Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is the amazing Jesse Itzler. Jesse is a serial entrepreneur who has built and sold five companies, including Marquis Jet and Zico Coconut Water. He is an Emmy Award winner, a former rapper and former manager of Run DMC, a globally recognized keynote speaker, and a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball team. He's also a passionate endurance athlete who has run more than 35,000 miles over the last 25 years, including 50+ marathons. Jessie is also the author of two awesome best-selling books, Living with the Seals 31 Days: Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet and Living with the Monks: What Turning off My Phone Taught Me About Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus.   Time stamps: 01:54 The influence of Jesse’s parents - They showed up for everything - They let him explore - They didn’t over-schedule him - Didn’t teach him about hard work, he watched them doing it 04:12 How much is his personality a part of his success? - He has problems with memorizing things - He is great at storytelling - His personality was essential for his success 05:58 The entrepreneurial gene - Jesse’s grandfather was born in poverty in Russia - He immigrated to America and came with nothing - Jesse’s grandfather and father worked very hard - Jesse grew up middle-class 07:42 Should kids go to college? - Jesse went to everything and was exposed to knowledge and people - His mom encouraged him to be curious and take every opportunity - He was aware of the time and urgency 12:50 The start of Jesse’s career – getting a foot at the door - Jesse's record deal – go to every door until someone says yes - He got a deal from a record label called Delicious Vinyl - It’s essential to get a foot at the door and get into the system   16:47 The ridiculous offer and believing in yourself - Started the music business doing commercial jingles - He lived on his friend’s couches - Someone offered him $10,000 for 10% of his future earnings - Can you? vs. Will you? 20:32 The advice to young entrepreneurs - Some businesses require capital - Selling out equity to employees, friends, and family - Under-promising and keeping things simple is a better strategy - Take advice, go through the pros and cons, and think through the worst-case scenario 24:39 How to bounce back from a failure? - Sold his business for $1 million - Tried many different things and failed - Extremely enthusiastic about trying fun things and projects - Sold celery and carrot sticks and loved it even without the profit - In business, three strikes and you're not out   29:30 Is there a time to stop trying? - Jesse kept going despite failures - He never stopped - The tolerance of embarrassment - Never got embarrassed by his failures 31:51 The value of relationships - Wanted to start a private jet company but didn’t have jets - Met with the president of the largest private jet company in the world – Net Jets - Got the deal and built a $5 billion company Resources Mentioned: Type in EXCELLENCE15 for 15% off The Big A## Calendar!  Sponsors: Sandee | Bliss: Beaches Want to Connect? Reach out to us online! Website | Instagram | LinkedIn