#12 Mike Peterson: Entrepreneurship, Building Wealth, Overcoming Depression

Michael S. Peterson — known to as “Mike”— is a Managing Director at Pemberton Economic Group & a Professor at UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business, where he teaches entrepreneurship classes centered on topics like FinTech, Internet of Things, New Venture Creation, & more. Mike graduated from Brigham Young with his MBA & also holds an MS in Technology Commercialization from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business. Mike has worked on 9+ ventures with market potential upwards of $7B+ & is an entrepreneurship & business theory savant. Above all, Mike is not only a friend of the show, but an inspiration to many in having overcome entrepreneurial obstacles & depression. In his life, classes, & this episode he shows great courage through vulnerably sharing his story & sharing actionable steps for how he overcame these mental health troubles & now leads a fulfilled life.

“Despite the challenges along the way, the journey is still worth it — we are here to become something more, not to just get things or buy things but to really become & go on the journey of becoming the best versions of ourselves” - Mike Peterson

Connect with Mike Peterson:

* mikep.pro/book

    * How to Become a Professor from non-traditional path

* michaelspeterson.com

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepetersonmba/

OUTLINE:

0:00 Foreword & Intro

4:12 Mike’s previous businesses & his favorite venture

11:45 Biggest takeaways from Mike’s 9 ventures

    - Positives:

        - Growth happens during discomfort

        - Meeting brilliant people

    - Negatives

    - 12:55 “Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education”

15:46 "Safe” traditional path guy v college drop-out entrepreneur

- Misunderstandings of risk

    - Perception of safety & security in corporate is false

    - Side hustle = great hedge against losing 9-5 income, $$$, & transferable skills making you a better employee & shedding spotlight on a project outside of traditional work

    - 20:31 You can bring side hustle lessons & perspectives to your 9-5 team or personal life

21:31 Risk orientation of entrepreneurs & “unconscious confidence” that makes them doers

- “Entrepreneurs are people who try to get things done & are oblivious to resources needed to get these things done”

- Tips for success

- The company started at Brigham Young to combat “sudden infant death syndrome” that went public after 10 years & they got rich

27:01 What’s the underlying key ingredient to persevere in entrepreneurship?

28:11 The importance of having equity in building wealth (vs just being on salary or an hourly wage)

- Entrepreneurship enhances the opportunity to impact lives of people on your team i.e. providing job opportunities to people you know

- Alec’s dad: Entrepreneurship is about creating opportunity for not only yourself but OTHER PEOPLE as stated above^

33:17 The dark side of entrepreneurship

-  Mike’s struggles with mental health, family life, finances, & more

- Low success probabilities

- Importance of Iteration

- 33:00 Battling deep depression

39:01 Is the source of this rampant depression in many males because of mens’ identity being tied to success & their ability to put food on the table? What are the implications of tying our self-worth to financial success?

- 41:01 Success is not linear.”

- Transcendental theory & detachment theory within this context

43:50 How Mike was able to see the beauty of life again:

- Practical actions to overcome depression

- 46:14 Importance of Writing

    - “The Jordan Peterson journaling program —

        - What’s life going to be like for me in 5 years if I continue on the path I am on?

        - What do you want life to be like?

        - The “mental cookie jar”

50:43 “We need you, we need your contributions.”

- empathy & understanding from those who’ve lived it =  crucial & inspirational to help those struggling right now

53:00 Value of Practical Natural Tactics to Improve Mental Health before going straight to medication

- practical applications

56:10 Do we delay our happiness too much in the American culture? “Once I have XYZ I’ll be happy….."

- Power of gratitude in Mike overcoming depression

- Utility of the gratitude journal

- Law of Attraction

1:06:42 “Last remarks: despite the challenges along the way, the journey is still worth it…”

Podcast info:

- Podcast website: https://smartalecshow.com

- RSS feed: feed:https://feeds.simplecast.com/ngBH2BfM

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/634MOIW582k2STgC06Rvl9?si=Zr4Fmx2nR6mqaeWNpFCfQQ&dl_branch=1

- Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-smart-alec-show/id1577614268

- Amazon Music & Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/96993c84-1664-4a67-921d-9b731fbdca99

Connect with Alec on Social:

- Linktree to all platforms: https://linktr.ee/smartalec

Recorded in January 2022