Mike Matthews: [00:00:00] Howdy, I’m Mike Matthews. Thanks for tuning in at this time to what truly goes to be the final episode of the podcast, no less than for now. The title isn’t a joke. It’s not clickbait. I’m going to be stepping away from the podcast, and I believed it could be applicable to elucidate why for these of you on the market who care—for these of you who subscribe to the present or repeatedly pay attention, I believed it could be a bit abrupt to only cease releasing episodes. And so once more, I’m gonna clarify why I’m not going to be releasing any extra episodes, no less than for now.
The primary cause is that I’m probably not having fun with the work anymore. I’ve finished this podcast for over 10 years. I’ve launched—it’s virtually 1,200 episodes now—however I’ve had a number of nice discussions, and I’ve actually loved it through the years. However [00:01:00] for a number of years now, my intrinsic motivation to maintain engaged on the podcast has been declining. That’s why I went from 5 episodes per week—which I used to be doing for a very long time, which was enjoyable for some time however then turned a bit a lot—and I went from that to a few episodes per week after which from three episodes to at least one episode per week.
I’ve been at one episode per week for a while now, however the intrinsic motivation has continued to say no. My intrinsic curiosity in doing the work for its personal sake, slightly than for different causes, has simply been declining. And that has nothing to do with the company. This isn’t a criticism of anyone who has come on my present. Once more, I’ve had a number of nice company, a number of nice discussions, and I’ve gotten a number of nice suggestions from a number of listeners.
So, that is actually simply me. It’s [00:02:00] not you—it’s me. As a result of at this level, the podcast simply appears like a chore. It’s not painful. Chores are straightforward to do, however mopping the ground is mopping the ground, proper? And so, that has been pushing me away from the podcast.
Then there are different work tasks that I’d slightly put the time, effort, and cash into which were pulling me away from the podcast. And that, after all, is the chance value of constant to work on the podcast. As a result of I merely don’t have sufficient time, particularly, to do all of the issues that I wish to do. I’ve to drive myself to concentrate on the work tasks which are a very powerful, given my present work objectives. And I barely have sufficient time to maintain up with these. And so, by persevering with the podcast, there’s a very actual alternative value.
Although one episode every week doesn’t take as a lot [00:03:00] time as three episodes per week or 5 episodes per week, there nonetheless is extra work than you would possibly suppose. It goes into discovering company, discovering good subjects for dialogue, getting ready for interviews, and so forth and so forth.
Now, you is perhaps questioning if there’s a good enterprise argument towards all of what I simply shared. If the podcast produces sufficient income, for instance, for Legion—my sports activities vitamin firm—or for my little publishing firm that sells my books, then shouldn’t I maintain doing it no matter how I really feel about it? Or shouldn’t that make me slightly bit extra enthusiastic about doing it?
And that’s a superb level. However the brief reply isn’t any, it doesn’t drive sufficient income to Legion or to my publishing firm to make a lot of a distinction for both of these corporations—and definitely no distinction to me personally.
Mike Matthews: [00:04:00] And one other argument that may be made—and that has been made by folks I’ve spoken to about this, which is one other completely legitimate level—is that as a substitute of solely selling my very own issues, I might begin selling different folks’s issues as nicely. And I might, I used to be instructed, anticipate possibly $20,000 to $40,000 a month in promoting earnings if I took my stock and opened up no less than half of it to different corporations.
I thought of it however determined towards it for just a few causes. One is the amount of cash that may come to me personally, which in all probability can be most of that promoting income as a result of it wouldn’t value all that rather more cash for us to promote promoting stock. It might be appreciated—extra money in my life is best than much less cash in my life—but it surely additionally wouldn’t make any distinction in my life.
And I’m not saying that [00:05:00] to brag; I’m simply being sincere. Legion is my major supply of earnings by a good distance. Legion will do about $62 to $65 million in income this 12 months, and Legion is solidly worthwhile. And the cap desk is me at 90% fairness, after which an worker inventory choices program at 10%. I took 10% of my 100% of fairness after which put it into an ESOP as a result of I believe that’s the sensible factor to do. I additionally suppose it’s the precise factor to do.
Along with that, contemplating all the nice issues taking place with Legion proper now, I believe it’ll be pretty easy—not straightforward, that’s not the precise phrase—however easy to get Legion to $100 million in income throughout the subsequent two to 4 years.
And so, coming again to the podcast, while you have a look at what it’s contributing to Legion’s progress, it’s negligible. It must be producing ten instances the present outcomes to even warrant some [00:06:00] consideration.
Now, you might marvel—and I’ve questioned, I’ve considered this—what it could take to make the podcast ten instances larger than it at present is, or no less than produce ten instances the financial worth for Legion. The expansion worth for Legion.
It might take loads. I’d should get very severe and really skilled about podcasting. I must rent some key folks, construct out the infrastructure a bit extra, and put much more time into it personally. And I simply don’t wish to do these issues. So, that’s why I made a decision towards that avenue as nicely.
That brings me to a different issue that has been pushing me away from the podcast: I don’t like doing issues at a middling stage. I don’t like mediocrity. I don’t like having quite a lot of tasks that I work on and my evaluation of the standard of my work on all of them is one thing within the center.
I’d a lot slightly have [00:07:00] fewer issues to work on and actually attempt to obtain excellence. My sincere evaluation of the podcast is: mediocre. It may very well be so a lot better in so some ways. Identical factor with my presence on social media—possibly even worse than mediocre—however at greatest, mediocre. It may very well be so a lot better in so some ways.
So, whereas it isn’t bodily tough to maintain doing the podcast—chore to maintain mopping that ground—it has grow to be an increasing number of psychologically tough. The psychological friction has grown as a result of I simply am what I’m. I’m simply wired the way in which that I’m.
That’s why my social media is so mediocre. I’m not prepared to present it any extra time than I’m at present giving it, which is fairly minimal as a result of I’m principally simply repurposing writing that I do—and I take pleasure in doing the writing. In order that’s cool. But when I actually needed to develop my social [00:08:00] media, it could take much more of my time.
Sure, there’s a possibility. Sure, it could be very easy—even straightforward at this level—however I don’t intrinsically take pleasure in any of that work. I don’t actually like social media. And it wouldn’t contribute all that a lot to Legion, and in some methods would even detract from the enterprise worth of Legion—the enterprise worth of Legion—as a result of the larger of an influencer I’m personally, and the extra enterprise that I convey personally to Legion, the extra there’s what a strategic accomplice would discuss with as a “key man threat.”
If I have been to ever wish to convey, let’s say, a strategic accomplice into the enterprise—enable them to purchase into the enterprise to assist develop it—they might attempt to push down the worth of the enterprise by claiming that I’m a key man. That I’m accountable for a good portion of [00:09:00] income or new buyer acquisition or each. And subsequently, if one thing have been to occur to me, the enterprise can be severely impacted. Or if I have been to wish to go away the enterprise and go do one thing else, the enterprise can be severely impacted.
So, the quantity that they might worth the enterprise at would go down. And it could possibly go down loads.
Mike Matthews: [00:09:00] I do know, for instance, somebody—I assume you might even say a competitor, I’m not going to say who—who tried to promote his complement firm as a result of he apparently has one other enterprise that he desires to go off and do and already began engaged on that different enterprise. However the complement firm—I don’t wish to give too many particulars—nicely, he’s the face of the corporate. He’s the first influencer.
I don’t know something about their inner numbers different than simply their normal income. However I don’t understand how a lot of that he’s personally accountable for. However it isn’t a small portion. It’s a significant slice of income, and new prospects are coming from this man’s actions on social media, together with YouTube and different platforms—even a podcast, I believe.
And so, when he went to go promote his enterprise, after all, the consumers who have been have been asking him, “So what’s your function on this?” Oh, he’s additionally the CEO of the enterprise too. So, he’s operating the enterprise, and he’s the most important influencer, and he’s personally accountable for lots of the enterprise’s income and new prospects.
So, consumers ask him, “Mr. So and so, what do you wish to do right here? What precisely is your plan?” And apparently, he instructed them he desires to depart. He desires to go do that different enterprise that he has already began engaged on.
Now, think about you’re that purchaser. Are you going to be [00:11:00] involved about the way forward for that enterprise when you have got your CEO and the face of the enterprise—the most important influencer—who desires to only stroll away and do one thing else? Are you going to pay a premium for that enterprise? No, completely not.
You might not even wish to purchase it in any respect. However for those who do wish to make a proposal, you’re going to considerably low cost the worth of that enterprise simply due to that.
Now, if this man would have mentioned, “I’ll keep on for no less than three years, possibly 5 years. Right here’s what we’re going to do to get me changed within the CEO function. Right here’s what we’re going to do to mitigate the influencer key man threat. We’re going to construct a very large influencer program, for instance. We’re going to get so many influencers that collectively dwarf my affect. And I’ll wind down my social media actions and present that I can convey it all the way down to this low baseline stage with out hurting the enterprise—with the enterprise nonetheless rising.”
If he have been to say one thing like that, he may need gotten some curiosity from consumers. They in all probability nonetheless would have discounted the worth of the enterprise, however most probably no deal. They’d have mentioned, “Why don’t you do this, after which we’ll speak? If you are able to do that efficiently, we have an interest. So, we’ll see you in—for those who’re going to say three to 5 years—if that’s what it takes, we’ll see you in three to 5 years.”
And so, in the long run, no deal received finished, and I don’t know what the man’s plans are going ahead. However I’ve been serious about key man threat for years now and mitigating it.
That’s why I’m now not the CEO of the enterprise. I truly don’t even have an official function within the enterprise. I assume you might simply say I’m the founder. What I do is I work on advertising and marketing tasks which are attention-grabbing to me.
So, I’m serving to with our Meta promoting, which we’re lastly doing significantly—one thing we should always have been doing significantly a very long time in the past, like retail, which we’re lastly [00:13:00] doing as nicely with Vitamin Shoppe.
I’m engaged on a Meta promoting mission for us. I’m engaged on a conversion charge optimization mission for us as a result of these issues have a excessive worth to the enterprise, and so they’re attention-grabbing to me. I don’t all the time take pleasure in doing the work, however I usually take pleasure in engaged on these issues.
After which, as soon as I really feel like I’m now not bringing worth to the Meta promoting and the CRO, then I’ll simply discover one thing else to work on. Once more, in all probability one thing in advertising and marketing as a result of that’s what’s most attention-grabbing to me in enterprise—and one thing that’s excessive leverage, that may make a big effect, and that may maintain the important thing man threat low.
The place I could make an sincere, evidence-based argument that I’m not a key man within the firm. I do present worth. I’m not ineffective. But when I weren’t concerned, this enterprise would nonetheless do nicely. [00:14:00] It might nonetheless develop. Right here’s why. Listed below are the people who find themselves producing nearly all of the expansion—it’s not me personally.
And that’s necessary as a result of in some unspecified time in the future, it can virtually actually make sense to herald a strategic accomplice to assist the enterprise attain the following stage.
Mike Matthews: [00:14:00] As a result of whereas I discussed earlier that I believe it’s very easy to get to 100-plus million—let’s simply say 100 million in income within the subsequent few years—we might must make a few further key hires to make that much more easy.
However kind of, with the corporate that now we have at present, we will do this. Nonetheless, to go from 100 million to 300 million, I don’t know what that appears like. I don’t know what that may require on the e-commerce entrance, on the retail entrance.
So at that time, for instance, let’s say the enterprise is at 100 million in income. And now I see the trail to 300 million—let’s say it’ll require a number of worldwide distribution and home retail distribution, for instance.
Whereas that may very well be bootstrapped, like my workforce and I’ve finished for 10 years now, it could be loads quicker to only accomplice with this large enterprise that has already finished the entire laborious work to arrange all of this distribution and will principally simply begin urgent buttons and make it occur for Legion.
That may additionally give me a possibility to take some chips off the desk, as they are saying, and it could present a liquidity occasion for my workers as nicely, who personal choices. That may be a win for them too.
Even when, as a enterprise proprietor, you don’t wish to promote any piece of your corporation—you aren’t taken with taking some chips off the desk—you all the time wish to have that possibility. You all the time wish to have a stable enterprise with [00:16:00] good financials, good progress, that may be very engaging to a possible accomplice.
So anyway, to convey that tangent again on matter—that’s the major cause why my social media is, and actually all the time has been, very mediocre—or no less than has been for a very long time.
That’s why I’ve not pursued YouTube significantly. That’s why my channel may be very mediocre at greatest. I’m not doing YouTube the way in which you’re speculated to do YouTube. And sure, I do know that.
So anyway, coming again to the podcast, one ultimate cause to proceed it that I did take into account is the influence that it has had and that it continues to have on folks’s lives.
I repeatedly hear from listeners. They both DM me on a social media platform or electronic mail me to inform me how the podcast helps them or has helped them obtain their health objectives quicker.
That really is essentially the most significant issue to me. That’s extra compelling—extra intrinsically motivating—than making an additional $20,000 to $40,000 a month by promoting promoting stock to different corporations.
That has all the time been the case, truly. That’s why I began writing books. I like to teach folks, and I like to assist folks discover their strategy to true and workable ideas and present them methods to use these ideas—and the strategies and strategies that come from these ideas—to make their life higher.
I by no means get sick of getting these messages the place folks simply inform me, “Hey, your ebook, or your podcast, or your article made a very large distinction in my life.”
And to be sincere, if it weren’t for that, I’d have stopped the podcast years in the past as a result of years in the past, my intrinsic motivation—my intrinsic curiosity—had fallen sufficient the place I might have walked away from it [00:18:00] and simply put that effort and time and cash into one thing else and been completely okay with that.
However I actually did benefit from the results that it was having on listeners, and in order that was sufficient for me to maintain going.
Nonetheless, at this level, whereas I nonetheless take pleasure in getting these messages, I can have the identical impact with different work. The podcast isn’t the one method to try this, after all.
Take books, for instance. That’s the reason I maintain writing books—along with the truth that I simply actually like writing. Writing is one thing that’s simply intrinsically attention-grabbing to me. I take pleasure in doing it.
I can even assist lots of people by writing articles and books and dealing on the advertising and marketing for these articles and books to get them in entrance of as many individuals as doable. That offers me much more time to work on getting nearly as good as I presumably can get—to realize excellence in writing articles and books.
In order that’s the work I’m going to maintain doing. The stuff that I’ve been [00:19:00] doing from the start. And in addition proceed engaged on Legion advertising and marketing, serving to with the expansion of the enterprise.
The rationale why I added the qualifier “for now” to this episode is that possibly I’ll change my thoughts in some unspecified time in the future. Possibly I shall be intrinsically motivated to podcast once more.
I might all the time resume it. And sure, I’d be ranging from a decrease stage, clearly—possibly not from scratch, however one thing nearer to from scratch than the place I’m now, or the place the podcast is now. However that’s okay. That may be overcome with sensible work, with laborious work, and I’d anticipate that.
Mike Matthews: [00:19:00] So, yeah, that’s sufficient about me. And earlier than I log off, I do wish to say that I’m very pleased with what my workforce and I’ve completed.
It has not simply been me. Various folks have labored on this with me over the past 10 years or so. I believe it’s been 11 years of the podcast and virtually 1,200 episodes.
We’ve gotten—once more, I believe it’s over 40 million performs now. It’s actually over 35 million. Hundreds of four- and five-star evaluations.
We’ve been within the prime 10 health podcasts on iTunes for years now. We’ve taken the primary spot from Thoughts Pump no less than just a few instances, which was enjoyable, contemplating that the Thoughts Pump workforce are good buddies of mine.
And I’ve talked about that I’ve heard from 1000’s and 1000’s of listeners through the years who’ve instructed me how a lot the podcast has helped them obtain their health objectives. That has meant loads to me in addition to to the individuals who have labored on the podcast with me.
So, I wish to say thanks once more to the individuals who have helped me do all of that. That features you, after all. I wish to thanks and everybody who has listened to the podcast, who has supported it in any method—who has instructed someone about it, who has subscribed.
I don’t take that as a right. All the things I’ve achieved in health endeavors—in my writing, within the podcast, and in Legion—is with the assistance of many different folks. I’m very conscious of that.
I deserve a few of the credit score, however I don’t deserve the entire credit score. I’ve the entire folks, once more, who’ve labored with me on these tasks, and so they deserve a number of the credit score.
Then I’ve the entire individuals who have purchased a ebook, who’ve instructed folks a couple of ebook, who’ve listened to the podcast and instructed folks, and who’ve subscribed.
Individuals who have purchased from Legion and instructed others about Legion. Not solely have all of those folks supported me and helped me obtain the success that I’ve achieved, they’ve chosen to assist me over the entire different folks and corporations they might have supported.
That’s large. That actually means one thing.
Even for those who’re simply listening to this podcast, you’re selecting to try this slightly than the entire different issues you might do along with your time.
For many of us, we’d in all probability agree that our time is definitely essentially the most invaluable commodity in our life.
In some ways, our time is extra invaluable than cash. Typically, folks wish to have extra money to allow them to have extra time—to do issues they wish to do, to spend extra of their time the way in which they wish to spend it.
So, the truth that you’re sitting right here spending it with me actually does matter.
Once more, I actually wish to say thanks to everybody who has supported my work in any method. I don’t take any of that as a right, and I hope to proceed doing issues that make it easier to get more healthy, get fitter, and get happier.
I additionally wish to say thanks to the entire company that I’ve had on the present through the years. I don’t take any of their time as a right both. There have been many nice discussions that I’ve actually loved—numerous nice data, very useful data, very correct data, very sensible data.
Lastly, I simply wish to encourage you, the listener, to maintain at it. Maintain working in your health objectives, maintain working in your well being objectives. Keep on with the basics. Keep affected person, maintain exhibiting up, be constant, and you’ll get there.
If you wish to attain out to me, in case you have any questions, electronic mail is greatest: Mike at Muscle for Life dot com—F O R life dot com.
If you wish to observe my mediocre social media accounts, yow will discover me over on Instagram at Muscle for Life Health. I’ll change that. However at present, @muscleforlifefitness is unnecessarily lengthy and has too many phrases, so I’ll change it.
Regardless, that’s what my Instagram deal with at present is. Over on X, I’m at Muscle for Life. On Fb, I don’t keep in mind, however you may search Mike Matthews, and I’ve a web page with an honest quantity of followers, so you must discover it pretty simply.
In the event you like my writing and wish to be uncovered to it repeatedly, yow will discover articles over at Legion’s weblog: legionathletics.com. Go to the weblog—you’ll discover a number of articles that I’ve written and that I proceed to jot down.
It’s also possible to get on Legion’s electronic mail checklist as a result of I’ve my very own little publication, principally, that I ship to all of Legion’s subscribers.
Possibly I’ll truly flip this right into a separate publication—give it slightly touchdown web page and market it individually from all the things Legion is doing—as a result of lots of people prefer it, and it’s a bit totally different than Legion’s publication, which is form of only a compilation of all of the articles that went up on the weblog that week, in addition to another issues that our prospects and subscribers would possibly discover attention-grabbing.
That’s Legion’s publication. Mine is slightly bit totally different. You may test them each out over at legionathletics.com for those who simply subscribe to the e-mail checklist.
Properly, buddies, that’s it. That’s all I’ve on my define for at this time’s episode. I hope you discovered it no less than slightly bit attention-grabbing.
In the event you’re nonetheless listening, thanks for listening to it. And farewell for now.
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