From Pig Farms to Prosperity: Monetizing Your Hidden Talents with Bart Morrell
Are you prepared for life’s unexpected twists and turns? Whether it’s a health crisis or a financial setback, being ready can make all the difference. In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Bart Morrell, an international entrepreneur, speaker, and author who’s made it his mission to help us prepare for life’s challenges – not by working harder, but by working smarter with what we already know.
Bart’s journey is anything but ordinary. From launching Japan’s first commercial bungee jump to navigating a life-altering amputation, he’s faced his share of ups and downs. But it was a moment of personal adversity that led him to ask a powerful question: “What do I already know that could help me create income and security?” That question became the foundation for his book, “Monetize Your Mindset,” and his mission to help others find financial freedom.
Key Takeaways:
- The power of saying “yes” to unexpected opportunities
- How to turn personal challenges into profitable ventures
- Strategies for identifying your unique skills and monetizing them
- The importance of mentorship in personal and professional growth
From Pig Farms to Bungee Jumps: A Journey of Resilience
Bart takes us through his fascinating life story, including:
- Growing up on a pig farm and learning the value of hard work
- His unexpected journey to Japan and the world of extreme sports
- How he turned his love for music into a successful DJ business as a teenager
Monetizing Your Mindset: Turning Adversity into Opportunity
We explore Bart’s philosophy on creating multiple income streams, including:
- How he turned a health challenge into a weight loss business
- The importance of being open to new ideas and pivoting when necessary
- Practical steps for identifying your own “acres of diamonds”
Embracing Risk and Never Giving Up
Bart shares powerful insights on:
- The value of taking calculated risks in business and life
- How to overcome fear and take that crucial first step
- The importance of persistence and learning from failure
This conversation is packed with actionable advice for anyone looking to create financial security and live life on their own terms. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or simply seeking ways to diversify your income, you’ll find valuable wisdom in Bart’s unique perspective.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to monetize your mindset and prepare for whatever life throws your way. Tune in now and start giving a heck about creating a more secure and fulfilling future!
Connect with Bart Merrell
Website: https://bartmerrell.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BartMerrell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-merrell-2440148/
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Chapter Summaries(Full Unedited Transcript follow):
00:00:03
Introducing Bart Morrell: Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Author
Bart Morrell, author of “Monetize Your Mindset,” shares his journey from pig farming to international entrepreneurship. The host emphasizes the importance of being prepared for life’s challenges, both emotionally and financially. Bart’s story exemplifies resilience and the ability to turn adversity into opportunity.
00:02:36
Bart’s Origin Story: From Small Town to Global Adventures
Bart recounts growing up on a pig farm in New Mexico, learning work ethic from a young age. He describes his transition from small-town life to living in Japan, highlighting the cultural shock and valuable experiences gained. This background shaped his entrepreneurial mindset and ability to adapt to new situations.
00:11:02
Turning Passions into Profitable Ventures
Bart shares how he transformed his love for music into a DJ business at age 15. He emphasizes the importance of monetizing what you enjoy or need to do. This section illustrates how early entrepreneurial experiences can shape future success and the value of identifying opportunities in personal interests.
00:15:08
Bungee Jumping and International Business Ventures
Bart describes his journey into the bungee jumping industry, including his experiences in Japan and Germany. He highlights the importance of saying “yes” to opportunities and figuring things out along the way. This section showcases how embracing new challenges can lead to unexpected career paths and success.
00:23:43
The Importance of Taking Risks and Having Mentors
Bart and the host discuss the necessity of taking calculated risks in entrepreneurship. They emphasize the value of mentorship in making informed decisions and navigating challenges. This conversation highlights the balance between risk-taking and seeking guidance for personal and professional growth.
00:35:17
Monetizing Personal Experiences and Challenges
Bart shares how he turned his leg amputation experience into a business opportunity by becoming a consultant for prosthetics. He also discusses creating a YouTube channel to help amputees. This section demonstrates how personal challenges can be transformed into valuable resources and business ventures.
00:52:46
Writing and Revising “Monetize Your Mindset”
Bart discusses the process of writing his book, including working with an editor and making revisions. He shares an anecdote about how his book unexpectedly helped a teenager socialize. This segment highlights the impact of sharing personal experiences and knowledge through writing, and the importance of adapting content to reach diverse audiences.
01:17:53
The Acres of Diamonds Lesson: Finding Opportunities Close to Home
Bart shares the “Acres of Pig Poop” story, a variation of the classic “Acres of Diamonds” tale. He uses this anecdote to illustrate how valuable opportunities can be overlooked in our immediate surroundings. The lesson encourages listeners to be aware of potential “diamonds” in their own lives and take action to monetize them.
Full Unedited Transcript:
[00:00:03 – 00:01:17]
Welcome back to give a heck, the show where we challenge ourselves to live intentionally in a chaotic world, financially, emotionally and spiritually. I’ve got a powerful question for you today. Are you prepared for what happens when what happens happens? What if it’s cancer? What if it’s Christmas? Both can hit hard emotionally and financially. Today’s guest knows this all too well, and he’s made it his life’s mission to help us be ready, not by working harder, but by working smarter with what we already know. I’m honored to welcome Bart Morrell to the show. An international entrepreneur, speaker, and author of the book monetize your mindset, he’s been hustling since before he could legally drive. And yes, he did crash his parents car at 8. From launching his first commercial bungee jump in Japan to navigating a life altering amputation, Bart’s story is anything but ordinary. But it was a moment of personal adversity that led him to ask, what do I already know that could help me create income and security? That question became the foundation for his book and his mission. Bart, I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s dig into how we can prepare before life demands it.
[00:01:19 – 00:01:20]
Thanks. Thanks for having me on the show.
[00:47:08 – 00:48:08]
Because the snowmobile doesn’t have a personality, right? It wheels, it wheels whatever is on it, driving it. Just like money. People say money’s evil. No, it’s not. Money has absolutely zero personality. Is the personality of the person that wields it and what their heart and what they’re, you know, a heartfelt, centered person is. And that money reflects it. Right. That’s why you’ll have the same portion of the population that always donates to charities or their churches and stuff. And you can have, you know, a couple thousand people in my church, it holds 1500. Overflow is a couple thousand. But it’s always. Because I know the people that do all the financials. It’s the same 5 to 8% that donate year after year after year to support. Right. It just. It is. It is what it is. Everybody’s got a different. It’s centered on here, right? What that money is going to be worth. But that’s amazing, though. What’s. I want to ask something about your book, unless you have something that you want to add before I ask some specifics.
[00:48:08 – 00:52:45]
So let, let me answer the question you asked. You know, do you worry about, about getting tired of your side Hustle. That’s okay if it happens. You just need to know when to say uncle. And I’ll give you two examples real quick. As a kid, like I told you, I don’t remember not having a horse, but they were never my horse. And so when. And I had this horse that was my horse. Not really my horse, but it was the one I rode. His name was George, and he was a fairly tall horse. And I was seven years old. And I went to my dad and I said, dad, when is George going to be my horse? So what are you talking about? George is your horse? I says, no, George is your horse and Randy’s horse, my brother. When is, when is George going to be my horse? And so he thought about it a second and he says, well, when you can put the saddle on by yourself. And we’re not talking a little tiny English saddle. We’re talking a full adult western saddle. Have. Probably heavier than I was at the time, but I was excited. I tied George at the pole in the backyard, grabbed a stool from the, from the table, took it out, set it by George, drug the saddle over to the table, to the stool, hopped up there. I picked it up and got it up just enough to press on the side of George, and George stepped to the side and I fell on my face. I did that every Saturday. You remember Saturday morning cartoons. After Saturday morning cartoons, George was tied up at the back and I was trying to put on that saddle. Wouldn’t succeed. I would go get dad or my brother, they would put on the saddle for me, and I’d go ride my horse. Fast forward to 12 years old. I finally did it. I put that saddle on George by myself and George was my horse. Just in time to sell him and buy me another horse for rope for roping. Because I was into the rodeo scene. And we bought an old horse named Buck that would take care of me. But I did it. Now, several years ago, I decided I wanted to be a poker player and that I wanted to make my living playing poker. And you could play poker online and make with. For real money and make money. I did it for about eight months and I. Oh, man, I studied, I studied poker better than I studied accounting. I mean, I was, I was reading books this thick about poker, learning how to play poker. I, I really focused and, and got into it. Eight months passed and I kind of looked at my poker account and I was positive. $500. And I looked at my time and I put it in there and how much? I made about 20 cents an hour. That wasn’t going to pay the bills. And so I put poker on the back burner. It’s not something that I’m trying to make a living at. So why did I give George five years and give poker eight months? It’s because with George, I knew I could do it because I saw dad do it. I had mentors right there by my side showing me how to do it. My dad, my brother, other cowboys that I was around, watching them do their saddle in their horse. I knew I could do it. I just need to get bigger and stronger and put in the effort. So I continued until I got George poker. I had books, but I didn’t have someone telling me, hey, do this, you’re doing good, blah, blah, blah. And it may have turned out the same. They may have said, dude, you’re not good at poker. You better. You better give it up. It may have turned out the same. But the thing is, I. I had mentors here to help me, and I didn’t have mentors here. So I said uncle. And your mentor may tell you that it’s time to say uncle and. And give it up. But it’s always good to have mentors to help you through the process to get you to where you want to be. And that’s doing it yourself, trying to figure out, okay, should I give it up or should I move forward? What should I do? If you can figure it out, great. But I know mentorship is going to help you make better decisions and make them in a quicker, more timely manner, if you have that. And so that’s. That’s my advice on trying to know when to say uncle is. Have someone right there in your pocket to. To help you get through things.
[00:52:46 – 00:53:54]
Exactly. And for those listening or watching a mentor a coach is an investment, not an expense. That’s another thing you have to change within your mindset is thinking about everything on a monetary basis as being an expense, because just it’s telling your brain that you’re going to worry about money again. And instead of thinking, if I invest this, I’m going to have somebody tell me what way to go. Maybe I need to go a different path. They can help you collapse time frames. I am totally for coaching and mentoring. I’ve done it. I still do it today for myself. It’s just. It is what it is having that person I can be. Bounce things off of. I don’t have somebody specifically hired anymore because I’ve built relationships with enough people over the last 30 years of attending events and stuff. They bounce things off of me, I bounce things off of them. But at one point in time I paid for coaching. Yeah, lots of money. I paid for coaching to get better. Right. And mentored and it’s. And it improved me. It did, it collapsed time frames and it gave me really, if you get a good mentor coach, oh, cheer friends, you become friends. It’s not even about money.
[00:53:54 – 00:55:20]
Sean, my dog training buddy, who I took his course, it was, it was $8,000 to go through his program. It was two months, all day, every day working with their dog. They had a bigger, a big training facility where they had 30, 40 dogs in it all the time. And so I got to get my hands on 100 plus dogs during that two month period. I invested in it. I started my own business. When I got done my first year, I met a business partner at the same event and we partnered up on the expenses side of things, the website, the Google Ads, the other stuff that we have to pay together on. But then he does the one on one training. I do the board and train where they come in my house so we don’t compete with each other. And that first year I made almost a hundred thousand dollars on my dog side hustle. He made almost $50,000 on his side hustle. But we wouldn’t have done it if we hadn’t spent the $8,000 to get the training. And it, we wouldn’t have known how to do it properly. And, and with that mentorship and I can still call Sean and say, Sean, I need to work. I got this problem, how can I fix it? You know, he’s going to be one of my buddies forever and he will help me out. Doesn’t cost me any more to call him, but I had to make that initial investment to get it off the ground.
[00:55:21 – 00:57:39]
Well, that, that mentor, our coaches are like, you know, you see a, a fire for an example. People put all the wood and stuff in, but yet without the spark, without the flame to ignite, never. It never grows to its full potential, does it? It just sits there. It’s not giving off any heat. It’s not going being able to cook food. It’s not keeping you, you know, warm. Mentorship is that spark, that flame that can ignite the drive and passion that you’ve compartmentalized and driven down because of learned behaviors from childhood, from social experiences that made you think differently than you should be. Right. Maybe a negative experience. So yeah, I, we’re on the same page. Mentorship’s so important, coaching is so important. And it’s just that investment Mindset that people need to understand as, as opposed to always thinking yet they’ll go on a holiday for two weeks, get in debt on a credit card and spend the next year paying it off. And I’m talking from experience finance dude. Right. I do a lot of budgeting and, and spreadsheet work with people and at the end of the day they don’t realize that their most precious thing is their life. And their life’s in session. It’s not a dress rehearsal. Invest in themselves. Don’t go on a holiday for a few years if you’re like, go to a local lake bayou, go do some stuff, go hiking, go. There’s, there’s a lot of low cost things that we have in our own countries, our own for you state, for me province, our own cities, our own municipalities have different things that we don’t look for because we look at society and they’re going all over the place traveling and, and you see the facade but you don’t see the reality at the back end. Right. They’re never really truly building their lives or they’re, they’re temporarily happy or for a couple weeks. Whereas I’d rather, rather be temporarily uncomfortable to be lazy in lifestyle later. Right. And, and I tell people that you need to be temporarily uncomfortable. What that temporary is for you? I don’t know, let’s figure it out. Maybe it changes two years from now and, and you thought it was a, a three year game plan and oh, it’s got to be five because you run into some hurdles and as a manager we work on that with one another. Right?
[00:57:39 – 01:00:06]
Yeah. And we don’t know what the time frame is going to be. And the time frame is going to be what it’s going to be. I, I don’t quit. I told you about putting my putting your, your list, your six lists into two lists. And one of those lists is how soon can you turn it into a stream of income. You may not know how quick it going to be or how long it’s going to take. The bungee jump thing, I said yes. And three months later I was making money pushing people off the top of. Well, I didn’t actually push, but I did kind of assist a little bit. But it happened quick. It was really quick. Another. So several years ago my wife told me that she was getting more than she bargained for and that she would like to see a little less of me. She said I was too fat. And I said huh, okay, now she was being funny, but she was serious. And if I look Back on my before picture, I was pretty bad. I was six’4,285 pounds. So I was getting to the 300 pound mark. But when I decided, okay, I’m going to give my wife what she bargained for, I’m going to lose weight, I said to myself once again, okay, I may not be wanting to do this, but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to get paid for it. And so I thought, okay, my wife wants me to get back to my wedding weight, which is a lot. A goal for a lot of people is to get back to their wedding weight. I went to Google, typed it in back to myweightingweight.com it was available. I bought it right there on the spot. I didn’t even have a plan to lose the pounds. I’m just like, okay, I got it. I held on to that domain for over seven years. And it didn’t turn into a stream of income until my friend from California, she calls me up. Her name’s Beth Bart, you got to try this. It’s amazing. It’s awesome. You tried. You don’t like it, you can get your money back. And I’m like, beth, Beth, calm down. What is it? It’s the 10 day celebrity transformation Cleanse. Beth. I want to do a 10 day cleanse. Like, I want a colonoscopy. And that’s not very bad. Now, I was trying to embarrass her in front of her friend. She had on the phone with her, but she was pretty quick on her feet and she’s like, well, at your age, you probably need.
[01:00:10 – 01:00:12]
Oh, gotta give her credit for that.
[01:00:12 – 01:01:53]
She, she bugged me. She continued to bug me for about a year and a half and I finally gave in and tried it. My first 10 day cleanse, I lost 18 and a half pounds. I like, oh, that’s cool. I didn’t even have to go to the gym for that. I bought another one. I, I took a break for about four or five days. I did another one, another 11 pounds gone in 10 days. Less than 30 days, I was down 30 pounds. So I did another one and another one. I did four cleanses in two months and five days, lost almost £50. And I was giving my wife what she bargained for. I made it back to my wedding weight. Now it’s not about the amazing oh, Holy Grail cleanse, the Holy Grail weight loss program, but I turned that into a stream of income. Once again, something that I needed to do, not something that I wanted to do or that I like to do or that I was already doing. I needed to do it for myself, for my health purposes and I had to. It took me seven years to get there before I even found it. I mean, I would search too. I, I looked, I looked and everything out there was about the 90 day challenge of me dieting and exercising. It was just, oh, they wanted me to get my butt to the gym and it wasn’t in my DNA. I, I went to the gym. This is a true story. This is not makeup. I went to the gym that first day, bought my three year membership and never went back again.
[01:01:55 – 01:02:17]
That’s typical though for a lot of people, especially the New Year’s people, they buy their memberships. I have friends that are personal trainers and that they’re really busy. January, February, then the rest is, they’re starving. But the, the gym facility is still doing well because people are blocked into a contract and they got residual income. And they really don’t care if you show up or not.
[01:02:17 – 01:02:48]
No, the gym doesn’t care if I come or not. And that’s what happened to me. And that’s why it took me seven years to find something that worked for me. I can focus for the 10 days and it may not be fun. The green drink doesn’t taste great and it’s not a water cleanse, it’s a vegan cleanse. So I’m still having vegetables and stuff, but it’s a system and the system worked for me. But the thing about it is is I held onto that domain for seven years before it turned into a stream of income. And now it’s a stream of income for me.
[01:02:48 – 01:03:07]
I’ve got a bunch of domains I own too for the future because I’ve had these creative ideas, but it, right now, it’s not the right time for it, but I have them. I’m the same way. I’ve gone in, oh, okay, quickly look to see. Oh, I’m buying it. So I pay 30 bucks a year or whatever it costs to keep it. I don’t care.
[01:03:08 – 01:04:52]
And, and so you may be wrong. I thought I would have done the weight loss. I thought it would be quick. It wasn’t seven years. Japan. I had no idea I was going to get there that quick. We talked about the German ride. So my Japanese company that did the bungee jump stuff, they called me when I was in America and they said, we saw this thing on tv, it’s in Germany. It’s a complete unattached free fall into a net from about 150ft in the air. We want you to go try it. And I’m thinking. And I actually told them, I says, three fall into a net from 150ft in the air. That’s got to hurt. Yeah, I know. That’s why we want you go to. That’s why I want you to go try it. So I called Germany. Germany says, no, it’s just for stunt people right now. I’ll call you back whenever it’s time for the public. I thought I would have never got a call back. I got a call back, they said, it’s ready. Two months later, and I was on a plane to Germany. I went there, tried it three times, flew on to Japan. I sold three in the States or three in Japan for the Japanese company. And then the year the j. The German company hired me to build two here in the United States. And it just happened because I’m here, and I was willing to say yes to that trip to Germany, and it did. And just first, so, you know, it didn’t hurt. Each corner of that. The square net that you fall into is hooked to a bungee cord. And so it just kind of. And cradles you as you. As you land. And so it was. It was a fun ride. It’s. It was great.
[01:04:52 – 01:04:57]
That’s awesome. But jumping 15 stories into a net, I don’t know.
[01:04:57 – 01:05:20]
Well, and you didn’t jump. They. They put you in a harness and they hooked you to, like, a release cable, a release carabiner. And they would say, okay, we’re going to give you a countdown to three. And then they pulled the thing and it released you, and you didn’t have a choice, but you. You’re falling butt first so that you can’t. That wouldn’t be bad behind you. But you didn’t have to jump. They just said, three, two, one. And then you’re.
[01:05:20 – 01:05:20]
Oh.
[01:05:22 – 01:06:27]
And so, funny story. I’m dating my wife, she’s Japanese. And I. I had this. I had the bungee jump. I had the sky coaster, the big swing thing in Lagoon or in some of the amusement parks. And then I had this. This German ride in the park. And then I had one that we were designing, developing ourselves. And my wife, she was trying to impress me, and so she went on all of my rides, and I had that release carabiner hooked up on the. The nothing but net is what it’s called in the States. But there’s also another carabiner that hooks so that if it releases soon, she doesn’t drop until you’re ready for her to drop. Well, the first time I said, 3, 2, 1, and pulled the thing, I forgot to unhook the safety, and so she dropped, like, less than a foot, and it caught her, and so she had to go through it twice. I picked her back up, hooked her back into the thing, took off the safety, and then did another three tour. But she got two of the.
[01:06:29 – 01:06:31]
Oh, my gosh, my poor wife.
[01:06:31 – 01:06:32]
What she went through.
[01:06:33 – 01:06:35]
That’s good. You got a good support network.
[01:06:36 – 01:06:45]
Then we got married, and there’s no more extreme thrill rides for her. She’s like, nah, I got you. I already got you. We ain’t doing that anymore.
[01:06:46 – 01:06:54]
She got you. It was like the. The. The worm on the hook, and then a fish bites it. Too late. She gotcha.
[01:06:55 – 01:06:56]
Yep.
[01:06:56 – 01:07:28]
Not doing that again, hubby. So I know from. Right. Let’s talk a couple more things or wrap up the show your book, monetize your mindset. I know from writing my own book, I found it to be very cathartic that I learned things that I had apartmentalized and even pushed back myself. Some things where I had to kick myself in the pants as I was writing it. Other things I was like, pat myself in the back because, wow, I didn’t realize how much impact I had. Right. On my own life personally and on others. Was your book cathartic for you to write? What was the experience like?
[01:07:29 – 01:07:46]
Writing was hard, so I wrote everything. And then I spent six months with a creative editor going over it, and we went over every page, and he, in detail, would ask me questions to make sure I was getting my point across.
[01:07:46 – 01:07:46]
Frost.
[01:07:47 – 01:08:28]
And there are sometimes when it’s just the littlest thing that he’s wanting to understand better, but he didn’t understand. And he’s like, no, I want to understand it, because I want everybody who reads this book to understand it. And so he would help me fix things, make them more understandable. And so that was kind of a painful process going. I mean, I spent hours. I mean, we’re every day on. On a zoom type call where we’re going over page by page, word by word by word. But then I went back, and even just the other day, I was thumbing through it looking for something, and I stopped to read apart. I’m just like, wow, I’m good.
[01:08:30 – 01:08:36]
That was good. And that impactful moment day, it’s just like.
[01:08:36 – 01:09:29]
And I just like. And then I had. So I had one friend who was a. She’s a speaker as well, and I had had her come and speak at the. The drug rehab center that I worked at or that I volunteered at. And as a gift I gave her my book for coming in speaking because she did it for free and she gave it to her son to read. And her son was 16 years old and he had, she said he was kind of a, she was kind of a, kind of a kept to himself. He wasn’t, didn’t go out, didn’t have a lot of friends. He would do his own thing, you know, kind of a computer nerd. I don’t want to say nerd is the word, but you know, he was just really into stuff that not a lot of people, he didn’t have friends that were there with him. And somewhere in this book I talk about, I talk about getting with like.
[01:09:29 – 01:09:35]
Go ahead and show, show your book because people on YouTube, there you go, people watching, nice book cover.
[01:09:35 – 01:10:33]
And so she said he read that he needed to get around like minded people. He hadn’t had a birthday party since he was like 10. And he came to her on his, I think it was his 15th birthday party, not his 16th. And she, he said I want to have a birthday party because in this book it says I need to get around like minded people. I want to invite people that I’m gonna like the same stuff I do and get to know them. Not my intention for the book, but she was just so excited that he finally wanted to try and make friends and get around people who supported his type of computer gaming, all that kind of stuff. And he did it. And she’s like, he hadn’t had a birthday in over five years and now he’s having a birthday, a birthday party. I thought that was cool. It affected something that I didn’t even really intend it to, to be.
[01:10:34 – 01:12:02]
That’s the best thing though. Thank you. Sharing that is when like I wrote my book and it came out in 2021 and the age category of people that have reached out to me of how it’s affected their lives. One guy started up a business, he’s an American, we’ve met at a couple events, become really good friends, he said. And he told me which chapters affected him the most. He said these ones are. Okay, that’s another thing. When you write a book, I write my, my, my people that we work with, I went to the same thing as you. They’d ask questions. We dumbed it down to a grade 8 level. And that’s not to be mean to anybody listening. We wanted to make sure that things weren’t missed. And is every single thing in Bart’s Book or my book gonna resonate with you? Maybe helpful. Most times it’s specific chapters. I had an 18 year old girl, she’s now 23 that read that 19 year. 18, 19, whatever. That’s her dad reached out to me. My book changed her life. She wrote an article about me in high school for a high school paper. Right. Just little things like that. We need to hear those because yeah, you know, we can look at it and self reflect like you said, you go hey, I’m pretty good. Right? But it’s so nice when we hear somebody say our name. Hey, right, Art. That’s a pretty good part of your book that changed my life. And here’s how it changed it. It’s like chest pumps out. It’s like, yeah. You know what I mean? So that’s great that that that experience happened for you.
[01:12:02 – 01:13:08]
And so I actually published my book. I had 200 copies at my house. And I’m realizing because I’m going to some of these business type events and 70% of the people there are women, women entrepreneurs. And I go through my book and all my examples are men. All of my examples that I used for different monetizer mindset are men. So we got together and we wrote another chapter. It’s called Mamatize it and it’s all women entrepreneurs and the things that they have, you know, different things that they have done with different outcomes. Because I had thought about women for my, for my testimonials in the book, but I didn’t think about putting them in examples. I’m like, what am I doing? How did I miss that? And so I wrote it again and ordered 200 more copies. And so I had to add a chapter. But you got to, you got to fix things if they’re not right.
[01:13:08 – 01:13:48]
Well, absolutely. Like people, you ever bought a book and there’s another revision one, revision two or whatever the case may be. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve even seen books change their title because they had a terrible title. And all of a sudden now like I’ve had people on my show that happened change the title of the book and all of a sudden went to nothing to bestseller. Right. And just because people have to be attracted visually to your book, what the title says, right. That’s your, that’s your catch. That’s the same as a subject line in an email. How many emails have crappy subject lines? But yet the meat of the email is great, yet you never open and read it.
[01:13:48 – 01:13:49]
Yep.
[01:13:50 – 01:13:50]
Right.
[01:13:50 – 01:14:11]
And I’m in the process of re Doing a revision now because AI wasn’t around when I wrote the book. So learning how to use AI. And then there’s so many tools like we were talking about Descript and there’s Canva. There’s all sorts of tools now that make life so much easier for the Solopreneur or the side Hustler.
[01:14:11 – 01:14:12]
Oh my gosh. Yes.
[01:14:12 – 01:14:33]
And so I’m. I’m in the process of doing a revision right now. Adding a chapter on these tools that are out there and that you need to take advantage of. Don’t be afraid just because they cost you a little money. Don’t be afraid to use them. Once again, it’s like the mentor tools to make your life more easier. There’s mentors to make your life more easier. Do it.
[01:14:33 – 01:17:29]
Here’s one of the most famous books in history. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dale Carnegie’s kids rewrote that book. So how to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age. It still has the meat and potatoes of what Dale talked about, but it’s in the digital age. Talks about social media, talks about this, talks about that. And I have people going, well, they shouldn’t have done that. They’ve wrecked their dad’s book. No, they brought it to a new age. So that, yes, the book’s still relevant. The original book is still amazing. Right. Taught people a lot about how to, you know, when friends influence people and literally make a difference in their lives. One of my favorite all time books. But when I listen to. I bought the Audible and I’m listening to it, it’s still the same book. But now they interject social. Social consciousness and how things have changed as evolution. Right. There’s only one person that I’ve, you know, I look at Outwitting the Devil by. Geez. I’m trying to think of his, the author’s name now. I have one of those old man brain farts. Sorry, people listening. But you know, that book was written in the 30s and I’m just trying to think about who the author is. But that book was written in the 30s and they didn’t publish it until 2011. Sharon. A lady by the name of Sharon Lecter. A lot of people might know her. Chicken Soup for the Soul. Different things that she’s worked in different, you know, avenues of her life and supported. She got this permission from the family to publish this book for people that know what I’m talking about. I’m sorry, I just. Napoleon Hill. Thank you. I just popped into my head, somebody out there Just sent it in to me. It was right. Napoleon Hill or part of me. Outwitting the Devil. Get the Audible. Listen to that book. But it is relevant today as much as it was back then. If he would have published it back then, he would have been probably killed. Like, because he talks about social consciousness, the healthcare system, political. He talks about education, he talks about everything. And he’s interviewing the devil. They have two people doing the whole book on Audible or maybe can get it other places. The point for bringing that up is you look at the relevancy of how to win friends and influence people, and it didn’t touch on that. So they updated it. They didn’t have to. The only thing that Sharon Lecter did in when they narrated, finally released it, I think was 2011, outwitting the devil and still one of my favorite books of all time. I absolutely recommended to people. She, in between the chapters, went, broke it down and even added more relationship connections. So they didn’t really need to rewrite the book. They added it to the audio, which was even more special because I’ve had. I’ve been to online events and different things where she’s been. And you’re right. At the end of the day, things change. You need to change. Add new stuff.
[01:17:30 – 01:17:30]
Yep.
[01:17:30 – 01:17:51]
Good for you, brother. So, Bart, before we wrap up, I’d like to ask each cash guest part of me a version of this. What would you say to someone listening right now who feels stuck, who’s struggling to give a heck about their life, their finances, or their future? What mindset, set shift or spark do they need to never give up?
[01:17:53 – 01:18:05]
Well, my dad, even in death, taught me a lesson, and so I’d like to share that lesson with you. Have you heard the story Acres of Diamonds?
[01:18:05 – 01:18:06]
Yes.
[01:18:07 – 01:19:06]
So acres of Diamonds. For those who don’t know, it’s about a Persian farmer. His name was Ali Afed. He sold his farm. He went in search of diamonds. He died broke, alone in a foreign land, never finding his riches. The new owner of his farm, however, was watering his camel in a brook, saw a strange stone, reached down and picked it up. It was a diamond. He literally found acres of diamonds in what was Alia Fed’s backyard. My family, we have a similar story. Instead of acres of diamonds, it’s called acres of pig poop. Like I said earlier, I grew up in a small town in southern New Mexico. We were in this farm, there were more pigs than people. In this town, there were more pigs than people because of our farm. Dad was a pig farmer. At any One time on our farm, there was probably somewhere around 19,000 pigs. Pigs. We had 2,000 sows. Do you know what a S is?
[01:19:06 – 01:19:07]
Yes.
[01:19:07 – 01:20:43]
A mama pig. A mama pig can give birth 2.5 times a year and we average 9.97 pigs per litter. So for you mathematicians out there, that equals a lot of pig poop. We had these three man made ponds called the lagoons that we would divert the stuff into. One year it’d be going to this one, next year, the next one, next year, the next one. They would just rotate him, settling pots. Now, when dad got in his mid-60s, he decided it was time to shut down the pig operation and go in search of his next big thing, his next acres of diamonds. He died at age 81. He never found his next big thing, his next big opportunity. Two years after his death, we sold the farm for $235,000, which was a fair price for the property at the time. Six months later, they were leveling those man made ponds. They’d been dry on top for years, but as they were running the heavy grater across the top there, it broke through the crust and sunk up to its belly in this black muck. They called in experts to analyze the stuff. And right there on the spot, they offered the new owners of what was our farm, $2,000 a ton for the sh. Sh. Stuff.
[01:20:45 – 01:20:46]
Pig poop.
[01:20:47 – 01:21:05]
That’s a dollar a pound for old pig poop. Poop. The. The farm was now worth over a million dollars. Old pig poop. Piles of old pig poop was. Acres of diamonds right under my dad’s nose.
[01:21:06 – 01:21:07]
Wow.
[01:21:08 – 01:21:34]
So what about you? What about your listeners? Where’s your acres of diamonds? Have you discovered them yet? Are you right on the verge, Church? Have you given up? Or are you overlooking them like Alia Fed and my dad? They could be right there in your own backyard, right there within your grasp, right there under your nose.
[01:21:36 – 01:21:37]
Yeah. That’s amazing.
[01:21:38 – 01:22:42]
So you need to do what it takes. Just all you need to do is be aware. What do you like to do? What do you need to do? What are you already doing? Can you monetize one, two, even three of those things and turn them into your acres of diamonds? I mean, that’s. That’s all it is. It’s awareness. Just be aware of what’s all around you. And then you got to take action. You gotta jump. You gotta take that step up, step off the bungee tower and jump. Because that’s the hardest part. The hardest part’s the first step now to help people A lot of times it’s just to help them get their juices flowing, to get their memory going. I have a free giveaway. It’s 25 successful side hustles for 2025. You can find it at offer bartmart, offer1.bart merrill.com forward/25,425. And you will get all that information in the notes and stuff.
[01:22:42 – 01:22:44]
Yeah, I’ll get you to send it all to me.
[01:22:45 – 01:23:26]
And it’s for free. And it’s just a memory jogger. It’s stuff that’s out there. You may look at it and say, oh, yeah, I know about that, but there’s going to be other stuff that you’re saying, no, I didn’t, I didn’t know about that. I didn’t realize that. I like that. But it’s just to get your, your mind going, get you to start thinking your, your opportunity might not even be on that. Probably isn’t on that list. It’s just a memory jogger to get you thinking about what’s in your own backyard, what’s right there, just right there within your grasp. And so just take that and read it. It’s free to you. There’s a. My other YouTube channel that I just started. I don’t know if you can read this. I think it’s kind of blurry.
[01:23:26 – 01:23:28]
I see Samurai on it. That’s it.
[01:23:28 – 01:23:50]
The side Hustle Samurai. So it’s Bart Merrill, side hustle samurai on YouTube. I just give. I answer questions, I give ideas, and I talk about monetizing your mindset and getting information out to people and. But you may need me, you may not need me, but if I can help, I’m glad to be of help.
[01:23:50 – 01:24:02]
Fantastic. And you can head over to your website, I assume, which art merl.com. yeah. To find out information about you and get your book and stuff, I assume.
[01:24:03 – 01:24:03]
Yes, sir.
[01:24:04 – 01:24:05]
Fantastic.
[01:24:05 – 01:24:09]
I’ll make sure you can also find. You can also find my book on Amazon as well.
[01:24:09 – 01:24:10]
So that’s good.
[01:24:10 – 01:24:31]
Don’t care what you. I don’t care where you get it. Just get it, read it. And I hope you get some ideas. Once again, this book is not a what to do book. It’s a how to think book. It’s giving you different examples of different people that I know and the side hustles that they do. Some mind, some other people’s fantastic.
[01:24:31 – 01:24:38]
That’s awesome. So I appreciate you being on the show. Do you have any last comments before I wrap up the show?
[01:24:39 – 01:24:43]
The last comment is go monetize. It.
[01:24:44 – 01:24:47]
Give a heck, Bart. Thank you.
[01:24:48 – 01:24:52]
Hey, that’s good. Give a heck and go monetize it. There we go.
[01:24:52 – 01:25:35]
We should do. Hey, there you go. There’s our podcast. We’ll do it together. We can look at it. Hey, you never know. We both. We both have a lot of commonalities and thought processes and stuff, and I think we could help a lot of people. So. Food for thought. Figure that one out. Monetize, man. Just teasing. Anyway, thank you for being a living example of turning pain into purpose and knowledge and into freedom. And to all you listening, this is a reminder. It’s never too late to give a heck. You just have to take the first step. Be kind, be bold, and always, always give a heck about your life.