Peter: Absolutely John, let’s do this.

John: Peter is the founder of The Fearless Life Academy, where he mentors high performing entrepreneurs, to conquer their fears, so that they can create the impact and earn the income they desire. He is also the author of the number one bestselling book The Fearless Mindset. Peter, take a minute, and fill in any gaps from that intro and give us a little glimpse into your personal life.

Peter: First of all, thank you for having me. I have been an avid listener of EO Fire for a long time, so this is a true pleasure.

John: Thanks man.

Peter: I want to start by actually sharing why I am so passionate about helping people, specifically entrepreneurs, in overcoming fear. The reason is because; my entire life has been consumed by fear. When I was actually 10 years old, I had to sit down in a courtroom with my grandparents on my left and attorney on my right and my mother directly across from me. I had to look into my mom’s eye and tell her that I no longer felt safe living with her because of her alcoholism.

Just imagine having to do that as a 10-year-old. At 10 years old, I had no idea what sort of impact that would have on my life, but it lead to years of me being a people pleaser, seeking love, approval and validation from everyone outside of myself. Then, when I was 25 years old, I got a call that my father had just been rushed to the hospital and I have to fly home immediately, if I want to say good-bye. John, I remember going to that Hospice and looking at my childhood hero, my dad, emaciated in bed and asking him; why did you do this to yourself? Why did you do this to me?

He looked at me and said, “Son, because I am afraid”. He was afraid of not being enough, he was afraid of not living up to his parents’ expectations and that was the moment that I made the decision to never let myself, a loved one, or anyone that I come in contact with, be consumed by fear and that is what led me to today.

John: Expectations is such a dangerous word. We could do a whole episode about that Peter and I am a big believer as well. The problem that a lot of people have been comparing themselves to other people is the reason I am a really big believer in that word, compare and despair. Fire Nation, the only people that you should ever compare yourself to, is you yesterday.
Guess what, if you are a little bit better, than the you yesterday, than you are a winner in every way, shape and form. I am sure this is going to be a reoccurring theme, the expectations, the compare and despair, throughout this entire interview, but before we get into more of your journey, which I can already tell is an intense one, let’s talk about present times, let’s talk about today.

You and I actually met fairly recently at Luo How’s book signing event here in San Diego and that was cool getting to shake your hand before the chat. You have a lot of great things going on, but how do you generate revenue in your business today?

Peter: Right now, my primary source of income comes from the Fearless Life Academy that I lead. Those are coaching clients that I lead through a mastermind. Another source of income is an event that I run, The Fearless Life Experiences. It is a three-day event and I have typically about 12 entrepreneurs’ come through that experience every quarter and go through the experience of literally facing their fears.

They will go hand gliding or surfing and really commit to these powerful, peak performance rituals and put them in a place of confidence. The third source would be speaking engagements and do a lot of them. The fourth, which I know you are a big fan of, is affiliate income. I use certain resources like Infusion Soft and Click Funnels, and a lot of my clients and people ask what I use, and I share that, which is an additional source of income for me.

John: Fire Nation, Peter is a businessperson, he is there and is an entrepreneur and is doing that thing. As you do that thing, revenue streams open up as part of the growth and evolution of an entrepreneur. So, don’t freak out if you are this person who says, Peter has it all together and has figured out this, that and the other thing. He didn’t have this day one, he started one step at a time, just like me and every entrepreneur.

Peter, one thing that I really want to do, is turn this to your journey as an entrepreneur, because you have had the ups and downs. We talked about two life experiences that were incredibly powerful that you experienced as a young child and a young adult. Let’s talk about your entrepreneurial journey now and what you actually consider your worst entrepreneurial moment to date. Peter, really take us to that moment in time, and tell us that story.

Peter: So, this happened actually one year ago to this month. I was sitting down at the dinner table during the holidays with my grandmother and some other family. It was my first opportunity to share my excitement and passion for my entrepreneurial journey and my new coaching business. Before I became and entrepreneur, I was an investment banker, so a completely different industry.

I made a radical change in career, and this was my first chance to really share with my family how happy I was about what I was doing, and also letting them know that I was actually writing and publishing my first book called The Fearless Mindset. I was hoping to really get a lot of encouragement from that, but during this diner, I remember almost being attacked. I remember my grandmother specifically asking me, “Peter, what sort of credentials do you have to do this and who do you think you are to share this with the world and to be so vulnerable”?

I got so much resistance and disapproval from my family for what I was doing, it was heart wrenching. This is a woman, who helped raise me, and from the moment I was a boy I remember wanting to get that approval and that is what actually led me into my first career of investment banking. I had to work through so much fear and let go of that attachment to needing your family’s approval, for me to continue in that path.

In that moment, I had the choice to stop perusing my dream and make my family comfortable or, find comfort in not needing them to comfortable, knowing that what I am sharing with the world is going to impact humanity in a far greater way, then I could ever do in a job.

John: This is intense, and this actually brings up some things within me, that I have not thought about for years. Because you are getting so vulnerable, I want to get a little vulnerable with Fire Nation and again, this is really not something that I have shared very much, if at all. When I first was behind the scenes, interviewing for EO Fire and this was even before I launched the podcast, so this is like my first interviews. I would share them with my father who was very skeptical about me leaving commercial real estate. I said, this is something real, and look at this interview, it was so inspiring, and I was really proud of it, because I thought that I had done okay.

I thought that my guest was really a great person and they were a great person, but my dad emailed back and said, “How do you even know what this person is saying is even real and he could be a scam artist and are you just going to interview scam artists.” He was so negative and I didn’t even want to be around that right now.

I knew that this person was legit and I had seen them speak at a conference and had really done my research. Just to hear that from him was so heart wrenching and I can just be there with you at that dinner table and see what your grandmother was saying to you, because when it’s family, you just want them to be proud of you.

Peter: Absolutely.

John: Fire Nation, that is so important on so many levels, to really have the acceptance from your family. So, for me, I had to cut myself off for a little bit, from his advice, because I knew that if I kept getting that negativity, I was not going to be able to continue on. Of course, today is a completely different ball game, he knows what I do and he could not be more proud, but that is a dangerous time.

Peter: I did the exact same thing, and what I want Fire Nation to take away from this is, that our family, when we feel that discouragement, it comes from a place of love, like a fear based love, because they want us to be safe and secure. I had to go as far as literally blocking certain family members on social media, because I was getting so much heat. I said, okay, if I create this space from them, then I could focus on my purpose and mission and allow them to have their own experience.

John: Fire Nation, I just realized, and I don’t know how you feel about this Peter, but just because it is a fear based love, doesn’t mean it’s right. In my opinion, you have the right to step up for yourself and say, this is what I am doing, this is what I am passionate about and if you are not going to support me, that is your decision, but I don’t want you brining your negativity into my world.

Peter: I absolutely agree.

John: Peter that is a huge lesson to walk away with; to say that sometimes I need to carve my space out in this world, to make my way in this world. I have mentioned a few times before, The Top Five Regrets, which is a great book and the number one regret is that people don’t live a life true to themselves.
That goes back to the expectations from others. So, that is my big take away, what do you want to make sure Fire Nation gets from your story?

Peter: To really not be attached to approval from family. To allow another person; whether it’s a family member, a friend, or anyone in your life, to have their own experience. Jesse Elder, a great mentor of mine, said, the great freedom in life, is to allow another to have their own experience. So, to not control it, to let go of it, and stay committed to what has heart and meaning to you.

John: Fire Nation, life in general, is not unicorns and rainbows, and entrepreneurship is not unicorns and rainbows. We are talking about some tough stuff here and this is why I start EO Fire off with this question and this story, because I want you to realize that it’s not just you that are going through these tough times, we are all going through it, but it is a place to get through with the support of others.

Peter, lets shift to another story, this is where we are moving towards a nicer and better place, for the enjoyment level, and that is an ah-ha moment. You have had a ton of ah-ha moments, epiphany’s, lightbulbs, and you know my listeners and you know Fire Nation. What is an, ah-ha moment that you have had? Tell that story that is going to resonate with us.

Peter: John, this was the moment that literally led me on the journey of becoming an entrepreneur. I was on a road trip, in a car, with my best friend Shawn Stevenson, who I know that you know and have had him on past episodes. We are driving and that story that I shared with Fire Nation of really raw and vulnerable brother-to-brother conversations and I shared this memory, which I had blocked out.

Literally, my subconscious mind had blocked it out for that many years and I shared it for the first time. I remember he really encouraged me to become an entrepreneur. I was working in investment banking at the time, and he had given me the advice of, I don’t know what value I could bring and I don’t have anything special or unique about me, this was my mindset. Then I shared this story with him and he shared a quote that I know many of our listeners have heard; you message lies within your mess.

When I shared that with him, he said, that is your message and that is, the unique life experience that you have, that no one else does, that you can bring and create value for the world. That one moment, that ah-ha moment gave me the courage, confidence, and the blind faith to literally leap off that cliff of uncertainty and just become and entrepreneur and build a business around this message.

John: Your message lies in your mess. Fire Nation, I really want you to absorb that and realize that we all have a message to give. So many times people come to me and say, “John, I don’t have anything unique to share, or I have no unique values and nothing that can make me stand above other people”. What about you, nobody can be you and nobody is your personality and uniquely you, so why not be you.

Nobody can copy that, and that is super unique, in and of itself, so why not go down that road? Peter, that is my big take away from your story. Why not just be uniquely you, Fire Nation, and guess what, it’s going to be a lot more exciting and fun to wake up in the morning, knowing that I get to be Peter Scott the rest of the day. I get to be J.L.D the rest of the day, because that is who you are, so be you. Peters, what do you want to make sure our listeners get from your story?

Peter: Exactly that. Be your real and most raw self, and share that in a relevant way. Whatever you share through your service or product, share it relevantly, so that your audience gets the lesson from it. Here is the other lesson, don’t worry about the how; because in that moment, I had this ah-ha moment of building this business around this message, I had no idea how to do that.

I didn’t have clarity of how to do that and, if I waited for clarity, I would have waited a very long time. So, one of the most valuable lessons that a listener can take away is, clarity is a result not a requirement. It’s a result from taking action, not a requirement to taking that action.

John: Peter, let’s stay raw, let’s stay vulnerable, and have you share what you consider your biggest weakness as an entrepreneur.

Peter: My biggest weakness is hands down; falling into the information is power trap. I am a constant student and I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into my own personal growth.
John, I find at times that I will go from one seminar to another, from once resource to another, from one mentor to another and do that thinking that I need more information in order to accomplish a goal in business. The reality is, I don’t, I just need to execute on what I already know. That is probably my biggest weakness.

John: What is your biggest strength?

Peter: My biggest strength is actually massive action. It is kind of like the other side of this coin. When I launched my business, I had zero income coming in, I had no idea what my message was or who I was being called to serve. I just took massive action, and I did things that my advisors advised me to do, because they had the results that I wanted and I did it without that crystal clear vision.

I talked to so many people that wait for clarity on the sidelines of life and literally watch years pass them by. By doing that, it is literally a disservice to humanity. The biggest strength that I have is almost having ignorance and courage and taking action, even when I don’t know exactly where I am going. That progress and moving one-step forward in front of the other, is what creates that clarity.

John: A disservice to humanity may sound a little dramatic Fire nation, but I can assure that it’s not, because you have no idea what the ripple effect is that you can, and will cause, will happen. You have no idea. Peter, you have a lot of exciting things going on right now, but break it down for Fire Nation, the one thing that has you most fired up today.

Peter: What I am most fired up about today, is the recent launch of my brand new book The Fearless Mindset. This was a book that I have been thinking about for years leading up to this launch. I had so many fears around sharing it with the world, around what my family would think and I had to work through all of that. To see the hundreds of messages of people, being impacted by this book, is the thing that I am most excited about. Of course, then my upcoming Fearless Life Experience Event, where I take this group of 12 entrepreneur’s and go through the experience of facing their fears.

John: Where can we find more about this event?

Peter: The listeners can go to fearlesslifeexperience.com.
John: Where is it going to be located?

Peter: In San Diego, actually, in Selena Beach about thirty minutes north of downtown San Diego.

John: Killer, well I can assure you Fire Nation, there will be sun. Speaking of sun Fire Nation, we are about to enter the lightning round, but we are going to take a minute and thank our sponsors. Peter, are you prepared for the lightning rounds?

Peter: Yes I am John, let’s do this.

John: What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Peter: The number one things and really the only thing was letting go of the need for my family’s approval. To go from an investment banker to an entrepreneur and to leave that career behind, was something my family excepted of, and I had to just get to a place of letting go of that approval, and knowing that at the end of the day, I am the primary decision maker at the center of my own existence.

John: Do you know what was interesting for me? Fire Nation, I want you to kind of absorb this. I had to do the exact same thing when I left law school and I did not have their approval when I launched the business EO Fire, but when I left behind the need for their approval is actually when it came back and now I am able to receive an get that. Did you experience something similar Peter?

Peter: Yes, very much so.

John: What is the best advice that you have ever received?

Peter: When I was 12 years old, I sat down in an office with my grandfather and asked him for advice on how to become a successful businessman and a successful entrepreneur. He said to say no to 99 percent of things so that you can say yes to the right things. I remember seeing the life that he led, as a businessman, and he was a great father, husband. and he had all of these things that he was doing and I just didn’t understand how he was able to do it.

The reason was because he got so clear on what was most important to him and all of those opportunities, invitations and people that came into his life, were merely distractions and the way that he stayed grounded was by saying no to the majority of things, so that he could say yes to the right things.

John: What is a personal habit that contributes to your success?

Peter: For me, it comes down to fitness. I am such a believer that your body is the tool to create personal power and my habit is to literally being in motion or sweating every single day. I have a morning ritual that includes meditation, green smoothies, and reading, but the foundation to it is movement and working out every single day.

John: I am doing some squats right now.

Peter: Nice.

John: Keeping the love going brother.

Peter: Awesome.

John: Share an internet resource like Evernote, with Fire Nation.

Peter: I am a big fan of focus so my favorite resource is called Focus At Will and it is a resource where you can listen to music without lyrics that has a certain beat to it that allows you to literally get in the zone when doing something. So, I will go through a work session for 25 or 50 minutes and just be pure focus while listening to that and literally get more done in less time.

John: I listen to it every day as well. I actually interviewed Will who is the founder of Focus At Will, pretty interesting. What do you like or what is your favorite? Mine is acoustical.

Peter: Mine is up-tempo and that is my favorite.

John: All right, I will give that a test if Peter Scott the IV likes it. Now, if you could recommend one book for our listeners to join The Fearless Mindset, on our bookshelves, what would that book be and why?

Peter: I would recommend the one book that had the greatest impact in my life, Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand. I read that and the biggest impact was shifting my mindset from a consumer to a producer. I think it could be almost the bible for entrepreneurship. It talks about how to produce, create value and I think I read somewhere it is the second most read book behind the bible actually.

John: Fire Nation, I know that you love audio, so I teamed up with Audible, and if you haven’t already, you can get an amazing audio book for free at EOFirebook.com. Peters, this is the last question of the lightning round, but it is a doozy. Imagine that you woke up tomorrow morning in a brand new world, identical to Earth, but you knew no one. You still have all of the experience and knowledge you currently have, your food and shelter is taken care of, but all you have is a laptop and $500.00. What would you do in the next seven days?

Peter: I love this question because I literally was here two years ago in this position. What I would do and I have learned that relationship capital is far more valuable than financial capital in this world. So, what I would do is be clear on who and research who the influencers are, in the industry that I offer my product or my service and I would do everything that I could to connect and create massive value for those people.

I know this would be a long-term strategy, because it takes time to do that, but some of the people that we feel are the most untouchable, are the easiest to reach. You just have to think of a unique way to connect and create value for them. As a short term strategy, I would find out who those people are in my local area, invite them to an event, a party or something that I was hosting, so that I could meet them face to face and leverage my time.

I know that that relationship capital would be the seed to the things that I don’t even have the eyes to see what that would blossom into.

John: Peters, we started on fire, let’s end on fire, with a parting piece of guidance; the best way that we can connect with you and then we will say goodbye.

Peter: The parting piece of guidance is this; being fearless is not being without fear. Being fearless is having the commitment and courage to do the things that scare you. I want to give a gift to Fire Nation. When I wrote The Fearless Mindset, I interviewed some of the top entrepreneur’s in the world and one of them being Garret Gunderson who is New York Times best-selling author.

In this interview, we talk about how to transform the mindset of financial scarcity, into the mindset of financial abundance, which I think is so crucial for entrepreneur’s, the right mindset. So, they go to designafearlesslife.com/fire. This is uniquely for Fire Nation, just for EO Fire listeners. They can pick up the interview there and of course, if you want to connect with me on social media, I would love that, you can find me by searching Peter Scott IV as in the fourth.

John: Fire Nation, you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with and you have been hanging out with P.S. and J.L.D today, so keep up the heat, and head over to eofire.com and just type Peter in the search bar. His show notes page will pop up with everything that we have been talking about today. His recommended resources and his recommended book is linked to his book, which I highly recommend you pick up, read and consume.

It is called The Fearless Mindset. Of course, we have a killer gift from Peter, which such a generosity mindset, designafearlesslife.com/fire. Go there directly or the link will be on the show notes page and check him out on social media galore. Peter, thank you brother, for sharing your journey with Fire Nation today and for that we salute you and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Peter: Thank you John, a true pleasure.