Living The Red Life: Episode Summary
Episode Title: 10 Disciplines to Maximize Your Impact & Inner Peace w/Gino Wickman
Release Date: November 18, 2024
Host: Rudy Mawer (aka “The Man in Red”)
Guest: Gino Wickman
Introduction
In the tenth episode of Living The Red Life, host Rudy Mawer engages in a profound conversation with renowned entrepreneur and author Gino Wickman. The episode delves into ten key disciplines aimed at maximizing both business impact and personal inner peace. These disciplines offer entrepreneurs actionable insights to enhance their business strategies while fostering personal development.
Gino Wickman's Background
Gino Wickman begins by sharing his extensive experience in entrepreneurship and his dedication to assisting fellow entrepreneurs. With a 35-year career, Wickman has developed five major pieces of content tailored to different stages of an entrepreneur's journey:
- Entrepreneurially – For startup or early-stage entrepreneurs contemplating their path.
- Rocket Fuel – Guiding visionaries in finding their integrator counterparts to scale their businesses.
- Traction (EOS) – Helping leadership teams build and manage successful businesses.
- EOS Life – Assisting leaders in achieving their ideal personal lives.
- Shine – Focusing on the ten disciplines discussed in this episode.
He emphasizes that his teachings are grounded in personal experience, having turned around a family business and successfully built and sold EOS Worldwide.
Notable Quote:
“Everything I teach, I've lived it myself as an entrepreneur.”
— Gino Wickman [01:45]
The 10 Disciplines Overview
Wickman introduces the framework of ten disciplines designed to help entrepreneurs optimize their energy, impact, and inner peace. These disciplines are:
- Ten Year Thinking
- Take Time Off
- Know Thyself
- Be Still
- Know Your Hundred Percent
- Say No Often
- Don't Do $25 an Hour Work
- Prepare Every Night
- Put Everything in One Place
- Be Humble
He emphasized that these principles have been honed over 25 years of entrepreneurial practice and are foundational to building a sustainable and impactful business.
Notable Quote:
“These 10 disciplines can help you absolutely maximize the impact you're going to make on the world, really expand and maximize your energy and give you more inner peace.”
— Gino Wickman [05:14]
Deep Dive: Ten Year Thinking
Ten Year Thinking is the first discipline Wickman discusses in-depth. This principle encourages entrepreneurs to shift their mindset from short-term goals to a decade-long vision. By extending their time horizon, entrepreneurs can achieve greater clarity, make more informed decisions, and experience inner peace.
Wickman shares a transformative personal experience:
“At 35 years old when I fully embraced this over 20 years ago, time slowed down. There was this incredible peace that came over me. I got more clarity, I started making better decisions and then I literally got there faster.”
— Gino Wickman [07:46]
He further explains the typical 10-year business cycle for entrepreneurs:
- Two great years
- Two terrible years
- Six pretty good years
Understanding this cycle helps entrepreneurs navigate the highs and lows with resilience. Wickman emphasizes the importance of staying sharp during good times to prepare for inevitable challenges.
Notable Quote:
“If you think you got it figured out, the universe is going to kick you in the ass and introduce you to the two tough years.”
— Gino Wickman [00:00]
The host, Rudy, relates this concept to his personal experience, highlighting how a long-term vision helps manage daily challenges effectively. He notes that successful entrepreneurs often delay immediate gratification for sustained, long-term gains—a trait that sets them apart from others.
Notable Quote:
“We all know the world's most successful people, they all will delay immediate gratification for long term gains.”
— Rudy Mawer [15:40]
Deep Dive: Know Your Hundred Percent
Moving to the fifth discipline, Know Your Hundred Percent, Wickman focuses on optimizing work capacity to prevent burnout and maintain consistent performance. This principle involves determining the ideal number of working hours per week and the total weeks per year dedicated to one's craft.
Wickman outlines his personal formula:
“I have been a 40 week a year person. I work 40 weeks a year and I work 55 hours a week. That's my formula. For some reason, I just all those years working any less than like 11 hours a day, five days a week, I would start to get bored. Anything more, I would start to burn out.”
— Gino Wickman [16:06]
He uses the analogy of a fuel efficiency gauge to describe finding the perfect work-life balance:
“Think about it as like a fuel efficiency gauge in your car. When you step on that accelerator, there's this maximum fuel efficiency that if you press the accelerator too hard, you're going to burn through too much gas, too soft, you're not getting enough efficiency.”
— Gino Wickman [18:00]
The host concurs, sharing his own experience of adjusting work hours as his business evolves:
“Once it's built, you need less people to maintain the skyscraper like that. So now I actually work way less. I'm training, I'm doing triathlon and Ironman, so I'm training all afternoon.”
— Rudy Mawer [19:24]
Wickman reinforces the idea that while the formula may vary over time, maintaining a consistent "work container" is crucial for long-term sustainability and preventing both burnout and boredom.
Notable Quote:
“There is literally an amount of time that one more hour per week you apply that, you will start to burn out. And one less hour you will start to get bored.”
— Gino Wickman [16:06]
Key Insights and Discussions
Throughout the conversation, several critical insights emerge:
-
Long-Term Vision vs. Short-Term Urgency: Emphasizing the importance of balancing immediate business needs with long-term goals to foster sustainable growth and personal fulfillment.
-
Work-Life Balance: Recognizing the significance of setting boundaries and knowing one's optimal work capacity to enhance productivity without sacrificing personal well-being.
-
Resilience Through Business Cycles: Understanding and anticipating the inevitable ups and downs in entrepreneurship helps in developing strategies to navigate challenging periods effectively.
-
Continuous Personal Development: Embracing disciplines that not only benefit the business but also contribute to personal growth and inner peace.
Notable Quote:
“Every decision, how much money you're saving, decisions for your business, personal, relationships, health, that thing you're about to put in your mouth, in other words, you will make better decisions Today they will be 10 to 10 year decisions.”
— Gino Wickman [14:53]
Conclusion and Resources
As the episode concludes, Wickman directs listeners to his book Shine for an in-depth exploration of the ten disciplines. He also promotes a free True Self Assessment available on his website, the10disciplines.com, which helps entrepreneurs evaluate how well they are implementing these disciplines in their lives.
Notable Quote:
“The book is called Shine. You can find it at any major retailer. But also our website. So our website is the10disciplines.com you can spell out 10 or just write 1 0, but the10disciplines.com you can find the book there.”
— Gino Wickman [23:21]
Rudy encourages entrepreneurs to reflect on the discussed disciplines and implement them to enhance both their business success and personal wellbeing. He expresses enthusiasm for future discussions, particularly around systems and operations, promising deeper dives into these essential business areas.
Notable Quote:
“Keep living the red life. I hope you enjoyed today, and I'll see you guys soon. Take care.”
— Rudy Mawer [24:06]
Final Thoughts
This episode of Living The Red Life offers invaluable strategies for entrepreneurs seeking to balance business growth with personal fulfillment. Gino Wickman's ten disciplines provide a roadmap for achieving lasting success and inner peace, emphasizing the importance of long-term vision, optimal work capacity, and continuous personal development.
Where to Learn More:
- Book: Shine by Gino Wickman
- Website: the10disciplines.com
- Free Resource: True Self Assessment available on the website
- Additional Resources: Group coaching and mastermind sessions offered through the website
Embark on your journey to maximize impact and achieve inner peace by embracing these ten disciplines. Tune in weekly to Living The Red Life for more insights and lessons from Rudy Mawer and his distinguished guests.