Mastering Your Mind To Get The Results You Want with Blaine Oelkers

Tim Melanson: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to today’s episode, the Work at Home Rockstar podcast.

Excited for today’s episode. He’s the Chief Results Officer , and he helps people take control of their lives by taking control of themselves. Very excited to be rocking out today with Blaine Kerz. Hey Blaine, are you ready to rock?

Blaine Oelkers: I’m ready to rock. Tim, I’m so excited to be here. I’ve listened to many of your episodes.

I, I, I don’t know, like there’s hundreds of episodes, so those of you who have not heard them all, get back in there, get subscribed. This is good stuff, and especially if you’re thinking about working from home or you ready work from home, we’re gonna deliver some value today, but we’re, we’re excited to be here and I’m excited to, uh, be a guest on the show.

Me too.

Tim Melanson: This is gonna be great. So we always start off here on a good note. So tell me a story of success in your business that we can be inspired.

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah. You know, uh, I, I, I love working from home. Uh, and one of my mentors, and maybe we’ll talk about mentors today, one of my, my, my favorite mentor by far is a guy named Jim roh.

Have you ever heard of Jim Roan? Sure have, [00:01:00] actually. Yep. Okay. All right. So, so I love Jim roh. Got to meet him, got to host him at an event, share the stage with him a few times. Um, but anyway, he has a whole program called The Day That Turns Your Life. Uh, and, and so he talks about this day where you end up making kind of this clarifying decision.

Now, a lot of times it’s out of disgust, , you know, for, for something, uh, you know, uh, but, but you make this clarifying decision. You have this like, moment of dawning comprehension. And so for me, that happened, uh, well, I had a few moments of Donnie comprehension, but I, I, I went to Purdue University, got a computer science degree similar to your degree, uh, as well.

And so we sh we share that. And, and I, um, I was out in the workplace and I’m working this tech job, and I’m on a long business trip, and I come home from this long business trip, uh, you know, and I get home. And then my son, Bo, he’s about one year old at the time, and he’s acting strange. Like I, I think he’s sick.

So I say, Beth, um, what, what’s wrong with Bo? It’s like, is he sick? And she goes, no, no, he’s not [00:02:00] sick. But you were gone so long. He forgot who you. And I was like, wait, what? And so, so like emotionally that hit me. And then I have flashbacks as a kid. Both my parents worked. So I came home to an empty house. My brother typically wasn’t there.

And like, it was a little like scary sometimes. Um, but, but anyway, all that flashes back to me. So that night, kind of emotionally, I make this clarifying decision that no matter what happens, I’m gonna be a work from home. And so, so no matter what, I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna make this happen. And I had the emotion behind that decision, right?

To, to really kind of, kind of make it stick. Now this was way back before side hustles and, and remote working was cool like it is now. Uh, but, but anyway, back then, You know, what I did is I, I kept my regular job and I started two businesses, and, and we could un unpack that a little, a little bit more, but I started two businesses and it took me a year, but a year later my wife made a deal.

She’s very supportive, but she said, when the side hustles are making [00:03:00] more money than the regular job, and we have six months of living expenses in the bank, by all. Take, you know, take the leap of faith and, and work for yourself. So it took me a year, but I, I, a year later, I, I set myself free from the job, and that was 27 years ago.

So I’ve been this work from home dad for 27 years now. The kids are grown outta the nest, and, and I’ve gotta find more things to do around the house. But, uh, you know, I, I’ve been able to work from home and I love it. And, and I would wish for anybody the, the control that’s there, the freedom. Now it takes a little self-discipline.

There’s some pros and cons to that. Uh, but, but I have loved it. And when I really peel it back, like why do I do it? Yes, for the love of my son and to be a great dad, but when I peel it back further, it’s because I. A a, a schedule, an event control freak. Like I want control of, you know, where I go when I do it.

And I hate when people say, you have to be here, you have to do this. And I’m like, no, I don’t. Uh, you know, so anyway, but it’s the control and I would fight for [00:04:00] that, you know, and, and, and keep my, my businesses running, uh, you know, simply to, to maintain that, that control of. Wow.

You

Tim Melanson: and I have a very similar mindset.

I think , it’s the same thing for me. I actually, I started working from home when my son was one and, uh Oh, wonderful. Same type of thing. I just, I, I just, it’s amazing what can happen when you have a really clear why. Hey,

Blaine Oelkers: A hundred percent. A hundred percent. And you get, and it’s that clarifying decision that like, makes a lot of decisions for you and, and really, I, I call it like, you go from the lantern with the light kind of glowing in all directions to the laser where all the lights focused on one thing.

And then I was only focused on like, what could I do from home? Like all the regular jobs were out, out the window. I didn’t even have to look at. And I looked at two things. One was, um, I, I started a, a, basically a placement company, uh, you know, uh, a recruiting kind of placement company in the area in software engineering.

You know, basically helping friends from [00:05:00] college that I knew, you know, get jobs and sometimes there was a regular job, but many times there was a contract position where, you know, they would, uh, they would be our employee, but they’d be working on site. And so they would get like 40 bucks an hour, but we were billing, say 50 or 55 an hour.

You know, we were making the spread. Of put the money out first. But anyway, but it was only like one swim lane over from what I was doing. Like I knew that industry, I had been in the industry. I had, uh, actually for a while I had been a contract programmer myself. Uh, so, so that was one. And then the other one, which we were talking before the show that we share is, is I also.

Got into, you know, a home-based business, right? I got into a home-based business where there were really no daily operations and I could scale through leverage. Like, if I could help other people make a little money, I would make some money too. Uh, and it was in, um, actually it was selling Bluegreen Algaes.

So I was a little bit of a health freak. Uh, you know, and they still today. You know, 27 years later, they’re still harvesting the algae out of this lake up in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and, and, uh, you know, and, and selling it as, as kind of a [00:06:00] nutrient dense food. Um, so, so anyway, it was a little bit of a passion project, but it also, uh, you know, did bring in some, some, uh, income as well.

Tim Melanson: Wow. So now, okay. Lots of stuff that happened there. , probably not all of it was awesome. , there was probably a few things that didn’t go as planned, and I do like to talk about the bad notes. So what was it, is there something that that just sticks out in your mind that didn’t go as planned? And how did you recover?

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah, you know, . So I made a mistake, which hopefully you will all learn from this and not make this mistake. But my greatest mistake in business was that one, one that, that company that I started, which was the personnel company, I started with a good friend in college. So getting a good partner. Fantastic.

Uh, you know, maybe we’ll talk about getting mentors. Another fantastic thing, but the mistake I made was that we set up the company as a 50. Now I will never be a part of a 50 50 again, because people don’t grow the same. Their ideas aren’t the same. Right. And I’m happy, [00:07:00] I’m happy to be the 49 and then I know where I stand.

It’s like I’m working, I’m here along for 50%, 49% of the profits. You know? But it’s your deal, right? I’m, I’m happy to be that. Or the 51. Now, I will say all the businesses I’ve done since then, I’ve been the 51, uh, you know, on the partnership ones. But, but I think that’s important, you know, that you, I, I, I say if you’re gonna do something like that, you have to have the exit strategy in place.

Like, how are you gonna evaluate the company if one partner wants to buy the other? You know, and, and have all that stuff pre-done. Um, you know, because it really is like a marriage, especially if you do that, that 50 50 stuff. Um, so anyway, so I had a little bit of a business divorce there. Uh, you know, luckily we’re, we’re, we’re still friends, but it, it was a rough, it was a rough patch, uh, you know, in kind of getting myself outta that business and in the end, kind of selling it to him.

Uh, but, you know, lawyers got involved and it was, it was, that’s always not fun. Uh, but I did learn. and I took that lesson and I never did a 50 50 ever since, uh, you know, since then. And I [00:08:00] also got in my mind, the exit strategy for any new thing I’m gonna do, like any new thing I’m gonna do, like, okay, maybe I’m gonna do this for the rest of my life, but if I wasn’t, what’s my exit strategy?

Right? How am I gonna get out of that? And, and many of us who work from home, we, it’s really just like a job from home. It’s not a real business that could like run on its own. And so I always was trying to figure out. What can I get in that has no daily operations on my part? And in the end I could be a business owner, right?

Instead of kind of the business doer, you know? And so, so that was probably my, my biggest lesson. Wow. A

Tim Melanson: couple things there. Number one is that, uh, I’ve had quite a few guests on this podcast that have definitely discouraged , uh, partnerships and. probably for some obvious reasons, but you’re the first one that’s had the whole 51% thing that’s really, really bright.

I like that idea because I think there’s a lot of people that get into partnerships because they don’t quite have the confidence on their own to do something. Right. I think, I think it’s one of [00:09:00] those things where if I could just find that other person, , that could bring me up and, and, and it goes great for a while, and then eventually, like as you say, we don’t grow the same.

It all falls apart. But if you do have that 51%, I like that idea cuz it I, I think that if we just say don’t get into a partnership, well then you might have a lot of entrepreneurs who just won’t do it. They just won’t start a business cuz they don’t feel like they can. So I like that idea. That’s really, really bright.

for sure.

Blaine Oelkers: Well, and the other thing is, you know, know that it’s gonna sell sometime. Like if you go into a partnership, whether you’re the 51 or the 49, someone’s gonna buy the other one out or, or one of you pass away or something and now a spouse or someone else has to figure out. But if you pre say, this is what, you know, going into this, this is what we say the.

The business is worth, you know, it’s gonna be based on sales or profits or EBITDA or whatever you want. You can have the accountants figure that out, but you set that up, that ratio, that formula, you know, before and now everybody knows the value. It’s upfront and you don’t have to [00:10:00] argue about it later.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. And that’s the second thing that I want to bring up is the whole fact of, if, if you start to build a business with the intention to, uh, make it sellable at the end, I think you make different decision. , right? You’re, you’re cleaner about things. When, when you’re thinking about it from the perspective of, well, if I have to hand this up to somebody else, they’re gonna have to like figure it out.

And if I, if I do it, you know, just with my own intentions, well then maybe I have things in my head, right? Oh, and well, it runs because I just, I, it’s just what I do. But if you start to build things with the intention to sell, then all of a sudden things get out of your head and onto a piece of paper so that you can hand it off to somebody.

Is that, is that how, how you, uh, think about it?

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah, I think for, for selling, but, or for also for scaling, right? Like, so try to scale your business and also to try to pull yourself out of the business, right? A lot of work at home people. It’s just them, you know? And, and that’s it. And that can be good, you know, keep it small, keep it all right.

If you’re gonna be a high profit business, you can do really well as a [00:11:00] freelancer, something like that. But yes, putting in systems in. Getting it out of your head and figuring out what, how else could this thing run, right? I, we often say delegate to elevate, how, what can you delegate, you know, off your plate that is some $20 an hour task and you can go out and make a hundred dollars or $50 an hour.

Right? So you really Yes. Systems and, and delegation and, and having it kind of run without you we’re, we’re in the end, you own the business, but, but it can stand somewhat, you know, on its own two. Yeah,

Tim Melanson: and I mean, you mentioned something before too, where we grow, we grow as time goes along. So, you know, maybe today you’re looking at starting a business and you’re thinking, you know what?

This is what I want to do forever. Well, that could change in a couple years after doing it. Right? And if, right, if you didn’t kind of keep that in mind as you were starting, well, then you might end up in a situation where now you’re not excited about your, about your business, but now you have to figure out how to transition it to somebody else.

And that’s [00:12:00] not fun, right? When you, when you’re doing things you’re, you’re not interested in, and you know, maybe the wrong energy will go into it at that point. .

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah, yeah, no, totally, totally. Right on. And, and a lot of times, sometimes it’s you, you change, and then sometimes the world changes. Sometimes you have to pivot and, you know, you can have a whole business model and something can happen, uh, to the R outside world, you know, and all of a sudden you’ve gotta pivot and you’ve gotta change.

And so, yeah, I think when you set yourself up with systems and, and you’re always thinking. How this thing could run without you, you know, then you’re in better shape to pivot and you actually have more time, more think time, which is what most people don’t do enough of. They just get kind of stuck in execution mode.

Uh, you know, where, where the think time can be the most valuable.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I agree. So now, okay, one of the things that really, and you’ve been working home for longer than I have, but one of the things that caught me off guard when I first started working from home is the jam room, is the, the home office. And, you know, it was working at the kitchen table, working on the, on the [00:13:00] couch.

And you know, that worked for a while. But after a while I started to figure out some ideas on how to be successful in the home office. And I’m wondering what, what about you? Like what does your home office look like and how’s, how do you approach, uh, setting up to be product?

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah, I, I think your, your, your first point is really key, and that is that you designate some space, some room, some corner someplace.

That is the identity that you, that, that you get when you go in is it’s time to work, right? So you’re putting on the identity, uh, you know, uh, you know, there’s, uh, that Sylvester Stallone movie where, where he armed Russells and when he turns his hat around. He knows he means business. Uh, you know, and so it’s the same thing that you have this place where you have this identity, uh, you know, of, of that’s where you’re gonna work.

And then that’s where you try to keep the work in that spot. So I, I always have a room, uh, you know, we, we actually just, uh, sold our big house cuz the kids are gone and we’re, we downsized into, into apartment, but I still have my own room, my own office. And then you wanna set that office up. [00:14:00] For, you know, high productivity, right?

For, for you, whatever that is for you, right? So you got all your supplies, you got all your stuff, uh, you know, and you wanna make it so that you do time block yourself for hours, you know, of, of serious work, right? I, I call it singletasking mode, where you’re, you’re in there doing that, that, uh, you know, low distraction, you know, work.

So, so for me, yeah, I mean, I have a nice, uh, a computer. I, I also, um, you know, I’ll have some snacks and things like, so I don’t. There’s a lot of distractions at home, and, and the key, uh, is that you’ve gotta set up that environment that invites you to work and keeps you working. . Right. You know, because if you have to, if I go out to that kitchen, you know, and then, you know, whatever, it may made my wife stare watching something on tv or I talk with her, you know, or I decide I’m gonna make a little food instead of grab a little food and now all of a sudden those little things, you know, really add up and really distract you from, you know, kind of getting your work done.

So, so setting up the place, you know, you [00:15:00] got your water, you got your healthy snacks, um, you know, and it’s really. An environment designed to, to work on, on all areas too. Like I even have, you know, certain music, right? Uh, you, there’s certain, you know, you’re, you are a musician, so you, you know this, but I modulate myself with music, meaning that I can be like hyper, like too amped up, you know, too much caffeine and I can put on, you know, some classical music, some study music.

Uh, I have an app that that creates. Personal soundscapes, a company called Endo that creates a personal soundscape based on the weather, the time of day, my heart rate, and then what I choose, like what I’m doing. Like if I’m exercising, it’s a different sound, personal soundscape than if I’m doing focused work.

Uh, you know, so anyway, so that, that’s kind of cool, but setting up. That, you know, that environment. Uh, another thing that in my home office timers using timers for stuff. Now I have an iPhone, so I’ll just tell Siri, set a timer for 15 minutes, 30 minutes. Again, like if I’m gonna go [00:16:00] check email, mm, I better set that timer.

Otherwise zoom, I’m sucked into the screen. I’m gone for hours. Sometimes you know somebody, I get that email. The irresistible offer. I click on it. I, I, I’m lost for, for a while. Uh, so, so anyway, but doing that, you know, setting the timers, I’ve got that set up, uh, you know, in the office I do like, um, you know, I spend a little extra money and I got the desk that moves up and down, right?

So, so I can, I’m sitting right now, but I can stand, uh, you know, I, I can use a bar stool, I could use an office chair. I mean, a lot of different possibilities with that. I, I really, really like that. Um, and then everyth. Is pre-setup. Like if you do a lot of video, like I do a lot of video, so I, I’ve got my little desk here set up.

I got a little green screen back here. I’ve got a Yeti blue mic up here, you know, but, and a little camera, everything’s ready to go. Like I can just jump in and go. And you really wanna dial down the resistance, you know, ergonomically in your office, dial down the resistance to the things you wanna do, right?

And dial up the [00:17:00] resistance to the things you don’t want to do, right? Like, if I don’t want a snack, then I put all the snacks. You know, outside, you know, in, in, in the locked cupboard or something. Right. Uh, you know, um, or I’ll have a sign on my door, you know, don’t go snack, you know, just some little cue little reminders.

Set, set it up, you know, um, the environment that way. So there’s a couple of jam room tips. Hi, it’s Mark Ney from Natural Born Coaches, and I want to give two very big thumbs up to Tim Lanson and his. Crew agency. I have been using them for a long time and I am 100%. , they get the job done right? They’re fast and they let me focus on my business.

I don’t have to worry about anything. So again, I want to give them two very big thumbs up. I have no problem recommending them. I don’t give testimonials for everyone because my name is attached to it, but I gladly do so for Tim and the Creative Crew Agency. So use. You won’t regret it and good luck. [00:18:00]

Tim Melanson: Wow.

And those are really good ones. And you know, it’s, it’s crazy that oftentimes you really have to police yourself. Cause you know, you, you get into these, you know, Moods, I guess, where all of a sudden you start to do things like check your email and get on Facebook and get stuck in that forever. And it, yeah, I like the idea of setting a timer for that stuff, especially for that stuff.

Uh, because you do need to check your social media from time to time, you know, in, in your business. I mean, a lot of us do business on social media. But it, it is like literally designed to suck you in, like literally designed with, with ai, right? Like, and, and so if you think that you’re stronger than that ai, um, I, I don’t know.

Blaine Oelkers: It’s, it’s not easy. It’s not easy. Now you can try to build up your muscles and, and, and use a timer and say, I’m gonna go do social media for one minute. See, see, see if you can do it. Cuz I, I literally, I was, so, I used to have Yahoo [00:19:00] News as my, uh, you know, home screen, you know, home web browser window. And I had to change it just to Google, which just has the bar, you know, occasionally put something at the top.

But it’s just like the search bar. Only because I just, even that alone, you know, open up a new browser and then I’d see the headlines. I’d see, you know, something and I’m just, I, I’m just sucked right in. Yeah,

Tim Melanson: I, I took, uh, I took all my social media apps on my phone and I put them like three screens over.

Like, like, so I have to like scroll a few times to go over to the social media apps and it actually does work. Cause I’ll go scrolling and then I’ll be like, wait, no. Okay. I’m not supposed to be doing that right now, . But like before when it was just sitting on your home screen, it’s just boop, click it.

and then you’re started,

Blaine Oelkers: you know, well, well, we are cut from the same mold because I literally did the same thing. I moved all the social media to the third or fourth screen, and then you can combine apps on the iPhone and put ’em in a folder. And I have ’em in a folder called Don’t Do This . So I have, I have to go another [00:20:00] step.

I have to go into the folder. It says, don’t do this at the top. And then I have to literally, Okay,

Tim Melanson: I’m gonna add the, don’t do this because I literally have this, the folder too. It’s the only folder on that screen and I have to go looking for it. Uh, that’s, that’s a great idea. And also, I like your idea about the snacks and the water.

I’ve got a little bar fridge in my, in my office, and I put my water in there because you’re right. You go upstairs and next thing you know you’re stuck with something else. Right. Right. And uh, and I mean, hey, it’s not that bad to get up and walk around a little bit as well, but at least now it’s for something that I specifically need to do.

I like, I need to get up and walk around and that’s why I’m going upstairs. It’s not because I’m, I’m thirsty, I need a glass of water, which is totally normal when you’re doing a lot of calls. Right. Uh, that, that can be in my office. So now what about other tools? Like do you have other instruments and tools that you use in your business that get you suc, that get you.

Blaine Oelkers: Uh, you know, I would say, uh, the, the timers are, are a big one. Um, you know, for me, [00:21:00] and, and I think, you know, probably that it’s not really a, it’s not really that super sexy, uh, but, but next day planning is probably the thing that helps me get the most, stay on track, not be distracted by shiny objects, you know, and, and so next day planning, I, I have a little thing.

Never let a day end without planning the next one. So, You know, typically in the afternoon, I plan out my next day and, you know, kind of like the day before vacation, which is actually the most productive day of the year for everyone. You get three to 10 times more stuff done on the day before vacation, like the day before vacation that you, you, that man, that day is planned out, like sometimes to the minute, right?

So I will over plan my day a little bit and then I know life comes in and, and messes you up. But, but, but, but that over-planning keeps you focused. You get so much more done. So, Yeah, I, I typically start that day with a, with a pretty good plan, and, and I like the first like 30 to 60 minutes to almost be like, automatic pilot where I don’t even have to think about it.

I’m just gonna do this. Then this little morning routine, I’ve got some, [00:22:00] uh, you know, things I do, I, I I take a mine shower in the morning, you know, and, and these different things that, that just are automatic, you know, and, and start my day kind of also in the win column as well. Get some, uh, early wins. I, I like to win early and win.

Okay.

Tim Melanson: So I have a question because I’ve tried the next day planning before too, and it tend tends to get away from me quite often. Uh, do you plan some time for the whirlwind , you know, of things that are gonna pop in that you don’t expect, or do you just sort of stick to the plan that you had yesterday and whatever something else comes in and you put it to, to the day after?

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah. Uh, so, you know, if I’m going full day before vacation mode, I will plan out, you know, every hour with stuff, which could be think time. There’s the, you know, loose ends time at the end of the day. Uh, you know, so I would, I’ll put, and you could have think time. You could have. You know, respond to urgency of the daytime, right?

You could, you could put that stuff in. I typically don’t put that in, but when it comes in, yeah. Then it, it, it can boot out my schedule and then some of that stuff [00:23:00] has to get moved to the next day. Like, if I don’t do it today, I move it to the next day. But I also, I, I took it like, I realized, me personally, I am better and I like this in school too.

I’m a day ahead person. Like I like to be a day ahead. So in the beginning I was a day behind and then I got to be behind. Then I was caught up, then I was head then now I’m a day ahead. So typically when I wake up, I have appointments like this podcast, but everything I’m working on, there’s nothing due today.

Like all the today stuff is done already. Uh, and so I just operate better in that mode. So a lot of times I’m. I call it proactive procrastination. Like if it doesn’t have to get done today, I like to push it to tomorrow or tomorrow’s list. Uh, you know, and then when I’m building that list for the day, yeah, see, see what really has to get done.

And I try to live in the vital, you know, and avoid kind of the trivial and, and if you believe in the 80 20 rule. I mean, then you know 20% of what you do produces 80% of your results. I try to focus on the 20, but also at the same time, [00:24:00] oust the 80. Like I push it out for tomorrow, then I push it out again and again, and it wasn’t really that important.

If it gets pushed out three, four days, five days.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. So then maybe what happens then when you’re getting stuck with this whole trying to plan the next day is that you’re probably just living behind right now and you need to give it a few days before you can catch up and then be ahead.

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah. Or you have to decide what’s important and what’s not. Right? And, and that’s the big thing is like if you have a list of 10 things, , two of them are probably really important and, and typically eight aren’t. Now. Maybe it’s three seven. What? It’s, it’s a close race to that. And if you have a hundred things on your list, well then only really like 20 are, are really important.

And so it’s, it’s giving yourself permission to let go of those unimportant things, right? That, that, or not unimportant, not as important as the vital things. And you wanna live your, your life. in that, you know, mode of where you’re doing the vital things, the most important things, the things that move the needle, right?

And so you can get overwhelmed and, and for overwhelm, you know, [00:25:00] chief Results officer. So I, I’ve gotta have some kind of framework for that cuz a lot of people are overwhelmed. And the, the framework, the way you get out of the overwhelm is you do a mind dump. Not just, you have to process the list. So the MindUP is just where you get out a legal pad, paper pad and pen, and you write down everything you’re thinking of, all the things you have to do for your business, your life as a parent, as a spouse, anything that’s floating around up there, you know, mind up it out.

Give yourself a few minutes, take a walk, come back, hit it again. And you know, the last time I did a big one of those, I had like 463 items on the list. That’s totally overwhelming. I’m, I’m toast. , but you spend just a few minutes processing the list. And the way you process the list is you put an N next to anything that could be done in five minutes or less.

So n stands for now. Something I could do now gain a little momentum, and sometimes I’ll take a big task and I’ll break it down into ends like the, like, um, like I have to write an article. I’ll write a lot of articles for, for newsletters where they, they put me in their [00:26:00] newsletter, so I have to write this article, but maybe I’ll say, Uh, you know, come up with the topic, create an outline, do a rough draft, get some images, get it proofread, like all those, I, I can, you know, I’ll break the thing in, into multiple, multiple tests, but you put an N next to that and then you put a D next to things you can delegate.

So you might end up doing them, but there’s something that you could delegate. Now, maybe you gotta train somebody and, and that’s a whole nother topic, but D is for delegate. S stands for. Now s is something that is so important that whatever time window you’re looking at, you need to schedule it, right? So if I’m doing a mind up just for the day, an S is something I need to schedule to do today.

If I, I do mine on for the week, I do it on Friday afternoon, I’ll put an S next to things that need to be scheduled for next week. And then the last Ls. Last letter is L for later or let go, but you, you do L for later, meaning it’s not in the window now. Most of my lists, like more than 80% are Ls. If you’re doing the big list, it’s like it doesn’t have to be done next week.

Yeah. You know, it’s a, it’s a bigger goal [00:27:00] or, or it, it’s some gift for somebody that’s, you know, a month out. But it was swimming around up here and I, and I need to get it out. But anyway, that’s the keys that you quickly process the list and then make sure you start with a couple of ends, get a little momentum, and then maybe eat the frog.

Do the. You know, s one that you have there, schedule the hardest one first just to kind of get it outta the way. Um, but, but that, that tends to help people move out of the, uh, you know, the overwhelmed stage and, and into the get going stage. Wow,

Tim Melanson: that’s huge. Blaine, thank you so much for that one. That’s definitely actionable that anybody can do really like to, like right now, right?

Blaine Oelkers: Yeah. Yes. Whenever you feel that overwhelmed. Yeah. Grab a piece of paper. Yep. So now

Tim Melanson: you open the interview with the Jim Ro quote, . I’m wondering, uh, obviously learning is important to you and growing and, and mentors. So tell me your approach. Like, do you have a coach right now? Um, you know, when was your first coach?

Like, but what’s your approach to to getting help

Blaine Oelkers: from other. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that, you know, you are gonna go a lot further and a lot faster if you get a mentor. [00:28:00] Now, the mentor that you have, it could be, uh, you know, it could be someone down the track a little bit further than you in, in that.

Business that you’re doing. Right. Um, so, and a lot of times those people will help as long as they don’t see you as like a direct competitor or something. So, so you can reach out to those people. Now, if you’re gonna do that, it’s, it’s someone that you wanna do that to start by following that person, start by investing in that person.

What I mean by that is typically they’re gonna have an Instagram or Facebook or something, or LinkedIn and. Following them, but start saying, Hey, that’s a great thing. Start giving them some praise, right? Uh, they’re gonna get to know your name, I guarantee it. If you, if you give somebody praise for a couple of weeks, they’re gonna know who you are.

And then you, then you step into ask, you know, uh, you know, or maybe you buy their book or their program or whatever, and you kind of begin to lean into that relationship, right? And that, that can be, that can be huge. The other option you have, which I used a lot of initially, uh, was just audio programs, right?

So I said, Jim Roh, you know, he, you know, before I met him, [00:29:00] I listened to, uh, now I’ll date myself. This was on a audio cassette program back in the eighties. Uh, but, but he had an audio cassette program. Now it’s on Audible, it’s on YouTube. It’s called The Power of Ambition. But I listened to that thing like 50 times, you know, and, and the, the audio pro quality was starting to go down cause I just listened to it for so many times.

Um, but, but I can, um, I, I often say the solution to pollution is dilution. And like, if I have an hour of victim thoughts and s. And self-doubt and all the head trash up there. I, I can put on, if I, I, I probably need a few hours of Jim Ron, I get couple of hours of Jim roh. It dilutes down that negative pretty quickly.

Right? So if you have a, you know, so, so audio programs is, is my number one favorite reading a books. Books. Like, I, I like the book Thinking Grow Rich, uh, you know, but, but some book that is educational to you, you can read somebody’s biography and get to know them, right? So you, you can have. That relationship, you know, through the book.

Uh, but, but you gotta be pouring in the positive, the things that are gonna help you grow, [00:30:00] you know, the, the things that are gonna move you forward, uh, in, in thing and grow Rich. Another thing that I, I like to do, it may sound a little weird, but in thing and Grow Rich, he talks about invisible counselors.

And that’s where in your mind, you sit at the table with someone, they could be alive or they could be dead. Uh, my, my dad kind of tragically died the day my son was born. And, uh, but, but you know, so, so I know my dad very well, right? Uh, you know, I, I was, uh, you know, 30, you know, years old when he passed, but.

So I could have this conversation in my mind with him. Right? It’s the same thing with like Benjamin Franklin, you know, or Napoleon Hill or Jim Roan. I did get to meet Jim Roan and, and spend a bunch of time with him. I know them so well that I can have these kind of guidance, uh, you know, uh, counselor, you know, conversations, you know, in, in my mind.

So, so anyway, there’s lots of ways, but I would definitely seek out. You know, a mentor to help you kind of avoid the potholes, but then also to keep your battery charged. Uh, you know, and, and those mentors are gonna kind of pour into you. Wow. [00:31:00] Very,

Tim Melanson: very good. Check it out. . I don’t know if you can see it. No.

There, it’s, I have the book, actually, it’s, it’s on my desk, . I keep it around all the time. I don’t know why. I

Blaine Oelkers: just do. Well, it’s, it’s a great story. I, I read this in the eighties. You got one too. and, and I read in the eighties. Right? You can see it. But what’s interesting is later I bought one of the first 5,000 copies.

Oh wow. And I realized, guess what? Everybody read the wrong book. That this book was different. And this book has instructional pages on it. Oh, wow. Uh, and the first page says, what do you want most? And so he tells you how to prepare to read the book, and then on the second page, he tells you how to read the book.

And, um, so, so anyway, in the end, in the end, uh, there’s a green screen, so you really can’t see it. I had. Go out and find and get the original and, uh, and, and self-publish it. So I actually have think you e Rich Book Study edition, which has the original and all that stuff. So I, I will, I’ll get your address and uh, I, I will send you a copy of that book.

Oh, that’d be

Tim Melanson: amazing. Yeah, that’d [00:32:00] be great. Cool. That’s, uh, that’s awesome. And I also have the audio book as well that I’ve been listening to again recently. It’s weird. It’s weird how things work out. Hey, I, I’ve just. Recently started listening to it over and over again, . So

Blaine Oelkers: anyway, I mean, you, you, you are my brother from another mother here.

We, we got, got the same books. We got all this stuff. This is great.

Tim Melanson: The universe was aligning my path here. So that, for this interview, I think so now I’d love to talk to you forever, but uh, it’s time for your guest solo. So tell me what’s exciting about your business

Blaine Oelkers: right now. Yeah. So, um, so in the, in the end in 2009, I created a company called Self Fluence, which is different from those first two companies.

I started because I realized why I’m on the planet. Uh, you know, I, I figured out that I like to help people take control of their lives by taking control of themselves. Something I call self fluence, that’s the name of this company, often say, powered by self fluent. So it’s all about. Um, you know, it’s about the, the power you already have to influence yourself.

Like you don’t need anything new, anything extra. Uh, so, so now I’m the Chief Results [00:33:00] Officer, basically helping people with, um, personal implementation, getting yourself to do the things you know you should be doing, but you’re not doing. And so I do that for mastermind groups, which I love to do, and I do it for business owners as well.

And so probably the most exciting thing is I run something called Super Results Days. So three days a month we get on Zoom every three hours, we hold each other accountable, we learn something new and we mastermind together. So it’s kind of a cool. Like a day of super results where you like crush the to-do list, you make the clarifying decisions, uh, you know, and the group kind of holds you accountable throughout the day, you know, to, to do some of that stuff.

And there’s other, there’s, there’s more power in the group. That’s, that’s the other thing about working from home sometimes is a little isolating and, you know, I get a lot more done if I’m accountable to someone other than myself. I, I have a lot of self-discipline, but, but when I, when I have other people that I’m accountable to, I, I get a lot more done.

So I’m running those days and that, that’s probably the thing. I like the. Love

Tim Melanson: it. So how do we find

Blaine Oelkers: out more then? Uh, yeah, the easiest thing is just connect with me. I’ve [00:34:00] got a TEDx talk that I did about a concept called Y Tabba. So Y tabba is what you think about, you bring about. So I did a TEDx talk on that.

And if you just go to blaine tedx.com, so B L A I N E T E D x.com, you can opt in for that. Then we’ll get to know each other. You’ll have my email, and if I can serve you in any way, I, I’d love to do it,

Tim Melanson: man. That is so awesome. Well, thank you so much for rocking out with me today, Blaine. This has been

Blaine Oelkers: a lot of.

Nice. I loved it. And, and you know what, uh, I’ll leave theAudience with this. The bad news. The bad news is time flies the good news. You’re the pilot. So pilot, well, my friends pilot. Well,

Tim Melanson: very, very good words. So thank you so much, and thanks to the listeners as well. Make sure you subscribe right in comment, and we’ll see you next time on the Work at Home Rockstar podcast.

Blaine Oelkers: Thanks for listening To learn how you can become a work at home rockstar or become a better one, head on over to workathomerockstar.com today.