The Unique Genius Superheroes Interview Series is about ordinary people who have discovered their purpose and turned it into a successful business.
Let me just say, this interview was awesome. Even a client of mine said “the Brian Johnson interview was stupid good. I really liked the way he lives his life and enjoyed the interaction between the two of you. There is much in common. Thanks for making the time for this. Best, Eliot.” And thanks Eliot for suggesting I interview him!
By the way, even if you don’t listen to the interview, take this bit of advice to heart: when Brian was 24 and “a train wreck” (his words), all he could do was follow his “single little bit of bliss” (wanting to to coach little league baseball). That eventually led to the idea, growth and $13 million sale of his first company.
So what is your little bit of bliss, however small, that you’re not following because it’s not “practical”?
A little about Brian:
Brian lived for a year in Bali as part of figuring out what he wanted to do and coming up with PhilosophersNotes.com. Brian, like myself, comes from a technology-entrepreneurship background, but left it behind to start a Unique Genius business.
In his first venture, as a 24-year-old law-school-dropout-turned-CEO, Brian led the creation of eteamz – the world’s largest amateur sports site that was sold for over $13 million of stock and cash to The Active Network, Inc. in 2000 (and it still profitably serves more than 3 million team players in 120 countries around the world). So the guy knows some stuff 🙂
Also, Brian will be a guest expert trainer in my upcoming Discover Your Unique Genius program. When you listen to the interview, you’ll understand why I invited him to participate.
Things we discussed:
- How Brian dropped out of law school at age 24, terrified & “a train wreck”… and then by following his “single little bit of bliss” (wanting to to coach little league baseball) led to the idea, growth and $13 million sale of his first company.
- Why Brian feels that raising money from investors – which he’s done twice, almost $10 million worth – is overrated (and why I agree!)
- Why taking a 10-day silent vipassana meditation course, and starting to meditate, was one of the most significant things Brian’s ever done for himself (although it almost drove him crazy).
- Brian’s two main sources of stress, and how he manages them.
- What kind of environment and activities lead to the idea and vision of PhilosophersNotes.com
- What led Brian to realize that “he’s just not that into business” and what he REALLY cares about.
And so…
Listen To Or Download The Interview
Want to download the interview?
Click here to download…
More About Brian Johnson & Philosophers Notes
Books & Sites Mentioned That We Both Recommend
- John Wooden & Steve Jamison’s “Wooden” (one of the best – if not the best – management books I’ve ever read)
- Gay Hendricks’ “The Big Leap”
- Tim Ferriss’ The 4 Hour Workweek
- Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
- David Daeda’s The Way of the Superior Man
- Vipassana Meditation: www.Dhamma.org, and my post about my 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat: “A lifetime focus & happiness enhancer: Vipassana meditation”
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About Unique Genius
Want to learn how to discover your purpose and answer the question “what do I want to do with my life?” And learn how to combine all your interests, ideas and passions into a single successful business? Find out more at www.UniqueGenius.com.
What Was Your Favorite Part Of The Interview?
Please leave a comment!
14 Responses to “Unique Genius Superhero Interview: Brian Johnson, Founder of PhilosophersNotes”
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July 24th, 2010 at 10:34 am
Brian is my Guru, I love every single word from him. The Philosophers Notes changed my life very much. You wanted to be motivated and encouraged – join Philosophers Notes!!
aaronross383 Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
@Kavalloore Muraleedharan, I agree, he is awesome and so is PNotes!
August 6th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Brilliant interview.
I loved that you guys talked so much about meditation. I have been meditating consistently (almost, every day, but not quite) for the past eight months. There is something truly powerful that comes from sitting each day. It’s such a wonderful gift that we can give to ourselves.
Aaron -I definitely related to a couple of the points you brought up, most importantly the comment on most people being hard on themselves. Man, ain’t that the truth! I think one of the biggest things holding me back is how unbelievably hard I am on myself….which then leads to another comment you brought up about giving up. It’s kind of this vicious cycle. Being hard on ourselves, giving up or becoming complacent and on and on it goes.
Well, I’m glad to say that I’m definitely committed to the not giving up part. The next step, and what’s been brutally hard for me, is figuring out the ‘what.’ How can I contribute? What do I have to offer and what can I share with the world? What are my talents? Certainly discouraging when I’ve consistently had problems coming up with this, but I’m working on it!
aaronross383 Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
@Nate, Cool – I’m glad you got so much from this interview, I had a lot of fun doing it.
And you saw Unique Genius video 3 http://UniqueGenius.com/video-3 on figuring out how you want to contribute, right? (If not, do it soon, we’re going to take it down in about a week).
Aaron
August 6th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Hi Aaron, yet again I really enjoyed this. My first 3 years of Whole Human Financial I meditated everyday after lunch. I lived this life he spoke about and when I starting hiring people I got out of it. 🙁 I am inspired to get back to being slower. I actually have been which is why I have time to listen to this interview.
The cool shift I have had lately is working more as a coop with people I bring on. It feels better. It has been a great experience listening to this. Thank you!
aaronross383 Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
@Carenna, yes, slow works! You’ll really love my Traci Fenton interview when it gets posted! (She founded http://www.Worldblu.com)
August 6th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Great interview. A lot of info to pack into a short amount of time. Thanks so much. 🙂
aaronross383 Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Thanks Erin…yeah it was fun!
August 6th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Hi,
Brain is awesome.He is cool.
He refelcts “Bhagavat Gita” which says: “Do your best and don’t bother about the fruits”.
Show up,give your best then winning will b eyour by-product.Wonderful.
Thanks for the interview.
Thanks,
Kannan
August 7th, 2010 at 8:27 am
One word. Awesome. I had not heard of Brian before but I’m adding him to my list of heroes. I got so much useful advice from this interview so thank you so much for posting it and good luck with your meditation goal for the rest of the year.
Nicola
– One suggestion. The quality of the recording here wasn’t great and I might have been tempted to give up had the content not been so kick ass. If there’s anything you can do to make it cleaner in future interviews it would be a lot easier to listen to.
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