John Lee Dumas transitioned from small-town kid to a multimillionaire entrepreneur.
In today’s podcast, we talk about that journey.
Here’s his backstory:
John grew up in a small town in southern Maine.
His father and both grandfathers served in the military, so he decided to follow in their footsteps. He attended Providence College in Rhode Island, paid for with an Army ROTC scholarship — and in this podcast interview, John confesses that he didn’t think he’d experience real challenges in the Army.
“I never thought it was going to be a serious time in the military,” he says in today’s episode. “I just thought it’d be a good experience … I’d play with some big guns, and then, you know, I’d get out and get on to the rest of my life.”
But on September 11th of his senior year of college, everything changed.
John needed to grow up. Fast.
He deployed for Iraq a few months after graduation, serving a 13-month tour. He returned to the U.S. and served the remainder of his active duty in Kansas, while simultaneously getting a finance degree in graduate school.
And then … he kinda futzed around for awhile.
He spent four months in Guatemala.
He backpacked through India and Nepal with some random guys he met online.
He lined up an interview for a dream job in Southern California; then didn’t bother showing up for his appointment.
Eventually, John decided to climb the corporate ladder. He landed a job in corporate finance in Boston and focused his sights on getting promoted to the the C-suite.
But 2008 happened. The market crashed. Seventy percent of John’s colleagues lost their jobs.
And John realized that everyone who dedicated their lives to a corporate career was building their castle on a foundation of sand.
And so even though John wasn’t never an entrepreneur at heart — even though he didn’t (yet) self-identify as an entrepreneur — he decided to throw himself, full-force, into the one and only business idea he’d ever had.
Listen to John’s story, in his own words, as he describes his journey from a small-town college kid to a successful 7-figure business owner.
Enjoy!
— Paula
Resources Mentioned:
Websites:
Books:
- Think and Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill
- Good to Great, by Jim Collins
- The Dip, by Seth Godin
- The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson
- The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy
Thanks to our sponsors, Blue Apron and Audible!
Do you spend more money at restaurants (or ordering take-out) than you’d like?
If so, check out Blue Apron. For less than $10 per person per meal, Blue Apron delivers seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals.
Each meal comes with a step-by-step recipe card and pre-portioned ingredients and can be prepared in 40 minutes or less.
You can customize your recipes each week based on your preferences. Blue Apron has several delivery options so you can choose what fits your needs. And there’s no weekly commitment, so you only get deliveries when you want them.
You’ll love the convenience and ease of finding dinner ingredients on your doorstep. Give them a try. Get your first THREE meals FREE — with free shipping — at BlueApron.com/afford.
Audible
I love reading … but sitting in one spot is time-consuming. While I love physically reading (with my eyes), I also listen to audiobooks; reading with my ears while I’m at the gym, cooking dinner or otherwise multitasking.
I listen to one audiobook a month, thanks to my Audible subscription. Audible has a huge selection of books and their app has a simple, intuitive, user-friendly interface.
Head to audible.com/trynow for a free 30-day trial.
