“take the time to know the life that you want to live and find the courage to go out and live it"

Tim Alison is a lifelong entrepreneur, business coach, author and host of the Screw the Naysayers Podcast Show. Tim has interviewed Seth Godin, JT McCormick and many other entrepreneurs, athletes and those people beating the odds. At age 31 Tim walked away from a six figure income and moved to a tiny fishing village in Nova Scotia, Canada. The naysayers laughed when he said he was starting an educational software company. They stopped laughing when sales topped $10 million. His life philosophy is simple- Know the Life You Want and Have the Courage to Live It.

 

Tim talks to Ed Andrew about start ups, education, entrepreneurship and his passion for helping people start their journey of business ownership especially for those approaching retirement. Ed considers Tim also a friend and mentor, often sharing their views on life, business and strategies.

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Talking points:

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• discussing why he started Screw the Naysayers aged 60 - life long entrepreneur  - defined my story as quitting is high earning sales job to Nova Scotia

 

• starting an educational software company before the internet which attracted more naysayers, building a lifestyle business ​

 

• quitting his corporate role at 31, abusing alcohol and being burned out. “you have the choice to live whatever life you want to live and the choice as to what happiness looks like"

 

• discussing the grass being greener outside the corporate world, wanting to do something of value that you really care about that is conflict wit the job you are in,  "the mistake is to assume that changing a job or being an entrepreneur will make that thing causing you pain to magically go away” 15

 

• discussing meaningful work and the 4th stage of happiness 

 

• the current messaging around entrepreneurship which is wrong (19)

 

• discussing Seth Godin and the difference between freelancers, employees and entrepreneurs, creating product and service as a business owner (27)

 

• on his journey as an entrepreneur how most of his ventures did not work but one paid off big time,  "the thing with entrepreneurship is we are constantly learning the lessons over and over again" - and the narrative of failure and our connection to failure (35)

 

• on seeking and applying education and knowledge, testing ideas, working on heart centred business, discussing Seth Godin's book The Dip - persistence and why winners quit all the time (37)

 

• taking advice from experts regards of age, finding great teachers, need to be open to advice and willing to invest it - "entrepreneurs are confident enough to invest in their own personal development because we are confident we can create something bigger than just a job”

 

• on leadership and discussing the myth of the laptop lifestyle (49)

 

• adopting the Seth Godin “This is marketing” mantra, sales has always been about making an emotional connection with people ​

 

• the work and experience to build on in your 20's (57)

 

• starting a business when being retired, incredibly offensive to be telling senior that we should not be starting viable business which will create wealth, but you do need mentoring (62)

 

• the perils of having a corporate role your entire career and the quest for validation 

 

• his message "take the time to know the life that they want to live and find the courage to go out and live it" (66)

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To contact Tim please click on these links:

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https://screwthenaysayers.com/

https://screwthenaysayers.com/podcast/

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