Better Your Business by Becoming the Person You Needed when You Were Young with Michael Seaver

Michael Seaver’s entrepreneurial journey may seem like a long one, but by his 30s, Michael had already identified his life’s work and was fully running his own booming coaching company. Now, he’s expanded that coaching lifestyle into the service area, spreading the knowledge he’s found about adjusting your perceptions inwardly so you can perform at a higher level outwardly with industry leaders and startups alike.

Today, Join host Liam Leonard with guest Michael Seaver to talk about Michael's path through family business, corporate positions, and ultimately to his calling. Find out how being aware of your mental patterns will help you to shed unwanted perceptions. Take a look into Michael’s personal experience that investing in yourself will place you higher than you thought you’d be in 10 years, and learn the reason behind Michael's conviction for becoming the person you needed when you were young.

3 Key Takeaways:

Why it may take time for you to clearly articulate your life mission
The most impactful investment Michael ever made
How to maintain your core values while advancing with the world’s changes

Show Notes:

[0:17] Michael introduces himself

Getting raised in a family entrepreneur business until he was 24
Deciding to leave Michigan for Arizona
Working in big brand hospitality industry
Going to school at Thunderbird
Coaching other students on resumes
Knowing his life work is coaching
Going to work corporate

[3:40] Deciding to start his own business in 2011

Making a lot of mistakes
Teaching classes and being a career coach
Just launching into his own business by itself
“I realized that I needed to iterate or change in order to keep up with the demands & changes in society.” -Michael Seaver
What his business became

[6:25] Was there ever a desire to go back to the family business?

The deep subconscious pull to not be known as his father’s son
“Their need for growth was not the same as mine” -Michael Seaver
How long it took for him to be able to clearly articulate what his mission was

[12:17] Michael’s investment decisions once he started gaining a steady income

“Do I want to be known as Jack Seaver’s son or as Michael Seaver?” -Michael Seaver
His comparison to Bill Campbell
Investing in himself to understand his human tendencies
Hiring a life coach
Hiring a writer to help him write a book
“My investments have been very intentional, not only to discover myself, but also to offer higher value experiences to the people I serve.” -Michael Seaver

[15:20] Investing in challenging experience

Attending retreats
Getting certifications

[17:23] The most impactful investment he made in himself

The person he was most thankful for was his therapist!
Look at the mental models you have of the world and shed the ones you don’t want proactively
The process of finding the right therapist who helped him to grow

[23:22] Looking forward: now where do I put my money?

Founding a CEO round table
Moving past just him being a coach
Investing in other small businesses and coaches
If a person has a “why,” he or she can endure any “how.”
“My investments are now going to be ‘who else can I help? What underserved individuals need a hand up?” -Michael Seaver

[28:55] Where his decisions fall for investing in himself/others versus making sure you have a financially secure future

The power of journaling daily
Set up a certain amount of time you’re willing to devote to non-revenue generating opportunities
“Does this person really want growth?”
Maintaining traditional sales that work consistently and passively

[30:19] His family and America’s history and its impact on Michael’s business choices

Looking for the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs
Knowing he needs to be 5-6 steps ahead of who he coaches in order to bring them value

[32:11] Michael’s last advice with the audience

Be the person you needed when you were younger
You’re here on earth to learn, find self-actualization, and help others
“The fastest lead to a happy, long, and well-lived life is the quality of your relationships.” -Michael Seaver

About Michael Seaver:

Michael S. Seaver is an award-winning executive coach, leadership consultant, keynote speaker, and author. He’s on a mission to unlock human potential to help people uncover and live their purpose, and live a more meaningful and authentic life. His unique methodology has revolutionized how leaders can live authentically and how organizations engage employees. He offers no-nonsense strategies to help people find confidence in their life’s narrative, commonalities across generations working today, and ways to communicate with emotional intelligence.

Michael’s newest book, I Know, A Practical Guide For Awakening To What’s Within And Finding Work-Life Integration, tells his story of excruciating emotional pain and contemplating suicide. Cleopatra, his cat, sensed his despair, kept him grounded, and helped him rise from his life’s ashes. I Know is a how-to guide Michael uses with clients walking you through the three phases of personal transformation and nine processes you can complete alone or with trusted friends. The book tells Michael’s raw and authentic story, offers research-based psychological truths, and is full of real-world client examples. After reading I Know, you’ll transition from believing life’s answers come from outside yourself to knowing you can discover the answers already inside yourself.

For more than 25 years, Michael has led teams and has coached global leaders since 2011. He’s invested thousands of hours in the “arena” managing personal and organizational change, guided others to uncover their lives’ missions, and taught leaders how to create psychological safety by inviting employee life experiences into the workplace.

Featured in numerous publications such as Forbes, Authority, Medium, Thrive Global, Arizona Republic, Business Journals, Accounting Today, Financial Executives International, Best Companies USA, Michael has shared his experiences widely. He is a frequent guest on international podcasts and has served on a variety of boards of directors. Michael graduated from the Thunderbird School of Global Management with a MBA and speaks a bit of Mandarin. He is certified by TTI Success Insights to administer the DISC, 12 Driving Forces, Emotional Intelligence assessments.