My guest this week is Aaron Walker, author of View From the Top (affiliate link). Aaron is a lifelong businessman, having started fourteen companies, as well as a life coach. In this episode we talk about what it means to be successful and to live a life of significance; the ultimate emptiness of money without an overarching purpose; how to move through fear challenges and setbacks—including some dramatic examples from Aaron’s own life—and the crucial importance of the people we surround ourselves with. Other topics we explored include:

• How my guest’s definition of success has shifted over time
• Our need to have challenges and responsibilities in order to thrive
• The major drawbacks of a life of leisure
• Aaron’s tragic experience at age 40 of striking and killing a pedestrian
• The human drive for purpose and significance
• What it means to have a “view from the top”
• What was missing from Aaron’s life through his initial periods of success
• The imperative of picking ourselves up when we encounter challenges and obstacles
• Isolation as the enemy of excellence
• Aaron’s decades long friendship with author and radio host Dave Ramsey
• The importance of having a group where we can be vulnerable and transparent
• How to find or start a Mastermind group
• How to move through self-doubt and insecurity
• The fear of missing an opportunity vs. fear of failing
• Fear of success
• Carol Dweck’s work on fixed vs. growth mindset

Visit this website to learn about the Mastermind Playbook that he described in this episode.

Here’s a link to Dweck’s excellent book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Aaron also mentioned Rabbi Daniel Lapin’s book, Thou Shalt Prosper (these are affiliate links).

Aaron Walker has inspired many people through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. He’s been an entrepreneur for 39 years, and has been the owner of eight highly profitable businesses.

Aaron attributes much of his success to having surrounded himself with his mastermind counterparts. He spent a decade meeting weekly with Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller, Ken Abraham, and five other amazing entrepreneurs.

Aaron is the founder of the Iron Sharpens Iron Mastermind that now hosts 15 groups in the US and abroad. He’s been married nearly 40 years and has two daughters and five grandchildren. Aaron is an avid reader and, when time allows, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and golf.

Find him online at his website and on Twitter and Facebook.