How to Become More Productive with Yannis Pantelis

Chris Albert 00:00:00 (link to this point)

This is Chris Albert, and I'm here to remind you of one thing. Someday, you're going to die. Now that's not some morbid statement or scary idea. It's solid fact. Your time here on this earth is limited.

We need to be reminded of this as much as possible for one simple reason, to live your best life while you can. This is the Warrior Soul Podcast. What's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Warrior Soul Podcast. And this week, I've got a great episode with you.

It's with my good friend, Yannis Pantelis. Yannis is a productivity specialist. And essentially, what he does is he helps people to work more efficiently. A lot of people, when they're getting into business or they're going about their lives, they tend to to grind on activities that aren't really helping to move them forward. Or or maybe it's something that is gonna move them forward, but maybe it's something they shouldn't be working on themselves.

They should be getting somebody else to work on it. They should be delegating that task. Yannis helps entrepreneurs, particularly solopreneurs, to to organize their their workflow, and he helps them to find time. For a lot of these entrepreneurs, he also helps them to find a staff, to find people to help them out, even if they've got a shoestring budget. You'd find out more about Yannis over at empoweredentrepreneursecrets.com.

Like I said, he's a good friend of mine, and he is an absolutely outstanding individual. And, you guys are gonna get a lot out of this episode. Before we move into our discussion with Yannis, just wanted to say a couple of things. Number one, thank you for listening to the Warrior Soul podcast. If you haven't been here before, what we try to do is we, deliver tools, tactics, and ideas to help The US military veteran community to live their best lives, by, you know, by giving them things that they could do immediately after they listen to the show.

So the idea is that you'll take something away from here that you could apply to your life and and immediately have a positive impact. Beyond that, I also wanna say that if you enjoy the show, please share out with somebody who who can use this information. And if you really like the show, please head over to iTunes and write us a written review written review. Can't talk today, guys. In addition to that, I also wanna say that this show would not be possible without the good people over at F Bomb Nutrition.

They make delicious packets of macadamia nut butters. So, they put them in these portable packages that you can take anywhere, and they've been sending boxes of this stuff overseas to the troops on the front lines or on deployment. Really great people. And if you wanna get 20% off of your first order of f bombs, you can head over to www.dropanfbomb.com. Use the code Warrior Soul at checkout, and you'll get 20% off your first order.

With that, guys, let's get into this conversation with mister Yannis Pantelis of Empowered Entrepreneur Secret. Alright. What is going on everybody out there at Warrior Soul Nation? This is Chris Albert, and I'm here with my brother Yannis Pantelis. He's coming from England.

Right?

Yannis Pantelis 00:03:51 (link to this point)

Yeah. Originally, I'm from Athens, Greece, but right now, I live in Manchester, UK. And it's a pleasure being here, man.

Chris Albert 00:03:58 (link to this point)

Oh, man. Thank you so much for coming on. So we brought you on to talk a little bit about time management and productivity. Right? And and this is a big thing because if you're not taking care of your time management, I mean, you can go through a day and not get anything done whatsoever.

Right? Not get a thing done. I've been there before. I've you know, I'm an entrepreneur. I I I work from home, and I've been in positions where, you know, it's 01:00 in the afternoon, and I'm still fiddling around with my email because I was cruising around on the Internet, got caught up on cnn.com, and, you know, all these different things.

What what do you do for people, Yannis? How do how do you how do you help them?

Yannis Pantelis 00:04:50 (link to this point)

Basically, what we do here in the Empowered Entrepreneur Secrets is we help entrepreneurs to number one empower themselves by making sure that they have the right productivity, motivation skills. And then the next step is to basically help them by creating teams for them that are completely outsourced, so they can do more of things that they need to do and have fun, enjoy their life, and live. That's the most important thing to entrepreneurship is not only about, you know, hustling, working, making money. Entrepreneurship is all about also living your life to the fullest, having fun, and living. That's the basic thing that we're doing.

We help entrepreneurs scale their businesses while they live their life to the fullest.

Chris Albert 00:05:37 (link to this point)

Yeah. That's a that's a thing, man, because I've been that guy also who who works, like, sixteen, seventeen hours a day. I'm grinding away. I'm sitting here in front of my computer, and I didn't you know, I got an entrepreneurship because after the Marine Corps, I just really didn't wanna have a boss anymore. Right?

And and, you know, it's a trade off because if you don't have the boss and you don't have the paycheck, you also don't have the security. So, you know, there's days where I've I've been lying awake at night wondering where the heck the next paycheck was coming through, where where, you know, where the next batch of clients was coming through, all these different things. But, you know, you mentioned building teams, and how can somebody do that without spending tons of money?

Yannis Pantelis 00:06:27 (link to this point)

Mhmm. Yeah. First of all, it's very important to also understand that I'm not saying about not working on your business. Sometimes you have to put in the work, you have to put in the hours, you have to put in the effort. Like, this is your business, this is quote unquote your baby, so, like, it means a world to you.

And you have to have days, weeks, months where you basically strategize and do the things you are supposed to be doing. What I'm saying is that you have to look like a broader picture. What are the things, what are the actions, what are the tasks that you need to do in order to help your business? Because, first of all, there are these people that, you know, I like to say productive procrastinators, who they are like religious to the mentality of hustling twenty four seven, three sixty five, and they just work, work, work to make, you know, an Instagram story and show to everyone that, oh, look, you know, I'm working, I'm an entrepreneur. That's one of the things.

Now in order to do that, first of all, you have to understand what are the tasks that you need to do, that you enjoy doing, and that will be profitable to your business. And in order to do that, I use a concept called VIP. So V means is the task I'm about to do valuable for my business? Is it going to make me money? Yes or not.

Number two, I it needs to be important. Is it something that maybe shouldn't even be on your task list or not? And as concern b, it should be something that you're passionate about doing. If any task does not, you know, follow along the VIP principle, either delegated or completely eliminated. Now in order to outsource it or delegated, the whole idea is using virtual assistance from The Philippines, which is like those people are amazing.

They have great work ethic. Their their English is amazing as well, and they can do so many things really good, and they won't cost any the entrepreneur a lot of money.

Chris Albert 00:08:34 (link to this point)

Wow. So couple of things there. Like, number one is VIP concept. Right? So there are certain things that that a lot of us are probably doing every day that we think we're awesome at doing, but we probably shouldn't be doing them. Right?

Yannis Pantelis 00:08:53 (link to this point)

Oh, a 100%.

Chris Albert 00:08:54 (link to this point)

Yeah. So so what are some of those things? Like, I am I mean, are we talking, like like, everything from, like, social media design to to to to, you know, putting putting posts up, or are we talking about, you know, graphic design work? What what types of things would you normally outsource?

Yannis Pantelis 00:09:16 (link to this point)

Well, I mean, it really depends on the person, but generally tasks like changing the colors of the banner of your Facebook page or your Facebook group shouldn't be something that you like, if you're an entrepreneur and you want to scale your business, it's not your task make sure that it's done so that, you know, you grow your business. Like, it is completely insignificant, the results you're gonna have from it. Or maybe you going on Facebook and posting your post on your own or YouTube or you know and I know it's the same thing that you say as well many times that you should focus on the tasks that will make you money instead of just focus on creating content again and again without having a strategic concept and idea behind that. So yeah. Basically, or eliminate every single task that will not follow the VIP principle.

That's this is like the basis.

Chris Albert 00:10:16 (link to this point)

And so the big thing is this allows you to do other things. Right? Like, it allows you to focus more on the things that are actually gonna grow your business, like going out there and making deals or going out there and forming partnerships and and and, you know, making sure that you're thinking on a high level about where your marketing's going and and what the next year is gonna look like. Right?

Yannis Pantelis 00:10:37 (link to this point)

Mhmm. For me, I believe it's like people can think about it like what are the tasks that no one else can do than me. For example, this podcast, my team cannot do the podcast, I can be here, I cannot, my videos should be sought by me, I should be giving the content, but I shouldn't be the one who is editing the videos and posting the videos. Another thing would be marketing the whole vision building, where do you want to go your business, when to how do you want to grow your business, what kind of products do you want to develop. These are the very fundamentals that we neglect to see simply because we want to hustle and work and grind, and we forget to put in the work to the things that matter the most.

Chris Albert 00:11:26 (link to this point)

Wow. Yeah. No, that's that's so important because if you're not if you're working in your business and you're kinda in there with the machete cutting away the weeds and everything like that, you're you're you're you're not gonna be able to to get on top of the hill to see where you wanna go. Right? It's it's it's kinda like, you know, for those of us who served in the military, you know, the officers have to stand back for a reason because if they're up there on the front line, you know, shooting and they're they're they're they're constantly up there in in in the fight, they're not gonna be able to to direct their people as to where to go.

Right? And and and that could lead to the unit getting into a really bad situation. Right? So it's it brings a little sense of detachment so that you can actually see strategically where you wanna go there. Then this other concept of of hiring and and outsourcing virtual assistants.

A big problem that I've particularly had with virtual assistants in the past has been training them. Right? So so how do you get past that initial need to to show them everything and and to get them to to, you know, make sure they're doing a good job?

Yannis Pantelis 00:12:44 (link to this point)

Mhmm. There are different ways to go about it. First thing first, the entrepreneur needs to know what are the actual tasks that he will outsource, how long those tasks will take, and maybe how he will structure the whole idea. So first of all, what I always say to people is track and rank your tasks based on, okay, what are the tasks that I do every single day, which of them should be outsourced, and for each one of those tasks, basically what you what an entrepreneur needs to do is to create video training for the virtual assistants. And there are different ways to do that.

You can do it over Zoom or you can use a platform called useloom.com where you basically screen share your screen while you're doing the the task for yourself and for your business. And while you're doing that, you're basically also explained to the virtual assistant. So I'm doing this because I want that. Then you click here, then you drag this there, then you write this as a description, and then you post, and that's it. Use Loomy is what I personally use, it's it's a pretty straightforward app, there is also a Google Chrome extension, and it's like and then you just simply share the link.

You don't even need to upload the video on YouTube or somewhere else. You create a video, you click record, you record it, you stop the video, and then you send the link to the virtual assistants, and you're done.

Chris Albert 00:14:14 (link to this point)

Wow. Wow. That's pretty awesome. So when you're working with somebody, what what's your general process? Right?

So so number one, what types of people do you work with? And then number two, when they're first coming to you, what's the first thing you look at?

Yannis Pantelis 00:14:31 (link to this point)

Mhmm. I was concerned with the people that are on the Empowered Entrepreneur Secrets training. Basically what we do is we're taking e commerce entrepreneurs and freelancers, which are the people that are most in need of a team, and we take them through a self development journey to begin with. So think of it like a leadership self development journey. First, we make sure that the entrepreneurs become leaders of themselves by becoming more productive, knowing what is their why, what is their greatest vision, Then we follow along with motivation, how they can find this fire, this spark from the from within themselves so that they can propel and accelerate themselves in order to go to where they deserve to be.

And then we also create an action plan for them in order to go from where they are to where they want to end up. That's the first thing. Then we continue by making them leader on their social circle, which involves family, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, partners. Because if you're an entrepreneur, you put in the work, but your surrounding are toxic people that keep you down, throw you down every time you try to go towards what you deserve to have in your life, then you will be stopped. Like, you will feel the pain within yourself.

And we all been through those moments. And they say, you know, like, one of my favorite quotes is that your network is your net worth, and it's a big one. And then after that, we make sure to train those entrepreneurs in the leadership skills they will need in order to manage their teams, hire the virtual assistants, and then scale their business using those virtual assistants. And as concerning your second question, we basically want people that are not afraid to take the action, that love the process, that are ethical, that they don't want to manipulate people. We want basically to create a new breed of entrepreneurs who are changing the world while also living their lives.

If someone is happy, hustling all day long, 100%, like, I understand that some people like to be workaholics. But if someone understands that there is more in life than just sitting strapped on your computer wearing golden handcuffs, then, you know, these are the people we want to have.

Chris Albert 00:16:54 (link to this point)

Yeah. No. I mean, it it it's important because if you're gonna lead people and you're going to lead anybody, whether it's virtual assistants or your own team or anything like that, you need to have, have a really good understanding of what your vision is and where you're trying to go. Because if you don't, then you can't translate that to other people. You can't you can't get people to work for you because it's not as simple as just saying, hey.

Go do this. Right? And especially if that person is is a person who's in The Philippines who's never met you before. Right? Like, they have to have a good sense of where you wanna go and what this needs to look like.

Right?

Yannis Pantelis 00:17:31 (link to this point)

Yeah. A 100%. And not only for your the members of your team, but also for yourself. Because when you don't know what's your vision or what's your why, let's say, then you don't know where to go. Like, you are moving blindlessly towards somewhere, whereas you have to be a specific step by step process from where you are to where you want to go.

Of course, your why, your vision, your purpose will change over the time because you as entrepreneur, you are changing over time. You have new stimuli, you have new ideas, new people you meet, and then maybe your your purpose might shift a little bit, but still, it's important for you to know where you want to end up so that then you translate and communicate that to your team, and then you have to motivate them in order to put in the work and represent your brand as well. And that's another one. You don't want anyone to join your team. You want people that want to work with you and not for you because they believe in the same vision as you.

Mhmm.

Chris Albert 00:18:39 (link to this point)

What's the biggest thing that you discovered on this this entrepreneurial journey that you've been on?

Yannis Pantelis 00:18:47 (link to this point)

That failure is your best friend no matter what. And in order to make money, you have to lose money, you have to spend money, and you have to fall down again and again and again, feel the pain, and keep going. People believe that failure is something that we should stay away from and we should protect ourselves, but I believe quite the opposite. I I think that without failure, I wouldn't be who I am because you learn so many beautiful things from failure. As long as you stop, think, and analyze, okay, what was why my mistake?

Why I did that mistake? And how can I change it? How can I learn from it? As long as you have this growth mindset within yourself, then anything that comes to you is a win, and you will fail. This is, like, this is non negotiable.

I don't know any entrepreneur who didn't fail, and it's the biggest blessing you can have in your life.

Chris Albert 00:19:48 (link to this point)

Yeah. If you could see it that way. Right? A lot of people can't get their heads wrapped around it. They they they dwell on it forever, and they're constantly, like, you know Yeah.

Trying to dissect it. They're bring letting it bring them down. What are some techniques for for really trying to get out of that and and and to get on to a more positive mind state to where you can actually benefit from the failure?

Yannis Pantelis 00:20:10 (link to this point)

That's a really nice question. There are different things.

Number one, the basic thing is to start using the habits that will help you to go out from all those negative mindset problems. For example, morning routines and affirmations. Affirmations work like charm. And for the entrepreneurs that are listening right now, my favorite affirmation, and feel free to use it, please use it actually, is I'm so happy and grateful now that money comes to me in increasing quantities through multiple sources on a continuous basis. When you wake up, you look yourself at the mirror, and you embody those those words, those those phrases with emotions and with movement, then it becomes a part of your subconscious as well.

And then you project that to the world when you're going out and you're displaying your message, but also it comes from within yourself like you create this spark that then will become a flame and you will able you will be able to literally do everything you want. That's the first thing. Another thing is also meditation, Cause instead of just, you know, being focused on, oh, I did a mistake, oh, I failed, oh, I got rejected, oh, I missed this opportunity. What meditation helps you to do is basically to clear your mind and focus on the things that do matter and realize that, okay, this is what happened now. Okay.

I don't live in the past. I don't live in the future. I live in the now, in the right here, in the right now. Can I do anything to change it? Yes or no?

I can? Great. I'll do something. If I can't though, I should just let it go. Apart from more new things and habits, another very useful concept for people to study is stoicism, concepts like, you know, the the dichotomy of control, which is like can focus on the things that you can control and not on the things that you cannot control, or also things like, and this is how you actually start your podcast, you know, the Memento Mori concept.

Mhmm. The mortality that we are going to die. And since we're going to die, why are you still giving a damn about your failures? Change those things and become the version of yourself that you were meant to become because you never know when, you know, you might have to leave this place. Do everything you can.

Live your life to the fullest. Enjoy life. Put in the work and stop thinking what happened yesterday. Focus on today, make today epic, and the future will also come similar way in a similar way.

Chris Albert 00:22:52 (link to this point)

Yeah. That's that's important. I and and that's a concept I came across a long time ago. Because lord lord knows I had my fair share of failures. Right?

But, you know, I think that that when you're talking about these things a lot, there's a there's a tendency, particularly amongst the audience, we're talk we're talking to combat veterans and and and guys who served in the marine corps and the army here. You know, there's a tendency to think a lot of this stuff is super hippy dippy, but it's really not. I mean, it's it's, you're literally dealing with your brain, and your brain is is a complex and very, very can be a very, very deep and dark place that that could be a trap for you. And if you're not constantly doing these things, you're not constantly programming your brain to work for you, then you are sending yourself into further into those deep and dark places, and it's it's really hard to get out of them if you're not.

Yannis Pantelis 00:23:53 (link to this point)

Yeah. Then you just go into a downward spiral, and you just multiply the negative effect 10 times, 100 times, million times. You just keep digging deeper, deeper, and deeper, trying to find ways to justify the reason why you failed. Whereas when you just simply learn from it and let it go, you won.

Chris Albert 00:24:16 (link to this point)

Right.

Yannis Pantelis 00:24:16 (link to this point)

Exactly.

Chris Albert 00:24:17 (link to this point)

Exactly. It's and and takes a bit of work to get there, but once you do, you can benefit from every failure you've got. So number one, where what does the next year look like for you with empowered entrepreneurs? And and what what have you got going on right now as far as events and things like that?

Yannis Pantelis 00:24:42 (link to this point)

So right now, we have an eight week intensive accountability course where we take those people into the self development journey.

That's one of the things. And apart from that, we're also having a free master class where we we give the basics to entrepreneurs to watch it, learn from it, and then they can also schedule a call with me and my team, and we can also give them a specific blueprint of how to create their teams and how to basically create their plan for the next six months. Apart from that now on the plans, we we want to slowly create like the empowered entrepreneur life. This is something that I really love. I I love public speaking, and I really want to make this to happen.

It's more of a long term plan to be fair, but this is some this is where I want to eventually take Empowered Entrepreneur because this will give the opportunity to more people to also network, meet other like minded individuals. And since I found most of my friends, mentors, and people that helped me through live events, and through this networking thing and events. I I really want to give the opportunity to people to do see something similar like that.

Chris Albert 00:26:00 (link to this point)

Awesome, man. Awesome.

And how can people find you on the Internet?

Yannis Pantelis 00:26:04 (link to this point)

So the best way to contact me directly is on Instagram, which is Yannis underscore Pantelis. I'm very active there. I respond to every single DM, and I upload content every single day, and you will also see the background of the business and everything on my stories. That's one of the things. I will also have a podcast, it's called Empowered Entrepreneur Podcast.

You can watch it on Spotify or you can listen to Spotify or just watch it on Facebook and YouTube. And other than that, if you go to to our website, which is called empoweredentrepreneursecrets.com, you can find all the trainings there and enjoy it and definitely schedule a call with us and we'll be very happy to discard discuss in more depth everything you might need.

Chris Albert 00:26:53 (link to this point)

Awesome, Yannis. Well, I wanna thank you for coming on today, and, you know, thank you for for delivering all this awesome knowledge here. If you guys can get over to his website and and check out his free training, it's it's absolutely awesome, and and check out his, his challenges that he runs. I mean, they're they're, they're free, and he delivers so much value there. So, Yannis, thank you so much, man.

And to everybody out there, get out there, put this stuff into practice, and live your best lives while you can. Thank you very much.