Aaron is a life and business coach who has led a successful career as a veteran entrepreneur creating and selling many businesses along the way. He now draws on his 37 years of entrepreneurial and life experiences to help other men in creating greater success in their own life and businesses.

With all his experience thought challenges faced himself Aaron show us how we can lead a life with consistent pursuit of excellence. Why clearing your schedule of the unnecessary is advisable with a mindset of working smarter not harder. What it means to live life of significance and the benefits of coaching and forming master mind groups.

“Go an inch wide and dig a mile deep.”

What does living life with passion and purpose mean?

It means not to live reactively but live proactively. We only get one go through and we don’t get a second chance so live life to the fullest. Change your profession if your not enjoying it because there is too much to enjoy so go out there and go forth.

Summary

Very humbly so he doesn’t pretend he knows it all but having eight successful businesses and now into his 9th business he has some credibility in helping others do the same. His current business View From the Top is all about giving his knowledge and experience back to others to help them to do the same.

The idea to become a coach wasn’t planned but rather came about as while settling into retirement his friends encourage him to give back his knowledge and experience to help others benefit. This saw him to creating this business in which now he thoroughly enjoys as he helps others lead lives with greater passion and purpose.

In this interview we discuss why coaching can have such great benefits to all of us looking to better improve what we do but also fast track our success. Why having a textbook approach to learning is not always adaptable to life. You can go out there and chip away at whatever challenges you but by having a coach who has already been there and had real life experience you can really overcome many of these hurdles with greater ease.

Coaching is not always the most affordable option for many of us when starting out on our journey as our budget is often limited. We discuss other more affordable alternatives to hiring a coach including first and foremost reading but also equally you can join Aaron’s online groups for as little as $30 per month. The advent of the digital world has made getting coached much more achievable no matter your financial position.

Mastermind groups that may be new to many of us are another useful way for us to be held accountable and essentially be coached by other like-minded people that may be on a similar path.

We discuss why focusing on the essential things in your life will have a powerful and profound impact on your ability to achieve greater success. Great piece of advice in life is to clear things in life that are not essential in you efforts towards attaining the greater goal. If it’s not essential scrap it. This is why often people say it’s about working smarter not harder.

Speaking of essential things we also discuss why turning off the T.V is a massive weapon of destruction towards doing what you must.

“Live a life proactively not reactively.”

The conversation veers into his moments of realisation and how that having success and financial freedom is great there is a bigger meaning to life that carries a much larger weight. This is all about leading a life with greater significance. What is the motivation behind what you do? If its motivation with significant you will create more success.

Giving and providing value is key to living a more meaningful life yet it also brings back to us grater success. We also discuss why having a mindset of delayed gratification will allow us to make more wise decisions, rather than living a life on impulse, that can bring with it more joy and meaning in life. Be grateful and content with what you have and don’t become complacent. Complacency is not excuse.

“Learn to be content without being complacent.”

There are many great take-outs and lessons to be shared in this interview. Aaron truly has many experiences and with those we can all gain valuable learning’s and insights. We wrap it up with some of his struggles and challenges and also his advice, and opinions about how we can live a life with greater passion and purpose.

Please leave your comments and questions below and reach out to Aaron and thank him by visiting his website as in the show notes below.

His Moment of Realisation

Aaron has always lived a very entrepreneurial life and from the early age of 18 has been in business. He opened a pawnshop and within 18 months they paid of a 10-year loan. From there they sold and went on to opening other successful businesses.

“Average is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top.”

During the breaks he gained weight and his wife and perhaps biggest accountability buddy told him he needed to get back to work, which he did.

From early on they continued to delay the good things in life to build up his their wealth. One day there was a moment that changed his perspective on life. While driving one day Aaron struck a pedestrian that stepped out in front of his vehicle and after hitting the him, the man later unfortunately passed away.

This put things on pause and he realised that this could have just as easily happened to him. He reflected on this accident and wondered with all his success how would people remember him, successful with money but essentially what did it all mean. He took 5 years off after this to recover and they travelled for some time.

This moment for him was that while having financial success was great he didn’t have great significance in life. What about all the things in life that brings you meaning like the relationships and meeting the needs of others?

This really led him to change his motivation towards life and towards giving more to others. He now shares this with others helping them realise that they can have both great success but also a life rich with significance.

Key Take Outs

·      Mastermind groups. Find like-minded individuals that you can meet with regularly will allow you to discuss each others challenges and also hold each other accountable. They are a great and affordable way to share and grow together.  

·      It’s about others. This take out is to remember while you are on your journey sometimes what provides us the most significance in life is providing value to others. What value is it that you can provide? Find it and you may find your success.

·      Coaching. This is a great way to learn from others on what to do and what not to do. Your coaches are often experts in particular areas and also can be great at keeping you accountable and on track. Certainly something to long into to help you fast track you on your journey.

·      Textbook vs. experience. Learn by the text book can have its benefits but often it is experience that really helps us accelerate our learning. This is also why coaches can be great because they have already lived this experience. Sometimes the best way to learn is to simply take action.

·      Read and stop watching news. Reading is certainly a great affordable way to learn and you can learn just about anything and rather than watching the news that can have a profound negative impact on your daily life why not adopt a habit of reading instead.

·      Quit trying to do everything. It feels great to be the jack-of-all-trades but is not the most proficient way to success. Become an expert and niche down into a particular field. Focus on your strengths and allow others to fill the gaps.

·      Delayed gratification. We all want things now because we feel they will provide us with some level of satisfaction or happiness, and they do. But sometimes by sitting on it, thinking it over and delaying the gratification the rewards can be greater. And often also you will find that what you desired so strongly 24 hours ago you may actually not really want. Give yourself time to process.

·      Proceed with the right motivation. Whatever you set out to do set out with the right intentions and motivation. When you do you will be greeted with the correct response and result.

·      Complacency is no excuse. When you become complacent to all that you have you forget about what really matters in life. Don’t take for granted all that you have and practice daily being grateful, this will allow you to appreciate every moment just that much more.

Routines & Rituals

·      Go to bed early, this allows him to wake up fresh each day and become more productive.

·      He is a Christ follower and so will spend each day in prayer

·      He blocks his time and does not multitask. Focuses on one task at a time until complete.

·      He has each day planned well in advance.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

What would you do for free? What gives you encouragement, what empowers you, what energizes you? You need to discover what that is.

Quick round questions

Favourite Food

He loves shrimp

Favourite Leisure Activitiy

He likes playing golf

Favourite book(s)

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg KcKeown

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Adversaries into Allies: Master the Art of Ultimate Influence by Bob Burg

Business Brilliant: Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons by Lewis Schiff

Quote

“Cant couldn’t do and could did it all.” His mum.

How to Find Aaron and other Links

If you would like to find out more about Aaron, ask questions or get some quality coaching please visit his website as below.

http://www.viewfromthetop.com

Aaron is writing a book also now called “The Eagles View” that will be launch in 2016. You will be able to find it at amazon.com.

Aaron’s gift to us can be found by using the following link.

http://www.viewfromthetop.com/hiddenwhy