Have you ever wanted to reach out to someone you admire but talked yourself out of asking?
This week on Here’s What We Know, Mark J. Carter has been asking people for their time since he was in college, when he started tracking down CEOs, authors, and other successful people simply because he wanted to learn from them. That curiosity eventually led to his work as an interviewer, the Idea Climbing podcast, and conversations with people like Bo Jackson.
Mark shares what he has learned from years of interviewing successful people, including the two questions that can help an interviewer when they don’t know what to ask next: How? And why? We also talk about networking, asking for help, finding your personal superpower, building a brand, and figuring out how to turn a big idea into something that can actually make money.
This episode is sponsored by:
(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)
In this episode:
- How Mark started reaching out to successful people before social media changed networking
- Why asking for someone’s time can be much easier than we make it
- The importance of genuine curiosity
- Mark’s “How and Why” approach to interviewing
- What he learned from interviewing Bo Jackson
- How to find your personal superpower
- Why everyone has a personal brand
- How to ask for help without feeling like you’re imposing
- Turning a big idea into a business
- Why successful entrepreneurs keep looking for the next challenge
- How Mark uses interviews to help coaches, consultants, and speakers tell better stories
Quotations:
“I figured if you want to be successful, surround yourself with and learn from successful people.” – Mark J. Carter
“It’s not going to hurt to ask. That’s my big thing. It never hurts to ask. The worst you’re going to hear is no. No harm done.” – Mark J. Carter
Bio:
Mark J. Carter is the founder and host of the Idea Climbing podcast, as well as an interviewer, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. For more than 27 years, his curiosity about how successful people think, solve problems, and turn ideas into action has led him to conversations with entrepreneurs, authors, athletes, and other accomplished people. He is the author of Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea, and his upcoming book, Idea Scaling: How to Monetize Your Next Big Idea With Passion and Purpose, draws on interviews with six-, seven-, and eight-figure business owners to offer practical guidance for entrepreneurs. Mark also brings his experience as an improv practitioner to his interviews and presentations, creating conversations that are curious, collaborative and spontaneous.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: https://www.markjcarter.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjcarter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markjcarter/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjcarter/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkJCarter