We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rob Massar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rob, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
While service to others has always been a part of my life, for instance, my high school’s motto was “Servons” or “let’s serve”, it wasn’t until my time after college that I realized how much service to others lit my spirit. When all my peers were graduating from college and going off to big-time jobs in big-time cities with big-time salaries and big-time benefits, I didn’t know what to do. So, once I graduated college I began volunteering at the MLB’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton, CA. I tutored underprivileged youth and coached baseball. Those were some of the warmest and most rewarding times of my life. Was I a loser? Was I wasting my education? No, I was having an impact, and I realized that I didn’t want to measure my self-worth by comparing my salary, benefits, or job title to other people.
After that, I decided my purpose would be to have a positive impact on people and that would be how I measured my self-worth. Not money. Not things. Not status. Impact. Did I help someone today? Did I pick up garbage on the street today? Did I make someone smile? Little impacts add up, and I found that if I made that my purpose, then I would find all the financial and social capital I needed to be happy. That is why my business focuses on helping people find peace of mind for their pursuit. Everyone deserves to follow their passions, be financially independent, and run their own business, and I will continue to help and serve those people to the best of my ability.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My business is focused on helping people pursue their passions. This includes artists, entrepreneurs, producers, writers, and creatives in general. I get a lot of inspiration from these people and want to help them succeed. However, one client in particular, Oceanic Global, has really inspired me as of late. Oceanic Global is a non-profit that sheds light on humanity’s essential connection to the ocean. It inspires us to care deeply for the ocean and provide solutions to protect it. The way in which the Oceanic Global team, led by Lea d’Auriol, focuses on solutions and impact not only gives me a lot of hope for our future but inspires me to better my business. More than ever, I want to provide solutions and positively impact clients. So, I am working on volume 2 of my eBook The Venture Map and will be adding many new resources to my website. Since there is only so much time in the day and I cannot represent everyone, I want to make sure my knowledge is shared and I provide as many solutions as possible for people’s issues.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe the three most impactful qualities along my journey have been (1) the ability to communicate, (2) the ability to learn, and (3) humility.
(1) I feel lucky that I grew up in a family of five with parents who required us to sit at the dinner table every night and talk about our days. I also attended a boarding school for high school where I lived with many different adults at a young age. I learned that the ability to communicate with people not only helps us feel more comfortable and better express ourselves, but it also significantly impacts how others feel in our presence. I think the best thing for people to do early in their journeys is to find someone whose communication skills impress them and hang out with them as much as possible. I had a boss, now a mentor and friend, who could sell hot soup in NYC during a heat wave. He made everyone feel comfortable, had a slick sense of humor, and was always a great listener. So, I spent time with him, I learned from him, and I tried to pick up some of his mannerisms.
(2) I think this is one of the biggest “misses” of our education system. We learn facts, the curriculum, and some skills in school, but we are never asked to learn how WE learn. When I was in law school I had a side job and had to learn how I learn to effectively use my time and compete in law school. When I saw my peer doing XYZ, and he got A’s, I tried it….most of it didn’t work for me. I saw another peer doing ABC, and she got A’s! So, I tried it…most of it didn’t work for me. You know what I did? I took the parts that worked and made them my own. I owned my ability to learn and understood how I retain information. Since we all have idiosyncrasies, it’s important we understand how our brain works because life is a constant learning process.
(3) I believe humility has been the most important trait throughout my journey. I don’t know everything and it’s not important to my ego that people think I do. I want people to be comfortable with me, and while I want them to know I am competent I do not want them to dislike me or think I am a blowhard. Every conversation I enter into I try to humble myself and remember that the other person can teach me something. I ask questions. I listen. I answer truthfully without hyperbole. It is amazing how easily our ego can get in the way of a good conversation, relationship, and life.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
A client who is honest with themselves and me is all I can ask for. If they know they have blindspots and are willing to acknowledge them, then I immediately think it’s someone I can work with. I have come across so many entrepreneurs and creatives who think they are good at everything. You aren’t a lawyer because your mother was one and you aren’t a CFO because you know how to use Excel. I also like clients who stand up for their beliefs because they will not allow me, third parties, or life in general to push them around. My job is to provide context and objective counsel for clients; my job is not to make decisions for clients. People who are afraid to make decisions or question my counsel will melt down in the crucible of entrepreneurship.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rmlegalstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmlegalstudio/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-massar-68289b44
