This week, Samantha talks with Gresham Harkless, digital marketing consultant and host of the "I Am CEO" podcast.  Samantha was a previous guest on Gresh's podcast and he has spoken to over 900 CEO's and entrepreneurs to bring the knowledge and wisdom that each have to offer to his listeners.  

Gresham got his entrepreneurial start at age 10 when he started a family newspaper. When he was a child, his father was deployed for a year overseas.  He and his mom would make care packages to send to him, and he included the family newspaper as a way to keep him up to date on all of the things happening with the family while he was gone.  Of course, in order to fund the newspaper, he sold subscriptions to family members!  You have to be able to fund the things that you love doing.

He also believes you need to have grit as an entrepreneur.  He and Samantha talk about impostor syndrome and many of the other pitfalls that encounter people who are starting their business.  

Gresh wants people to remember the human aspect of business, and that's one of the drivers behind his podcast.  There are human beings behind each and every business out there and they all experience the same ups and downs as everybody else.  We tend to forget that.  This is why he talks to CEO's of companies of all shapes and sizes.

Samantha has one of her "Say That Again" moments when Gresham talks about aligning yourself with your business.  He said, "If you run your own race, you will never lose."  He believes that one of the pitfalls of entrepreneurship comes in the form of staying in alignment with your values and passions.  If you lose sight of these things and pay more attention to the things that everybody else says that you "should" do, entrepreneurs tend to lose their way and lose their passion.

So, what is "in alignment" for Gresham?  The story of being a kid and starting a newspaper is where he likes to go back to.  Talking and interviewing people are what he enjoys, and so going back to the stories from his past and remembering why he loved doing the things he did as a kid keeps him aligned with his passion and keeps pushing him forward.

Gresham also has a “Say That Again” moment when Samantha talked about “mining my past to find clues for my future.”  We need to be able to get past our own internal judges that work to sabotage our passions.  We need to be able to tap into our own inner children to remember where our passions lie and get us back into alignment.

Gresh has two pieces of advice for entrepreneurs.  First, you need to "appreciate the progress and the process of starting a business.  It doesn't have to be perfect on day one."  Second, he likes to use the quote, "Don't tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon."  Gresh wants people to remember that there are things that once seemed impossible, but that happen all the time now.  We need to be able to tap into our childlike views of the world so that we can stretch our own imaginations and limits.

Listen in as Samantha and Gresham "Flush It Out!"

Gresham Harkless and all things "Gresh," including his podcast and businesses, can be found at:

Gresham “Gresh” W. Harkless Jr. is the founder of CBNation and Blue 16 Media. CBNation is a Business to Business (B2B) Brand focusing on increasing the business success rate by providing visibility and resources for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.  CBNation consists of blogs (CEOBlogNation.com), podcasts (CEOPodcasts.com) and videos (CBNation.tv). Blue 16 Media is a digital marketing agency providing digital marketing services including web design & SEO to small to medium-sized businesses and organizations. He also is a graduate of the 2020 Leadership Center for Excellence Young Professionals Program ’16 and recognized by the Alexandria Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under 40. CBNation.co (CEO Blog Nation) powered by Blue 16 Media (Web Design, SEO, Digital Marketing & More)