Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ben Fagan, Founder of Ben Fagan Media, located in Lake Worth, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a speaker and author. I primarily work with students, educators, and athletes of all levels to help them uncover a sense of fulfillment in their lives by guiding them to develop a personal process to redefine success for their optimal performance.

Tell us about yourself

Growing up, all I wanted to do was play Major League Baseball. Everything in my life was geared toward that goal. I ate, drank, slept, and breathed baseball because I knew if I were going to make it, I'd need to go all in. On my journey to reach the major leagues, I got the opportunity to play in college. For me, college baseball was a stepping stone. It represented an opportunity to get an education while I continued to become a better baseball player. After my four years in college, my career in the field came to a close. I didn't get drafted, I didn't start on my professional baseball journey, and I wasn't going to be playing in the major leagues anytime soon. Despite my falling short of this lifelong goal, I was able to walk away from the game truly fulfilled. I had done everything I wanted to as a baseball player.

As I reflected on my baseball career, I kept returning to a particularly nagging question that has since given birth to a multitude of follow-up questions: how can you work for something your entire life, fall short, and still be fulfilled? More importantly, is there some sort of formula for fulfillment? Can we create environments in our lives that are more conducive to fulfillment at work, at home, and beyond? These questions pushed me to reflect deeper on my own journey. How did I get to this point? How could my experiences help others? Working through this introspective line of questioning led me to write and publish my book, Flipping the Switch: How to Redefine Success to Find True Fulfillment.

Being completely enamored with this topic, I began speaking with students, athletes, and professional organizations. While my perspectives on fulfillment emanated from my baseball experiences, their relevance to life outside the game excites me the most. To me, a career in which I can help others get from where they are now to where they want to go is meaningful work. By doing work that I believe in and find to be meaningful, I will continue to enjoy that same sense of fulfillment I found at the end of my baseball career.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

While I would love for my book and talks to impact the entire world, my goal has always been to impact just one person at a time. I have been incredibly fortunate to see how sharing my experiences has done just that. The ability to help others find the same sense of fulfillment that I did at the end of my baseball career is what I believe to be one of my most significant accomplishments.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the most challenging aspects of being a business owner (and a person in general) is fighting the natural urge to compare yourself to others. Social media and the internet have made it much more tempting to measure yourself against the world's "successes." When we do this, we often forget to take inventory of our own accomplishments, and as a result, we feel lesser. There will always be someone out there doing something bigger or better than you, but that can't be why you don't go after what you want.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Take pride in your progress. When you take steps forward, no matter the size, it is always worth celebrating.
  2. Enjoy the highs and appreciate the lows. The highs make the lows worth it, and the lows give the highs meaning. Our struggles are why our successes feel so good. You need one to have the other.
  3. Rather than trying to be at your best every single day, shift your focus to improving as the day goes on. What that does, is it allows you to eliminate how you woke up feeling that day. Now, it doesn't matter if you woke up feeling like you're on top of the world, and it doesn't matter if you woke up feeling like you're below rock bottom because, at the end of the day, you will be in a better position than when you started. Finishing each day in a better place than when you started builds a cycle of confidence, and confidence breeds success.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

At the end of each day, reflect on at least one good thing that happened to you and one nice thing you did for somebody. By reflecting on a good thing that happened to you, you are better able to keep things in perspective, no matter how challenging your day was. And doing at least one nice thing for somebody each day reminds you that not everything is about you. We can best help ourselves when we help those around us without expecting anything in return. (We did this around the dinner table growing up, so I have to give credit to my mom. Thanks, Mom!)

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.benfaganspeaks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dnb_prod/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-fagan/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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