life changing lesson from a deca-millionaire

My mentor is an interesting guy.

He doesn't make a lot of eye contact. He's on his phone while talking. And he's usually having more than one conversation at a time.

When I first met him I thought he was rude. I had a list of 9 questions written down for him but we didn't get through any of them because he kept interrupting or hijacking the conversation. Half an hour in, I was about to stand up and leave. But, to be nice, I stayed. He made time for me and he's a busy guy. I gave him another 10 minutes.

He was very interested in why I was there and wanted to meet with him. I explained I'm working on a book for young leaders. He didn't understand. He wanted to know my motive. My WHY. He grilled me on it, to understand if I was worth spending more time with.

We were in that deep conversation when his phone rang. He stopped talking, and answered the call.

I almost got angry. Was I boring? Or was there another reason?

Then I understood. He isn't like everyone else. He isn't slowing down and he isn't worried about appearing rude. There's a reason why he's a deca-millionaire and others aren't. There's a reason why he's got a nice family AND has a great social network. He's got it all. He's not unfulfilled like the other rich people I've met.

That day he didn't wear a fancy watch. He didn't even have a branded jacket or a suit. He was in a T-Shirt, vest, and jeans. The CEO of a multi-billion dollar fund. In jeans. It's unheard of. I had never met anyone who wasn't dressed in a full suit in this industry. He told me he didn't care. It didn't matter.

The more minutes I spent with him the more I started to understand. What he DID was more telling than what he SAID. He was solving problems.

Our meeting was from 5-6pm. He got about 3 or 4 calls during the meeting - all problems. He solved every single one. In two of the calls, he conference called two people, explained the conversation and let them sort it out. He was finding solutions in record time. He wasn't waiting. Whether it was a call from his son because his new gaming computer stopped working, or a call from a director at his company. He interrupted, answered, and delivered.

Frighteningly fast. And it didn't stop there.

A few weeks ago, I shared a business idea with him. He immediately unlocked his phone, called two people and put them on speaker. He found there was an opportunity. He determined the market size, the people I could work with, and the connections I needed to make.

All in 5 MINUTES.

He's taught me that problems need to be solved NOW. Not saved for later.

That's the most important thing I've learned this year. When a problem arises - fix it. Don't give yourself time to think.

There's no guarantee you're going to fix something later when you can't be bothered to do it now.

CHALLENGE FOR YOU:

For the next 24 hours, solve every problem as soon as it arises. No matter how big or small it is. Solve it. Make progress. Now.

Harry

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