Episode #959: From Matthew McConaughey to Ray Kroc: Unconventional Books Every Coach Should Read

Marc shares five recommended books that he read in 2025, and the big takeaways from them!   What You'll Hear In This Episode: -       Why waiting for inspiration is killing your coaching business - and what to do instead according to legendary music producer Rick Rubin. -       The Matthew McConaughey strategy: How cutting two major priorities helped him go from B-level performance in everything to A-level success (and why you're probably doing too much) -       Why Ray Kroc didn't achieve massive success until age 52 - and what that means if you think you're "too late" to the game! -       The video game approach to building your coaching business - gamification tactics that actually work, from Nerd Fitness founder Steve Kamb … -       "Be judged or be ignored" - why haters and trolls might actually be a sign you're doing something right. -       Marc's #1 book recommendation of all time came from a random Facebook post … and it's one you've probably never heard of! -       Why reading books from completely different industries (like fast food empires) can give you better business ideas than another coaching book …   LINKS Book a no-obligation 1:1 strategy call with Marc for your coaching business: http://www.chatwithmarcm.com   If you'd like more coaching clients without sending cold messages or spending money on ads, the Natural Born Coach Program is for you. Get the details here! http://www.nbcprogram.com Join The Coaching Jungle Facebook Group! http://www.thecoachingjungle.com   Become a Coaching Jungle VIP member which includes special posting perks in the group to reach almost 30,000 potential clients! http://www.myjunglevip.com   Grow your business with The Coaching Jungle Mastermind! http://www.coachingjunglemastermind.com If you have a product or service that helps coaches, and you'd like to get it in front of 100,000 of them: http://www.jvwithmarc.com  

Marc shares the strategy he uses to deal with cold outreach in his inbox, which will save you hundreds of hours every year!  What You'll Hear In This Episode: -      The main types of cold emails/messages that you get, and Marc's proven system for handling them.  -       Why engaging with vague small-talkers can haunt your inbox forever … -       How to flip cold pitches into revenue instead of just deleting them! -       Learning to identify low-value emails that don't deserve replies.     The annoying trend that salespeople are currently doing, and why Marc doesn't reply to those people.     Avoiding "time vampires" who will drain your energy.     A powerful three-step homework assignment to do after this episode!     LINKS Book a no-obligation 1:1 strategy call with Marc for your coaching business: http://www.chatwithmarcm.com  If you'd like more coaching clients without sending cold messages or spending money on ads, the Natural Born Coach Program is for you. Get the details here! http://www.nbcprogram.com Join The Coaching Jungle Facebook Group! http://www.thecoachingjungle.com  Become a Coaching Jungle VIP member which includes special posting perks in the group to reach almost 30,000 potential clients! http://www.myjunglevip.com  Grow your business with The Coaching Jungle Mastermind! http://www.coachingjunglemastermind.com If you have a product or service that helps coaches, and you'd like to get it in front of 100,000 of them: http://www.jvwithmarc.com

In this episode of Natural Born Coaches, Marc talks about the dangers of telling yourself negative and limiting stories - and gives his advice for how to identify and change the habit so you can get better results!  What You'll Hear In This Episode: The danger of accepting defeat before you begin - How one coach wrote off 2026 entirely after losing a single client, and why that's a self-sabotaging mindset. Words create reality - Zig Ziglar's "alarm clock" vs. "opportunity clock" concept and why the language you use matters more than you think. "I'll give it a try" is a red flag - Why weak, tentative language like "we'll see how it goes" virtually guarantees failure before you start. The rubber band technique - A method to break negative self-talk patterns by physically snapping yourself out of it. Behind the camera to in front of it - How Marc's brother Matt transformed his "I'm a behind-the-scenes guy" story and launched a podcast in just 6 days! Sales myths destroyed - Why "nobody buys in _____/month" is a self-fulfilling prophecy that costs coaches thousands in lost revenue …

Kirsten Graham, co-founder of Six Figure Business Coaching, talks about the importance of understanding your business numbers and preparing for tax season, and shares an affordable way to keep your books in good shape! What You'll Hear In This Episode: -       Why most entrepreneurs hate bookkeeping, and why you shouldn't force yourself to do work that drains your energy when you could focus on serving clients and growing your business.  -       The $6/hour solution for professional bookkeeping: How to hire QuickBooks-certified bookkeepers with accounting degrees and minimum 3 years of experience at a fraction of typical costs.  -       How to safely give bookkeeping VAs access to financial software without exposing your full bank account numbers or compromising security.  -       Win-win-win philosophy: How outsourcing creates positive impact for your business, supports hardworking professionals overseas, and builds long-term relationships based on trust.  -       When to outsource vs. DIY your bookkeeping: If your time is worth more than $6/hour, you're wasting money and energy doing tasks you hate instead of focusing on revenue-generating activities.

In this episode of Natural Born Coaches, Marc interviews Stefan Ciancio, co-founder of WebinarKit, to discuss AI-powered webinars and their impact on online businesses. They talk about  the evolution of webinar marketing, including the use of AI for narrating and building webinars, and the importance of building trust with audiences through multiple touchpoints!

This episode of Natural Born Coaches focuses on group coaching programs, with David Barnett sharing how to optimize yours, with lots of real world advice and examples!       What You'll Hear In This Episode: -Why David requires his clients to complete his online training before joining his group coaching program, which helps level the playing field and save time and energy. -How to establish different membership tiers for your program, and what they should have … -David's experience with individuals who have been lured into expensive courses promising quick wealth through business acquisitions, only to realize the challenges involved. -The allure and pitfalls of online business courses promising quick success with minimal investment. -The challenges of content piracy, with David sharing a story about his course materials being illegally distributed at significantly reduced prices, without his permission and how he handled that.

In this episode of Natural Born Coaches, Marc talks about the importance of playing the long game and practicing patience in the online coaching space! What You'll Hear In This Episode: -       How easy it is to fall into unrealistic expectations online, with an example from one of Marc's clients. -       Changes that Marc made with his coaching programs to attract long-term thinkers and discourage "get-rich-quick" types (plus to get better results for those he works with!) -       The importance of rewarding yourself for milestones that you hit … -       How to use small, everyday events to practice and improve your patience. -       A special holiday offer that Marc is running until December 31st!  

Lewis Vandervalk stops by the podcast to share his expertise around SEO strategy for coaches! What You'll Hear In This Episode: -Why answering client questions remains the core principle of search engine optimization, regardless of whether people find you through Google, ChatGPT, or other AI platforms. -The truth about backlinks and SEO gaming: why purchasing cheap backlinks can destroy your search rankings overnight and what Google updates mean for long-term website visibility. -How to repurpose one piece of content across blogs, podcasts, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to maximize your SEO impact. -Lewis answers the question: "Should you display pricing on your website?" -Why ugly websites with clear calls-to-action often outperform beautifully designed sites that confuse visitors. -The email-to-blog content hack: why every email you send to your list should also be published as a blog post to keep your website active and improve search rankings.

Todd Hartley is the founder of WireBuzz and the author of "Accelerating Yes!", and in this episode he shares the lessons about lead generation that he's learned from many successful years in online business, including working with Tony Robbins! What You'll Hear In This Episode: - How to built a predictable lead generation system in just 3 steps … - The $50M to $150M revenue jump in just 60 days (including a real case study of how Wirebuzz identified low-hanging fruit and tripled a company's revenue in just two months) - Why your coaching offer isn't converting (and how to fix it). - The $5,000 to $50,000 offer exercise - a simple framework to dramatically increase the perceived value of your coaching packages without necessarily adding more work. - From rejection to landing on Tony Robbins' stage: the 4-year persistence story, and how multiple rejections led to speaking opportunities and $200M in client success stories! - Why coaching isn't dying (despite what the naysayers say!) Todd addresses the "coaching is dead" narrative and explains why irresistible offers still convert in 2025 …

Change can be scary, but in this special episode of Natural Born Coaches you'll learn about the importance of embracing it in your coaching business! Marc shares the business transformations he's doing entering 2026, and you'll walk away with actionable steps you can take to improve your results as well! What You'll Hear In This Episode: -       Marc discusses his business changes approaching 2026 and emphasizes the importance of challenging long-standing practices, even if they have been done for years. -       3 big changes that Marc is doing heading into the new year, and what you can learn from those moves.  -       Why you shouldn't wait for arbitrary dates to make the changes you know you need to make.  -       How to push past any hesitance to "slay sacred cows"!  -       The big calendar/scheduling change that Marc made that completely changed his business …  -       What Marc eliminated after almost a decade of doing it, and what you can learn from that.  -       Homework that will have a profound effect on your results in the new year!