Business Coach : The Help You Require
-My name is business coach Clay Clark, and they tell me I’m the CEO of Thrive15.com. Today we are joined with Damario Solomon-Simmons, our business coach. And he’s here to teach us a little bit about his journey from going from the bottom, all the way up to the top, and the success philosophies he used to get there. This guy has been the attorney of choice for pro athletes of NFL, the NBA, big business, small business, big organizations. It’s unbelievable. His career is nothing short of magical. But he’s going to teach us his success philosophy– the specific stuff he does on a daily basis that allows him to get so much more done than the average person.
So as you’re watching today’s episode, it could be worth millions of dollars to you. Because if you don’t know this stuff, it’s hard to get from here to there. But if you know the philosophies and the principles, and you apply it to your own life and business, it can absolutely change your life. As always a Thrive15.com, we believe that knowledge without application is absolutely meaningless. So as you’re watching today’s episode, take the time to ask yourself, what do you need to do to specifically apply these principles in your own life and business? Do you have a business coach to help you out?
Because if not, today’s episode may just prove to be more meaningless than my Y2K supply. That’s offensive. I still have that stuff. Seriously. It’s valuable. We are here with the Damario Solomon-Simmons, a Thrive15.com business mentors.
-That’s me.
-He’s an attorney at law, but more importantly, I believe you’re a man of integrity who cares about people.
-That’s true. Thank you.
CLAY CLARK: You’ve worked with the athletes, pro athletes, the top of the top, top draft picks. You’ve worked with business owners. You worked with really low income families that needed legal representation. Or a business coach.
-Absolutely.
CLAY CLARK: You’ve started at the bottom. You’ve got to where you are today. And so I want to know, getting down to the brass tacks, the success philosophies. And I think to you, they might not seem philosophies because you’re like, I’m still in the struggle.
-That’s right. I’m still in the struggle.
-But I think there’s a lot of things you’re doing that are right. And so I’m going to get into it here.
-Are we filming, because I want to make sure I show my wife there that you say a lot of the things I’m doing is right.
-Yeah, we’re going to record this whole thing, and if you’re watching, he’s been– I think off camera, it’s been like 99% of how awesome you are and 2% he wants some more food. So what time are you waking up every day now?
-On a good day, if it’s going right, I wake up about 6:00 AM.
CLAY CLARK: When I’m interviewing these successful people, I hear a lot of fours, fives, and sixes. Don’t hear a lot of nines. I don’t hear a lot of people saying they woke up 10 minutes before work. Forbes had an article I read a while back that said the average American– and I don’t want to get the stat wrong– but it was the majority of people are waking up less than an hour before they need to be at the job. So they’re kind of getting to work looking like they just woke up. You see them just kind of trying to wake up in front of their boss. And then you see other people that are up, active, moving, shaking, fully meditated, totally focused before the day starts. What is the deal with that? Why is it every successful person that I keep interviewing, you guys all get up early?
-You know, I don’t know. I just remember that when it really clicked for me, I was at OU, I had already graduated undergrad, finished playing football, and I was working as a graduate assistant for what’s called Center for Student Life and Student Affairs Department. And I just realized when I wore– I wore a suit coat one day, and I was up early. And it was just how people reacted to me and responded to me, the respect that I got. I said, you know what? I like this. I feel good about being up, and already being up a couple hours and getting stuff out of the way.
So when I did show up to the office, I was fresh. I was ready to go. And I felt, you know what? I think this is the way I want to go. And that’s why I want to wear something nice every day, because I think it puts me in the right mind-state, put me in a business mind-state, just off the bat when I walk out the door, knowing I have my uniform on. See, I can say this is my uniform. So it’s like if I’m going to play football, I wouldn’t go out the house– I wouldn’t go on the field without my helmet.
-Do you have a stylist?
-Yes. Her name is Mia Fleming, my wife.
CLAY CLARK: She helps you?
-Absolutely.
CLAY CLARK: You look sharp.
-Well, thank you.
-So she’s the one we need to give credit to?
-Absolutely.
-Behind the facade of the awesomeness that your wife lays out for you, are you kind of a man-bear-pig, too? Are you are you going to rock some crazy clothes if she doesn’t help you in line, or do you have a little bit of style? Is she your business coach as well?
-I think I have a little bit of style, but it’s because I’ve been her for so long, I have a little bit of style. But literally, Clay, like this is my uniform. Literally.
CLAY CLARK: It’s what you wear.
-This is what I wear. This right here.
-Now let me ask you this. If I’m watching this– because this is something a mentor told me one day. I said, sir, I’m not a morning person. And he said, well, you have how many kids? And I said five. And he said, well, you’ll probably be a divorced person if you’re still ambitious like this. Or you’ll be a poor person. Because I don’t know any ambitious person who’s had success that didn’t get those hours from someone. So you either get up early, or you’re going to stay late. You’re going to either kill the family or kill the dream, but you’ve got to get up early.
And that was kind of hard for me, because I’m not morning person. What would you say to somebody watching who says–
-And I really, to be honest, to be fair, I think that kind of depends on the industry. Because the creative folks I’ve worked with that I have actually represented, they don’t get up early.
-They might stay up late.
-And I have to say, like my wife, my wife is a person who does not get up early, but she stays up late. Her Zen time, or when she’s really in her zone, really comes in the evening.