Free Agent Underground

Why NASCAR star Kenny Wallace believes in free agency

We brought NASCAR star Kenny Wallace onto our live show today in order to interview him on his life as a free agent. Self-employed.

We got WAY more than we bargained for, and it's all good. More than good, it was GOLD. Over 100 people tuned in live, and this will motivate the many of thousands who hear the podcast.

My friend and a Professor at Free Agent Academy, James Woosley, brought Kenny on the show and spearheaded some great questions that steered our time to some real depth and heart.

Kenny, who admittedly is often a self-described goof-ball in public, spent 45 minutes sharing an impassioned and fairly serious message about our responsibility to discover our passions and go after them. And that self-employment is a key way to live them out.

Kenny got out of highschool and knew he wanted to race cars. He believes there is an epidemic in our current society of 32-36 year olds who don't know what they want to do in their life. "The most important thing you must have coming out of high school or college is a passion and know what you want to do in your life," he quipped during the show.

"You'll know you're doing what you want to do when the days roll together," he continued. In our modern society of dreading Mondays, looking at Wednesday as 'hump day' and living for Friday, Kenny truly shared a burdon that people by far and large have accepted this.

"It's a gift to know what you want to do," he continued. But don't for a second think that he just had an easy road. He's worked hard and done a lot to make his free agent life a reality. Along with racing cars, he owns 12 rental homes that he invested in during a high point in his finances. Those provide income today. He also took on being a spokesperson for two companies.

Kenny got fairly adamant about living wisely and purposefully. "Instead of buying a new car or bigger home or diamond studded Rolex, save up for a rainy day! Those 'things' are just little trophies." Kenny inspired us to stay humble and pursue a life of consequence and meaning. Not because he did it right to begin from, he learned from his mistakes.

He ended the show referencing an old boxing legend. When someone mentioned to the boxer that he'd been knocked down a tremendous amount, he replied with, "Yep, but I got up more than anybody." Kenny cites that as a key to his success.

Listen to the full show below for the whole story...and get inspired. But don't stop there. Do something about it.

Find Kenny online:

• Official Website
• Facebook Fanpage
• Twitter

 

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Free Agent Underground Show - "Why NASCAR star Kenny Wallace believes in free agency"

 

 

 

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Being a student

I remember the first time I met Joel Boggess in Franklin, TN at the '48 Days' compound. He showed up with 50 other people who were interested in self-employment. He joined our community and became one of the more persistent people I've ever known. He always showed up, he always asked questions and he always took action on what he learned.

Today he's full time self-employed, doing what he loves, with a book and TV interviews and a growing audience of people he influences.

Every day I feel less and less clarity on 'having everything figured out.' But I can show up, ask questions and implement something. Joel inspires me, and his story will inspire you.

Here are some highlights from the show:

• He hung up his tie at Morgan STanley on Nov. 30 2006, after discussing with his wife Pei, where they wanted to see themselves in 5 years.
• He realized he spent all his time creating wealth for other people.
• Hey wanted to discover how he could work in a way that supported them financially, personally and spiritually.
• Serving his primary target market bring out 'the best coach in me.'

Quotable quotes from Joel:

• "It takes a lot of energy to run from who you are."
• "Surrender to who you are, and surrender to who you are NOT."

Joel is currently working on:

• His next book, "Speak To Me,"
• A seminar series with his wife Pei, "Embracing Your Uniqueness & Finding Your Voice."

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Free Agent Underground Show - "Being a student"

 

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Interviewing member Chris Peek on working in his strengths

In today's show I interviewed member Chris Peek, along with our Professor of 'YOU' Deb Ingino, of MyWiredStyle.com.

Chris is actively working to Brand his idea, but during the process he was profoundly impacted by our YOU course that focuses on strengths and weaknesses and personality styles. Today we discussed this with Chris, and how he's using the info as he builds his business. Below is a note from Chris to our Professor of YOU, Deb Ingino (www.mywiredstyle.com):

Deb - I just wanted to write a word of thanks for providing such life-changing material here at Free Agent Academy. I refer back to your material often, as it has opened a new world of seeing others in a different light. In the past, I would get very frustrated with others for various reasons that I now understand to be related to 'wiring'. Back in my high school and college years, I often thought something was wrong with me because I didn't fit in with the outgoing people. Boy, I wish schools taught DISC and your material. Anyway, FAA has been worth it for many reasons, but your material alone has been a life-changer for me. It's greatly enhanced many of my relationships because I now understand my strengths and how to better relate to those who are wired differently. Thank you for all you do!
- Chris Peek

In the show we discussed how Chris will maximize his strengths and shore up his weaknesses as he builds his business. We also got on the topic of what a misperception people have with what personality styles are more 'successful' in our culture and how that limits us.

For reference in the show, Chris's wife Karen is also working on a business idea here:
- http://www.inspiredartofcooking.com

And Chris's initial endeavors are here:
- http://newfrontiermedia.net
- http://trailreflections.wordpress.com

Enjoy!

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Free Agent Underground Show - "Interviewing member Chris Peek on working in his strengths"

 

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How member Victoria found her idea and brand

This is next in my series of just sharing real-life testimonials of ordinary people pursuing, progressing and succeeding in free agency.

Victoria Jones is a FreeAgentAcademy member. She's from Texas, a wife and mother and 17 year school teacher. She came into our membership and has graduated from the CALLING course, then YOU, then IDEA, and now...BRAND. That's no easy task. But through the leadership of our Professors and the support, encouragement and counsel from fellow members, she's doing it!

So listen in for our live, candid interview with Victoria and our BRAND professor Jimi Gibson (www.FindYourBanana.com).

P.S. Below the audio links are a list of this week's FreeAgentAcademy new members and graduates. Congratulations to all. Should you be next? Or a better question...why should you NOT be?!

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Free Agent Underground Show - "How member Victoria found her idea and brand"

 

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Week of March 14-2011
New Free Agent Academy Members:

• Brian Prillaman, Roanoke, VA 
(also participating in Kevin's 90-Day MFA)
• Dan Tate, Omaha, NE
 (also attending the Mar. 25-29 'Idea Discovery' event in Colorado)
• Bryan Morris, Visalia, CA
• Kathy Bohle, Paducah, KY (also attending the Mar. 25-29 'Idea Discovery' event in Colorado)

Course Graduates

From the CALLING course:

• Mic Boekelmann, Princeton, NJ
• Ivan Bickett, Dacula, GA
• Michelle Knoll, Waynesboro, VA
• Cindy Thomas, Cambridge, OH (also attending the Mar. 25-29 'Idea Discovery' event in Colorado)
• David Thomas, Cambridge, OH (also attending the Mar. 25-29 'Idea Discovery' event in Colorado)
• Gerard MacLellan, Abington, MA
• Jonathan Bryan, Columbia, MD

 
From the YOU course:

• Brian Tuten, Phoenix, AZ (also attending the Mar. 25-29 'Idea Discovery' event in Colorado)
• Brandon Runnels, Denver, CO (also participating in Kevin's 90-Day MFA)
• Laurie MacNevin, Manitoba, Canada
• Shelly Craig, Ontario, Canada

FROM the IDEA course:

• Chris Repp, New Freedom, PA
• Bryan Groff, Akron, PA
• Melodie Kenniebrew, Staten Island, NY

 
From the BRAND course:

• Victoria Jones, Dickinson, TX

Self-employment's affect on family, with Meg Hirshberg

Meg Hirshberg is a leading writer on self-employment and family. She writes candidly for INC magazine about her experience and learnings as wife to Gary Hirshberg, founder and President of Stonyfield Yogurt, now the world's largest organic yogurt company. Her book comes out in 2012 and she is a recognized speaker on work/life balance issues, particularly those that are of concern to entrepreneurs and their families.

Meg and Gary and their three children endured nearly a decade of hardship and near bankruptcy on the path to succeeding with Stonyfield. In this interview Meg discusses the necessity for having a mission at the heart of the endeavor, not defering and delaying life goals during the process, the temptation of distraction, and why today she's ultimately grateful they stuck it out. OH, and camel poop.

One of our live listeners sent this in immediately after the live show:

Hello Kevin,
I listened in on the program today and I have to say it was one of the best interviews I have ever heard on the Free Agent Underground. A lot of wisdom there - excellent, excellent stuff.
Thank you.
Michael

If you are self-employed (or intend to be) and married (or intend to be) this is a must-listen-to replay. Enjoy.

Connect with MEG:
- Meg's personal website
- Meg on FaceBook
- Stonyfield Yogurt

 

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Free Agent Underground Show - "Self-employment's affect on family with Meg Hirshberg"

 

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My journey to successful free agency

Today I was interviewed by David Siteman Garland of The Rise To The Top. He went through my personal story to successful free agency, which is basically a great overview of what NOT to do.

On one hand David knew my story would be of interest to his audience. But on the other hand, he knows that many of his viewers need what I offer...Free Agent Academy. So this interview also serves as his personal endorsement. He'll post the video interview at his website on Tuesday, Feb. 8th, I'll notify you.

I strongly encourage you to sign up to receive his new show alerts. He has incredibl insightful interviews with rock star free agents. Also...his new book, "Smarter, Faster, Cheaper" is also a FreeAgent must-read.

Here then is the full interview. I hope some of it hits a nerve for your own pursuit.

 

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Free Agent Underground Show - "My journey to successful free agency"

 

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Excerpt ('Description' in iTunes): "Name of this show"

How Anthony found an idea that fit him

In today's show I interview Anthony Plack. An IT consultant who wanted to work at something he really cared about at a core level. So he joined us at Free Agent Academy and starting going through the initial courses. He just graduated from our third course, IDEA. In the show he shares how it went. We were joined by Jonathan Pool, our Professor of IDEA who walked with Anthony to the ultimate discovery.

So no hype or theory, hear how it is happening for one guy and it may help you see how it could possibly happen for you.

 

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Free Agent Underground Show - "How Anthony found an idea that fit him"

 

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Free Agent Undergrond Show: "10 Lures of employeedom"

This topic began as a Free Agent Underground Show that I did with Justin Lukasavige, but grew into a full blown blog. So you can read it down below, or listen to it with the links here. In the recorded show we of course went further into the topics below.

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Free Agent Underground Show - 10 Lures of employeedom

The lure of being an employee, specifically in comparison to being a free agent, is ultimately…to get paid no matter what. In essence. Just run with me on this for a moment...

Granted…most folks are employees because that's simply all they know; You go to elementary school, high school, maybe college and get a J-O-B. But for those who have contemplated self-employment…the lure of a pseudo guaranteed paycheck is very high in comparison to the apparent risk of being a free agent.

This is part of our continued efforts to school you in the true realities of being a free agent and dispel all the 'easy prosperity' and 'footloose and fancy free' messages out there regarding self-employment and entrepreneurship. Now, if you tasted the fruits of successful free agency, it would be worth everything...so we're also continually trying to showcase that. But you don't get the fruit easy. This is why there is ALWAYS opportunity for those who commit and seek wisdom.

 So without further ado…

As an employee, you can do all the things listed below...and still get paid:

1. Be in a foul mood or gloomy or depressed or sad or mad...and have an unproductive day.
2. Feel physically bad and take a sick day.
3. Get paid even when the company is losing money.
4. Do only your duties and not worry about all the other duties of the company necessary to make a profit.
5. If you're managing people, you may do so with impartiality…you don't have to coddle them. They do what's needed or get replaced.
6. Take your vacation days no matter what.
7. Everything you need to do your work is provided - you can ask for the best, as the cost doesn't affect your pay.
8. When you leave work, you can totally drop it from your mind.
9. If you work long enough you earn a retirement fund or pension…maybe...hopefully.
10. Last - you can get paid by merely fulfilling a role, regardless of having a passion or care or stake in it or even complete expertise. Just by being present, clocking in, showing up…and completing tasks that you are capable of.
    
    
    Pictured: My son Canyon who doesn't need a fishing pole for his lure. Though doesn't look like the lure is giving him much joy. Hmmm.......................
    

Compared to the reality of...free agency = You get paid when you work more than anyone else and produce.

As a free agent you must:

1. Produce no matter what mood you're in. You'll learn to get over yourself real quick. But then again...it's not a consistent issue when you are working at something you are inspired in and passionate about! Score 1 for free agency.
2. You work even if you're sick. And you'll quickly grow to avoid illness at all cost -  though you'll find that when you are inspired in your work, you'll be abundantly inspired more than ever in overall health and wellness. Most free agents are fit, trim and energetic. Score 2 for free agency.
3. You only get paid when you produce and sell - If the business is doing bad, so is your paycheck. But as Zig Ziglar says, if you believe in your product or service, it's your moral obligation to sell it...and you'll be motivated to. And ultimately...you're biz can be generating income while you are out playing with your family. Score 3 for free agency.
4. You must keep track of and manage every area of your business - you've got to go WAY beyond the "It's not my job" mentality. But again, if you are offering something you believe in, you'll care about every detail. Not that you'll DO every detail though...God forbid. And today you can delegate to a multitude of virtual assistants and you'll find that lots of free and low cost resources will do a lot of your tasks. Score 4 for free agency.
5. If you're managing people, you are as dependent on them as they are on you, and must fully care for them for your own well being and provision. But...isn't this the way it should be? That the people who help you deliver your product or service are near and dear to you? Family even? What great accountability to adhere to the Golden Rule. Score 5 for free agency.
6. If you don't have the margin of time or money, you don't take vacation - That's the truth. It's not a right, you gotta earn it. - However, after you've established consistent revenue...you get to vacation...weekly. Literally, most free agents are really busy. But it's due to wrapping work around life and there are many half and full days where life comes first and you just ditch work. And vacations? Especially for those without a physical location, you can bolt wherever and work from anywhere with internet or cell service. A two week vacation seems pretty piddly. Score 6 for free agency.
7. You bootstrap your tools and resources - No more sending out for any office supply on a whim. You work efficiently, save the waste, do without. Even when you end up making good money, most biz owners skimp on office equipment. But as an employee...you bear the burden of such unnecessary waste. If you're not chastised for taking home office paper clips, you know your Christmas bonus would be more if some yahoo didn't supply his home bathroom with the company's toilet paper. Again...isn't this the right thing to do? Be a conscientious buyer? Plus as a free agent, what you buy...is a business asset. Score 7 for free agency.
8. Your work will often be on your mind 24/7 - especially at the beginning with the initial build phase anxieties. But with each success, you'll find yourself waking up with excitement and new ideas. You'll have to create boundaries at home as you'll be tempted to work whenever possible. If you are working at what you care about and have a passion for...isn't this how it should be? When you fell in love, did it bother you that it always inhabited your mind? Score 8 for free agency.
9. There is no automatic retirement fund or pension or gold watch or tenure. - Instead, you save from your personal income, but more importantly...you built a business. You have a revenue producing asset. You can continue taking income and dividends for life, sell it, pass it on to kids...whatever. Putting years into being an employee is like renting a house instead of owning. Every day you put into your own biz is like paying down the principle to a mortgage. Score 9 for free agency.
10. Last - You'll ultimately only get paid and create wealth as you truly believe in what you are working at, are fully invested, fully care, become exceptional at what you do and are 100% committed. No different from being a parent. You can merely keep a kid alive till they are a teenage and they limp off on their own. Or you can work hard to give them roots and wings so they fly off and flourish and positively impact the world. In both cases, you are a parent. As an employee or a free agent, you must work. Can I say....score 10 for free agency?

The foundational 3 questions then are…

1. Which better serves the end user of your work?
2. Which will help enable you to fully live out your calling?
3. Are you responsible to ease…or purpose?

Free Agent Underground Show "Andy Traub's journey to successful Free Agency"

Again…check it out in video (and yeah, it took me 15 seconds to remember we were doing video and actually look at the camera):

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Free Agent Underground Show - "Andy Traubs's journey to successful Free Agency"

This is our continued effort to showcase real world free agents who you can relate to. The media at large will showcase the entrepreneur who had an idea, invested $100k of his own money, got a few million in venture capital and took the company public and now owns three island off the coast. That's great. Just like Michael Jordan's story is great. But it's awfully hard to relate to. Most of us would just be happy to work at what we love, own it and make near 6-figures a year.

Last week I brought you the story of David Garland of "The Rise To The Top" show fame. If you didn't catch his story, get it here:

Today we're back again with a Free Agent Spotlight, this time aiming at Andy Traub. Andy lives in Sioux Falls, SD. As far as we can cite, he's the only remaining person who lives in SD. Of course the beauty is that he could live anywhere…as he's got a successful business that doesn't rely on where he resides.

In this interview you'll hear Andy's story in going from employee…to successful free agent. Part of his stint as an employee was working with his best friend, making good money and selling a service (insurance) that he believed in! So…why wasn't that enough? "It was paying the bills but not feeding my heart," said Andy. Listen to the audio or watch the video. You'll also hear:

• Andy's ups and downs in the pursuit of free agency
• Andy's story of building his business with a wife and small children and no financial back-up (he swiped money from a small retirement fund)
• Andy's passion for what he does
• Andy's passion for being a free agent
• Andy's passion for his family
• Andy's passion for being responsible to what is really important in life
• Andy's…heart

You need to hear this interview, please believe me. It will bless you on multiple levels and help equip you for the journey ahead…your free agent journey.

And as an aspiring free agent, you also need to connect with Andy, as he's an invaluable resource for your business. He's also the kind of person you WANT WITH YOU on your journey. The real stuff. A guy who truly cares.

He's a Professor at Free Agent Academy and you can have full access to him as a member. But you can find him on your own at www.AndyTraub.com…and see all the other places that utilize him as a trusted and valuable business resource.

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Free Agent Underground Show "David Garland's journey to successful Free Agency"

*A rare treat...video!

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Free Agent Underground Show - "David Garland's journey to successful Free Agency"

In this show I (Kevin) interviewed David Garland of "The Rise To The Top." I had him take us from his humble beginnings during college and a multitude of jobs…to realizing he was 'unemployable' and needed and wanted to be self-employed…to his first attempts at different business failures and successes…to his ultimate discovery of where his passion met a viable opportunity.

This is a real story of a guy who started at zero and made it. No theory…only prescriptive info here. And don't miss what he has to say about the necessity to know your passion and stick to it…and not get sidelined by merely 'chasing money.'

In case you missed it Justin Lukasavige and I interviewed David recently in a show about how he leveraged his local city of St. Louis to effectively grow his business. You can get that here: "Become Known Locally" 

David has a big audience for his "The Rise To The Top" web show for entrepreneurs which he touts as The #1 Non-Boring Resource For Building Your Business. I'm a subscriber and fan myself and encourage you to visit his website and subscribe www.therisetothetop.com. His interviews with the worlds top entrepreneurs is packed with killer info. It's great guidance to inform and motivate you to then join us at Free Agent Academy to take action and let us walk with you in making your free agent dreams a reality.

*Also…David's new book, "Smarter, Faster, Cheaper" will hit bookstores in December and is a culmination of almost 200 interviews with the best of the best in business today…and the common patterns of marketing he witnessed. You can pre-order here: www.smarterfastercheaper.com

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"David Garland's journey to successful Free Agency"

How Brian made the American Idol finale

OK, first, that is a true headline. Brian Griffith did…in a sense. His custom guitar strap was recently used by Chad Jeffers who plays for Carrie Underwood. And this happened within a year of launching his business, Anthology Gear Wear. Chuck Bowen (Brian's biz coach) and I interviewed Brian on our FreeAgentUnderground Show. You can click to it below.

I initially intended to title this: 3 regular guys, 3 FreeAgent stories

But I know saying anything about 'American Idol' will catch more folks attention as a headline, so I led with that.

The point today however...is to highlight three literal FreeAgent stories. Why? A direct response to a recent review we got in iTunes for the FreeAgentUnderground Show, our first non 5-star review:

So here you go, and we'll keep them coming. Three guys at three different levels of free agency.

These are all audio shows, but if you are not a podcast person, no fear. There is an easy play button right on the page and you can click and listen from any browser. If you are a podcast listener, you can download or get them in iTunes here:

Kurt Trauth - Hope For One (just posted today!)
- Left a high paying job with AT&T
- Positoned himself as an independent contractor to pay the bills while he built the business he felt was his calling
  - Within months of fully launching
- www.hopeforone.com

Brian Griffith - Anthology Gear Wear
- Left a nice job to launch his passion
- Still in the infancy stage, BUT…got his guitar strap front and center on the American Idol finale with star guitarist Chad Jeffers
- Just had his website overhauled and updated and is ramping up business
- www.anthologygearwear.com

Cliff Ravenscraft - The Podcast Answerman
- Left a great job that he actually liked a lot
- Started doing what he was passionate about and has become a relative celebrity
- Today is making a substantial income doing what he'd do for free if he could
- www.gspn.tv

This is not theory. It's real stories of real people who really did it. No sugar coating, no hype.

Enjoy, be inspired and take action.

Debt free, Thur. 'Calling' next session, Podcast list

Should we be debt-free before we pursue FreeAgency…our own self-employment venture? Unless you're about to be put out on the streets…no. And ultimately we think even Dave Ramsey himself would agree. Hear why in today's podcast with Justin Lukasavige and myself:
- website / iTunes

Thanks again to everyone who has been recommending our FreeAgentUnderground Shows and giving us good reviews that took us to the top of the 'Business' category in iTunes.

I'll shamelessly ask again…give us a review in iTunes. What you say about us is far more impacting than what WE say about ourselves. That's marketing 101 and a topic we work on a lot with our members in their businesses.

So if you aren't fully aware of all the shows we've been doing, check out a quick reference list below!

Our next session of Gary Barkalow's "The Glory of Your Life; Revealing & Releasing Your Calling" is titled "Glory" and is this Thursday, July 1 at 6pm Mountain / 8pm Eastern. Hear the replay of our first session here, and to join us on the journey to revealing your own calling and plugging it into your FreeAgency…REGISTER HERE.

Agent K Miller
Proclaiming you were made for…more

June 28
"Should I get out of debt before pursuing self-employment?"
Kevin & Justin (recorded just today!)

June 28
"Brian Griffith of Anthology Gear Wear"
Kevin & Chuck (we initially did this on June 3 but it just posted today)

June 28
"Is self-employment for everyone?"
Kevin & Chuck (recorded in May but just posted today)

June 24
"Herding Cats; Getting Creative People To Produce"
Kevin & Chuck

June 21
"A Paycheck isn't Enough"
Kevin & Justin

June 18
"Thread of desire"
Gary Barkalow of 'The Noble Heart' interviews Kevin Miller and Jon Dale

June 17
"A great product isn't enough"
Kevin & Chuck

June 14
"Is your pain or desire big enough to become self-employed?" 
Kevin & Justin

June 7
"Do you have a calling?" 
Kevin & Justin

June 2
"What derails would-be Free Agents"
Kevin & Justin

May 17
"Community…it's the only way"
Kevin & Justin

May 11
"How to manage employees when you're the only one" 
Justin & Andy Traub

May 3
"You need to change your beliefs"
Kevin, Chuck & Justin

April 27
"Cliff Ravenscraft story - The Podcast Answerman" 
Kevin & Chuck

April 26
"Get it out there" 
Kevin & Justin

April 22
"Your personality and self-employment" 
Kevin & Chuck

April 21
"Make a Sacrifice"
Kevin & Justin

April 14
"Kevin Miller's story" 
Kevin & Justin

FreeAgentUnderground Show: Welcome, and spotlight on free agent Chuck Bowen

Download FreeAgentUnderground_2-18-10

After a hiatus from doing sporadic video shows...here we are. Back with the FreeAgentUnderground show. In FreeAgentAcademy we lead and teach self-employment through live, weekly classes and daily discussions. We aren't going to do that here.

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When: Feb. 18, 2010 and every Thursday, same place and time
Time: 1pm Pacific / 2pm Mountain (me in CO) / 3pm Central (Chuck in TX) / 4pm Eastern
Where: Listen live via phone or web, replay will post here and in iTunes
How: Dial in (719) 313-5790 and enter Conference ID: 066576#
         or listen online on the webcast page
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Instead, we're going to focus on...free agents. Interviewing real life folks who are generating their own income. Some will be making an extra $500 part time with an idea, some are part-time self employed making a few thousand as they strive toward full time free agency.

Most will be full-time self-employed folks who would be labeled 'solopreneurs.' No employees, relatively anonymous, might be making $25k per year, might be making $250k per year.

Occasionally we'll interview the rock star entrepreneur with a multi-million dollar company. But unlike most 'self-employment' media we're not going to glorify these folks.

It's the folks in the middle that are the vast majority. Making decent money, doing what they love and owning their work and their life.

SO...to kick us off, I'm going to interview my cohort, Chuck Bowen. Chuck is...hands down...the best business coach and consultant I've ever encountered. He worked his way up the corporate ladder to where mid-sized telecom companies where bringing him on as a hired gun to get their businesses in line. Big money, travel, wining and dining.

And...Chuck could care less. So he ditched it and started personal coaching. Fairly small stuff. Today he's master of his own world (under God) and spends his time helping folks pursue their calling. Whether it's free counsel to a striving free agent, or partnering with a rock star company like Saddleback Leather Co., he lives out his calling.

So come meet Chuck and hear the first of many stories of regular folks going from employeedom to free agency.

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When: Feb. 18, 2010 and every Thursday, same place and time
Time: 1pm Pacific / 2pm Mountain (me in CO) / 3pm Central (Chuck in TX) / 4pm Eastern
Where: Listen live via phone or web, replay will post here and in iTunes
How: Dial in (719) 313-5790 and enter Conference ID: 066576#
         or listen online on the webcast page
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During the show you can post questions to the webcast page and we'll answer all we can.

What's next: We'll utilize video and a live chat that everyone can see. But as you'll learn from us...we're fans of "Aim, Fire...Ready?!" Get started and then refine! So we're starting now and we'll go from there...

FAA: A candid interview on 'free-agency'

The topic is 'meaningful work,' and if you've been reading and listening to me at all...you know I don't believe it can be found anywhere other than 'free agency.' Even though as a society we are about as well equipped to be self-employed as we are to enter into hand-to-hand combat against a ninja army.

Brent Green is the founder of Leadership Equip, based in Gardner, KS. He's the lead career counselor and workshop trainer there and hosts the popular podcast, 'Pursuing Meaningful Work.'

His most recent podcast is an interview. With...me. And he just asked really good questions on the realities of self-employment and free agency. The hard questions, actually. And I was, well, very candid.

You can smell hype and 'motivation' and selling a hundred miles away. I wouldn't waste your time with it. If you have true interest in self-employment, or are self-employed, you'll be interested in this. In all honesty, it's not a very neutral interview. It will either encourage, or discourage you.

Which is great. Lukewarm means...no action, eh?!

- Pursuing Meaningful Work Podcast

*All the comments are on the Podcast page at the link above, view them there please!

Meet Mac, mechanic turned...mechanic shop owner

I want you to meet Mac McClung, owner of Bad Rock Automotive in my home town of Woodland Park, CO.

I'm going to sit side-by-side with Mac and ask him how he went from being your basic mechanic shop employee to owning a lucrative auto shop in a small town...in just a handful of years.

How, why and was it worth it?

He digs working on cars. He still does it when he wants. When he doesn't...his employees do the work while he's ATVing or hunting or whatever.

Date: Nov. 18, 2009, Wednesday
Time: 11am Mountain / 1pm Central
Live via: Ustream Video Channel
Host: Kevin Miller
Special Guest: Mac McClung, biz owner

This isn't eCommerce or social media, just a grassroots example of someone taking what they enjoy and know and owning it so they can call their own shots.

     Here is the full replay!

True Free Agent story: penniless missionary to leather company owner

Dave Munson, founder of Saddleback Leather Company actually goes by 'el Presidente.' This is a video I shot with him down in TX. I was only going to include a snippet to the public, but am posting the entire video, complete with member questions.

*You'll have to turn up your speakers on this one:



*Feel free to post questions to Dave personally...below in the comments!

Connect with Kevin:
facebook.com/agentKmiller
twitter.com/agentmiller

Dave Ramsey took my daughter water skiing - Show #4

FreeAgentAcademy "Next Peak, Next Steps" Event Info Page

What is it that you care about and can offer to people? Or what are you already doing?

FreeAgentUnderground TV: "Sacrifice" with Jon Dale - Show #1

This is our first...and beta...video blog. I'm following my wife's advice not to ruin good with...perfect. I actually didn't plan it for our first show...but had the opportunity with Jon who is just back home after his NY stint...so we made it happen.

So this, sure isn't perfect. I'll have a 'studio' set up by month's end, but in the meantime have some interesting 'shows' already lined up.

This first one is very...tame. But check it out and make sure you watch the next few ensuing 'shows' and the quick evolution.