Blaze Your Own Trail - S2:E19- Venture Mentality with Jacob O'Conner

Episode Date: July 31, 2020

Jacob is the CEO of Venture Mentality which started as a podcast in September of 2019. After spending 8 months interviewing some of the most successful people in the world, Jacob decided to turn VM into an official business, Venture Mentality LLC. While the podcast still continues, the VM clothing line has become the new focus. Both facets, podcast and apparel, serve the purpose of spreading the VM mindset. Venture Mentality is more than a brand, it's a lifestyle. The purpose of Venture Mentality is to create a like-minded community for those looking to improve their lives and seek to live life to the fullest. They understand that challenge and adversity come with the territory of improvement and adventure, but growth is the only acceptable outcome. Venture Mentality is for those willing to chase their goals and pursue their bucket-lists; it's for those that Dare to Dream. In this episode we discuss: Jacob's childhood His passion for basketball Why he started his podcast His first job What his plans are for the future Connect with Jacob: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venture.mentality/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-o-connor-89a708167/ Website: https://venturementality.com/ Enjoy the show? Be sure to rate/review us on itunes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blaze-your-own-trail-with-jordan-mendoza/id1493356125 Follow us on Instagram for more content! http://instagram.com/jordanjmendoza Thanks for listening!! Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoy this episode with Jacob O'Connor. Jacob is the CEO of Venture Mentality, which was started as a podcast in September of 2019. He interviewed some of the world's top leaders and most successful people and decided to turn venture mentality into in official business. So this interview is with a 18-year-old kid that took action and is now an entrepreneur that's, seeing success from a merch standpoint as well as a podcast standpoint. So tune in. I hope you enjoy it. Jacob's got a good head on his shoulders,

and I know he's going to be doing some big things for the years to come. So check out this episode, and I'll talk to you after. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. I'm your host, Jordan Mendoza. And I've got a very special guest today. His name is Jacob O'Connor, and I'm going to give him just a second to tell you, who he is and what he's all about.

Thank you for the introduction, Jordan. So yeah, as you said, my name is Jacob. A recent senior in high school just graduated actually yesterday. And I, for the last eight months, have been running a podcast called Ventra mentality. It's been doing very well. I've been fortunate enough to have on some big guests, such as people featured on Sports Illustrated, TV actors, billionaires. I had on the founder of Netflix recently.

So I've just been very fortunate to have some really cool guests come on and to be able to share their story with my audience. Awesome, man. Well, hey, first off, congratulations on graduating. You know, I know that's a big milestone, right? That's kind of the first milestone, right, as you go into adulthood. So congrats on that, first of all. And really want to find out about you.

So, you know, where were you born and raised? And, you know, how were you as a kid? You know, was there always, you know, this interest in journalism or broadcasting or media or anything like that? So let's give the audience. So how were you, you know, probably 17 right now, almost going to be 18, but how were you when you were younger? Were you more focused on academics? Were you into sports? What were some things that you think have really brought you into what you're doing now?

Yeah, so I've always been, I've always done very well in school. But the place where I was always able to kind of excel and to seal a direct correlation between the amount of work that I put in and the outcome that I received was basketball. Basketball for me was everything up until about this last year. Whenever I got into podcasting and this whole other world, but it was easy for me to fall in love with basketball just because, one, I could play by myself so I could practice all the time with myself being the youngest of four people, four siblings, whenever they all left for college or everything like that.

And I was just at home by myself. It was easy to just grab basketball and just play. And one of the things that I always liked about basketball was that you may not be the best shooter, you may not be the best dribbler, but it's so much dependent upon your effort. So if you could try really hard and if you could put a lot of work in physically, then your defense and your rebounding ability would be that much better than everyone else is, regardless of how rough of a night you might have shooting or how much you might struggle with handles one night. So rebounding and defense is really where I excelled just because I've always been able to try very hard.

that's awesome yeah basketball it's um it's my favorite game too i play a lot of basketball you can see behind me i've got a bunch of backs and figures and so i'm big into it man and and i feel you so i have six brothers so you know as you can imagine summer's got real competitive right whether you know doesn't matter where you fall in line because when you have siblings it's always competitive it's always a competition so do you think having those older siblings really helped elevate your game? Well, you see, so I only, I've got one brother and he's eight years older than me. So I was, he was more of a role model for me than like a competitive playing against each other just because the age difference. But me being able to watch him and see like kind of following in his footsteps,

that's really what did it for me. Okay. Yeah. And that's awesome too to have, have a mentor, right? Like a relative, but someone that you can look up to and say, wow, like I have aspirations to, you know, want to excel like they did. Okay. So that's super cool. So did you play all through, and I'm sure with, I don't know if COVID impact everything because of the seasons are. So did you play all four years? Yeah, yeah, I did. I've been playing since I was like six and I just finished up my senior season this year. So it's been awesome.

Okay. And so were there thoughts? And maybe there still are. I don't know you can tell you can share with the audience. But what did that next level look like? And let's just say this, prior to starting your show, what did that next level look like as far as basketball is concerned? If you would ask me, like, freshman or sophomore year, I would have very confidently told you that I was going to play. I was either going to play at a D2 school or sit the bench at a D1 school.

But once, you know, things kind of started changing, which there was an event my junior year that really kind of changed the trajectory of how I looked at basketball versus the things I'm doing now. And so if you would have asked me prior to that, I would have said basketball and college. But then after that, I would have said, no way, just because I know that my passion kind of changed and that the amount of time I needed to do all of this would have been too great to balance that with basketball again. Okay. So what was that, what was that pivotal moment? And I love this because every guest that I have on, no matter how old or how young they are, there's always a pivotal moment. There's always something that shifts our perspective in such a way that really takes us down a path that we never. ever even thought, you know, was possible. So what was it for you? Yeah, so it was nothing super

dramatic for me. That's actually one of the things that I really like, you know, because I think a lot of people, they almost try and like find something in their life that they need to like push up against to shift their trajectory. But for me, it was just kind of, it was kind of natural. So my junior year of high school, I was selected to be a part of an entrepreneurial group at my school. So basically, what that means is that for the first two hours of each school that we would have the opportunity to leave school, travel throughout the community, see the local businesses here from guest speakers, and we were eventually challenged to start our own business. So I did this my junior year and early just started to kind of shift my paradigm as to what I thought was possible and the different

things that could be accomplished, you know, online or with a brick and mortar store, just really open my eyes to the business world. And so what about that open your eyes? Because I think it's important to give people context. Was it was it the fact that you could see yourself running a sustainable business? Was it maybe a leadership speaker that you heard and their story resonated with you? So what was it that said, you know what? Like, I can see myself doing this. Yeah, so there were definitely some great speakers and some great like events and stuff that we attended. But what really did it for me was whenever we were challenged to create our own product to start our own service, it was kind of like in the back of my head. I'd always had it kind of pictured as

like, well, I can do something kind of small like a little lemonade shop or something like that. Nothing bigger than that. You have to have money and you have to be older and you have to have all these connections and stuff. But that wasn't the case. I ended up creating a product for truck drivers. It was a seat cushion that helps absorb shock to help with their back posture and everything that goes on with that because that's a big problem for truck drivers, the shock vibrations. And so through that process, I actually worked with a local company that makes medical cushions for wheelchairs. And while I was working with them, they were really impressed, I guess, with my creativity and I guess the knowledge that I had in that field. And they ended up offering me a position,

an internship for the summer on their product development team. So going into my senior year, I'd been working on their product development team for like the last four or five months, which was super cool. And it was really an experience that was quite crazy to have. I kind of looked at that and I said, like, what other kid do I really know that's been able to do this? That was solely like kind of the shift that was like, okay, I made that happen by creating this product and taking action. And then all of a sudden, here I am making money working for this company with a bunch of like 40 year old dudes. And I'm sitting there at 17 in their office. Like anything was really possible at that point. And so it was from that point on that I started just picturing stuff and

going a little bit bigger. And you set a key word there, my friend, and that's action, right? Like you have to, you have to take action. There's plenty of other 17 year olds that, yeah, you're right they're like what are we going to do this weekend or we were we going to go hoop right like what and you're saying you know what like i'm making this this time commitment like i put myself in a position to literally learn right learn from people that and learn from their mistakes and really kind of paved the way for this new journey for you so after this uh this internship what was what was your next step yeah so actually it was during the internship that i got the idea for the podcast because i had a little bit of downtime you know i was the young kid i was kind of

of doing the leftover jobs for them. And so I was always listening to music. And once I heard out of music, I turned a podcast. And it was at that point that I heard some podcasts with Casey Brown, with Casey Adams and Joel Brown. And they were interviewing other people that were super successful. And I found it absolutely fascinating. And I was like, well, why can't I do that?

Like, these guys are a little bit older than me. Like, what is different between them? And it kind of opened up a question in my head that I really attribute a lot of stuff. to that I've been able to accomplish and that is what separates the high performers from the average joes and so with that idea in the back of my head with that question I kind of said okay I'm going to start interviewing people in searching for this answer I'm going to start talking to the most successful people that I know the most successful people that I can find and basically asking them like hey what did it for you and then sharing that out with everyone else yeah and

I love that that take because for one I mean you get to be this student all the time right and not only a student that's learning from people but you're learning from people that are the best at what they do right and and when you can really get that magical unlock of what it was that got them to where they are I mean like like what a beautiful thing to get because you know those are things that and that's what I really enjoy about the podcast space is you know we can all learn and we can educate people through our content and we can learn from others and and it's just this amazing community of people that are always constantly looking to grow and looking to learn. Definitely. And one of the cool things with that was that, so Casey and Joel were two

of my role models to that point. And they're very well respected and very well known in the podcasting business community. And so I made it my goal to have them both on my show. And looking at it, like it wouldn't have made sense that I'd be able to get them on, especially with the little experience that I had, but within like three months of me making that goal, I'd had both them on my show. At that point, it was also just like, if I was able to do that, do it that quickly, then sky's the limit. That's exactly it. Yeah. So, you know, I'm learning a few things about you, right? So for one, you like to take action, right? And you're constantly learning and trying to become, you know, a better version of you, you know? And I think your show definitely creates

a place for that to happen, which is great. So, you know, what, what were those, you know, handful of goals? I know to get your two role models on, I'm sure that was a, that was a big goal that you had. So what were some other goals that you set, that you hit? And then also, I would love to find out which ones did you set and you haven't accomplished yet that are still on that list. Yeah, so really there's a lot of micro goals that I've hit. The big picture ones haven't really been touched yet as much, but like as far as like knowing that I'm on track for the big ones, I've been hitting my micro once pretty well. So for example, Casey Brown, Joel Adams, two of the people I wanted to get on the show. I did it. I wanted myself to make it to 100 interviews,

100 episodes. I just crossed that milestone. I was very happy with that. About three months ago, made it a goal that I wanted to get 100 interviews and like, I mean 100 reviews for my podcast in about three months. I hit that mark also. And then, I made it a goal in January that I wanted to start traveling to speak. And actually the same day that I wrote that goal down, I got a call asking me to come out to New York to speak in an event, which was absolutely remarkable. Unfortunately, the event was canceled due to COVID, but just the fact that I'd received that call, it was just crazy, like, how an ID in your head, as soon as you like spoke it out, all of a sudden it just happened. So those are some of the goals that I've hit, but the ones that I haven't hit earlier, the ones that keep kind of driving me. So, for example, making it into the top 50, the top 10 on the business, on the business podcast list.

To have another 100 interviews done, this is something that I'm really trying to push forward. Getting bigger guests like Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, those kind of people on my show. And I've been fortunate to have people like Mark Randolph, founder of Netflix, Trevor Moed, business partners with Russell, and all these other great professionals. But there's really another tier and level that I keep striving to hit to. that's good yeah yeah it's always good to continuously push yourself so i really want to find out so what what does the family thought about all this what are your parents thought i'm sure initially when you talked about going into it there's always like okay well that sounds like fun like go ahead

and do that but you know being able to to watch you grow right as a human and then also see the podcast take off so what's that been like for uh from your parents person perspective and people that are in your small circle. Yeah. So from past experience, I had a habit of like getting super giddy and telling everyone about all these great ideas I was going to do before actually doing it or then I would do it and just completely fail. So this one, you know, I kind of treated it a little bit differently.

I didn't tell anyone for like the first three or four months. And after that point, whenever things started to shift and I started to see some progress and stuff, that's when I started talking about it and sharing it with people. and everyone's been super proud and they've given me some great feedback. I've also gotten some criticism, but that's more valuable than most of the advice or most of the compliments that I get just because of the fact that a lot of people that I talk to, they're the ones that know what they're doing.

And so when they give me something like that, then it's really important for me to look at and to keep going. But I've had a lot of support around me. Awesome. And so what has been your favorite part? Let's take the interviews aside, right? Because I mean, obviously you've got a passion, for learning and really having these conversations.

So interviews aside, what's the other favorite part about podcasting, right? Because, you know, for the listeners that don't have your own show, there's a lot of work that goes in, right? You got to record. You've got to edit. You've got to market.

You've got to, I mean, you've got to continue to elevate your game. So what part of the process is your favorite overall? And maybe is there one that you didn't think you'd enjoy that now you're like, actually, I kind of enjoy doing this.

It really really shifts. You kind of go through ups and downs with it. But I say right now one of my favorite parts of the process is like looking at someone that like doing the initial research of who I want to have on the show. So like looking out and seeing like, okay, this guy's professional baseball player. He's won three MVPs. He played for this team, stuff like that. And thinking to myself like, how cool it would it be if I could get him on the show?

Or like looking at an actor using a bunch of movies and thinking like, what if I got him on the show. It's just really that that for me like almost like the daydreaming portion of it has been super enjoyable. And so one of my favorite things to do is to is to kind of daydream to let it come into fruition in my head and then to just attack every possible avenue of contacting these people and just keep trying to make it happen. You know, I don't expect them to see the messages or to answer. That makes it so much better when they do though. And so I think having that mindset is really what's been able to help keep me going. That's awesome. Yeah. And you know, that's that's one of the things with life, with business, with sales is you can't be afraid of hearing, you know,

the hearing the word, no. Because like you said, I mean, people, people get blasted on DMs all the time, you know. And who knows, it might be that, you know, 101 that gets him, right? For whatever reason, the serendipity of the moment, they just happened to, you know, check out their notification and all of a sudden it was you, right? So I love that. Yeah, it's, the process is definitely, it's a fun. part. So that's literally actually that's literally actually been like kind of the story for me like

the good fortune that I've had like I've had people on the show that you don't see on any of their podcasts and I asked them like why did you say yes and they're like I never check my DMs I never answer my DMs but when I saw yours there's just something about it that I just felt like I needed to do it and you know it's not something that I fully understand but it's really just like knowing that like take action stuff will come back around you. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And, you know, you seem like the type of person, like you really want to get there know their story. And then you also want to help other spread their stories to others, right? And that's a form of reciprocity, my friend. That is a, I want to add value to you. Like they're obviously adding value to you, right? You're getting people that are high caliber, actors, celebrities, authors, speakers. So it's a value trade, right? Because it's really is great for you to have them on your show. But it's also. great for them to be on your show because it can reach an audience that maybe they wouldn't have had before and it can impact people at a scale that maybe that wouldn't have been possible for if

they would have said no right so i so i think it's a dual it's a dual value trade definitely so um what do you think um you know i've heard a little bit about your micro goals and some of the goals that you have on there but what are some other ways that you can elevate uh this because i know you're looking at this this is a business I've got the podcast. I'm going to be doing speaking engagement. So what are some other things that you would like to right now on this show speak into fruition that are some things that you want to go after? Yeah, definitely. So it's been, I want to preface this with saying that like I remember like two years ago thinking about going to that entrepreneurial program and I was literally sitting on my

couch sitting in my bedroom like I have nothing to do right now. All I want is this brilliant idea and something to pursue. I want to have hours and hours of work that I can put it into it. It will grow. And then now I'm sitting here and it's like I could probably spend six or seven hours on this a day and I usually do and still have plenty of work to do the next day, the next day. So when you talk about like, what is it that I want to start coming into fruition and stuff like that? It's crazy because a lot of the stuff that initially I'd want to come to fruition is happening right now. So for example, filing for an LLC, getting the, getting Venture mentality trademarked. And then I had people reach out to me about apparel and stuff like that. So getting all of that negotiated,

finding a good price point. Um, actually turning this into somewhat of a legitimate business, uh, it's much different than just the podcasting side. There's a whole lot of different aspects that you need to consider it. And so you can definitely expect to see merchandise coming out. Just finish my first round of, uh, hat pre-orders. They went very well, um, having T-shirts come out pretty soon here. And yeah, I think that that's for right now. That's going to be the focus. It's just kind of spreading the word through the apparel. Okay. And that's awesome. And so can you give the audience a little context? You know, again, there might be people that are listening that, you know, they're thinking about starting a show. So can you give them just a sense of how much time you're spending on social, right?

So there's plenty of sites you have LinkedIn. You've got Facebook, Instagram, you got Twitter, you got TikTok. So where are you spending time? And then when you're spending time there, I'm sure you've got a purpose, right? There's an intention. There's a, whether it's, I need to send out 100 cold DMs today, or I want to go ahead and post a piece of content to help elevate my personal brand. So can you give the audience a little context into that? Yeah, so the two places that I spend the most time, actually three places.

The first one is email, the second one is LinkedIn. The third one is Instagram. So what I'll do is if I want to ask someone on the show, search their name. First send them a DM, usually in their page. they have an email that you can send them an email address. I send them an email and then I try to find them on LinkedIn as well. But yeah, so one of the things that has been super helpful for me is that before this, I was never on social media. So I knew that whenever I started the podcast, I was going to have to be on Instagram and stuff like that.

And honestly, I kind of dreaded it just because going from that and then having to jump into this. But one of the things that I've done that's been super helpful is I don't follow anyone that, like, I'm friends with, anyone that I actually know. The only people I follow are the guests that I'm trying to get on the show. So that way, whenever I go into my Instagram, whenever I go into my DMs, there's, there's nothing, no one's sending me funny cab videos or TikToks or anything like that. It's only the people that are doing business with me. So it's completely professional. That's helped to keep me focused as I continue to go forward. So, yeah, I spend the most time on Instagram, definitely, and then probably email and then LinkedIn.

Okay. And so what percentage would you say is you creating content versus outreach, right? like cold, cold messaging or making those introductions, like you said, finding their email, researching them and trying to connect. Probably about 80, 20. So I'm spending probably about 80% of my time reaching out, finding contact information, trying to find a way in there. And then about 20% making content just because I outsource for some of my content,

unless the pictures take it by me or a friend or something, all the videos that you see on my page and stuff, I outsource for those. Okay. That's awesome. Well, I think those are definitely some good tips for folks that are thinking about it, right? Because, you know, you're especially, you know, if there's people that you want, they're not just going to all start running to you immediately, right? Like you've got to.

And I think, you know, the thing that I'm noticing and I think you have as well is when you first launch, when you first start out, it is a lot of you trying to find people. But then all of a sudden this paradigm shift happens and you're getting messages from people. And they're like, hey, how can I be on your show? Right? Isn't it? So when was the first time that happened for you? And what was that feeling like? Just to share that with the audience. Yeah. So I had someone reach out to be on my show probably like maybe three months after I started it. So a little bit into the journey. But honestly, it always kind of throws me off and people reach out to me just because the people that I always try and reach are like so high up that I know that they don't usually have time to come and find me. And so, you know, I'm always super grateful when people reach out to me. at the same time. I myself have a vetting process and I hold my guests a very high standard. Awesome. Yeah. And it's definitely nice when you start having folks just come out of the woodworks,

right? Like, and you're like, where did you find me? Like, how did you find out about it? Exactly. Which link did you see and things like that? So what are your thoughts on the show overall, the production overall? Is that something that you considered before releasing that first episode, right because again there's a lot that goes into it you've got to record it then you've got to do the edit process do you outsource most of it or do you like that part of the process yourself um i'm not i don't like it i'm not really a huge fan of it but i don't outsource it i take a lot of pride in having done it myself i think it's a really valuable skill to have um and then at the same time you know obviously i'm still trying to grow everything so the money i'm not really

in a place to outsource it because, you know, my philosophy is if I can do it myself and I can do it just as good or better than someone else, you know, I'm probably more efficiently quite honest. I'll just go ahead and do it myself. And so, yeah, the process behind it is not, when you start a podcast, you know, you don't really understand what actually goes into it. You just say, oh, I've got an interview. Okay, well, wait a second. How am I going to take this video? How am I going to get that into an RSS feed, upload it to the whatever, like where do I even upload this to? How do I get it on Apple and Spotify. So there's a lot more technical side that actually goes into it. But I'm quite proud of myself for having stuck with it and realizing and figuring out how it works and then going

on to helping my other friends and people start podcasts. That's it. And so, you know, with that experience, like now you know how to start a show from scratch. So is that something that you've thought about adding to your wheelhouse, right? You got the LLC, you're rocking a roll and you've got some merch, right? You got some merch coming on. Have you thought about adding that to part of the business? You know, let me now, like, let me teach you, like, or create a course that teaches somebody how to launch their own show, right? I mean, because there's plenty of people out there that would love to know how to do it. Yeah, so I have two thoughts with that, you know, whenever I hear a course, unless it's free, it always kind of bothers me just because I know that all the information you need

is out there for free. I actually had a listener message me yesterday and say, hey, I wanted to learn how to do this one thing with my podcast. Like, do you recommend me buying a course on it? And I told him, no, don't buy a course. You could find anything out there that you need for free. And I know that because that's what I've done. I haven't paid for any course or anything like that. So you can find it.

It's all out there on YouTube. It's all out there on Google. And then the second part, could you repeat the question? Actually, I forgot the second part. That's okay. Yeah. So just thinking about, you know, the business side, you've started the LLC. You've got merch going.

You ever thought about adding something? like that. And again, could be free, right? Could be a free, like this is where you start. This is, this is how I'm going to literally teach you everything that I, that I taught myself how to do. And here's the PDF or here's a power. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. Get that knowledge out there. So I'm definitely considering making a PDF or some sort of YouTube video or something this summer maybe. But what I've actually done is taken my skill and kind of made it in a strategic sense that I look at some of my podcast guests and I look at their businesses. And I think to myself, what could a podcast do for their business? And so I've actually been in a position where I've reached out to a couple of my guests

and said, hey, I'll help you start a podcast. I'll edit the shows. I'll even co-host it with you. And so what I've done with that is it's really smart in the sense that by attaching myself to their names, these are much more credible people than myself. They have much larger followings that they have the capability to connect me with bigger guests and stuff like that. So I essentially have connected myself to a couple different podcasts and it helps to all come back and funnel into the venture mentality by growing it because of the fact that I am now hosting a couple podcasts. That's good. Yeah. And I like that play because again, it's a way that you can add value first, right? I'm a big believer in that. And with my consulting business, that's the way that I operate

is I always want to work with my clients to show them I know what to do, right? Because what happens then is they say, wow, you've added this value to me. Here's how I can partner with you. Here's how I can add value to you. So I really accommodate that approach because it is a, again, it's a dual value add. Like you're adding value to them. They're adding value to you. Your show is growing.

Your brand is growing. And like you said, you're attached to these people who's today, right? And this is just today whose brands are bigger. So it's literally elevating your brand alongside them. Definitely. So what are some things that you enjoy doing outside of podcast? And you know, because this takes up a lot of your time. So I'd love just to give the audience.

So what are some other things that besides basketball because everyone knows that you love the hoop? Like what are some other things that you like to invest your time in? You know, honestly, like I don't want this to sound cheesy, but like everything that I'm doing with this, like whether it's trying to figure out a name or work on a project like business in this field is really what I enjoy. fascinates me. Like if I have free time, I'm going to come find people to connect with. I'm going to find different things to start to build to grow, different avenues. It's super fascinating to me. But besides that, you know, I always enjoy sitting down to watch a good movie, kind of getting lost in the beautiful work that the producers do to put it together. And then, you know, I like hanging out with my friends and just having a good time, just talking with them. I love talking about the future.

That's one of my favorite things to do is to kind of ask people like, well, where do you want to go and just go really deep into that. You can always find a deeper conversation we're talking about the future. Love that, man. Well, you know, I want to find out, you know, I know you just finished up yesterday, right? Just graduated yesterday. So how has this time been, you know, with COVID happening and it impacting, you know, the physical graduation and, you know, all the ways to create memories with family and friends? Like, how have you dealt with that, that whole process? Because, you know, I'm sure. sure is, you know, I know some kids that are, they're seniors that have had to go through this. And it's been a little, a little bit of an adjustment. So what have you been doing to, you know, keep that mindset right? I know probably focusing on your ventures has been helpful for sure.

But, you know, how has that been kind of impacting you a little bit? Yeah, definitely. It's been kind of a blessing in disguise, you know, like as unfortunate as it is. I'm not ignorant enough to forget a time where earlier this year I've seen there. they're thinking, I just need a week off. I just need a week where I can sit down and work on all of this and get caught up. And I fortunately had three months of that. However, you'll notice that my senior year compared to the rest of my years, all of my business went way up, but all of my school went down a little bit.

You know, nowhere drastic, but there was definitely a little bit of an indirect correlation between the two. But I've been, you know, it hasn't hit me too hard just because of the fact that I have been able to keep myself so busy. if I didn't have a podcast going, if I wasn't trying to grow all this, I probably would have gone crazy, honestly. Like, I probably would have been like all my other classmates watching Netflix and TikTok all day. Like, honestly, I'm just so grateful that I had this to kind of fall back on it to really dive deep into. Yeah, and would you say that having the show and interviewing the people that you interview has helped keep that optimism and that mindset up, right?

because like you're talking to some high performers that are also in COVID. So, you know, I always say this, and it's something that I heard from one of my guests not too long ago, but success leaves clues, right? If you're successful and you're not scrambling during a pandemic, you know something that I need to know, right? So has having these guests on and having the show during this time, would you say that it's attributed to that level of confidence and not, binging like you know it's like some of your friends are doing and and keeping the momentum going oh definitely this has been fantastic for that and just because the fact that i know if they guess themselves they're not able to go into their offices and stuff like that so they have more free time honestly i don't know if the netflix interview would have happened if covid wasn't going on

just because the fact he had more time to sit down with me but getting to talk to the people on a daily basis definitely helps just prime your mindset one of the things that's really hard to do and I need to do more of, spend more time reflecting just because of the fact that, you know, I have been able to accomplish a decent amount and talk with some really remarkable people, but sometimes I get so caught up and like just pushing it forward that I forget to go back and look at where I've come from. Yeah, man. And to me, that's powerful content, right?

Like, you want to post some great content on Instagram. Talk about like the last week and the people you've had on and what you, right, and what you've learned and like you remember the first interview versus that last one. Like, that might be some really great content for you. you to not just reflect, but to also share that with the rest of the world because to me, the best content is authentic, right? It's just coming and you sharing your thoughts about how you're feeling. So that might be a good Instagram stories series for you, you know? Definitely think I might have to do that. That's a great idea, Jordan.

Awesome, man. Well, hey, listen, it's been great hearing about your journey and your story, and I'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot more from Jacob here in the future. So So let's just go ahead and give the audience, you know, there's going to be people that listen to say, you know what, like that guy was cool. He's a young kid, but he's, you know, years ahead of his time with knowledge and information from meeting with some of the world's highest performers. And I think I want to reach out to him and find out how he started his show or maybe connect with him on Instagram. So where are some great places for people to connect with Jacob. Yeah. So just find me at the Jacob O.C. So that's T-H-E-J-A-C-O-C. And then from there, everything else is

link to it so you can find it the podcast is on iTunes Spotify YouTube everywhere to search venture mentality awesome my friend wall make sure all that is down in the show notes and thank you so much for taking the time today and thanks for coming on the blaze your own trail podcast welcome jordan thank you hey everyone thanks so much for listening to that episode with jacob o'connor i hope you're inspired by his story i know i was you know thinking about to you know what I was doing at 18 years old. It definitely wasn't starting a business. So, you know, I can't wait to continue to follow his journey.

I know he's going to see some success along the way. Make sure you connect with Jacob. His info will be down in the show notes. You know, reach out to him on social or check out his website and grab some of the VM merch. And as always, you know, if you haven't subscribed, please subscribe to the show. We appreciate all of our listeners. And hopefully each episode adds value to you in some way. Also, please go ahead and go over to iTunes.

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