Episode 20: Luis Congdon

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Luis Congdon is no stranger to struggle. Growing up without a father in the middle of the cocaine cartel in Medellin, Colombia, he was subjected to chaos and confusion from an early age. When he was five, his mother was murdered, leaving him orphaned and homeless. He was adopted into the United State at the age of 8. He earned his degree in English Literature, graduated top of his class, and taught Marriage Education for several years after. When that job ended, he got a taste of being an entrepreneur.

“I’d like to say it’s all roses and wonderful,” he says, on the subject of entrepreneurship. “But I would be a liar if I didn’t tell you that being an entrepreneur is scary.”

He is now a successful entrepreneur and one of the best podcasters around. His passion for helping others achieve success in their business is one of his main driving points to constantly grow and do better.

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

01:21 – Meet Luis Congdon – a master podcaster and man of many talents. He explains what he does, who he helps, and what he’s all about. He helps business owners – both current and aspiring – to create a robust network that will catapult their business to the next level of success. He helps people find “partner bait”

02:17 – What is partner bait? It’s a measure of your ability to bring in partners to help you promote yourself. Why is it necessary? Even if you have an amazing product, if no one knows about it or you don’t get your stuff out there, you’re not going to sell. If you don’t have the right market, nothing’s going to happen

03:49 – Chris further illustrates the meaning of “partner bait” through the lesson behind sliced bread

04:37 – Luis tells his story – who he is, where he came from, and what he had to go through to be who he is today. He was born during the height of the cocaine cartel in Colombia – a place that was highly impoverished and heavily chaotic, and Luis was born in the middle of it. He was adopted in the United State at the age of 8. He went off, got a degree in English Literate, graduated top of his class, and taught Marriage Education courses for several years after. That was his dream job, and it ended. When it did, he had the choice to either further his education or start a business. He chose the latter despite not having any formal training for it.

06:38 – Talking about being a business owner: “I want the freedom of this. I don’t want to wake up on someone else’s schedule and I don’t want to be uninspired.”

06:51 – He was at his low point, wanting to start an online business but having no idea how, when someone suggested he start his own podcast. That’s when he realized that he could interview the best people in his industry. He could pick their brains, ask questions, and hopefully leverage his relationship with them. Maybe they can teach me how to run a business, Luis says.

07:47 – Luis mentioned inspiration earlier. So what’s truly inspiring him right now? People, Luis says. “People inspire me. The idea that I have the possibility of influencing other people’s lives and changing the course of their life for the better inspires the heck out of me.” Being paid well for it, taking that money, and lavishing my friends and family through it.

08:50 – “When you’re inspired, discipline comes naturally.”

10:59 – As a successful business owner who started out with no prior experience and no formal training, Luis shares some of the biggest insights he’s learned along the way. I don’t have to do it all

11:41 – “I’d like to say it’s all roses and wonderful, but I would be a liar if I didn’t tell you that being an entrepreneur is scary.”

12:45 – “I know that at first, it’s a lot of hard work. You’re going against gravity. You’re going against conditioned training that you have to do things a certain way. When you become an entrepreneur, you do it your way.”

14:50 – Luis shares how to build and nurture your relationships – and monetize them. What most people don’t seem to realize that getting paid for your relationships is not only possible, it’s also lucrative. He uses Tim Ferriss’s rise to fame as a way to define what network and networking is. Nurturing your relationships and striving to help other people is the best way to win trust, respect, and recognition. The more people like you, as Luis puts it, the more they’re willing to work with you.

17:58 – Luis shares some tips for people who want to start a podcast. Partner bait is your ability to bait someone into speaking with you and then from there you can transition into offering to help them. “If you provide value before it’s asked and you do that consistently with as many people as possible … you’ve got yourself a winning formula.” The bigger you get, the more careful you have to be with building your network. Podcasting is the best partner bait so far, in Luis’s opinion.

21:19 – Luis shares how starting conversations can make or break your network. “Through our conversations we have the capacity and capability of creating.” Get into powerful conversations with people, and a podcast is one way to do that.

22:57 – Time Travel Moment, Part 1: If you could go back in time, what’s one piece of advice you would tell yourself?

23:22 – Time Travel Moment, Part 2: If you were starting over from scratch today – particularly with your podcast – what would your first moves be? What would you do to get started if you had nothing but your experience? Reach out to the biggest names in the places you want to be aligned with. Start with a compliment. Research on them.

25:00 – Start of the QuickFire Questions: What’s the best piece of advice in your industry you ever received?

26:26 – What’s one of your personal habits that you strongly believe contributes to your success?

26:46 – What book would you recommend? “Conscious Loving” by Dr. Gay Hendricks

27:23 – Who’s your public hero?

28:11 – What’s the world missing? What do you think it needs?

29:38 – Luis leaves the listener’s with this: If you want to succeed in lfe, stay close to people like Chris and Luis

You can get more from Luis at http://podcasterssecretweapon.com/ if you’re interested in starting a podcast. You can also check out his other website, http://www.lastingloveconnection.com/.