Due to the work that I do I get to know a wide variety of inspirational people who hold a huge potential within who they are, what they express into the outer world and how they deal with the day-to-day living. Not always I meet them in person, but nowadays it is not always truly required. Internet, emails, phone at times become more than enough to get into a contact and proceed from there.
Some time ago Kevin John – an online marketing coach and strategist – requested my friendship on Facebook, which I eagerly accepted. Later I researched a bit about his work and became interested in what he was doing, and so eventually I offered him to do an interview with me via emails. So therefore, I am pleased to present you a man who dared to begin a new career at the most uncertain time in his life, who stepped out of his comfort zone so to create a better life for his family and himself – Kevin John.
I have read your story about how you began your business. We all know that every beginning has its challenges and at times there are many up and down moments. Now my wonder is how did you deal with those moments at the beginning of your creation?
The beginning was indeed very challenging but the key thing was that I focused on my “Why.” That is my motivation for setting up and building a business in the first place. It can be very easy to fall back into the old ways of comfort and look for security in a JOB but that was not my intention. In fact, I really wanted to get out of my 9 to 5 existence and was fortunate, some may say, to be made redundant. This forced me to look at other ways to create an income to support my family. Maybe if this never happened I would still be labouring away in a JOB. My motivation for sustaining the business and running it on a day to basis is of course to provide an income to support my family but it also provides the work, life balance I was seeking. It has been a blessing to be there for my daughter from birth right up until now where she has just started school. I have been with her most of the time and seen her grow and develop in ways which if I had been working 9 to 5 I would have missed out on this. This was my intention from as soon as I started the business and now she is at school I have more time to grow the business further!
Kevin, to this day what moves you forward on your chosen path?
Same as above. I enjoy the work, life, balance that the business provides. I really enjoy helping people realise their own goals and aspirations. That is very important for me! I am also at the same time learning due to coaching my clients. In a way I become both a teacher and student as I learn so much from clients. I also set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly goals. Without these I would find the path bewildering and without structure. Setting goals really does move you forward to achieve your desired outcome!
Kevin, you said that:”The beginning was indeed very challenging but the key thing was that I focused on my ‘Why'”. What did you mean by that?
My “Why” for starting a home business is to provide a better life for my family. This I believe is what most people are working towards. Some people work on their career by taking further vocational training so that they can in turn further their career. This may be in a traditional job. For me, I did do this too, but I found that I had a lot more to offer and was in effect restricted by my work. Starting my own business gave me the freedom to create a new life for my family. They are my “Why.” They kept me motivated through the ups and downs. When you are in business, you are in effect your own boss and you don’t have anyone to tell you to be at work at a certain time and leave at a certain time, or dictate to you. The decisions you make are all yours and this can prove challenging as a business goes through many positive and negative changes. By focusing on providing a better life for my family (and working towards this) helped me tremendously to get through these challenges and thinking this way continues to keep me inspired!
Could you share your biggest goal of all?
My biggest goal I still am working towards. I achieved it with one of the businesses (reached a high level in a MLM business) I started, but in saying that as soon as you achieve a goal there is always another to work towards. It is in effect never ending. This keeps you motivated on your work. As soon as one goal has been accomplished then you need to work on a new goal so you don’t become stagnant. A big goal for me is to provide a better life for my parents who are quite elderly and I would like to be able to care for them in a way which I feel will make them feel happy, safe and secure in their formative years. They have helped me so much in my life and I want to repay them, not just in monetary terms, but to be there for them when they need me and to give them a comfortable and loved life.
So what is there that you are doing?
I run an online marketing which also integrates mindset strategies for clients. I help people to market their brand online, or indeed help them to define their own brand if they do not have one. Once they have decided who and what they want to market, then I help them with various online marketing strategies to get them prospective clients and customers. This would include designing websites and advertising their sites using social media and search engine optimisation. The mindset strategies can really help my clients to stay focused on their goals (and to create them if they do not have any initially). The combination of teaching Internet marketing and self-improvement techniques really complement each other and provide optimum assistance in helping clients to realise their potential and aspirations.
Have you ever in whole honesty considered giving up?
The thought did cross my mind and truth be told that am not running the original MLM business any more, but instead what I decided to do was look elsewhere for another opportunity. I really just felt that I needed to broaden my horizons and see what other opportunities were available that would benefit the skills I had acquired. In my current role, which I really do enjoy and have no thoughts about giving it up. In fact, I am looking to diversify my current role and add further strings to my bow. I really enjoy coaching people and am looking to explore this further with a more defined offering. At the moment, I offer clients coaching in online marketing strategies coupled with mindset techniques. What I am finding is that more and more people are interested in the personal development side of my business and I am too finding this to be very enjoyable.
What do you mean by saying – mindset techniques?
Mindset techniques give people the tools and strategies to live a better life and achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. It can be challenging if one does not have a clear plan or direction in life, particularly in terms of discovering and achieving their own unique life purpose. Using specific mindset techniques will allow one to plan their own course and the accomplishment of this will be much more easier to obtain. There are many mindset techniques that one can utilise and of course this will be personal to each and every client. The mindset techniques that I use with my clients are based around Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Perhaps the easiest way of explaining NLP is to say it is a form of applied psychology. It is a means of achieving more for themselves and being more fulfilled in their personal and professional lives.
Have you attended some courses in the past so that now you could coach people on these subjects?
Yes, I have attended various courses and seminars. I attended the Anthony Robbins weekend seminar, which was very helpful in learning more about mindset techniques, particularly NLP. I have also completed a NLP practitioner’s course.
I researched a bit about NLP, and yes it is a quite popular program or way of living and being, but there is also quite a bit of controversy on this subject. How do you deal with people who come to you but have doubts about NLP itself?
I would mention for them to do some research on the subject if they are harbouring any doubts. There are many good resources available, whereby they can find out much more about NLP before booking any sessions. If they require references or recommendations then I can supply these. Some prospective clients will have doubts for sure with various areas of applied psychology as they may not have any knowledge of what it entails so it is always beneficial for them to undertake research to form a clearer understanding. The clients who come back for my coaching are those who have done this and are now ready to proceed, some tentatively I might add, but nonetheless NLP is great for applying self confidence techniques if so desired.
Kevin, how does your family look at what you do, how do they treat your choice of living and being? Have you faced any challenges as a family since the certain choices you made in your life, including learning abd practising NLP?
My family have been very supportive and actually encouraged me to go ahead with my first business. I was surprised because initially I studied and trained as a lawyer but was made redundant. Nonetheless, my family supported me in my decision to set up in business in a completely different vocation. They were very happy when I made a success of the business in the first year and I was earning more income than when I was practising law. Through the business my family saw a dramatic increase in the standard of my lifestyle and I was able to buy my first property. So all in all they were happy. I have endured challenges recently as my first business was not doing so well and this was primarily because I got complacent and stopped building it. Once you do that, then you can only go downhill as I learned the hard way. Since then I have started several other businesses which are in the early stages, so it is all quite challenging juggling business and family life.
Kevin, even now after some time following the path that you have chosen dofingers towards you? How do you deal with uncertainty and fear if you have any?
Oh yes the fear is always there. All humans have fear and it is a daily challenge to live without this. I deal with uncertainty and fear by remaining positive and working on my desired goals. I find that by setting achievable daily/ weekly/ monthly/ yearly goals in my life and business keep me focused. I also keep motivated by reading and listening to many inspirational personal development material. This really does help and there is ample material to choose from. All in all, great satisfaction is accomplished by realising my goals and knowing that I am doing what I love to do. There is a big path ahead that I have set for myself with many goals in mind to achieve. It is relentless and never ending which is a God send and keeps my mind focused on positivity and away from the ego mind of fear and uncertainty.
But you know this mind of ours has thousand of opinions giving generously to us on daily basis. What kind of the dialogue do you have with yourself whenever doubt hits you?
Yes the Ego mind is continuously chattering away and is the most challenging aspect to contend with on a daily basis. The self-talk dialogue I have is to tell myself to remain focused on my desired goals. I also meditate whenever I feel in doubt and this really does help to keep me calm and focused. Meditation has been a God send.
Kevin’s website and blog:
www.kevinjohnblog.com and www.whoiskevinjohn.com
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