met with resistance from the larger players who control that industry. So my next question was, “why invest in something that industry giants are likely to oppose?”

The next thing the executive told me caught my attention. He said”

“If an idea is disruptive enough, ‘they’ won’t have a choice.”

I liked the sound of that. That sounded to me like with disruptive innovation you could change the world. And that appealed to me.

From that point on, I really wanted to find and be a part of something truly disruptive.

You see, I was fed up with doing work that didn’t matter. I wanted to try doing something that made a difference.

I once watched 5 years of my life get flushed because the project I had been working on got scrapped. I put my best work into it and it never saw the light of day. It would never help anybody.

It was disheartening for me and my coworkers.

A manager thought he could cheer us up by reminding us that before being cancelled, the project paid a lot of people’s mortgages.

But if all I wanted to do was pay my mortgage, I could have knocked people over the head and robbed them for 5 years.

That manager was tone deaf to the fact that people want more out of work than just paying bills. In fact work serves three purposes:

  1. Survive – like paying bills and stuff
  2. Save – so you have something for the future when you can no longer work
  3. Serve – somebody else besides you is better off because of what you do

I was doing fine in the “Survive” and “Save” departments, but “Serve” was totally lacking.

And that’s what made disruptive innovation seem so attractive to me. It makes a difference and no one can stop it—even if they try.

The trick is not to be left behind.

So when I found that cassette tape in my house, it reminded me how important it is to keep an eye out for the next disruptive innovation. That cassette tape manufacturer certainly wasn’t prepared. When disruption happens, you can’t stop it. You have to learn to adapt to it or risk obsolescence.

Also, if you want to have a real impact on the world, it helps to be on the side of disruptive innovation. Even the corporate giants who want to protect the status quo won’t be able to stop you.

I’ve been fortunate enough to get connected with people who are doing really big things—disruptive things—in multiple industries. I am not at liberty in a public setting like this to give any details, but I am allowed to share individually.

If you’ve ever felt what you’re doing is not making a difference or you wonder “what’s the point” or “why does it matter” then this is something that will very likely excite you. I urge you to find out about this disruption before it hits the marketplace. Just follow this link and I will send details to you privately via Facebook Messenger.

Filed Under: Featured, Strategy Tagged With: entrepreneur, part time business

March 29, 2018 by Julius Campbell Leave a Comment

My Honest Talk With The Man In The Mirror

My Honest Talk With The Man In The Mirror

I entered the workforce over 30 years ago and early in my career I learned some things that shaped where I am right now.

Professionally, I’ve changed jobs seven times—only once voluntarily. So I’ve been through layoffs, downsizing, reductions in force (RIFs), and probably some other terms I’ve forgotten.

But there was one particular job where on day one—my first day on the job—the manager of that facility informed all of us engineers that he had made a decision that was going to make work a lot harder for all of us. He made the decision unilaterally without consulting anyone and it ultimately cost the company millions of dollars. It was a really unwise, really bad decision.

So later on, partly due to the extra hours I had to put in to compensate for this mistake, I ended up sitting at my desk being exhausted—I was so tired I really shouldn’t have even been there. I should have called in sick. But I was at my desk and I nodded off and fell asleep. Someone saw me and because of that I was dismissed from that job.

That’s something I have not talked about publicly until now but I feel like it’s time to share it because it was an experience that really shaped who I am now.

By the way, the manager who made the decision that cost millions of dollars still got to keep his job. They “reorganized” and put someone else in his old position and moved him around—It may have been considered a demotion—but he still drew a paycheck. He was not dismissed.

Please understand I am not at all making any excuses for myself. I take full responsibility for the mistake I made. I earned a dismissal from that company. I completely accept that. But if I earned a dismissal from that company, I felt the manager who cost the company millions earned one too.

And I had not been silent about my criticisms.

I was extremely outspoken. I did not bite my tongue at all. I was much younger and more idealistic at the time. I was warned by a more seasoned professional that I should not be so vocal.

I ignored the advice.

I was just speaking what I felt was the obvious truth. The business would not survive if we didn’t stop wasting millions because of stupid decisions.

I couldn’t help feeling that my refusal to play the political game cost me my job. Sure, I messed up, but I couldn’t shake the suspicion that I might have been shown mercy if I hadn’t ruffled the wrong feathers.

So I learned the workplace isn’t fair.

From that point on, my number one priority at work—wherever that might be—was to manage my image.

I changed the way I interacted with people. I became more guarded and cognizant of my managers’ perception of me.

And it paid off. I got good reviews, promotions, raises…all those good things.

But inside I was dying.

I wasn’t being my true self. I realized if I kept going on this path, I would get better and better at playing the role of “Professional Julius”. Worse yet, I was losing the real me. If nothing changed, I would have no shot at becoming the best “me” I could be. It was killing me.

So when I went into business for myself, I brought more than a decade of experience rehearsing the role of “Professional Julius”. I slowly realized it did not serve me in the business world.

I remember distinctly looking myself in the mirror one day because I felt people were not taking me seriously. I recalled meeting with a prospect, doing a full presentation of my offer and after it was over being asked “so, you’re doing this business?” I wondered, “how is it not obvious that I’m doing this business?”

Why weren’t people taking me seriously?

As I stared at my reflection the answer hit me. I pointed my finger at the mirror and I answered my own question.

“It’s because you don’t take you seriously.”

So that’s when I realized I had to work on myself. I had to build belief in myself so I could take myself seriously.

I poured myself into personal development. I read books. I listened to audio. I hired coaches. And that’s brought me to where I am now.

I wouldn’t say I’m now 100% authentic in my business but I’ve come a long way since I started.

You see, I learned that people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Being an authentic person is a way to increase your “KLT” factor.

Sure, you could build your business by being cutthroat, ruthless, and manipulative. You might even make a lot of money. But if you choose the path of authenticity, you can build your business and build yourself at the same time. The authentic path is more aligned with my idea of true success.

As I strive to become a better version of myself, my business gives me feedback as to how I’m doing. And I can measure my success objectively—in dollars and cents.

It’s way better feedback than I ever got on a job. On my job, people can make million-dollar mistakes and still get a paycheck. In my business, if I act like a jerk to people, fail to improve my skill, or just plain do stupid stuff, I don’t make money.

It’s kinda like instant Karma. And I dig that.

Using my business as my mirror, I feel like I’m on a path where I at least have a shot at becoming the best version of myself. Kinda like I’m less likely to cut myself if I look in the mirror while I’m shaving. And you’re less likely to put your lipstick on crooked.

So if you don’t already have your own personal development mirror, I invite you to look at mine. If you’re open and you want to know more about what I do, I’m excited to share with you.

I have been fortunate enough to connect with some fantastic people and get the inside scoop on a really exciting piece of technology that’s going to be coming out really soon. It’s going to shake things up in several different industries.

If that sounds intriguing to you and you want to know more, just follow this link and I’ll deliver the details to you in Facebook Messenger.

Filed Under: Featured, Personal Development Tagged With: authenticity, changing habits, entrepreneur, good habits, insight, part time business, self development, self improvement, side business, side hustle, success

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