How to Be A Badass Soul Seeking Warrior? With Annie Fonte

MBA, CEO, Chief Inspirational Officer at KGPT – Annie Fonte

Why it’s important to “visualize and imagine” and how to do it efficiently even if your brain has a hard time to focus on only one thing. How to use “mind maps” and inspired actions to figure out ways to dominate your industry. The one thing Annie learned at Harvard that helps her be more efficient at market research and information gathering. The mindset and tactics that helped Annie distinguish herself from the competitors in a super crowded market. How to keep your “no matter what” mentality even when you get your butt kicked repeatedly.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

• Essentialism
• KGPT.com

Check out MeetMeAtTheBarn.com and BeAttitudesKit.com for more info.

Thanks so much for listening!

Transcript: Download

Jaime Masters:	Welcome to Eventual Millionaire. I'm Jaime Masters and I am so excited to have Annie Fonte on the show today. You can check her out at meetmeatthebarn.com. But she is the quintessential real serial entrepreneur - lots of different industries, amazing things, with a Harvard MBA, and more.

	Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Annie Fonte:	It's my pleasure. I'm happy to be here.

Jaime Masters:	Seriously. So we had a mutual friend do an introduction and I looked at your About page and I was like, "Oh my goodness!" I try and find more females for this show and - let alone - you have one of the best resumes I have ever seen. And I have been doing this a long time.

	So can you tell me a bit about the beginning? Did you always know you were gonna be an entrepreneur?

Annie Fonte:	The story starts way back when I was a young child. I grew up on a farm in Colorado. And I spent a lot of time sitting on a tractor - out of necessity - because our family was not wealthy. And our dad needed the help.

	So it gave me a lot of time to think and dream. And so, I guess, at the end of the day I decided, "You know what? I'm not gonna be poor the rest of my life." And I put my daydreams into action and ended up seeing - visually seeing myself - travelling around the world with, at the time, a briefcase and a business suit and doing my own thing.

	And so I think it was that manifestation of vision and making it happen. And I've never turned back.

Jaime Masters:	So I so appreciate you saying that you were "visualizing" because we talk about this a lot here. Where, at the beginning, I was like, "Oh, visualization is "woo woo" and kind of crazy." And now, after this many interviews, I'm like, "Oh, it's kind of important."

	So can you tell me a little bit about why you think that was such a big piece for you?

Annie Fonte:	Well, I truly believe that our brain isn't wired to make us happy or to help us achieve our goals. It's really wired for survival, right? And so, what we can do is we can override that. And the mind is so powerful. And I always say, "I can believe it before I see it. And if I see it, I can believe it." So I'm a big visualizer. In real time, in my mind, I see what I want to have happen. And then, I focus on that a lot and I write plans about that a lot and, eventually, the pieces fall into place and it happens.

	It's - the universe conspires to help us if we allow it to.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. Soon we'll get into the tactical - how you have a product and have been in the medical industry and all that stuff.

	But first, we need to dive a lot deeper into this. Because I love this stuff. Especially trying to make it more tangible. Because we hear a lot of people going, "Oh, you need to visualize and imagine." And, no offense to me, but my ADD brain can only focus on one thing for a certain period of time.

	So what do you specifically do? I've pained my vision before. I write. But what do you do that really, really works well? Can you tell us - brass tax?

Annie Fonte:	Yes. I get very specific on what it is. I think a lot of us have so many thoughts going on all the time. And so, we're distracted instead of focused.

	And so, when I decide I'm going to do something, I get very focused on the one or two things I need to accomplish in order to make that happen. And then I stick with it. I don't allow myself to be pulled off into the ditch. And that's really been helpful for me.

Jaime Masters:	How the heck do you do that?

Annie Fonte:	There's a great book out there called Essentialism.

Jaime Masters:	Oh, I love that book! Yes!

Jaime Masters:	And that has a lot of good tips in it. So it's really a matter of discipline and practice as well. And I think the one thing we have challenges with these days - because the world is so noisy, right? - that people aren't really conditioned and we don't create the resources we need to handle all the chaos and the noise and the distractions. We're on cell phones. We're on computers. We're on telephones.

	So I discipline myself to spend at least one hour of quiet time a day. And during that quiet time, I focus on those on or two things that are important to me or priorities to me at that point in time. And that really helps a lot. You have to carve the time out and be disciplined about it.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So you carve the time out. How do you know what to do during that time?

Annie Fonte:	Well, for instance, if I - one of the things I wanted to do with Meet Me at the Barn was get my classes online. I started teaching them three years ago live in my barn - physically, at my residence. And, with some encouragement and gentle pushing from some of the participants - 

They said, "You really oughtta share this with more people in the world."

And I thought, "Well, how am I gonna do that?"

And the answer is: get online, right?

And so I said, "Okay, that's the one thing I'm going to focus on for the next six months. What do I need to do in order to create online content in an online format in an online presentation that will be as valuable and digestible as when people are in my barn live?"

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So can we go and show the spectrum of all of the things you've done? Because when they hear, "Oh, barn classes. Okay that sounds great." But when I actually - like I said - went through your history, you have a product called Snap-Saver. You've been in the medical - you've had so many different things.

	Did you only do one thing at a time this entire length of time that I was reading in your About page?

Annie Fonte:	Yes. And I'll tell you how it all came about ? 

	I, when I met my business partner, she was the sole owner of a private practice here in San Diego. And now we're the co-owners of that. And she was treating me in the clinic as a patient for knee challenges.

	And this process that she was going through - and I was a great candidate because I knew nothing - and I said, "Is this how you treat this patient?"

	And she said, "Yes, it is." And she said, "Why?"

	And I said, "Well, it sucks. And we need to fix it."

	And so that's how we invented the OnTrack System for this very specific knee pathology called patella femoral dysfunction. 

So really, I look at what's broken in the world and what I can do to fix it or make it better for people.

Jaime Masters:	But how do you go into something like that? So you meet her, you're like, "Okay, this needs to change." You're the typical entrepreneur brain of going, "Problem needs a better solution." But if you don't know that industry, how the heck to you even get in it and figure it out and move forward knowing marketing and sales? And making it into a company?

Annie Fonte:	Well, I think it's - like with anything - what do I need to know? I need to know what currently exists out there, who the potential competitors are, what the barriers to entry are, what the challenges are and what the steps would be to go through and actually invent something, what's the invention process like, what does it take to get a patent?

	So I really just - almost mind map those things. Say, "Here are the three things I need to know about the competitors. Here are the three things I need to know about going through the patent process. Here are the three things I need to know about marketing this product." 

And in each of those, then I broke it out into inspired actions. "Okay, I need to go interview all the great patent attorneys in our area. Then I need to understand how patent law works and how the claims are written so we can make a really solid patent for ourself." And then I broke it out that way. So I choked it down. I didn't try to do all things at once. I really choked it down, focused on those particular things, and then when I felt that was in order, I moved on to the next thing.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So that's still a lot. And I love that you said "inspired action" because I feel like that makes a huge difference. Instead of just doing what they tell you to do.

	But you're going into something that you really need to learn all of the pieces. Is that what you learned in your Harvard MBA? Of how to do a SWAT analysis and the basic business stuff? And you just plug and play from there?

Annie Fonte:	Here's what I learned at Harvard. I learned how to learn. Which is the answer to your question, right?

	At Harvard, you are given more than what is physically possible to accomplish every day. And they tell you that the first day you get there. And so you have to be really efficient about getting through the materials. And so what I did is I thought, "Okay. Good writers put the most important thing in the first and last sentence in every paragraph, right?" 

So that's how I would read cases. I'd read the first sentence or two and the last sentence or two so I could get through all the work. And so that really did teach me to be efficient and research and information gathering.

Jaime Masters:	So that's ridiculously impressive. Because we hear a lot about MBAs and it's funny because a lot of people will listen to my show and be like, "It's better than an MBA!" But then when you talk about Ivy League, Harvard is the best MBA pretty much that you can get ever. And then you had to figure that out on your own - how to efficiently learn, though. 

So what's interesting is that - do you think it was just the experience of going through the Harvard stuff that really made the difference? Like seeing how much you could actually do? Or was it the specific tactics that they were teaching you that really made a difference to you?

Annie Fonte:	They didn't teach tactics. It was drinking from a fire hose. Especially for me because, the first day I got to class, everybody was talking to one another and I leaned over to my section mate and I said, "Was there a orientation or something I missed?"

And she said, "No. My dad knows his dad. And my brother went to school with him."

I thought, "Argh!" I just felt so defeated Day 1.

But it's a very connected legacy network and I was not part of that. So I really had to figure out quickly how to make it through. Because they also have a force curve; they flunk out 10 percent of the class. And it was survival of the fittest for me.

Jaime Masters:	So you really rise to the challenge, though.

Annie Fonte:	Yeah, and I had to figure out how I could get through that material as efficiently as possible. And I had to figure out how - if I'm called on in class to open a case, what's the most effective way to open a case? So you get someone's attention, you make the three solid points, and allow the conversation to get started and move on in a really productive way that moves the room and not just - you're out there blabbing because you don't know what you wanna say about the case.

Jaime Masters:	So it's wisdom - you actually became wise based on this from experience. Not necessarily like, "Okay, we read text and then we know what to do, not the how to actually do it." You were really put to the test of trying to figure this stuff out on your own.

Annie Fonte:	Yeah. So I had to figure out a strategy to study and be a good conversationalist and a good presenter of information in class. Because you're only graded on two things: your class contribution and one test you took the entire class.

Jaime Masters:	Are you kidding?

Annie Fonte:	That was it.

Jaime Masters:	Oh my gosh! Yeah, we think entrepreneurship's tough. Man.

	Well, I mean, that's kind of the point. Can you tell me a little bit - because, looking at your history, you went and created a product called Snap-Saver, which has a lot of competitors. So how do you even get into something like that?

Annie Fonte:	Well, I think you have to be able to distinguish yourself from the competitors. And here's how that happened - 

	My business partner in Snap-Saver - she also does and had been doing and currently is still doing the billing for our physical therapy and wellness clinic. And she called me one day and she said, "You know what? I can't sit behind a computer and do this the rest of my life. What do I do?"

	I said, "Go home. Figure out what's broken. And fix it."

	She called me the next day. And she is just the consummate housewife and mom. And she said, "I went to my Tupperware drawer," which is what we call it, right? Our Tupperware drawer. Talk about branding. "And I looked in it. And I couldn't find any lids that matched the bowls. It was a complete mess." And she said, "I have to fix this."

	And so she figured out a way to snap the lid to the bottom of the bowl, and all the same size lids to one another, and then nest each of the sizes inside one another. And so we found what was currently missing in the industry. And it's huge! It's a huge industry. And we came up with a solution and fixed it. And then we ended up on QVC for a while. And after that, we ended up licensing the product to Rubbermaid.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So this is what I find so interesting. "Oh, go home and figure out a problem." Great! People can do that all day long, right? They're very good at going, "Oh, that's a problem, that's a problem, that's a problem." At least people that are listening to this show.

	The execution part - the ending up on QVC, the licensing to Rubbermaid - that's usually not as common, let's say. So can you go through a little bit about not only the tactic stuff that you did to try and figure some of this stuff out but the mindset of you going, "Oh, yeah. We're gonna do QVC and licensing. And it's not gonna be a big deal?"

Annie Fonte:	The mindset was really, "We're going to do this no matter what. Period." And so when we first started out, we wanted to license the product to a Rubbermaid or a Home Products International or a company like that. Because we didn't want to raise the money and spend time to buy molds, build molds, go through the manufacturing process.

	Well, all those companies turned us down. And I think - here's a great thing for some of your listeners - I think they thought that my business partner and I were two frumpy ladies sitting in San Diego and that we would go away. And we weren't going away. Because we had a heck of a good idea and it was gonna push their buttons and it would be a huge competitive force for them. And they thought they were bigger than us - they wouldn't have to change the stale way they'd been doing business.

	And so we said, "Okay, we're gonna go raise money." So we raised $2 million from investors. And we went and bought steel and made our own molds and set up our own manufacturing and we - one step at a time - said, "Okay, what's next?" We have to get this out into the marketplace. And the best way we knew to create a distribution system at that point in time was QVC. So my business partner did all the presentations on QVC.

	So we just had that mentality of, "Nothing will stop us."

Jaime Masters:	That's grit to the nth degree. Usually if you've been turned down by a whole bunch of people, I'm gonna be like, "I don't wanna get in the manufacturing process. Let's just let that go. And maybe there's a better, easier idea than going after huge companies."

Annie Fonte:	Well, I always said - and I continue to say to this day - "If somebody says no to me, it just means they don't understand my question yet." And some way, somehow, I will be able to pose it to get a "yes" from someone. So you just have to hold your feet to the fire and stick with it.

Jaime Masters:	Where the heck did you get that drive? Because that is ridiculously impre-most people would give up in this face of adversity.

Annie Fonte:	Yep. Most people would. I believe it came from my upbringing - being raised on a farm and really having to figure things out at a very young age. If our tractor broke down, we had to figure out how to fix it and keep moving, right? And we were young. We started driving tractors at 6 years old.

	So it creates that mentality and that burning desire internally that, no matter what, I will find a solution. Everything can be figured out. It's just a matter of - keep plugging away, keep asking good questions, keep believing in yourself, and eventually you will figure it out.

Jaime Masters:	See, I talk about this all the time. The "no matter what" - I specifically say that. I even tell my children, "I love you no matter what." "No matter what" is my thing so it's really awesome being able to hear you say that because - especially for female entrepreneurs - no offense because it's a dog eat world out there just in general - but for females, I feel like it's even harder for me to find females for the show. It's harder; in general, we get looked at a little bit differently.

	So what do you feel like has been the nuance of you getting what you want no matter what and being a female at the same time? Do you think there was any issues? Or it didn't matter?

Annie Fonte:	I have a belief system - and I always have - that I'm not a female or a male. I'm a human being on Earth. And I never ever ran into any challenges being a female versus a male. Or being a female in a male world. I just was a person in the world. And that's how I looked at it. And so I think that's how the world embraced me.

	I didn't have an attitude about it. I didn't have a victim attitude about it. I was so excited to be in the world and have an opportunity to make a contribution. That's what I focused on.

Jaime Masters:	Thank you for saying that. I feel like a lot of the people listening - a lot of the women listening - I find that it's an asset, not a liability, being a woman. I feel like there's actually more opportunities to tell you the truth. They don't see the one-two punch coming. No - but making sure that people understand how important that is. It's the drive to succeed no matter what. Not the outside view whatsoever.

	So tell us a little bit about some of those quintessential, pivotal moments for you. What are those learning things that you feel really shaped you as an entrepreneur?

Annie Fonte:	Well, I would say that you always learn - for me, I've always learned the most - right after I've gotten my butt kicked. Because if you're sailing along and everything's going well for you, you're not usually learning very much. 

So one of the first lessons that I learned in the licensing of products business - we licensed our knee brace to a company. And we put guaranteed minimums in the royalty structure of the deal and everything. Because we didn't want them to shelve the deal. But they did anyway. And so I think we kind of have to trust our gut a little bit when we're negotiating deals. And that ended up in a lawsuit. We had to go as the plaintiff and defend this. And we ended up getting the product back and whatnot.

Same thing with Snap-Saver. When we ran into big companies not wanting us to come into the marketplace, we just had to say, "No. we believe enough in ourselves. We believe enough in the product. And we believe enough, especially, in the contribution that it's gonna make to people that we are going to do whatever it takes to get this out there." And we ran into glitch after glitch after glitch with that. There was a lot to overcome. But we just kept plugging away.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So we love hear well, I know it's not fun to go through - but we love hearing that there were glitches. Because, otherwise, you're the lady that just has it all easy. And we hate hearing stories like that.

	So tell me a little bit more about what you do when you run into glitches. Because I love the "no matter what" attitude, which is awesome to hear superficially. But when you're in it, and you get your butt kicked, and you're upset and depressed or whatever it is - the feeling in your body - it's really hard to visualize. It's really hard to move forward. It's really hard to have inspired action when you're like, "This sucks. I don't want to do this anymore."

	What do you do then?

Annie Fonte:	I think the first thing that I do - and I would suggest others think about doing - is get some distance from it. Because sometimes when we're so close to it, we get hooked into the emotional part of it. And then emotion can lead to anger. And anger can lead to distress. And then that can lead to saying things you probably shouldn't say to whomever.

	So to really back away from it and say, "Okay, what can I learn from this? What's good about this?" Because, regardless of what happens to you, there's always a gift in it. "What's the gift in this? And how can I pick myself up, dust myself off, and move forward smarter, and more efficient, and more effective than before?"

	Because this was - once again getting back to that visualization - this was the universe's sign to me that I was headed the wrong direction. It gave me the opportunity with some - stepping back, in hindsight - to say, "Okay, I need to turn left here" or "Veer left here" instead of keeping on the same path that I was on.

	So I always look at it as a blessing and as a huge sign from the universe as to, "Okay, we're just helping you out here. We're keeping you out of the ditch."

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So how do you know when - so Seth Godin wrote a great book called The Dip. How do you know when it's just not a series of so many wrong turns that you really should stop?

Annie Fonte:	I think - I believe in the preplanning. So if you have done enough research - market research if it's a product or even a service - and you've been very diligent about getting your pro forma done, as far as your numbers go - What's the least likely case? What's the likely case? And what's most likely case? And really have those tightened up, that's really a roadmap for you.

	So if your revenues aren't hitting certain point by a certain date - per plan and whatnot - you either have to adjust the plan or, at some point in time, you have to say, "You know what? This just isn't going to work." And cut it lose.

[Crosstalk]

Annie Fonte:	I've never. I don't know because I've never cut a deal lose before. I just - 

Jaime Masters:	There's that grit again. Yeah, exactly! Okay.

	Have you ever had it go - tank all the way, though? So let's say there are signs and you're like, "Yeah, but I know I can do this." Has it ever tanked all the way, where you're like, "Oh, I can't trust my gut?" because I feel like that's the piece that gets out of whack - when entrepreneurs move forward, they trust their gut until something happens, and then they're like, "Oh, I can't trust this anymore because it's failed me in the past" or something. And then moving forward, it's harder. 

You haven't really had to deal with not trusting, right?

Annie Fonte:	I think that's - again, with human beings and, especially, entrepreneurs - we have to practice trusting our gut. Was it really your gut or was it because you wanted it to work? Was it really your gut or because it was you wanted to prove something to somebody?

	Your gut is your authentic self speaking. And all the outside noise is distraction. So we have to get really practiced at, "Is that inner voice - is that really the inner voice? Or is that some external noise that I'm dealing with and letting influence what I'm actually doing for inspired actions?"

Jaime Masters:	Okay. I adore this but then I go, "Well then, how the heck can you tell the difference between the two?" Do you have any insight on that?

Annie Fonte:	I think, for the most part, people know. You know in your gut - you know - 

	I teach this Meet Me at the Barn: Lines in the Sand class. And a lot of times, relationships come up - whether its business or its personal relationships. And I always say to them, "You know in your gut whether this is a good relationship for you to be in or not. You just do. But the thing you have to do is ask, sit still, listen, and then trust."

Jaime Masters:	Yeah. And sometimes we're like, "Oh God, I know but I don't wanna say the answer!" That's not really - yeah. I totally understand that. Okay.

Annie Fonte:	Or we don't have the patience to sit with it because, if we're not moving in these days and age, we think something's wrong. It's having that patience to really sit and be with it. It's not ready, fire, aim. That helps no one. It's ready, aim, then fire when the time's right.

Jaime Masters:	I'm so thankful that you say that because I feel like that's the piece that we're told as entrepreneurs - to just go, go, go - which is good. I love action. I love inspired action way more. But in this society of hustle, hustle, hustle - that's what you're supposed to do. Sitting back and taking time to make a decision is sort of frowned upon. Because we wanna get feedback as soon as we can so just go and blah, blah, blah - 

	How much time do you give something if you aren't sure that it's your gut or not?

Annie Fonte:	If it's not my gut, I cut it lose right away. I don't waste time with it.

Jaime Masters:	Okay. So you know. And you're tapped in. You know exactly what to do.

Annie Fonte:	And I think another thing that helps me, at least, is I'm very value-based in how I operate. My top three values are: integrity, appreciation, and abundance. 

And so, if I'm gonna enter into a deal as an entrepreneur, I can always ask if it's in alignment with those three values. 

"Is this deal - does it have integrity on both sides of the table? And will it continue to have integrity as the deal goes on and matures down the years?" 

"Is there going to be appreciation on both sides of the table for this? And will there continue to be appreciation on both sides as the deal matures?" 

And then, lastly, "Is there abundance?" - and not just financial abundance but cultural abundance, contributional abundance - "for all the constituents involved?" 

If the answer to all those three questions is "yes," I do it. If the answer to one of them is "no," I don't do it. So it helps. It's really that stake in the ground that's my GPS system that really allows me to be efficient and effective in making decisions.

Jaime Masters:	I was gonna say "guidepost." I love that you said "GPS" - way more technology advanced.

	Because, what you're saying is, you've had a lot of partners and stuff. And so you have to ask yourself those questions.

	Have you ever felt like you've been wrong ' because this is the thing ' I trust everybody at first. I'm like, "Oh, you're amazing! You must be great?" until I hear something or see something that doesn't seem to be a good fit. And then I'm like, "Oh wait, let me reassess."

	For you, it sounds like you go in - "Are these things a match? If it's a "yea," I go. If it's not, I don't." Do you do that with every single partner that you've had down the line?

Annie Fonte:	Yes. And that's some of the past learning that - 
	
	We had a partner in one of our situations that was not a good fit. And I identified it really early but my other partner didn't have the courage to cut that partner lose or do something about it. So we stuck with it, even though I didn't want to. And it really did damage the progression of the company. 

We ended up on our feet but that was another one of those times when I knew in my gut it was the right thing to do. And someone pulled me off center, right? Or I allowed someone to pull me off center. That's our choice. It's not - there's no blame there. It's just our choice. So we have to admit that and take responsibility for it.

Jaime Masters:	I love that. Okay, so how do we pick a good partner? So yea, we need to know exactly what our values are. But how would you go about picking a partner? Because we've heard too many business divorce type stories and stuff like that.

Annie Fonte:	Well, not only do I suggest we get really clear about our values - ask them what their values are. And are you aligned in that? And ask them some really important questions.

	I think that's why partnerships - from marriages to business relationships to all kinds of friendships - they untether at some point in time because we don't have those really important conversations up front. We don't ask those really important questions up front.

	So in a business situation, that would be one of my questions is, "What are your values?" and then I can decide if those are aligned with mine. And I also want a partner whose - one of their top reasons for creating the business is that it makes a contribution to others. If their main goal in starting a company is to make money, I'm not interested. So that's another thing.

	And then I want to know their short-, medium-, and long-term vision of what that company is. And then if that aligns with how I see things, that's also more comforting to make a decision and move forward with somebody.

Jaime Masters:	Do you think it's better - business is better with a partner - or solo?

Annie Fonte:	I think it's - it can be both. I've done companies on my own and I love it, and it's thrilling, and it's exciting.

	And I have also had the good fortune - with the exception of one time - to have really, really good business partners. 

And I usually pick a business partner who has opposite skill sets of mine. I don't need a number cruncher/quant jock type person because I can do that. I need more of the creative branding marketing type as a business partner. 

Or, in our physical therapy practice, my business partner is probably one of the best physical therapists in the world. And I can only say that because we've travelled all over the world together. And so she handles the clinical aspects of our practice. And if you show her a spreadsheet, she will break out into hives. But I love them! Spreadsheets, to me, are like paintings. And so we marry our skill set and make a really good partnership.

So I think finding out what you're good at, and finding out what the other person is good at - and don't bump heads with each other but really marry and align with one another - makes a huge difference.

Jaime Masters:	How did you did you find out what your strengths were?

Annie Fonte:	Well, I think that - as I look back at growing up and whatnot - I always loved numbers. And I always loved figuring problems out. And, for me, life comes down to two things. First, foremost, and always: integrity.

	And secondly: a math problem. Everything is quantifiable. And so I knew that I was quantitative in my way of being. 

And I'm also one of those kinds of people that I give people in situations the room they need. And when I do that, it gives me the time I need to sit and observe instead of jumping into a situation. So I wanna give other people the room to be who they are. And then that gives me the time and the room for me to watch who they are and see if their actions match up with what they say.

Jaime Masters:	Okay, tell me more about that because we are the type of people that wanna know everything now. 

"Please tell me everything now. I want business partners now. Do your due diligence as fast as you can. Let's do this quickly."

	How do you give each other space? Do you set time limits or - what do you do?

Annie Fonte:	Well the first question I would ask everybody that's in such a hurry is, "What are you in such a hurry for? Why is everybody's hair on fire?"

	And I think that's probably one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs have because they're generally wired to move fast, and make decisions, and action, action, action. And so, sometimes, we're our own worst enemy. And that's why I really - 

For me, one of the best things that I do in my day - and one of the best things that I've done in my life - is take the time each day to be quiet and to really divvy up and focus on what you want to accomplish. And that takes time.

Jaime Masters:	It's so impressive to hear you say that because I was just saying, in the beginning, how insane your resume is. And you're like, "Oh wait, just chill."

	I have - everything has clocks on it for me because I always have issues with time. And it's so funny for you, the person that has done so many things, to be like, "Oh, just relax and take your time at it." That's not what I was expecting at all.

	Can you just tell me a little more about how you know that's the right method for you?

Annie Fonte:	I think when we're in too much of a hurry, we get out in front of ourselves. And then, when we're out in front of ourselves, we don't make good decisions. And then one bad decision leads to another. And the momentum comes with that - "I'm in a hurry. I've gotta fix this." And then you make mistakes and then you're trying to cover up the mistakes you made. And, before you know it, you're in such a tangled web over here that nothing's getting done, nobody's winning, nothing's getting accomplished.

	Versus if you will live - both personally and businesswise, I say - live a well-paced life. Give yourself the time you need personally. Give yourself the time you need as a businessperson to navigate and matriculate through life. 

And it's just like the tortoise and the hare, right? Who ends up at the finish line first? It's usually the guy who's really just taken quantifiable, and purposeful, and focused steps - and sticks with it every day - that ends up at the finish line. And ends up at the finish line profitably - versus the hare that gets there, he's made all these mistakes, wasted all kind of - burned money - and then get to the finish line. They're stressed out, they're personally in bad shape, their relationships are generally in bad shape, and their end product - whether it's a product or a service - usually isn't as refined and well thought out as the person who took the time to go through that process.

Jaime Masters:	Wow. Okay, so my best friend always says my affirmation needs to be "I have all the time in the world. I have all the time in the world. I have all the time in the world." 

Because what you're saying, I think, is so important - that we need to make sure we're paying attention to ourselves both in business but also personally. Because the life we live - if it's harried, and crazy, and nutso - that's not usually what we go into as an entrepreneur. We want the freedom. We want the space. And yet, I feel like we can't have either because, again, we're going nuts/crazy all the time.

Annie Fonte: 	Well, the other thing I say to people is, "Get honest with yourself. How are you really spending your time? Are you on Facebook three hours a day? Are you running around all over town to different meetings? Are you going to different time wasting events that really aren't part of what's gonna keep you focused on those one or two things that you want to accomplish?" Yeah, it might be interesting. But it's not going anywhere. It'll be interesting six months from now, too. 

So take the time to really map out how you're spending your time. And figure out how you're currently spending your time and then how you ideally want to spend your time. And then build the roadmap from current to ideal. And accomplish that ideal and you have a good tool for yourself moving forward.

Jaime Masters:	Ah. You're speaking to me right now. It's so funny to go over some of these pieces because we just stopped a project and I was like, "Huh. I didn't actually affect anything to the bottom line and I have so much more time. I feel so much better in life in general because it -" and it didn't line up with essentialist goals anyway. 

So it's funny - we're rewarded for being busy in life. "Oh, and then I have this! And look at me! I am so busy and everything's amazing!" And yet we're on Facebook or we're doing something else and we're just pushing stuff in our face so we don't have to be quiet. Because sometimes that quietness is a little scary.

Alright. 

[Crosstalk]

Jaime Masters:	So if we can - I know we have to start wrapping up in just a minute but - if you can give us one lesson - I know I'm gonna ask you the one thing that they're gonna do in a week but - I want one overarching less. Because I feel like you've had just such a breadth of different businesses, different work. What's a lesson that you've really, really learned that they can take right now and be like, "Okay. Overarching lesson. Thank you so much, Annie?"

Annie Fonte:	I think the most important thing any of us do in our life is to determine who our true self is, what our true essence is, and admire that, and embrace it, and honor it, and live and be from that place.

	Versus what others want you to do, what you think others want you to do, what you think the trendy thing to do is, what you think the cool thing to do is, what you think you'll feel more worthy about, what more people will like you about. Those things won't get you where you wanna go. 

So really, to take the time to live from the inside out, and decide who you are, and what contribution you want to make in the world.

Jaime Masters:	Oh my gosh. I love that. So how do we live from the inside out better? Getting quiet is one tip that you said before that will align - but what else can we do in general?

Annie Fonte:	The thing I would suggest is: find mentors. Find a heroine or a hero that you admire. What did they do? Read all the books you can about them. Do all the research you can about them. If it's possible - and it usually is unless they're no longer living - call them up. See if you can have a conversation with them. Really use the people who've already been down the path, and have successfully been down the path, and efficiently and effectively been down the path as a role model. 

They're usually very generous with their time. They're very generous with their programming. They're very generous with any concepts or strategies that they have. Take advantage of that. 

You don't have to reinvent the wheel; it's already been invented. So go find these people, and follow them, and read up on them, and look at some of their strategies, and - if at all possible - have a conversation with them.

Jaime Masters:	I love this. Okay, so now I know - last question - 

	What's one thing listeners can do this week to help move them forward towards their goal of a million?

Annie Fonte:	I think the one thing most listeners can do this week to move themself closer to a million dollars is - they have to define what wealth means to themselves. What does that mean? And then get very definitive on what those dollar amounts are? Is it $1 million? If so, great. Is it more than that?

	And then, once you decide what your definition of wealth is and what the number is - and maybe this week it's, "By the end of six months from now, I'm gonna have generated $10,000.00 in revenue." Chunk it down; it doesn't have to be $1 million overnight. 

And then stay with it. Don't make it $10,000.00 today, and tomorrow morning it's $12,000.00, and then Wednesday morn or Thursday morning it's $6,000.00. Really stay focused on those things.

And make really achievable goals that you will feel successful everyday with.

And then, find good coaching as well. Because there's a lot of good coaches out there.

Jaime Masters:	Amazing. And I love that it goes back to your metrics where you're like, "Okay, just figure out thing. And then just keep moving forward consistently." You've got that same thing - beat the same drum - but it's worked so well for you for so long.

	Thank you so much for coming on the show today. Where can we find more about you, and the programs that you're running, and all that sort of stuff?

Annie Fonte:	You can go to two different websites. The first one you mentioned earlier in the show and that is meetmeatthebarn.com. And the second one is - you can go to: k (like kangaroo) g (like Georgia) p (like Paul) t (like Tom) .com. And that is our physical therapy and wellness clinic. And there's contact information on both of those websites for me.

Jaime Masters:	Perfect. And it's located in San Diego so if - I know we have a lot of listeners in San Diego - if you have any physical therapy issues, make sure - the best in the world apparently lives there so you - I wish I did, too. That's awesome.

	Thank you so much for coming on the show today. I really, really appreciate it.

Annie Fonte:	My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

Video Transcription provided by GMR Transcription Services

Tags: Annie Fonte, Focus, Mental Clarity, millionaire interview, Mind Maps, Mindset, Planning, productivity, Visioning

Categories: All, Business, Business Model, Entrepreneurship, Millionaire Interviews, Productivity, Visioning

Hi I’m Jaime. Each and every week I bring you the top business advice from the people who know best.

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