A few weeks ago, I kept seeing this manifesto titled How to Be a Remarkable Misfit (PDF) being passed around the web. With a title like that I was immediately intrigued. I get exposed to tons of content on a daily basis because I’m continually on the look out for great work. I can confidently say this manifesto is the best thing I’ve read in the last year. So I made it to a point track down AJ Leon and get him here on the show. Something tells me you’re all going to love this interview and it will be one of the highlights of this year.
Here are some highlights from our chat:
- How AJ Realized that He Had Built a Life that He Didn’t Want
- The Impact of AJ’s Investment Banking Career on His Life
- Why Wealth Does Not Equate to Happiness
- AJ’s Insights on How to Make a Career Transition
- The Importance of Using Your Free Time to Build Your Side Hustles
- How Making Bold Decisions Changes the Trajectory of Your Life
- The Importance of Projects that Don’t Make Any Money
- Why the Idea of “One Thing” is a Fallacy
- How AJ Developed the Misfit Brand
- Identifying the Essence of Who You Are and Applying It to Your Brand
- A Look into the Writing and Development Process of the Misfit Manifesto
- The Power of a Highly Personal Touch to Your Email Marketing
- Why Motive is An Integral Part of the Growth Process of Your Brand
Tweetable Insights Include:
- The important thing is not to follow well lit paths (Click to Tweet)
- In any good story there are ups and downs (Click to Tweet)
- There’s the life you live and the life you’re destined to lead (Click to Tweet)
- People Follow Boldness (Click to Tweet)
- Whatever You Do Don’t Just Copy the Next Guy (Click to Tweet)
AJ Leon is being a nomad around the world & make things happen. I write about the Pursuit of Everything & am currently traveling around the entire world in 1,080 days. You can follow him on twitter @ajleon.
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One of our goals for 2012 is to become a top 100 show in iTunes. We can get there with your help and it will enable us to improve the how and bring on even bigger guests. So if you can, we’d be really grateful if you write us a review in iTunes.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 46:08 — 63.4MB)
Hey AJ! Congrats for your freedom! Were you about to negotiate a severance, or did you quit? If you quit, was there a reason why given severance can be very big in finance? I spent a couple years in NYC and I know where you’re coming from.
Srini, fyi for feedback, not sure if you realize but you talked a lot more than AJ 1/3rd into the interview, and he didn’t ask you any questions. Perhaps let the intervee talk more? Up to you. Thx, Sam
@Yakezie Thanks for the feedback Sam. It’s always a balancing act with each guest and something I try to be conscious of. I wasn’t aware of it in this case, but good to know for future reference.
@skooloflife No problemo. Perhaps it’s more of an issue for long time readers like myself who already know your story. So what happens is that we end up hearing your story over and over again when you explain it to your new guest. That’s probably it. S
@Yakezie Well, there has to be a conversation flow as well and AJ had plenty of good things to say about the interview. I know probably for somebody who has been around some of the story has been heard before. But I also do make it a point to listen to every one to see what I could do better the next time around.
@Yakezie It’s funny, from time to time @skooloflife and I have heard people comment on how long or how little he or a guest spoke. I’ve paid attention to other podcasts and television shows that are interview based and find that across the board…there is no standard. Just like a talk show, Srini is the personality that ties everything together and there are definitely times where it makes sense for him to talk. As a long time listener, I’m sure you realize there are times where the guests have talked a lot too. Not to mention, there are times where guests aren’t really conversational (not this interview) which necessitate more host talking.
Definitely feel free to contact us via email if you have other suggestions. We love hearing from our audience!!
@DavidCrandall @skooloflife It’s definitely a fine balance, no doubt. Maybe you guys can run a survey asking questions to get more feedback?
Remember what Dr. Pausch said, “As soon as you stop getting feedback, people stop caring.”
Which brings me to ask if you guys can provide some candid feedback on my main site FinancialSamurai.com. The design is stock and it has been like that for 3.3 years. Traffic has grown unabated, but I wonder what things I can add that readers might like to see.
Thx!
Sam
@Yakezie You’ll be pleased to know that we have gotten a bunch of feedback this year and have even taken advantage of using focus groups since last December. It’s why the site and show looks so different than it did 12 months ago.
With me as a full time designer and Srini as a leader in social media and blogging, we actually charge for site evaluations. If you’d like a quote, feel free to let us know!
cc @skooloflife
@DavidCrandall @skooloflife Sounds good! Let me know what your rates are or if you have a services page.
Here’s my services page for helping bloggers or small businesses get on the map if you guys are interesting in boosting your presence online. I’m not sure how much traffic you guys get, but if it’s less than 200,000 unique visitors a month, perhaps I can help!: http://www.financialsamurai.com/fs-online-services/
Loved this interview with AJ, I can’t wait to read the manifesto. I have this weird thing going on at the moment that every time I’m thinking or mulling over a decision or aspect of my new online business, your latest podcast solves my problems. Yesterday I posted my ’about me’ on my personal blog that I’ve been too scared to publish for 5 weeks!. I finally pushed publish on it and I feel elated. I have struggled in society for doing things a bit different, so I really got a boost for this interview…..and I didn’t notice Srini talking too much, when you sit down for a conversation with someone you don’t keep track of who has talked more than who, that’s what this shows all about, it flows and I love the rapport between Srini and the guest. We are lucky to listen in on the conversation.
Sarah
@squeezeddaily Thanks Sarah. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I think there were some priceless writing tips in this one. I’ve used many of them for my own manifestos and they’ve definitely resulted in progress.
@skooloflife Sounds like something I need desperately, I’m more of a visual creator and writing isn’t my strong point! Hey also, looking at joining the community, still spaces left? Would it be somewhere I can connect with like minded people? I’m pretty isolated in my current location.
@squeezeddaily Thank you so much for the kind words, Sarah, I am so glad you enjoyed the interview and I am ever more elated that you were able to publish that post. There is nothing worse than succumbing to Fear. I know this from experience. If you do it today, you will be doing it every day for the rest of your life. So happy that you have circumvented yours. I agree, Srini is a FABULOUS interviewer. It’s an art and a gift not many people possess.