The Common Path to Uncommon Success With John Lee Dumas | TNE059

In today’s episode, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the biggest names in online entrepreneurship and a legend in the podcasting community. You got that right! It’s none other than John Lee Dumas!

JLD, who is on a book tour for his newest title: The Common Path to Uncommon Success, took some time off to tell us about his incredible journey into podcasting and his location-independent lifestyle. This is one episode you don’t want to miss! 

So, let’s jump right in!

Show Notes:

[0:48] Who was JLD as a kid, and how did he become who he is now?

[4:10] How did he come to the decision of starting the first-ever daily episode podcast?

[5:19] What interview resonated with him the most, and how did it change the course of his career?

[8:19] What is his secret to leading a successful nomadic lifestyle?

[9:08] What is one thing he never travels without? 

[10:25] If there was one thing he wants to say to everyone, what would it be?

JLD's links:
https://www.eofire.com


Omar's (Host) Social Media:
Instagram - @nomadables
TikTok - @nomadables
Facebook Group - NOMADABLES - Accountability & Growth Community for Remote Workers- Perfect to meet fellow online entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads.
YouTube - Omar Mo
LinkedIn - Omar Mo Nomads Cast
Twitter - @nomadables
Pintrest - @nomadables
Clubhouse - @pods
WEBSITE: https://www.nomadables.com/

Transcript

Intro

What is the point that you start focusing on impact over monetary gain? Is it right from the beginning so that you're always aiming to impact at least one person? Or do you hustle your way to success and then focus on impact? These questions and more are answered in this quick episode of The Nomadic Executive today with John Lee Dumas. Remember Nomad fam, we've got some incredibly value-filled episodes planned out for you. So please hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Your review helps this podcast become more visible and ultimately inspire more people just like you. My name is Omar Mo and this is The Nomadic Executive.

TNE Intro  

You're listening to The Nomadic Executive hosted by Omar from Nomadables.com. Join Omar as he sits down and speaks with leading online entrepreneurs, remote workers and digital nomads about everything from business strategy to travel and lifestyle design. Together, we're here to help you achieve a life of happiness, health and freedom. And now here's your host, Omar Mo.

Omar 

Awesome! Welcome “JLD” John Lee Dumas. Welcome to The Nomadic Executive. Happy to have you on here!

JLD  

I'm fired up, man. Thanks for having me.

Omar  

Absolutely, man! I'm sure you've done quite a few of these already today, you're probably gonna be doing quite a few more for the rest of the day. So... 

JLD  

Promo book tour brother, that's what we do.

Omar  

There we go. Hope you're killing it too, man. I bought two more after that to give to my friends and family.

JLD  

You're the best.

Omar  

You're welcome, man. So let's go ahead and dive right in. Give me a small origin story in just a few minutes. Make it quick. We know the superficial stuff about you being in the army for about four years as a first officer, being lost for quite a few years, finding Entrepreneurs on Fire, creating this amazing, massive entrepreneurial empire. But give me the in-between, like, tell me about who you were as a kid and what really drove you to where you are now.

JLD  

Man, as a kid, I was all about athletics. I was like, you know, how can I spend as little time on school and maximizing meta time I cannot play, which for me, “play” was sports. You know, I was a three-sport, three-season sport athlete, like I just loved playing basketball, soccer, baseball, and all the other sports. That was really where my jam was at and, you know, I grew up on lakes in the summer and the ski mountains on the winters because I'm from Maine. So, you know, we had really hot summers and really cold winters. So I mean, that was just kind of my life, which was a very enjoyable one, very sheltered. It was a very small town, too. There's only 2000 people total in my town, which is kind of crazy. Because, you know, I live now in a gated community with, like, 10,000 people. So, it's kind of like a different world. But you know, that was my life, man. I was just enjoying it, making the most of it. You know, being a small-town, country kid doing what I can.

Omar  

Awesome! So what took you from sports, being a small-town kid, what drew you to becoming a podcast host. I mean, that's so much different than actually playing sports.

JLD  

There's a huge gap in there. Because, like you mentioned, I went to college, I was in the army, I tried law school, corporate finance, commercial real estate. So, it wasn't till I was 32 years old. So, basically, you know, 20 years after I stopped being a kid. I don't know what time you stop being a kid, but I guess, you know, maybe around 10 or 12 years old, I don't even know. 

Omar

Hopefully never, right?

JLD

Hopefully, never for sure. I feel like I'm definitely a kid now. So I, you know, maybe left a little bit of my “kidness” behind during my army years. But you know, now I'm back to being a kid again. And it was just a huge gap. And you know, it was honestly just me, never wanting to give up that fairy tale that you have as a kid, which is, I'm going to be something that I'm so in love with when I grow up, like, an astronaut or a professional sports player or a fireman, like, you know, whatever you think in your head at the time that you want to be as a kid. You think that because you think that's going to make you happy, it's going to be fun, it's going to be enjoyable. And then most people, unfortunately, grow up. They end up having lives. So they do things they hate for their, you know, their whole life. And then they die. And, I am 32 years old. I was just like I've seen enough death in the military. And I know how short and brief and fragile life is. Why not just go for it now while I'm still, like, young - in my 30’s. And that was it, man. That was a choice.

Omar  

I get it. And now you live a pretty much location-independent lifestyle. 

JLD

Exactly.

Omar

That’s something we're really big on on this podcast. Because this is a digital nomad podcast at its core, we always talk about the location-independent lifestyle, and now you're cruising in Puerto Rico, is that right? 

JLD  

Cruising in Puerto Rico, been here for five years now. Every year, we take an average of 75 days to travel the world, like, we just go for 75 days straight. We're in 15 countries one year, we're in 5 countries the next year with longer stands, like, we're always mixing and matching. 

Omar  

Boom, that's what I'm talking about. So how are you? So just to reverse it back there for a second. You started this podcast quite a while back when the single daily podcast episode wasn't even a thing. So, as you like to say, you were the best and the worst entrepreneurial podcast when you first started. But why a podcast? I mean, I'm sure there was a few different things across your plate. It could go this way, it could go that way. What made you want to start a podcast? And I'm sure at the beginning, you weren't the best podcast host either.

JLD  

I was the worst. But luckily, like you mentioned, I was the only daily podcast. So, I was the only show in town. But the reality is this, like, you have to know like, what do you resonate with, like what connects with you, and for me, I connected with podcasting. I was going on daily, long walks, like, listening to podcasts, and like growing this intimate connection with these podcast hosts who never knew me and you know never had any idea that I was out there. But I understood the listener side of the podcasting thing. And, you know, I'd go on social media like Instagram and Facebook and all these different channels. And I thought it was cool and fun. But you know, I never resonated with those channels. But with podcasts, it was a platform that I just understood as a listener, as a consumer. And I said, this is the game that I want to play. This is the sandbox that I want to build my sandcastle in. And that was the decision.

Omar  

That's amazing! I love that story. So, now after all these interviews, I have this curious question. I've never heard you answer this, at least from the podcast episodes that I've listened to you. What has been that one episode for you that's really stood out that one interview?

JLD  

Interview on my show Entrepreneurs on Fire? It was the first time I interviewed Aaron Walker, he has this business called View from the Top and I never heard of Aaron before. I didn't really know what to expect going into it. I had no background knowledge of him. He was just one of these interviews that I was doing throughout the day. And then boom, we did the interview and he said these words that just hit me like an anvil. He said, “What people find when they finally achieve success is that it's time to move from success to significance.” And I was like, whoa, because like I was achieving real success at that point. I mean, I was, you know, five years into my podcasting journey, I'd been making millions of dollars a year for a few years at that point, like, I had achieved success. But like, those words hit me like an anvil of like, now it's time to move to significance. I was like, wow, like that is impactful! And ever since then, I've kind of always kept those words at the top of my mind, and Aaron's actually become a great friend of mine, and we've done a lot of cool things together. And that's it.

Omar  

That's really cool! So that's where this book came along then? You wanted to really get that significance, that impact, that value.

JLD  

This book. You nailed it! This is the significance play right here. Because listen, this book is not a financial play, there's a million other things that I could have done that would have generated more money, more revenue for me. In fact, I'm probably gonna end up losing money on this book. I mean, with the bonuses that I'm giving out, and all these different things, like I'm literally losing money on every single pre-order, like, he's gonna hold it up right now. I mean, like, all of my journals.

Omar  

I don’t know why you send all this stuff just for sending a book out. It’s just nuts to me, but it's amazing.

JLD  

Nuts! It is nuts! So, it doesn't make sense. I'm losing money in it. It's not the point. Like, I'm very successful financially, business-wise, life-wise, this book is my way of giving back. And I know that some people need that extra no-brainer nudge like you did, and you would have ordered it anyways. But there's a lot of people who would, like, they needed that no brainer, that extra nudge, because, you know, frankly, there's no action takers. And I know that if they can just get this book, and they can start reading it, they're not going to be able to stop. They're going to go through the 17 step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment, and they're going to win. And that's what I want. I want more people winning.

Omar  

So I guess if you could put it in one sentence, what's the best way someone could apply the lessons they learned from that book?

JLD  

Listen, if you become the number one best solution to a real problem in this world, you will win.

Omar  

Boom, I love that answer. That's amazing! Now let's get towards the end of the podcast here a little bit, right? So a couple questions: Number one for location independence, for what you're doing, going around the world traveling. Do you have any sort of tips that you just kind of picked up? Obviously, it has its obstacles whenever you try to create or whenever you have your business and you're running it from different parts of the world. Whenever you're traveling, the logistics, all of it. Do you have any, like, just small pieces of applicable advice that you could give to digital nomads that listen to my podcast?

JLD  

Yeah, download the app Tripit and use it because it's fantastic. Like I literally live out of that app when I'm traveling the world, that was like 75 days. You got this unbelievable peace of mind, like every flight that you're supposed to be on has actually been booked, when to check-in, when to check out. You know, not the promo code, like the reservation codes, the confirmation codes, it's just all in one place. And it's such an amazing app and peace of mind. Man, I just do not go anywhere without my app, Tripit.

Omar  

Speaking of not going anywhere with things, do you have, like, one thing that you like to carry, no matter where you go? For me, and it's really weird, but it's a bag of rocks because I took geology in college, and I never did anything without it ever again. But it's become my collectors. item.

JLD  

You know, it's my iPod Nano. And like, you know a lot of people... 

Omar

An iPod Nano?

Yeah, a lot of people listen to podcasts, like, on their phone or whatever, doing this or that. Like, I've always listened to podcasts on my iPod Nano. That's what I like to do. I like to just go for walks, like, with shorts and a T-shirt or a tank top and like, I don't want to bring my phone with me because I just don't want to have my phone on me when I'm going for these like peaceful walks. And so the iPod Nano, all it can do, literally, is play podcasts. It’s all it can do. And so I bring that with me everywhere I am and I love it.

Omar  

That's absolutely amazing! It's something I would have never expected someone to carry around.

JLD  

Literally, this is it.

Omar  

I don’t think I've seen one of those in years.

JLD  

Whenever I break one or lose one, I've got to go on eBay and pay like 10x their original cost because they don't make it anymore.

Omar  

Collector's items, right? It's kind of like Pokemon cards have gotten super hot.

JLD  

Oh lord. Crazy.

Omar  

Cool. So, one final question here to end the podcast on. And this is something that I like to ask every single person that comes on my show. And that is, if you had a billboard in space, and everyone, every single morning, just like they see the sun, they look up in the sky and they see this billboard. And you can write a few sentences on that billboard to inspire and impact everyone on planet Earth. What would it be?

JLD  

“Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value.” - Albert Einstein

Omar  

That quote really resonated with you, huh?

JLD  

It's everything. The quote changed everything for me, and that's the quote that I have to use.

Omar  

That is incredible. I love that quote. I'll let that sit with my audience right there. Great! Thank you so much for coming on today, JLD.

JLD

Adios brother. I appreciate it. 

Omar

Take care.

JLD

Thank you.

Outro

Thanks for the snippets of advice JLD. Remember, if you really want to stand out amongst the masses, if you really want to cut through the noise become the best at something for at least the top 20%. The riches and impact will follow. See you next week. Remember Nomad fam, we've got some incredibly value filled episodes planned out for you. So please hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Your review helps this podcast become more visible and ultimately inspire more people just like you.

TNE Outro

Thanks for tuning in to The Nomadic Executive. If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to leave a rating or review. Your feedback helps us reach others who need a spark of inspiration. See you next time.