The Common Path to Uncommon Success

John Lee Dumas is a podcaster, entrepreneur, and trainer. His award-winning podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, launched in 2012, and has now grown into a media empire which includes Podcaster's Paradise, the world's largest podcasting community, online courses, masterminds, and three journals, The Freedom Journal, The Mastery Journal, and The Podcast Journal. Prior to launching his podcast, John Lee Dumas was a commercial property broker, sold financial services, and served as a captain in the United States Army. He is a graduate of Providence College.

After interviewing more than 2,500 successful entrepreneurs for his podcast, John Lee Dumas came to the conclusion there is a common path all those who achieve uncommon success follow. Specifically, he came up with a 17-step road map they all tend to follow.

What's notable about this road map is its simplicity and directness. Most gurus have a vested interest in trying to complicate this, because they want to sell you their training courses and such. The reality is if you provide the best solution to a common but real problem, you can and will achieve uncommon success. You will achieve financial freedom and personal fulfillment.

1. Identify your big idea. Something which is a mix of your genuine passions and expertise.

2. Discover your niche. Identify an underserved niche, and then fill that void the best you can.

3. Create your avatar. A good avatar will keep you on the right path as you move forward with your big idea.

4. Choose your platform. Master how you will share your big idea and your message with the world.

5. Find your mentor. Identify someone who is already where you want to be one year from now.

6. Join (or create) a mastermind. Change the way you think for the better by meeting regularly with two or three people who motivate you.

7. Plan your content production. Have a plan for how you will generate ongoing content which provides proof you create great solutions.

8. Create the content you need. Be consistent about your content creation. Master productivity, discipline, and focus.

9. Launch. Send your material out into the world well before you feel ready to go.

10. Pinpoint your avatar's biggest struggle. Your avatar's biggest struggle is where your greatest opportunity to add value lies.

11. Validate and craft your solution. Get people to vote with their wallets before you commit resources to build your solution.

12. Build your funnel. Provide free value to build trust, and then progress to an offer.

13. Diversify your revenue streams. Find other areas where you can add value and do exactly that.

14. Increase your traffic. The best way to do this is to collaborate with other content creators in your niche.

15. Build a team and systems. Teach people how to do your most time consuming tasks.

16. Create affiliate partnerships. Partner with others to deliver more solutions to your avatar's problems, for a commission.

17. Keep the money you make. Always live beneath your means so you have a financial buffer. You'll need it someday.

1. The path to achieving impressive success is achievable and common. Executing consistently on that plan is much less common.
2. If you want to be successful, model those who have already gone where you want to go.
3. To achieve financial freedom and career fulfillment, you only need to be right once.

Podcasting legend John Lee Dumas interviewed more than 2,500 entrepreneurs before he wrote this book. He was stunned to learn that even though these people were successful in multiple and diverse industries, they all tended to follow a very similar path to success. He boiled what they did right down into a 17-step road map which makes for pretty interesting reading. None of the steps are particularly difficult in and of themselves, but it's in their combination matched with consistency of execution where the real magic lies.

I liked this book. Admittedly, books about what successful companies are doing right are a genre in and of themselves. Back in the day, everyone analyzed what Microsoft and General Electric were doing for clues to success. They've now been superseded by books about Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Tesla. The reality is, however, success leave clues. I have found it's best to read these books for patterns and general concepts, rather than to discover any "hidden" secrets. The Common Path to Uncommon Success does a good job of providing a high-level road map to follow.

As with anything, your results may vary. This does seem like a good starting point though. Well worth reading.