The Happy Millions Show With Liz Benny

The Importance Of Healing and Authenticity In Life and In Business - with Jeff Lerner

In this captivating episode of The Happy Millions Show, we delve into the remarkable story of Jeff Lerner, who is a self-made millionaire and the visionary mind behind ENTRE Institute, a groundbreaking education platform that has transformed the lives of over 200,000 individuals within just three years.
 
Our conversation with Jeff takes you on a profound journey of inspiration, resilience, and personal growth. We explore the key milestones that shaped his path to success and how he became a beacon of hope for millions worldwide. From humble beginnings to soaring heights, Jeff's story serves as a testament to the power of determination and unwavering belief in oneself.
 
But this episode doesn't just focus on Jeff's business accomplishments. We delve deeper into his philosophy and uncover the essence of his success—his unyielding commitment to healing and staying true to oneself. In a raw and heartfelt conversation, Jeff shares his personal insights on the transformative power of self-discovery, authenticity, and self-care.
 
Listeners will gain valuable insights and practical wisdom from Jeff's experiences. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or simply seeking inspiration to take control of your future, this episode promises to motivate and empower you to reshape your life.
 
Tune in to this episode as we unlock the secrets to achieving personal and financial fulfillment. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation that has the potential to transform your life!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
00:00:00 Introducing Jeff Lerner
00:01:40 Importance of authenticity in business
00:05:03 Revenue vs. profit vs. happiness 
00:09:59 The best thing I did for my business
00:20:20 Who was Jeff Lerner 10 years ago vs. Jeff Lerner now
00:32:42 What you should do to experience the life that you love
00:39:35 Fun Fast Q&A  
00:47:12 Being yourself 
QUOTES
 
“I don't care how much money you have. I don't care how much subject matter expertise you have. I don't care how much anything else you have. A million other people have it too. The only thing they don't have is they're not you.”
 
“You can invest in things that free up your time.”
 
“People say money doesn't buy happiness. And I say the only people that say money doesn't buy happiness haven't given enough away.”
 
“The people who are really being themselves, being happy, making the money, making the profit, building the dream, building the future that they actually want are the people who are actually foundationally being themselves and doing the inner work so that they can outwardly create the life that they want.”
 
"The amount of work that it takes to unlearn and unthink and unwind everything that we were born into is massive. It takes most of us, what, 30, 40, 50 years to end up in therapy and we want it to take four sessions to work our way out of it. It's crazy."
 
“But if you will stop chasing it and you will start focusing on its prerequisite, which is value and service and solving problems for actual people who love the result that you help them achieve all the money in the world, all the money, not all the money you could ever need to find you.”

The Greatest Gifts You Can Give To Yourself - with Cody Jefferson

This episode is a raw, real, honest, and deep conversation with my dear friend, Cody Jefferson, who was a former pastor, a musician, a leader, and the founder of the million-dollar company called “Embrace The Lion.” 
 
He shared his journey of building his business from scratch, and how he was able to grow his business and amazingly change the lives of thousands of men! His journey was certainly not an easy path. There were tragedies, traumas, and burdens along the road that he had to face which he openly delved into in this episode.
 
You often see him on social media, but in this conversation, you will know more about the “behind-the-curtains Cody Jefferson” - the vulnerable side of this heavily-tattooed-musician.
 
This is indeed deeper than the most, so don’t miss this!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Introducing Cody Jefferson
0:03:20 Business and Fulfillment
0:05:03 Instagram Cody vs. Behind-the-scene Cody
0:10:06 The Story Behind “Embrace The Lion”
0:18:19 Conversation About Trauma and Greater Gifts
0:22:53 Being Free From Other People’s Opinion 
0:28:40 How To Practice Effective Communication
0:35:30 Why People Choose A Complex Life
0:38:16 Simplified Life and Business
0:44:05 The Fun Part of Cody’s Life
0:47:26 Fast Q&A
QUOTES
 
"Purpose is just living your life with intention every single day towards something that's greater than yourself."
 
“I found that if you can get out of your way enough to seek the accountability and to seek the frameworks. Whether that be school, whether that be a coach, whatever the framing is, someone to hold you to who you're called to be and hold you to the accountability of what you say it is that you want, it can help you shorten that gap. Typically we can get out of our own way. A lot of the time it's just learning to bypass the emotional constructs in our brain to be able to do the things that we say we ought to do rather than getting stuck in procrastination, which is really just a response to stress and overwhelm.”
 
“The greater gift that you can give yourself is to be fully known. And to be fully experienced in all of your trauma and the complexities and all of your insecurities and all the ways in which you fear someone, like if they really knew me, giving yourself a gift of just releasing that and taking off the mask. I think that's the greatest gift we give ourselves and really allow ourselves to be fully seen and unlocked.”
 
“People are going to make judgments on you simply because they will never hear your side of the story.”
 
“Identity isn't a cute one line sentence on your Instagram bio. It's much deeper than that. It has to be.”
 
“Greatness isn't built on ease. But it doesn't have to be complicated. Love isn't complicated. It's not easy. But it's not complicated. We complicate things. Business isn't complicated. Business is metrics. It's numbers . . . We make things more complicated with our emotional attachment, with our assignment of a failure in business to a failure of our own identity and who we are. And we confuse the two because we meld and we mold and we merge who we are with what we do. And we don't create a discernible line of difference. And so when something doesn't work, we feel we don't work. And so we continue to play small. And we make things more complicated and justify that it's not us.”
 
"Give yourself grace. Just because things didn't work in the past doesn't mean that they won't work now. Just because you failed in the past doesn't mean that you're a failure now. Just because you haven't experienced the level of success that you're feeling is just out of reach doesn't mean that it's not possible for you."

Achieving Freedom and Finding Fulfillment Beyond Money - with Dean Holland

This episode is packed with captivating stories of the amazing Dean Holland, who has 10+ years of experience in digital products, affiliate marketing, coaching and online courses, and business management.
 
We explored his personal and professional journey, the hurdles he and his wife faced for the last couple of years, and the wisdom they gained along the way. Dean also shared how he has managed all of this without damaging his mental health and his marriage, as well as how finding good reliable people and building a strong team, helped him and his wife with their current business venture.
 
This episode will surely help you recognize what you really want in life and business, and will show you how happiness and freedom is not just about money. So tune in for this raw, real, and honest conversation, and don’t miss out!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Introducing Dean Holland
0:02:25 The secret in effectively running multiple businesses
0:05:24 Overcoming probabilities and challenges
0:09:42 Living on less than 7k a month
0:13:00 Having true freedom and happiness
 
0:16:55 Discovering your true purpose and own version of success
0:23:42 Going through therapy and counseling
0:26:58 The ultimate reason for creating your own business
0:32:18 Making important decisions and facing changes
0:36:20 Dealing with stress and anxiety
0:41:30 Balancing business and personal relationships
0:50:16 The story of unexpected success in business
0:57:57 Fun Fast Q&A
QUOTES
 
“No amount of passion for what I do in business and the people I work with could help if my personal life was falling apart.”
 
“When we're talking about the three alignments, you know, alignment with yourself, alignment with your spouse or significant other, then alignment with your business. And if you're out of alignment with those first two, specifically the first one, the business doesn't work and you can, you can make money whilst being out of alignment. But it's miserable money . . . ”
 
“To me, it was like, money is everything, because I don't have any. But I look back at that viewpoint, to be honest, and I can see where it comes from, of course . . . that was my biggest pain . . . But I can safely say that it really isn't anything like I thought it would be.”
 
“A lot of people say I want 10 grand a month, 20 grand a month, 50 grand a month, 100 grand a month, whatever. And I'm like, I live on less than 7000 a month. I literally do everything I want on less than 7k a month.”
 
“If it's not about making more money, then what is it about? And I went through this huge conflict then because, wow, if the last 10 years of my life haven't actually been what mattered, then who am I now? Because I ended up in this real conflict where I was like, what I thought was important isn't important. What I thought I had to be isn't who I want to be or am. What I'm striving to do isn't really for me. And I'm clear on that now. I don't know what it is, but it's not for me. So what the hell's going on?”
 
“Ultimately the reason you would start a business is because you want to create a certain life for yourself and a certain lifestyle that you're perhaps not able to gain from having a day job.”
 
“It's not about the money. It's about what the money can provide. And if you are not clear on what you want to accomplish by having the money and the lifestyle that having your business can provide, I feel that you are going to end up in a bad place eventually at some point, because you're going to reach that goal post that you originally set. You're going to look up and realize that it doesn't have that fulfillment because actually it wasn't the result that you strive for in the first place. It was something different. It's just along the way you lose sight of what you were doing it for.”
 
“I think when you have that level of personal integrity and level of understanding around who you are and what you want, radically, honestly, then things are so much better than chasing this dream that you think you should.”
 
“I would say my biggest thing in terms of how I differ in comparison to the past in making decisions and things is that I just try and enjoy the process so much more now. And I think that makes me a bit more laid back and relaxed. And I don't really have to rush into a decision.”
 
“I think those sorts of experiences made me realize that you can do everything right in life. You can make all the right decisions, be the most upstanding member of society, business owner, leader, entrepreneur, father, mother, sister, brother, whatever, and still be wrong, you know, and still something will go wrong. And so why stress about these seemingly small things?”

Overcoming Challenges As An Entrepreneur While Balancing Personal And Professional Life - with Lauren Golden

In this episode, we explore the inspiring story of Lauren Golden, a visionary CEO and the best-selling author of The Free Mama, who was able to overcome obstacles on her entrepreneurial path while successfully maintaining a harmonious balance between her personal and professional life.
 
Lauren shared her struggles she encountered not just as an entrepreneur, but also as a wife and as a mother. We talked about how she conquered her traumas, limiting beliefs, and many more challenges that could’ve stopped her, but no, those challenges even made her stronger than she ever was. 
 
Her experiences remind us that success is not solely defined by financial achievements, but also by the fulfillment found in nurturing relationships, pursuing personal interests, and embracing the joy of living a well-rounded life.
 
So what are you waiting for? Listen now!
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Introducing Lauren Golden
0:03:07 Reflecting on success and overcoming challenges
0:08:15 Important lessons learned as an entrepreneur
0:12:39 Reclaiming internal sovereignty
0:16:40 A moment of realization and resignation
0:18:50 Reflection on reaching rock bottom and the transformation that follows
0:21:14 Conversation about what truly matters
0:25:48 Managing expectations and finding closure
0:30:31 Taking action and experiencing life differently
 
0:36:18 Reflection on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and emotional well-being
 
0:41:30 Unlearning habits and chasing goals
0:46:00 Fun Fast Q&A
QUOTES
 
“Your history shows that you have the strength and the community and the support to walk through it. And you're going to use the crap out of this if you're willing to do all of that.”
 
“There is no struggle free life, but it's pick your struggle and pick how you're going to choose to have a relationship with that. You can either be mad at it and be a victim and do whatever, or you can be like, bring it on. It's going to be hard, but it's going to make me better.”
 
“Anything that was stealing my joy or stealing my sense of freedom or anything I got rid of. And it was not an easy decision. It was a terrifying decision. I knew I was going to rock some boats. I knew I was going to piss people off. I knew it had the potential to cost me money, which it did. But I did all of those things, and that felt right and true, and I felt like I was getting some of the pressure, the weight that I literally felt like I was carrying around every day off.”
 
“I think having friends who will support you when you're low is actually not that hard. I think having the friends that support you when you become someone, that's where we lost a lot, actually. That's where it became really apparent who my lifelong true friends were. And that's surprising for some reason.”
 
“What we're speaking to here is deep personal integrity. Because if you say you want something yet, your actions are not in alignment with that. There's an integrity issue. Because you're not acting in alignment.”
 
“I'm motivated by power, and I'm motivated by freedom. I want to be in control of myself, and I want to live life on my own terms. That's what motivates me. And so you have to be careful who you're following and who you're modeling. And that's what I've sunk back down into.”

The Power of Netting Up and Prioritizing Bliss in Life and Business by Scaling Down - with a High-Level Entrepreneur, Nicholas Kusmich

Scaling up is not always the main goal when you have a business. Sometimes, what you need is scaling down. 
 
In this episode, the amazing Nicholas Kusmich, owner operator instantly turned CEO overnight, shared how his life and career shifted by scaling down and “netting up.”
 
What’s “netting up”? Listen to this episode as we talk about its definition, and about the importance of reevaluating your life, how to achieve bliss in business, how to realign and orchestrate your life around the true purpose and core values, and many many more!
 
Live and have a business that feeds your lifestyle rather than a lifestyle that feeds your business.
SHOW NOTES: 
 
0:00:00 Exploring Success and Happiness with Nicholas Kusmich
0:02:50 Riding the Wave of Success: From Owner Operator to CEO Overnight
0:04:55 The Power of Netting Up: How Nicholas Found Success by Scaling Down
0:07:31 Life at Home and Business Behind-The-Scenes
0:19:05 Alignment with True Self and Core Values for Business Success
0:22:00 Advice for Stepping Out from a Miserable Life
0:26:10 Winning is an Internal Game
0:31:49 Taking Micro Steps to Reach Your Goals
 
0:36:28 Nicholas’ Recommended Books 
0:40:22 Reflection on Reconnecting with Faith and Nature
0:45:27 Creating a Business That Feels Good
 
0:49:22 Understanding Intuition and Unresolved Trauma
0:53:53 Living a Fulfilled Life and Building a Business For You
 
QUOTES
 
“I encourage everybody to ride the wave when it serves one to you.”
 
“The problem with scaling up is, yes, your top line revenue number goes up, but your bottom line revenue goes down. And I'm like, that equation doesn't make sense to me . . . I'm trying to figure out this thing where I can continue to grow my bottom line revenue while reducing the craziness, the circus, all that other stuff that's attached to scaling up.”
 
“I make decisions through this lens of netting up.”
 
“What the hell am I actually doing? Isn't everything I'm doing supposed to be for my family? And yet I'm away from my family for the sake of profits?”
 
“Why are we working so hard for a future that one day maybe, when we can work hard and play hard right now?”
 
“When we prioritize bliss, and again, people will call it different things, but we prioritize self care and us and joy and bliss.”
 
“What I'm going to encourage you to do though is don't get addicted to the grind. That is a season to get you off the ground into where you need to be with the anticipation that you are building a lifestyle business and be okay with that. I want to give people permission to be okay with a lifestyle business because that took me a long time to do.“
 
“The moment you can orchestrate the entirety of your life around the value of autonomy, you will find joy. And that just hit me. And I said, I give myself permission to be in alignment with who I am. I know that that's not everybody, but I know that that's me. And so for me, I started to orchestrate a life around autonomy because that was a core value of mine, and hence I'm able to do this.” 
 
“Find the value that drives you and pushes you forward, that you feel the best, and when you're aligned and orchestrate your life and your business around that, and the amazing thing will happen.”
 
“It's important to be in alignment and be honest with yourself and be truthful . . . Be you. Be all of you.”
 
“Sometimes fun even starts by just being quiet in a quiet place and being alone and just like, centering in on yourself and be like, can I be quiet just for a moment, and just find myself here? And then you might start here.”
 
“Buy back your time. It's a beautiful alignment idea of understanding your value and understanding how you can live or have a business that feeds your lifestyle rather than a lifestyle that feeds your business.”
 
“Build a business. Not just a business, but build a life for you.”