Chris Widener has been named one of the fifty top speakers in the world and is a member of the Motivational Speakers Hall of Fame. His 22 books have sold millions of copies in 14 languages. His latest book is Lasting Impact: Creating a Life and Business that Live Beyond You.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“you just have to have lots of energy to get a business up and running. If you have a lot of cash then that’s great. I didn’t have a lot of cash; I was a pastor and at the same time trying to start a business. And it’s just sort of kicking and scratching, digging, hustling, trying to get that energy up enough where you can get it moving … It’s like pushing a heavy truck it takes a lot of energy to get the wheels to start to move… Once it gets moving its a little easier to move and you can pick up a little bit of speed. I feel like starting a business is very similar to that. And even if you do have a lot of money it still takes a lot of energy to get everything up and running and moving and getting the parts to all fit together and go with the right timing and pace and all that. I think that that is the biggest challenge for most people”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Book by Robert B Cialdini PhD
- Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: The Battle for Your Mind Book by Al Ries and Jack Trout
- REPOSITIONING: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change and Crisis Book by Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin
Also mentioned:
- Who Switched the Price Tags? Book Tony Campolo
- Twelve Pillars Book by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener
Favourite Quote:
- “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat” . Theodore Roosevelt
Also mentioned:
- “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.” Jim Rohn
Recommended Online Resources:
- Watch your local news
Also mentioned:
- Entrepreneur Magazine is a source for everything small business. Get the latest small business information
- The Wall Street Journal – Breaking news and analysis from the U S and around the world. Politics, Economics, Markets, Life Arts, and in-depth reporting
- Investor’s Business Daily – Perform stock investment research with our IBD research tools to help investment strategies. Investor’s Business Daily provide the resources to help make informed decisions
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“You only live once… Take the shot and take it earlier rather than later. Life is too short ”…[Listen for More]
More About Chris Widener:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Arthur Ashe
Other Quotes From the Chat with Chris Widener:
- “you have to have a personal advisory board. People that you could go to, to ask questions to help shorten that learning curve… I just have some really, really sharp people who I have in my personal advisory board… People that you can call and say what do you think about this? Am I missing something here? Am I seeing the whole thing? Those are the kinds of people who say well have you thought about this? I don’t think it’s a good idea. Or no definitely you are on the right track ”
- “there is wisdom in many councillors. And there really is if they are the right councillors. There is a lot of done councillors, you don’t want those guys but there is a lot of wisdom in the right councillors”
- “the older I get the more I go back to timeless truths rather than just whatever vogue content there is that people are talking about. And the problem is most people is that success or what you need to do to become successful is really boring. It’s things like discipline. If I had to pick one central quality or traits of successful people it’s that they are disciplined. And in terms of saving money those are the people who save money diligently for 30 to 50 years. In terms of losing weight, they are the people who are disciplined to get up and go to the gym, they are disciplined to not eat the bad food. When they want to become successful in a particular pursuit, they discipline themselves to practice the skills that are going to make them successful in that pursuit. So disciplined to me is the core element of success”
- “the biggest thing that helps people navigate change is their attitude about it… The word that you use when you describe your attitude toward change. Most people use the word accept. I am going to accept change… And that’s an attitude, it’s a perspective on our relationship with change. And I think there is a better word to use than accept it and it’s a shift in our fundamental attitude towards change. And the word that I use is embrace change. There is a huge difference between accepting change and embracing change. Accepting means that you are going along with it but you are not necessarily happy about it. And if anything is going to happen change is going to have to drag you kicking and screaming into whatever comes next. Embracing change says this is going to happen anyway so I am going to get on this way and ride; it’s like surfing, here comes the way, I can’t stop the wave from happening but I can pull my surfboard out and jump up and ride that wave and I’m going to embrace it because it’s going to take me somewhere else”
- “it is better to try and fail than to never try”
- “the only way you experience great joy is by placing yourself in a place where if things went the other way you would experience great pain”
- “you can’t determine how long you live but you can determine how well you live. Successful people are the people who live well and then it doesn’t matter how long you live”
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