Story & Lesson Highlights with Dean Akers of Tampa

Dean Akers shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Dean, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Teaching people how to be the best version of themselves and eliminating ‘Self Talk” I am blessed to have helped 1000’s of folks in my journey to find success and happiness.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I developed an approach when I was young that has allowed me to prove that ” Price, Competition and The Economy” can never impact you at any level greater than your own self talk. It has allowed me to grow companies in any economy and with any competitive landscape.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When I was in high school and my dad got me a summer job working for a prestressed concrete company making bridge beams. The first day a bus pulled up and it was a bus full of prisoners . Half of all the crews were prisoners and I joked , the other half either had been prisoners or probably should be. You could make an argument that they had no motivation for performing..At each break I witnessed them pitching pennies to the wall with the closest winning all the pennies that had been pitched.. They would scream and holler , just having tons of fun and being competitive.. That when I discovered “everyone loves to win” We started betting between the 4 crews a quarter per person that we could get our steel tied, concrete poured and inspected before the other 3 teams could … The winning team got the other 3 teams quarters .. Half way through the summer the owner of the company was over voting with my dad ” that’s how I got this great job” and I overhead them talking. Mr Young told my dad that an unexplained situation was going on at his comanmy. Production was up over 25% for no reason… He had no idea that we had just gamified it and were having fun which made us way more productive.. That taught me that people want to have fun and be competitive and when I deploy that in my companies we all win and “HAVE FUN” ,

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Losing my dad to suicide. I got a FedX one Saturday morning and it contained a tape player. When I played the recording , it was my dad sharing that he was going to lill himself.. I jumped in my car and went to his home and in fact he had shot himself in the shower.. It was a very traumatic situation and my healing that helped me then and to this day has become a “super power” is understanding I don’t own others decisions or challenges in life. Im always here to help but Im not going to let your problems become my problems… That single day has had a big impact in how I have navigated life over the last 40 years .

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That price , competition and or the economy are why business is tough.. I have found and have never lost the bet that the 3 things have virtually no impact that is even close to your own self talk and lack of execution to be the success you want to be.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Self talk in the biggest disease on the planet. It causes people to make decision all the time that are just based on their “Self Talk” not facts..

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Image Credits
Dean Akers. Dean Akers

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