Good morning, Vetrepreneur!

In the crosshairs: Jon Cobb

Passion, perseverance, and the pursuit of building something great.

That's the gist of my conversation with Jon Cobb, founder of Jon Cobb Coaching. He literally went from Marine Recon Scout Sniper to homeless to Harvard Business School fellow. Stories don't get more interesting than that.

Except for his story about flying to Panama to take his stolen Iron Man bike back. I'll save that for the end.

Like many service members early in the war, Jon didn't have a plan when he left the Marine Corps and ended up homeless immediately after. But no matter how many times he got knocked down he always picked himself back up. Over the next several years he put himself through nine different schools, from community college to Vanderbilt, and finally Harvard.

The best part was that the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon program paid for all of it.

Except for Harvard.

Because they actually paid HIM! He was accepted into a new Veteran Fellowship program for academic excellence and leadership experience. Jon is the epitome of what you can accomplish when you work hard, have a specific goal in mind, and leverage the resources available to you.

Entrepreneurship, resilience, and personal growth

Jon has spent the last three years building his consulting and coaching business after being laid off from Deloitte (thanks to COVID).

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to start his own company. He'd already been doing business consulting at a top firm, so he took those same skills, opened up to his network, and eventually landed his first customer:

Microsoft.

This largely happened because of his ability to write content and leverage the power of social media, particularly LinkedIn. He's become a master at catching his audience's attention, proven by one of his LinkedIn posts that has gained 17M views and 236,000 engagements. This creates a massive funnel for him to drive customers to his business.

But it takes time to hone these skills, especially with writing copy.

He told me the advice he was given by one of his Harvard Professors: "Whenever you feel stuck, just lower your standards and keep writing". The biggest inhibitor of good writing is trying to do it all at once. Instead, you need to separate the writer from the editor.

The two are like fire and water.

One creates while the other destroys. The best way to handle this is only write when you're in writing mode, and only edit when you're in editing mode. If you go into the stages of content creation with these intentions, your writing will be much smoother and faster - making the entire process more enjoyable.

Being in a creative mood with enough time for deep work - a state where you are able to fully immerse yourself in the writing process without distraction - is a critical factor for him. He's been trying to nail down the time of day he's typically most creative so that he can schedule blocks of time to knock out his writing for the week.

The man is a machine who has drilled down his processes for success into a science.

Jon is also a big proponent of learning to do all the functions of your business (just like Hasard Lee in last week's MMV). He built his company's website, created a career transition course, and writes his own content. He outsources a few things to a VA, but only after he's gone through those tasks himself and understands what he wants done.

His coaching program is simply his professional systems and skills distilled down into an easily digestible format that helps people realize their worth and gives them a clear path to take action.

He stresses the importance of staying focused, believing in oneself, and seeking support from mentors and communities. He also emphasizes the significance of continuous learning and adaptation in the ever-changing landscape of business.

We'll need to keep an eye out for his TED Talk he's looking to do soon.

Now for the bike story...

I don't need to belabor what he already wrote, so here's the post:

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Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs):

In today's world, distractions and constant interruptions have become the norm.

As an entrepreneur, your ability to focus and produce high-quality work is paramount to your success. Enter deep work—the secret weapon for achieving exceptional productivity and accomplishing a week's worth of work in just a day or two.

What is Deep Work?

Deep work, coined by author and professor Cal Newport, refers to the state of intense concentration and cognitive immersion in a task, free from distractions. It's about working with full focus and leveraging your mental capabilities to produce exceptional results.

The Power of Deep Work for Entrepreneurs

Adopting deep work can supercharge your productivity and propel you towards your goals. Here's how:

1. Amplified Focus: Deep work allows you to eliminate external distractions and fully immerse yourself in your work. By concentrating on one task at a time, you can achieve a higher level of focus and complete tasks more efficiently.
2. Enhanced Creativity: Deep work facilitates the flow state—a mental state where creativity and productivity are at their peak. When distractions are minimized, you can tap into your creative potential and generate innovative ideas for your business.
3. Accelerated Skill Development: The sustained focus and deliberate practice inherent in deep work can rapidly enhance your skills. By dedicating focused time to learning and improving, you can achieve mastery in your field at a faster pace.

Creating an Environment for Deep Work

To cultivate deep work, it's essential to create a consistent atmosphere that supports deep focus and minimizes distractions. Here are some techniques to consider:

1. Set Clear Boundaries: Establish specific periods for deep work in your schedule. Communicate these boundaries to your team, clients, and stakeholders, and emphasize the importance of uninterrupted focus during those times.
2. Minimize Digital Distractions: Turn off notifications, silence your phone, and close unnecessary tabs and applications on your computer. Consider using website blockers or apps that promote focus by limiting access to social media and other time-wasting websites.
3. Designate a Dedicated Workspace: Create a physical space conducive to deep work. Choose a quiet area, declutter your surroundings, and personalize it with items that inspire and motivate you. If possible, consider using different rooms for different types of work.
4. Time Blocking: Use time blocking techniques to allocate specific blocks of uninterrupted time for deep work. Organize your schedule so that you have dedicated periods each day for focused, distraction-free work.
5. Practice Mindfulness: Develop a mindfulness practice to train your mind to stay present and focused. Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or mindfulness exercises can help improve concentration and reduce mental chatter.

Distractions are an ever-present reality that are only expected to worsen with growing connectivity.

Deep work offers a path to reclaim your productivity and achieve remarkable results. By dedicating focused, uninterrupted time to your most important tasks, you can accomplish in an afternoon what typically takes days.

Embrace deep work, create an environment that fosters concentration, and unlock your entrepreneurial superpower.

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