Ben Krueger Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Ben Krueger
Ben Krueger is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.
He is an entrepreneur with a passion for the outdoors, travel, adventure, business strategy and podcasting.
He is currently based in Thailand and working to grow Authority Engine, a premium podcast creation and management agency.
They specialize in launching highly effective podcasts to help entrepreneurs accelerate their business growth, gain authority in their space and put more padding in their pockets.
But the beauty of finding your passion as we see over and over again, is it can happen at anytime.
How The Dots Joined Up For Ben
You see it was only a little while ago that Ben was penned up in an office working the dreaded dead-end job, and had to find something that would help him alleviate that daily feeling of boredom and dread.
So he resorted to listening to marketing and business podcasts, and as he listened, he started researching, and learning more about podcasting as a personal interest.
This quickly grew into voracious research trying to uncover what made certain podcasts wild successes, and others a flop.
How are podcasters using their online shows to reach and surpass their business objectives?
Well that is something that I am literally salivating to find out more about.
So let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs with the one and only Mr Ben Krueger.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Ben Krueger such as:
How he partied hard in Thailand but still got his work done..it just took him longer to crawl to his laptop!
How he got a door to door sales position and hated it, but can now see that it was one of the best things that he has ever done!
How you MUST analyse your market before you start building a business…most people miss this step out!
If you want to be a better version of yourself then start working at it. You can be the person that you want to be!
How he surrounds him with inspired, active, business owners and feels that your peer group is key to success!
And lastly…..
How his aim is to help 1,000,000 plus small business owners grow their income through the power of podcasting!
How To Connect With Ben Krueger
Return To The Top Of Ben Krueger
If you were inspired by the conversation with Ben Krueger, then why not check out other motivational and fun conversations with Jack Canfield, Jack Peterson, Hal Elrod and the amazing Victoria Prince
Every other episode to enjoy and consume can be found at Join Up Dots Podcast Archives
Audio Transcription Of Ben Krueger Interview
Intro [0:00]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK, David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:27]
Yes, good morning, all my listeners out there. Welcome to Join Up Dots, Episode 80. If I sound positive and enthusiastic, it’s all a sham. I’ve got a bit of a hangover Today I’ll be honest, and I blame Danny Montgomery. If you’re out there listening, Danny, you’re the man who drew me on that path to abuse. And I’m still suffering now as about how possible in the afternoon but I’m 44 years old hangovers will last year 50 when you’re at that age, now I’ve got a chap on the on the line, who is somebody that basically must be very used to hangovers, because he spent a lot all the time recently in Thailand. He’s an entrepreneur with a passion for the outdoors, travel, adventure, business strategy, and podcasting. He’s currently based in Thailand and working to grow authority engine, a premium podcast creation and management agency based specialising launching highly effective podcast to help entrepreneurs accelerate their business growth, gain authority in their space and put more padding in their pockets. But the beauty of finding your passion as we see over and over and over again and Join Up Dots is it can happen at any time. You see, it was only a little while ago. But our guest was pinned up in an office working the dreaded den dead end job. And he had to find something that would help him alleviate that daily feeling of boredom and dread. So he did exactly what I did. And he resorted to secretly listening to marketing and business podcast. And as he listened he started researching. I didn’t do that I should have done that. Why didn’t and learning more about podcasting as a personal interest. Now this quick glueing to voracious research trying to uncover what made certain podcasts wild successes, and others a flop. Our podcast is using their online shows to reach and surpass their business objectives. Well, that is something that I am literally salivating To find out more about. So it’s with great pleasure. But I bring onto the show to Join Up. Dots. The one and only Mr. Ben Kruger. How are you today? Sir?
Ben Krueger [2:24]
I am fantastic. David, thank you so much for that intro. I’m really excited to be here and share some of my storey with you guys and just have some fun with it.
David Ralph [2:34]
Well, that is the end of my energy levels. I’ll be honest, I am I’m struggling. My head is pounding a professional on the mic like you are I’m just gonna throw it over and sit here quietly for 45 minutes now, I’d love to do that. But yeah, you come from? Well, you’re not in Thailand at the moment you’re back in the United States. But you must have been hitting the bars big time in Thailand. How did you get any work done?
Ben Krueger [2:58]
It’s always, it’s always temptation in Thailand. Particularly I was in Chiang Mai for six months, living there. And yeah, there’s quite the quite the bar scene there, particularly for the travelling types. And so it really comes down to kind of balancing out the old self determination and surrounding yourself with some friends that like to go out every once in a while, but not every damn day. So you know, it was it was I had a blast definitely did some party and definitely had a few days where I didn’t quite exactly crawl over to my laptop. But you know, for the most part I, we actually got quite a bit done and made a fantastic group and network of friends over there that were all kind of running their own businesses. So everybody had their own thing going on. So it was a really fantastic time.
David Ralph [3:48]
Easy, a kind of creative vibe over in Thailand, because if you in the online world, it seems like San Diego is the place to go everyone is in San Diego. And when those guys in San Diego go on holiday, the internet’s going to close down, I’m sure that that’s going to happen. In Thailand, is this the same kind of thing? Are there lots of kindred spirits out there?
Ben Krueger [4:11]
There’s a lot of particularly in northern talent in Chiang Mai. Currently, there’s a lot of the, you know, live from anywhere work from your desktop type of type of people. And some of them, you know, it ranges from people that are making just enough money to eat Pad Thai and live in Thailand, which is pretty, I mean, you can get by about 1000 bucks a month, us and all the way up to people that are running serious businesses that are bringing in, you know, seven figures. So it really depends on what you’re looking for. But there’s definitely a really interesting community there. Another one is, there there is some down in Bangkok as well. But another big one is actually human city and Vietnam. So if you guys are looking for a foreign adventure, and you’re looking to surround yourself with a really cool group of people, those are some options.
David Ralph [5:04]
Now the show is Join Up Dots. So we will look back at your life and just hearing you talk. You are Mr. Passion, aren’t you you love what you’re doing at the moment, I’ve been looking at your website, as we were talking, just before we started recording the show. And it’s it’s a it’s a site, but if you are in the online world, or you’ve got a business really event that needs a boost is the place to go. And I kept on Oh, that’s interesting. I click on that, and or click on that. And there’s so much great content on there, I could have, you know, I could have basically not phoned you and just read your website for an hour and a half. And I would have been quite happy. I’ll be honest. Now, you’ve got so much coming out of you at the moment. But why did it take you so long? Why were you in those dreaded dead end jobs? Like we’ve all been in? When it seems like you have found your true, unique path?
Ben Krueger [5:58]
Yeah, that’s a really good question. Question. And it comes back to you know, I’ve always kind of had a little bit of a restless spirit. I’ve always kind of been, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs out there, and a lot of you know, people that particularly listen to this show, they’re kind of stuck in that, you know, whatever situation it is they’re in, they just realise that it’s not their true, like, it’s not what they want to be doing with their time and with their days. And so I kind of I, what I did was I graduated Ohio State in Ohio. So you know, graduated University and stuck around Ohio for a little bit. And then I moved out to Idaho for about was about a year and a half, I think or a little less than that. And as I was out there, I you know, I apparently I’m building a, a path of doing this. But I really didn’t like the job stuff that I was working on in Ohio. And my brother had been living out in Idaho, he was sending me pictures of them going dirt bike, going boat and doing all this cool stuff. And so I was like, All right, I’m coming. So you know, hopped in the truck, or hopped in the car and cross country that with a couple job interviews lined up for when I got there. But of course, I didn’t get any of those jobs. And so I just kind of scrambled and got a door to door sales job for a little bit. That was really, you know, looking back and kind of going to this whole connecting the dots thing was an absolute blessing. I didn’t realise it at the time. I hated it at the time. But learning those sales skills from a core foundational level, has really attributed to a lot of what I’ve been doing, and has helped me out quite a bit
David Ralph [7:41]
is fascinating. I just jump in there. But it is so fascinating. But But what what you’re talking about there is what we call our big dot, it’s it’s the moment where you start to go find your path, and you can’t see it at the time. It’s only when you look back. And so many literally every single person and I’m a same will say But the worst thing that they were doing at that time, when they look back was the best thing. Like they couldn’t see it at the time. They were so miserable. They were so unhappy. It was something that didn’t fulfil them. But now they’ve moved on, they go back and I go, yes, if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be here. Now. That’s fascinating that you’re saying exactly the same thing?
Ben Krueger [8:21]
Yeah, it was really interesting. Because I was in that spot to where I moved out there without much money to begin with. And so you know, you’re looking at the checking account every day wondering if, if you’ve got enough to get groceries the next week. And so I ended up getting this, this, it’s kind of like an MLM door to door sales type of a thing. And so I knew that that wasn’t for me necessarily, but it was an ends to a means. And I was also a terrible salesman, when I first started didn’t make a sale for the first two weeks. But then, you know, as soon as I did, and it clicked, then the sales started rolling in. And within about three weeks after that I was in the national top 10 list. So it really was one of those things that just took me, you know, and I like to think that I’m a fast learner, but I just couldn’t pick it up for a while. And then as soon as it clicked, it became something of almost second nature. And so
David Ralph [9:19]
how did the click Did you know, looking at
Ben Krueger [9:23]
it, what it came down to, and at the end, I think is that I actually believed myself, that what I was selling them was something that was going to really benefit their lives. So I was actually selling. It was Wi Fi internet, as well as like home cable and that kind of stuff, like packages. And for the first two weeks, all I could think about was how much I was bothering these people while they were trying to eat dinner. And you know, they’d come to the door and naturally, you know, anybody that comes to the door for a door door salesmen, you’re not particularly thrilled that they’re there.
David Ralph [10:04]
And, you know, you never out when that happens. Oh, you
Ben Krueger [10:08]
know, you know, it’s, it’s all it always seems to go that way. And so it got me to realise at a certain point that, yes, well, they’re eating dinner, and it’s a little bit of an inconvenience. I’m doing a huge service for these people, because not only am I making them aware of what they can get in this area, but it’s nine times out of 10 a hell of a lot better than what they’ve got now. So once I made that realisation that made it easy for me to be a little bit more. not aggressive, but not to give up so easily. Because previous, you know, prior to that, I was like, Okay, well I’m bugging the crap out of them. So as soon as they say no, once or twice, I’m out. Yeah. Whereas if I realise that their instant reaction is to just say no. Whereas they’re still interested in it, and it still may be in their best interest, then that’s something that I need to help them discover for themselves.
David Ralph [11:08]
So So what have you taken from that? You learn the skills of sales Manship, and you’re now doing what you’re doing. But what element from that time? Would you say? Yeah, it was bad. But that is what I’m now using on a daily basis. And God, I’m glad I’ve got it.
Ben Krueger [11:25]
Yeah, I would, I would definitely say the sales skill. So obviously, going into that job, there was some sales training on the really the basics of sales, because I had never done any sales of anything before. And so coming out of that job number one, we work six days a week, about 10 hours a day. So it was kind of one of those, you know, you put in brutal hours to get to get the job done. So it kind of got me or continued me on that path of being willing to put in the hours. But number two, and I think more importantly, it allowed me to build that foundational skill set of sales and of not being so concerned about bothering people, like, I know that sounds weird, but you know you in order to be a success in anything, you’re going to have to put yourself out there in a place of vulnerability of you know, other people are going to see you other people are going to judge you one way or the other. And you have to be willing to not care to a certain extent of the people that are on the negative end. Because there’s always going to be the haters, there’s always going to be people who are not, you know, sold 100% on what you’re doing. But you have to focus on those who you can help. And so that really helped me make that clear distinction. And it was kind of my first endeavour of, you know, continuously putting myself and awkward situations and just getting comfortable with it,
David Ralph [12:57]
you are growing, you are growing, you were coming out your comfort zone, and then moving into the next comfort zone and the next comfort zone. And that’s the way you do isn’t it? No matter who you are, if you are trying something new, it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Ben Krueger [13:11]
Exactly, exactly. And so, you know, just like you said, those experiences build on themselves to where eventually, you know, now when I do the sales, there are a hell of a lot higher ticket items. But to me, they’re easier sales to make number one because I’m not knocking on somebody’s door. But I actually know I created the programmes, I created the services, I know the value that they can offer. And it’s really easy for me to be incredibly committed to helping that person if it’s the right decision for them. And if it’s not, that’s okay, too. So it’s it really helped me figure out that sales isn’t something that you do to somebody, it’s something that you can do for them and help them come to a place where they can make that decision for themselves.
David Ralph [14:01]
I’ll be honest, I was in sales in the late 80s, early 90s, in London, and I was a very good salesman, and I used to just lie all the time, it was it was in that kind of environment. In the old days, when there wasn’t anything, there was no such thing as compliance or human resources or whatever, you just went in there and sort of made up storeys in there. But I agree with you totally, when it was a product that I thought had some relevance to the person I was blogging it to, it would fly out the door, it really would. And the other ones were a bit of a hard push, but you could still still get it out there. I look back now. And I think to myself, you know, I’m ashamed of how we used to operate. Kind of, but not really, we’re just it’s time and place. But things things are better now, isn’t it that there is an angle of a value people, the big guys online and I suppose worldwide realise now, but the quickest way to wealth and success is by solving the problems of others.
Ben Krueger [15:00]
Absolutely, absolutely. And so that’s really how authority he got started is, yeah, I had a friend who was complaining about how difficult podcast production was. And he was saying it takes a lot of time actually it was of his team, it took a lot of his team’s time that he would rather have them be doing other stuff. And so I was like, Well, I can do that, you know, I just kind of blindly volunteered myself without having a particularly huge amount of knowledge in this space. And so that’s what kind of threw me into what you were describing earlier is when I just voraciously researched it because I didn’t. I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. So I figured I had to figure it out real quick, so that I could actually fulfil on what my mouth had. Yeah, sold. So
Unknown Speaker [15:46]
screwy, just do it. That’s what Yeah,
Ben Krueger [15:49]
absolutely. So and it has worked out fantastically. So by having a blast. And but it only worked because the pub, the problem that he had was painful enough that my solution was exactly what he needed. If If you know he was already setting what he had, it wouldn’t have worked
Unknown Speaker [16:11]
is
David Ralph [16:12]
it is amazing though, because when I was reading your site, and you know, I’ve started this show and fingers crossed, it’s going great guns, I’m loving it, the downloads are going up and up and up. And the positive vibe is coming to me from across the world. And I couldn’t want more, I really couldn’t want more at the moment. It’s where it is, is not the beast, which is running away with me. But it’s something that I can see is growing, which is which is marvellous. But when I looked at your site, I thought to myself, God, I missed a trick, I could have really set myself up by setting it up in the right way. But actually understanding the market, which I didn’t I just had this idea of the show what I wanted to do, and pretty much press record bang and away a win. So yeah, it’s so many other people like me out there that are you know, I literally falling over themselves to get to Ben Kruger at the moment.
Ben Krueger [17:05]
David, I would say that a majority of podcasters out there today are, you know, kind of approached it the same way you did is they knew they had a topic they wanted to talk about maybe they had a few interview guests in mind. Or maybe they had a few show episodes in mind. But they didn’t actually start it from a strategic standpoint of here’s kind of the general show topic, here’s exactly who I want to podcast to because of these reasons. And here’s the value that I’m going to offer them that they can’t find elsewhere. So, obviously, I take a very strategic approach to podcasting. And I try to always focus on the results of the outcome side. Because really, when it comes down to it as a marketing element, that’s what we’re looking for. But I think that largely, the podcasting industry currently is a little a bit more geared towards the hobbyists that you know, have a passion about a certain thing and want to talk a lot about it, which is fine. But if you’re looking to make money, podcasting, then strategy and looking at it as a marketing piece is going to be absolutely necessary. And it’s something that’s growing in popularity. And I think, to be honest, I think that my timing has been really good in that I’m getting in right as it’s becoming a realised thing that podcasting can be a super powerful thing for people’s brands and their business. So I think it’s I think it’s working out really well timing wise, particularly.
David Ralph [18:42]
But what you were talking about about knowing your market that isn’t just you know, I want the listeners out there because, you know, when we’re talking about podcasting, that’s the conversation today. But it applies to everything, doesn’t it, if you’ve got a dream, if you’ve got an angle that you want to work on, you need to be more strategic. The only thing that I did, I think was strategic was I created a platform, I made sure that I got quite a healthy Facebook, following Twitter, following and all that kind of stuff. And I did spend quite a long time and I sort of emphasise it just before we recorded of my avatar, the audience that I was looking for, and my avatar up between the ages of about 24 and 36, where they’ve gone through that first job during the second job, and that they’re still reasonably unhappy. There’s gotta be more to life than this. And I’ve got is a lady in my head, and it’s a man and it’s john and Joan, Join Up Dots and Join Up Dots Join Up Dots. And that is that is my audience, if I get people are 5060 7080, thank you so much and welcome aboard. But that is the angle that I went for, is that the right way is that what I should have done or should have taken it even further.
Ben Krueger [19:53]
Now, I think you did a fantastic job. And getting that clear on who you’re talking to is going to allow you to make sure that all of your episode content, all of your messaging, all of your positioning, is in a way that’s conducive to that target audience as opposed to just willy nilly putting out content, because it’s stuff that you like, versus actually having a very specific end target listener. So I love the way that you went about it, David. And I think that that is a a perfect way to strategically go about who you’re podcasting to. However, that’s one piece of it. Whereas the other pieces are what you are trying to get out of it as an end goal. So particularly if you’re using it as a marketing piece, you know, are you trying to get sales? Are you trying to meet all of the top dogs in the industry? Are you trying to grow a community of, you know, like minded individuals that could potentially become clients, or all the above. So it really comes down to what you’re trying to get out of it. And then formatting your show your content, and your target listener to make sure that you can connect all of those dots. Since we’re talking about dots.
David Ralph [21:05]
I’ll be honest with you, Mr. Kruger. I asked me, I actually fancy being top dog that there’s a competitive side to me. And when you said Do I want to meet all the top dogs, I actually thought I would like them to meet me. And that is like, there’s certain guys I’ve got lined up and I was having this conversation the other day with someone down the pub? No, it wasn’t, I don’t even know, I have so many conversations. Now. They will blow into one. But I was having a conversation with a chap. And he was saying, you’ve got to get these guys and I won’t quote them. But these three guys on your show and it will do massive to your audience. And our when they’ve all said yes to me. And he said, Why aren’t you getting on the show? Getting them on the show? And I sort of said, I kind of want to have them on the show when we’re equals. And I know it’s a strange concept to her because really, I should leave everything I possibly can to get this you know, this dis juggernaut I’m trying to get going. But personally inside myself, these these names are ones I would like them to go. Yes Are Come on your show. But we’re we’re kind of neck and neck. But that’s it’s that stupid or is that is a so perfectly rational explanation.
Ben Krueger [22:23]
Well, there’s a certain point where where ego gets involved, but I wonder and I actually really like your approach because as opposed to, it really comes down to the conversation that you have with them. So as far as you know, like financially speaking or business success speaking or, you know, depends on what level you’re talking about, as to, you know, whether or not you consider yourself on whoever’s level. But the thing is, and this is something that I’ve kind of noticed over time, is that other people will regard you the same way that you regard yourself. So if you regard yourself as on the same level, as you know, a certain someone or as a certain guest, and you conduct yourself in that way, while your results may not, you know, immediately reflect that, as soon as you kind of accept mentally that that is who you are, and that you are, you are on this, you know, x level, and that’s the same level as some of the other people or maybe even above them, then over time, you’ll realise that you you kind of become that person. And so that’s one of the things that I’ve noticed with myself and why, you know, for a while there, I was dragging my feet on starting a service business because I knew I would have to hire and train and manage, and, you know, do public speaking and do all these things. And for a while that kind of freaked me out. But once I realised that to become the type of person that I want to become to become, the more you know, outward going comfortable in all social situations, really good salesman, very charismatic person, this is exactly what I need to help me get there. So it’s one of those, as soon as I accepted that, Okay, I’m going to be that guy that runs the client service business. And I’m going to need to do all these things, it helped me immediately make that mental shift to, I’m no longer this guy hiding behind the computer. I’m going to be the public figure, Ben Kruger, that’s the expert when it comes to podcast marketing. And so that means I’m going to get speaking gigs, I’m going to do interviews, I’m going to do whatever it takes. But making that mental switch was really what started that avalanche. So I think it really comes down to yourself and setting the bar for yourself of your own self expectations of who you are and how you relate to other people in the industry.
David Ralph [24:55]
I was having an email conversation yesterday, and it’s so much but it was, you know, a day before we’re doing this, but it was with a chap Harrison Floyd, there you go. Another shout out to my past life. I’m going to shout out to Harrison, because Harrison Floyd is a guy I used to work with. And he has listened to every single episode that I had released. And my God, I don’t even listen to every episode I release. You kind of do it in a way it goes. But he he’s he’s a he’s a legend. have a son, I salute you. And I was saying to him, you know, honestly, Batman, I said, you know what I used to be like, what do you think? And he was saying, well, he said, you know, it’s certainly finding its place now. And and the shows are getting stronger and stronger. He said, I think at the beginning, you were kind of holding back, it wasn’t quite you. And it That was my mental switch. Because I realised that when I started this back nearly 100 episodes ago, I think I was so grateful that anyone was going to come on my show, but I think I was too respectful. And I can do it wasn’t really me. And he said that yesterday. And last night I thought to myself, right from now on, and you funnily enough, Mr. Kruger are the first person for this. I thought to myself, Mr. Kruger is on my show. So I am the host. And he is going to you know, have me being the host, not some little mouse that’s that’s sitting at the other end of the mic phoning up to him and saying thank you for sparing me the time. It’s it’s an equal balance. And it’s absolutely nailing what you said. And it was a mental switch that just happened yesterday. And I listened back to some of my early shows. I’m just this afternoon while I was preparing for this. And certainly once I got into the late 30s that was when it started to really sound like me. But today episode at Ben Kruger that is when my mental switch flipped and I thought Yes, I am the host of this show. It’s It’s It’s out there now is not finding its be it’s out there. And I feel good sir. Got a bank headlight, but I feel good. So I think you do actually have to mentally become who you are. Do you like that that phrase, fake it till you make it.
Ben Krueger [27:11]
I think it really, I think that’s an oversimplification as opposed to fake it till you make it, I think it’s more of a choose who you would prefer to be like, choose who you are, as opposed to just, you know, continuing with what you’ve always done. So like actively choose here are the attributes that I like about me that I want to really bring out of myself, and then commit to yourself that that’s the person you’re going to be so for myself, this is kind of funny. I actually named my my prior self, I named him Fred. And the, to me, what I’ll do to myself is, you know, if I’m in a situation, and I noticed, like, let’s say, here’s a classic one, if you if you see a pretty girl, and you don’t go up and talk to her, because you felt nervous. And then afterwards, I’ll think to myself, like, all right, was that was that Fred jumping up? And and just the prior, you know, me fear of, you know, being judged or being whatever it may be? And what would my now higher self do? What would the best version of myself do. And then I kind of make a commitment within to in that situation next time. That’s what I’m going to do, because that’s what my higher self would do. So it’s kind of a good way to gauge yourself going forward. And instead of faking it until you make it, you literally begin to accept that I am who I choose to be. So I’m going to choose to be the badass and not the guy that sits there in the corner while the pretty girls walk by.
David Ralph [28:49]
Did you think people out there our listeners sitting there, wherever they are that hopefully, they’re like you and me used to be in there secretly listening at work when they when they should be doing something chaos? Like that undercover movement or podcasters as import trading offices around the world, but do you think then they should be looking at extending their unique self?
Ben Krueger [29:16]
Can you be a little bit more clear? I don’t quite understand the question. It wasn’t
David Ralph [29:20]
a good question. I’ll be honest with you. So I’m going to rephrase it rephrase in a better way. They’re sitting there are now wanting to be somebody else. They wanting to do a job that they like, they want to have a dream income. Do they mentally have to, you know, change gears on themselves? Or is it something that they can just go through general taking action, breaking down those comfort zones? And they will find that is a fast track by you saying switching that mental switch? If I haven’t got that, that? Both guns to actually go with it? Do they need to go slow, slow, slow? Or can you go? Yes, I want to be this person. I’m going to act like this person. And a plant Montes person for 21 days. Bang, I’ve got a head start. Is that? Is that clear?
Ben Krueger [30:06]
Yes, that’s beautiful. Um, so I think this is a fantastic question. Because then the first one a lot of Yeah, a lot lot clear on what where we’re going here,
David Ralph [30:17]
Michael, us with that, I’ll be honest, as well.
Ben Krueger [30:21]
So when it comes down to it, if you want to get different results in your life, from what you’re getting right now, you have to change something that you’re doing in your life. And usually, that’s not something small, usually, that’s something big. Because if it’s something small, you’ll resort back to doing it the way you did it prior. So, you know, if you want to start a business after hours, and you know, you’ve been kind of playing around with starting this blog, but you haven’t published it yet, because you think your mom and your dog will judge you. But you know, you you want to get it going but you just haven’t pulled the trigger yet. You need to make a commitment of some sort to yourself that not only mentally Will you accept the fact that okay, yes, I am moving forward. And that, you know, somebody else’s opinion is not necessarily going to stop me. But you also that also has to be paired with actions. So obviously thinking something only gets you so far, whereas action is actually what gets that results. So it’s a combination of the two, but it only only, but it has to start with the decision to do so. Because if you kind of mamby pamby your way into it, and you think, all right, well, you know, I’m going to write an article after work two days a week, and I’m going to put it out there to just a couple friends and see if something happens. That is not ever going to get you the results that you want. Because it’s not a big enough change, you need to commit to some sort of change that is going to make you feel like you’re being coming that you’re on the new journey that you’re on a new path. Because if you’re not, you’re just going to get the same old results that you have before. And you’re slowly going to slide back into that, you know, daily routine that you’ve always been in.
David Ralph [32:13]
Love that answer. I love that. And you are a podcasting genius, the way you threes. So it’s all clear and precise. And my befuddled brain can keep up with it. So when you made that switch, because that there must have been a time in your life. You know, as I said, before, you were sitting in those dead end jobs doing dead end work, you must have been scared It must be a scaredy pants in you. It doesn’t sound like it now Ben, you sound like somebody that will come into a room and you know and wrestle the nearest person or woman down down to the ground. But was it a scaredy pants version of you was parade was ready, you’re scared he version?
Ben Krueger [32:53]
Yeah. And that’s why I named that’s why I did the naming. Because it helped me to make that happen. clear distinction in my own mind, because that’s one of the challenges is, if you don’t very clearly outline what it is the attributes that you don’t like, then they’re just going to continue on just like anything else. And so it’s not that it’s not that I’ve completely eliminated that. But now I can recognise it for what it is. And I can take the type of action that I need to, to get rid of it, or I can make the decision to change my action in that moment, or in the next moment that something like that may come up. So that I don’t continue to be that quote, unquote, fret, so and it never goes away. It’s always there. It keeps shrinking and shrinking and shrinking, but it’s always there. So it’s not one of those, you know, like, I’m going to try really hard for 21 days, and then I’m going to be 100% a new person, it’s a constant evolution. But it breeds this love of the process, and the love of the continual progression, because you can always look back. And this is obviously going along with the theme of the show here. You can always look back and see, well, two months ago, I probably wouldn’t have done this. Whereas this month, you know, I had no problem walking up to this person and introducing myself or, you know, asking the waitress to who the owner of the bar was that I could go talk to them later or something like that, you know, it totally comes down to making that decision, and then accepting it, because it’s not going to go away, unless you make the decision to do so. And to take some actions to do it. So as far as Scaredy pants, you know, Fred, Ben version of Ben, you know, he’s always been there. And particularly when I was in Idaho, you know, I noticed that when you’re low energy, when you are kind of in the down in the doldrums and you’re you’re kind of just trudging through day to day is when that stuff rears its big, ugly head the most aggressively. And so when I was listening to some podcasts that kind of keep me up and keep me excited, and keep me like looking for what that opportunity was, cuz I didn’t know what it was that I was, I had no idea what my next step was. But one of the podcast episodes that I listened to, had an opportunity to go to the Philippines for six months to do the online marketing for a resort and exchange for food in a room. And the only thing that I could think at that time was I need a change of location, I need a change in who I’m hanging out with. And I need a space where I can actually spend some time trying to figure out what my own business what my own income income stream is going to be. And so when I saw that, like I, I was thrilled, I reached out via email to the prior to people that have had the position like asking them how I could stand out and what it is exactly that we’re looking for in somebody for the position before I made my application. And yeah, so I mean, it was one of those as soon as I saw that, that was like my green light that this is me. I’m going to, like I knew as soon as I read that, this is me now I just have to make sure that it’s me in my application.
David Ralph [36:18]
I’m going to play the words by Steve Jobs here, because I think it’s you know, absolutely key to what you were saying there. But just before hand, I must ask you a question is afraid? Because when you said Fred Kruger, I thought to myself pretty crude. Was was that where that name came from? But for our listeners, if you don’t know about Freddy Krueger, ask your mom and dad, because it will keep you up at night.
Ben Krueger [36:42]
There we go. Yeah, there we go. When it comes to a slight warning. No, it actually didn’t come from that it came from someone I knew in my childhood that really exemplified all of the things that I did not want to be. So it came from someone that I was aware of as a as a a kid, that kind of exemplified all of those weaker qualities, and myself all of the self conscious, you know, don’t do that, because other people will judge you type of qualities. And I wanted to put a label on it, that kind of induced a little bit of immediate shame. And doing that comparison, immediately kind of gives me that gut wrenching like, I need to, I need to, you know, shape up here, because like, that is not who I want to be like Lee acting like this, in this situation is going to lead me to being this type of a person. And that’s simply not who I am or who I want to be.
David Ralph [37:38]
I love that I really do love it. And I’m gonna try to create my own little person. And I don’t know what I’m going to call them. But I’m going to let you know, I’ll let you know by email when I create my own little person. So I perfect, why this is Steve Jobs. And this was a speech he did back in 2005. And it’s the real theme of the show. And I think the answer is already going to be Yes, as a positive to this. But what I want to do, I want to play his word and see whether you feel about have any relevance to your life, and that I have relevance to everyone’s life for the majority of people that you’ve met up to this point. So this is Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs [38:14]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [38:49]
What do you reckon, sir?
Ben Krueger [38:52]
I absolutely agree with that. However, I will add a caveat to that. I’m not going to disagree with Steve Jobs, I don’t think that would be a prudent thing. But someone else say it is. Oh, nice. I had one guy,
David Ralph [39:09]
Episode 38, if you want to listen to and he said, Oh yeah, to punch him in the face for saying that.
Ben Krueger [39:14]
Oh, nice. Alright. So what I’m going to say instead is yes, you can only recognise the dots, so and so to speak, looking back, however, you’re always in control of those dots in your life. So you may not necessarily know what they’re going to be, you may not know what that next step is. But you’re always the one in control of making it happen or not. So those opportunities are always around you. They’re always available to you in one way or the other. It’s you who is in charge of number one, seeking them out. And then number two, taking advantage of them to the fullest of their opportunity.
David Ralph [39:57]
So you’re saying that you can actually create the dots, interesting stars. So they’re forward and back?
Ben Krueger [40:03]
You need to because if you don’t who’s going to
David Ralph [40:08]
don’t need to say anything more than that dude, that that is that is the strap line to this show. Yeah, if if you don’t do it, who else is going to do it? Because it’s not going to be mom and dad, even though they love you to bits. It’s not going to be your friends, mostly your friends. I don’t know if you found this as well, most of your friends actually don’t want you to succeed is a really weird thing. They want to almost rein you in somehow. And I’ve said this numerous times, I sacked a lot of my mates and I sent an email to loads of them saying, I don’t think we’re on the same path anymore. Farewell, you know, and it hasn’t changed my life at all. I don’t have many makes now but I’m that the mighty mites? I do have? You know, I really go for it, you know, positive and it is great. Have you seen a similar thing in your life?
Ben Krueger [40:55]
Absolutely, absolutely. One of the one of the things that I’ve noticed that has been the biggest instigators of change with me, is a change in environment and a change in the people that you hang out with. So obviously just up and leave into the Philippines, completely changed who I spent my time with. And so then after that I went to the, to Thailand for a bit. And that’s when I really built a network and a friendship, a really solid friend circle with people who were all kind of that, you know, inspired, always doing active outdoors stuff, they all ran their own businesses from their laptops, they love to travel that love to adventure. And it was interesting when you’re around circles like that. You don’t have so much the negative type of peer pressure, it’s almost all positive peer pressure. So instead of you know, Hey, man, why aren’t you coming out to the bar tonight? It’s a man. We’re all at the you know, co working space where yet today, you know, or it’s the thing that I really loved about that is if we had like a group meetup, let’s say we were all going out to dinner or something. And afterwards, some people are going for drinks. And they’re like, hey, Ben, you come in? I’m like, No, I’ve got to finish up this and this. I’ve got a big, you know, I’ve got an offer going out tomorrow. Not one person in that group would say, Oh, you don’t need to do that. You should come get a drink. Yeah, every single one of them says, Oh, alright, man, have a good one. Done. So it continues to reinforce that. who you hang around. And I’m sure that I’m sure that this has been quoted on the show before. And I forget who said it originally, pretty much, I’m sure yeah, Jim Rome, money. But who you hang around, you’re essentially the average of your five closest friends. And I completely and 100% believe that because not immediately, but over time, they will mould you into that person. So you might as well hang around the type of people that you want to become.
David Ralph [43:00]
Is it so simple, that isn’t it. But at the time, you can’t see it. I used to work up in up in London, and we used to drink like lunatics. And it was never really never really me. I’m not a big drinker, as you can see from today. But it was because I was surrounding myself with with drinkers, I got sucked into that environment. If you are in a place where you’re surrounded by misery, guts, no matter how positive you are, ultimately, you’re going to stop moaning as well on you. You just can’t fight it. And it’s a truth across the globe. And I bet every listener out there is saying, Yeah, Yeah, I know. There’s that their little cliquey group in my office, and they all moan and they all stand man, the coffee machine having a moan and groan. And then there’s another one that’s really positive and enthusiastic. But where do we set ourselves? Do we go with the positive? Or do we go with the negative? And generally the positive people, the more creative, the more action takers are the ones in many ways, but get the bullets at them. I’m a member manager many years ago, saying, you know, if you’re going to do something new people are going to knock you down. And he said this phrase that really stuck with me, he said, All pioneers attract arrows. Hmm, that’s good enough.
Ben Krueger [44:14]
Yeah. Yeah. And it’s very true. You know, a lot of Yeah, I mean, if we want to get if we want to get scientific on this thing, we can look at, you know, all of the all of the scientists back in the mediaeval days that any new revolution that you know, the world’s the world’s round, or that we’re not the centre of the Earth, or, you know, I mean, the list goes on, none of those theories are accepted. None of those new ideas are accepted right off the bat. First things first, they’re pretty much tarred and feathered, right from the get go until there’s irrefutable evidence that they’re right. And then everybody’s like, Oh, well, yeah, that’s how it is, you know, so it takes, it takes some guts to stick your neck out there. Sometimes, however, you know, particularly if you know that you are looking to do something with your life, that is not the same as everybody else. You know, if you do the same things as everybody else, if you believe the same things, as everybody else, you’re going to get the same results, you’re going to get exactly where you are right now. Whereas if you want to make that decision to be a different person, and to have different actions on a day to day, then that’s what’s going to get you somewhere else other than that, I mean, you’re you’re stuck.
David Ralph [45:34]
In the podcasting world, you You must see this, but there are certain rock stars out there. But other names that people bound about, and anyone who’s coming along afterwards, seem to be replicating what they’re doing. And I kind of want to grab them all together and go, you know, they found their thing. That’s what’s making them successful, trying to do exactly the same. You know that the benchmark is Entrepreneur on Fire that’s getting squealing downloads a day. But you hear so many people doing almost exactly the same show is john Lee Dumas. And you kind of go, you’re missing a trick. You’re not John Lee Dumas you are, whoever you are trying to be who you are, and then it’s going to be easier for you and trying to be this other person on a daily basis. I was very conscious of when I started this show, I wanted to do a daily show. I wanted it to be a free flowing conversation. I wanted to be touch on an hour. And I wanted to make sure that I never knew where the conversation was going. Because being the listener wouldn’t know. And I think if you’re going to get a show, that’s a direct replica, you’re going to lose listeners, aren’t you? Because, you know, they can almost know before you go into the content, what’s coming.
Ben Krueger [46:44]
Yes. And one of the things that you know, you touched on that I want 110% advocate for all of our clients, everybody that I work with, is that podcasting is such a powerful positioning tool. So why would you want to positioning yourself as a me to marketer that is, I’m, you know, i’m john Lee Dumas for whatever, like that is not positioning that is just me to, if you can, you know, you can use his strategies and tactics, you can use things that work. But that doesn’t mean you need to replicate, you know, everything that there is to replicate. I mean, I saw I saw a replicant show for Smart Passive income as well, I forget what it was called, it was like, you know, smart, easy income or something like that with the almost the exact same show badge and everything, it was like a sickening to see how similar it was. And that does not do anything for your image as a, you know, as a professional as a podcast host as a business person. It if anything people find and can tell that because you’re just doing me to, then what the heck are your products and services is going to offer them other than me to type of stuff. So you know, you got you have to you have to like you were saying, David that, you know, you’ve kind of come to this realisation, you have to be you, you have to own what it is that your strong points are, you also have to own your weaknesses and be fully up front and willing to admit that because that’s what makes you who you are, and what you can offer to the world. Because otherwise, you’re just going to be another person in the crowd that’s struggling. Whereas when you accept who you are, what you have to offer and what you don’t have to offer, that’s when you can get really clear on your messaging, that’s when you can get really clear on who you’re talking to. and really start attracting those types of people.
David Ralph [48:46]
I am what I am, I feel I feel that’s that song. That’s going where my head at that time, a bit. Bit of show music at the end? Yeah, no, I think I think is, this has been a killer episode, I really don’t want it to stop because it is something that is tangible. It’s something that people can do today, but they mentally need to do it. You know, we’re not giving them Ben Kruger and myself, we’re not giving you guys, you know, the ability to be wizard, Excel, and PowerPoint and all those kind of things. We’re saying you’ve got it in you, you’ve got it in you, but you’ve just got to choose to change.
Ben Krueger [49:25]
Upgrade upgrade, there’s, I really can’t say much more than that.
David Ralph [49:29]
Well, we won’t, then we’ll wait, what we’re going to do, we’re going to bring you to the end of the show. Now, as I said, I don’t want this to finish at all. And this is the part of the show that we call the Sermon on the mic. And this is when I play the theme music. And when it fades out, you’ve been transported back in time like a young Mike, I’m Marty McFly, to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you did go into a room and you found your younger self be a bit shocking for a star. But what would you say to them? What advice would you give? So this is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [50:06]
Here we go with the best of the show.
Ben Krueger [50:26]
So this is the fun part where I get to address myself. Hi there younger Ben. I think when it comes down to it, the advice that I would give, well, I guess I don’t need to speak in the extra person, I could just talk directly. So what I have to say, is to actually be clear on where you want to go, as far as you know, two years out five years out, what do you want to be doing your time? What do you want to be doing? with who you hang out with? What do your daily activities look like? What does your work look like? Where are you doing it from? And get really clear on your objectives of that 2235 year out plan and start working backwards, start thinking, here’s the dots that I can make Connect, I can work towards connecting. But start with that end goal in mind. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up just kind of trying things as they come. As opposed to literally crafting the life that you want, you’ll end up taking what comes to you as opposed to creating that optimal experience and that optical optimal life that you want. Because we only get one
David Ralph [51:56]
Mr. Kluger with your life? How is it going to be optimal? Well, can you see authority engine going.
Ben Krueger [52:04]
So my goal with authority engine and authority engines kind of our parent brand, we’ve got a couple brands beneath that one for our service business, which is small business, podcasting. And in the next couple months, we’ll have a couple others coming out, which is going to be really fun. But my goal with authority engine as an overall company, is to help a million plus small business owners grow their businesses using the power of podcast marketing. And so that’s through our training programmes that’s through our done for you services, that’s through everything that we put out through authority engine and under authority engine, and really help drive the industry in a way that is going to
Unknown Speaker [52:51]
help all of those
Ben Krueger [52:55]
solo printers, entrepreneurs, you know, people out there that are looking to build themselves, get where they’re trying to go. And, you know, in in my mission, I said specifically podcasting. But I think at at a certain point, we’re going to branch out from podcasting. And really keep that focus on helping a million plus small business owners, grow their businesses and become the type of business owners and run the types of businesses that they’ve always dreamed of, as opposed to just sticking with podcasting. So that’s really where we’re getting started. But that is exactly how I see it is just getting started.
David Ralph [53:38]
I know you’re going to succeed. So I can just hear it from the moment that you said, Hello, you can just see but you, you’ve now got vision Avenue, you’ve got tunnel vision. And it’s like, you’re on the path now and everything else is blurred out, and you’re just seeing where you want to go.
Ben Krueger [53:56]
Yeah, and what I think is interesting is is that we never quite see that vision that it’s never quite as clear as we would hope. Now at this point, it’s clearer than it’s ever been. But that’s kind of what feeds into my advice to my younger self. Because before I just knew that I wanted to be location independent, I wanted to make enough to live, you know, from a beach in Thailand or from wherever. And I, you know, starting out with that broader vision, as I’ve kind of followed those steps to get those pieces, it’s helped me continue to narrow my vision, and continue to get on to that path that I know, is exactly where I’m trying to go. And what I’m trying to do with my life to get the types of results that I want for me as well as the impact that I want to have on the world. So it’s one of those getting clear on the general direction you’re going. And as you go, you keep kind of getting more specific about that the end destination?
David Ralph [55:01]
Well, you’ve had a huge impact on me. And I know you’ve had a huge impact on our listeners as well. And I’m sure there’s going to be many of them that would want to connect with us and how can they connect with you?
Ben Krueger [55:12]
Perfect, yeah, you can find me over at authority engine. com, you can contact me through the contact page there as well. And you’ll find there a lot of information and free resources on how to use podcasting as a marketing tool. as well. As you know, if you check out the about page and stuff, there’s some goodies about my storey, and you can click around like David and hopefully, hopefully not get stuck there forever, but find some really good value for you. So that’s where you can find me.
David Ralph [55:43]
Mr. Krueger, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots. Please come back again when you have more dots to join up. Because that’s the beauty of this show. You’re constantly building your future and your history. And I believe the only way to build our futures is by connecting our paths. Ben Krueger Thank you so much.
Ben Krueger [56:01]
Thank you, David. Really appreciate it coming on and sharing my storey.
Outro [56:06]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you are wants to become so he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up Dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.