034: The Entrepreneur’s Journey: From Six-Figure Debt & Sleeping on the Warehouse Floor to Building a Wildly Successful Business! Plus Many Life Lessons, Reflections & Original Quotes Along The Way with James Hepburn

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Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to episode 34 of the White Pony Network Podcast. A few months back I had the pleasure of catching up Mr James Hepburn for this wonderful conversation. I first met James whilst he and past podcast guests Josh Giuliani & Dim Nikolakakis all shared a co-working space together.

James is fascinating as he has had the real entrepreneur’s journey of jumping into business doing it super tough whilst learning his way out of it and growing to be the successful copywriter and business owner that he is today. His outlook on life is just awesome and he is a true online marketing leader.

My biggest take-aways section in the show notes is absolutely massive, as James kept dropping incredible nuggets of wisdom.

I wanted to pull out at least ten, but here are just three of my favourites:

‘I don’t believe in regret at all. I think regret is delusion. If you regret it, you’re not seeing the benefit in it. You thought that it was the best decision at the time or you didn’t know something that you know now’

‘Look at it more from a purpose perspective: Alright what need am I trying to meet by doing that, that’s not getting met atm? How can I get it met through doing what I want to do, because you just don’t need to work for someone else, you know?’

‘When there’s no cause greater than you that’s driving you, you’ll never be happy’

This conversation was absolutely amazing and I’m very confident that you’ll feel the same. So please enjoy this episode with James Hepburn.

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My Biggest Take-Aways

‘I’m just hoping the suggestion of the promise land came from an honest man’
There are 2 things that you don’t want to happen in your life:
1. You never want to not work hard enough that you don’t achieve your goals and you’ve got to live with the disappointment of it
2. To work your arse off, get exactly what you wanted and realise when you get there that it’s just not what you’d hoped that it would be
When James was first getting started in business, he was in the mindset of ‘I can make this shit work, I can do anything’
The number 1 thing that you need to make it in business is a healthy dose of delusion
‘Business early on was hell, a first world problem obviously’
James hit a point where a few things were coming to a head and he got so stressed out (It reiterates the importance of training our mind)
‘I learnt how to get into it, I’ll learn how to get out of it’
‘It’s funny now because I teach story telling but at the time I was just doing what intuitively felt right’
‘I never viewed myself as a good writer but I’ve always been a gifted communicator’
‘You’ll be dead soon’
‘I meet people now in the corporate marketing world that tell me about marketing strategy and without being a snob I’m like ‘Man I get what you’re saying, there may be some validity to your point, but when you’re like 200k in debt sleeping on the floor of a fucking warehouse and you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is and your marketing works, then I’ll listen to your opinion. Maybe that’s arrogant but going through that journey I was in the most pain that I’ve ever been in’
‘I don’t believe in regret at all. I think regret is delusion. If you regret it, you’re not seeing the benefit in it. You thought that it was the best decision at the time or you didn’t know something that you know now’
‘The journey happens how it happens and you’re just kind of like a prisoner to the journey. That’s the wrong way of putting it, you always have free will but you know what I’m saying.’ – We go to what’s familiar, so how much of it is a choice if we’re living through our automatic cycles, our subconscious?
‘I think every time you think you know who you are, you’ve got work to do’
Tony Robbins’ 6 Core Human Needs: Certainty, Variety, Significance, Love & Connection, Growth, Contribution.
‘People think they’re happy when they travel. No you’re not, you’re just overly stimulated because you’re in this new environment and your need for variety is getting totally stoked. When you get back home, whether now, next year or in ten years, you’re still going to get bored at some certain point if you don’t resolve that’
‘Look at it more from a purpose perspective: Alright what need am I trying to meet by doing that, that’s not getting met atm, how can I get it met through doing what I want to do, because you just don’t need to work for someone else, you know?’
‘Go and listen to people who are talking to your audience so you can work out how they’re thinking and what exactly they want eg If you’re in the market meeting women, listen to someone coaching women wanting to date men.’
‘Get clear on your market, your offer and your strategy’
‘I think we live in a world where the truth is refreshing’
‘I think a lot of people that hate on veganism are doing it from a place of defending their own identity or their own way of being’
‘There’s a fine line between persistence and delusion’
‘When there’s no cause greater than you that’s driving you, you’ll never be happy’
‘You’re 27, you’ve got your own apartment, you’re making x amount of money, you’re travelling to all these places all the time, you’ve got all these clients, you’ve got friends all over the world, dude everyone would want you’re life’. ‘Yeah and that’s the problem. Because if it looks like that on paper and it feels how it feels internally, there’s a big f***ing problem’
‘The more money you make the more problems you have, because I didn’t have systems’
‘Being like f*ck I’m not worried about money, I don’t think comes from having money, I think that comes from someone who has internal peace. There is no certainty in money’
‘If you live in Melbourne and earn 50k, you’re in the top 1% of the world. You’ve already made it’
‘A ‘No’ is just ‘Not now’’
‘I want to be the person that always went for it. You’re going to be dead soon. However you’ve got to do it, just find a way to do it because you’re going to f***ing die’
‘If I view myself as already dead and that I am just living this shit out, then there’s nothing to lose’
‘Neediness comes from a lack of willingness to be vulnerable’
‘If you’re not sure on your purpose, no woman’s going to give you purpose.’ You’re still going to be confused and uncertain, and that’s probably going to f*** your relationship up’
‘Documentaries can sometimes do more harm than good. You go away thinking that you know all about something but you don’t, you only know about that perspective of it’
‘I think the more shit you can watch that gets you away from traditional media or what your parents have told you about the world, and makes you see shit that goes down, the better’
Will it get to the point where bigger countries couldn’t invade inferior countries with no technology because they will have atom bombs of their own? ‘They already do right? So, who knows man, not my problems to solve, I’m just trying to write ads’
‘I want to make x amount per month.’ ‘Do you actually? Or is that just what would piss off people that you know? Or is that what would make people that you know jealous? Or is that what would make you feel like you’re enough? If they’re the reasons that you’re doing it, fine. I don’t think that it’s a long-term strategy but I think it’s a strategy.‘
‘The number 1 thing that I think holds people back is what their parents think of them, for sure’
‘It’s f***ing crazy to think that like 40 years ago you would finish school and you just couldn’t have done the shit that we’re doing now. You just couldn’t have’
‘Not all criticism is hate. Listen to the overall message. If you’re putting out content and no one is engaging with it, that’s sending a message to you. Either you’ve got no traffic and you’re doing shit wrong or no one gives a f*** what you’re talking about. You might need to pivot’
‘I think the more shit you can watch that gets you away from traditional media or what your parents have told you about the world, and makes you see shit that goes down, the better’

Show Notes

05:00 James’s story
25:25 Wes asking some questions of James’s amazing story
31:00 What has helped you become aware of what you want to do?
40:00 The grass is always greener
49:30 Making money and not making money
1:05:05 Let’s talk business strategy
1:14:00 Diet etc
1:19:30 Delusion

1:32:00 The Big 5

The dancefloor business
When I went to Mexico
When I first moved to Melbourne and got the job at Holden
Living in Colombia and locking eyes with a local which brought on an epiphany of how most people in the world live and how James by being from Aus has won the birth and life lottery
Getting punched in the face. That shit changes you. You get in touch with that raw, masculine part of yourself that I think every guy has that society has told us to supress’

1:43:30 What are some inner areas that tend to hold you back or have held you back and how are you able or have been able to overcome them?
I think now it’s like a lack of patience and lack of persistence to some extent. I did a fear challenge where every day I did something that scared me. That shit’s invaluable.

That time James put everything on the line to approach a girl who was a client who had just left their meeting a minute earlier. ‘I accessed this part of myself that was like ‘This is f***ing happening. Whether I get rejected or not is irrelevant. I can live with that. I can’t live with not doing it. I was like Liam Neeson in taken man. I’m going to find her and I’m going to ask her out. Whatever happens, happens, that not up to me to decide. ‘Now for example when I speak on stage – It’s still easier than that’

1:49:30 What is your favourite quote?
‘You’re going to be dead soon’

1:52:30 What are the best books you’ve read and/or resources that you’ve got the most from?
DotCom Secrets & Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson are two books that everyone should read who wants to get into marketing and business
Models by Mark Manson
Donald Trump – Art of the Deal & Art of the Comeback
Way of the Superior Man by David Dieda
The Game by Neil Strauss
Influence by Robert Cialdini
I listen to a lot of dating shit because I think dating and marketing are very similar

1:55:10 Best Movies, TV Shows & Documentaries?
Avicii
Icarus
Matthew Hussey content
Joe Rogan’s Podcast
Winter on Fire

1:58:40 What are your predictions for your industry in the next 5 to 10 years?
Nothing ever changes in my opinion. Things change way less than people thinking they change. You’re still selling shit to humans. Our brains haven’t changed in 10,000 years. The platform will change, content will become bigger. People buy for the same reasons. It’s just a matter of adapting to the platform.

2:00:55 Did you achieve your goals that you set yourself over the last 12 months?
I don’t really set goals, I just have areas that I focus on.
Put some weight on, live life, make money
I think you should set intentions

2:02:20 What goals have you set yourself over the next 12 months? Are there any that you’re willing share with us that we could help by keeping you accountable?
What I’m more focused on now is building a business. Outsourcing and building a team and a business.

2:20:00 Who are you looking to connect with?
I’m writing copy, that’s my main skillset, so I’m looking to connect with people that run businesses that want copy written – email sequences, VSL’s, sales letters, landing pages, have a decent sixed list that want to do it on a monthly basis sort of thing. Big ecommerce companies, information marketin, digital products, like coaches etc is my focus now.

2:20:35 Where can our listeners reach you?

Jameshepburn.com.au

Facebook.com/james.hepburn.182

@jphepburn on Instagram

james.hepburn1@gmail.com