Paul Ollinger is a graduate of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He was one of the first 250 employees of Facebook where he served as VP of Sales for the Western United States. In between he spent two years performing stand-up comedy full-time in Los Angeles, CA, opening for some of the biggest names in the business.
Today Paul writes, performs comedy and speaks widely on work, wealth and purpose. Specifically, he uses humor to help others with their work lives and sales quotas. His first book, You Should Totally Get an MBA: A Comedian’s Guide to Top U.S. Business Schools
When he’s not working, Paul is playing golf, binge watching Netflix or checking Who’s Viewed Your Profile on LinkedIn. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his beautiful wife, two wonderful children and French bulldog, Colonel Tom Parker.
In this episode, Paul discusses:
-How he handles binge-watching Netflix and still finds time for productivity.
-How the only people who should write a book are the people who can’t not write a book because all of the time, money, and dedication they require.
-The story of what occurred in his life to inspire him to write “You Should Totally Get an MBA.”
-What people can expect to get out of the book, and what he learned in writing it.
-Some of the resistances that he faced while writing the book.
-The massive distraction that can come from social media.
-Self-doubt and how hard it is to continue to create when it seems as if nobody out there cares about what you are creating.
-How he got more excited and focused about his book as the final product came into tighter focus.
-The importance of figuring out the thing that you can’t not do and just doing it.
-The importance of stating your intentions so that you can find fellow travelers who are excited to help you out.
Paul’s Final Push will inspire you to start now, no matter how little time you have, and to not wait for some ambiguous date in the future!
Quotes:
“I really try to make sure I get in an hour or two of work before my kids wake up every morning. Because once they’re up, the day is full of landmines on the calendar that can keep you from actually focusing and getting that work done.”
“The best thing I got from the job was the realization that I wouldn’t be happy unless I really gave my creative aspirations, my desire to write a book, and really do comedy a full swing.”
“My inability to not write a book is what led to writing that book.”
“Snark doesn’t scale.”
“It’s so hard to believe that what you’re doing is worthwhile when nobody out there is demanding that you do it.”
“It’s really all about the incremental progress you can make on any given day.”
“I didn’t know what the value of what I was working on was. All I know is that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. And I know that because I can’t go do anything else and feel good about it.”
“Stating what you’re doing and stating your commitment to your mission helps you find fellow travelers.
“Don’t wait until some ambiguous date in the future to start.”
Links mentioned:
You Should Totally Get an MBA: A Comedian’s Guide to Top U.S. Business Schools by Paul Ollinger
Connect with Paul:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Linkedin / Twitter
