David Henzel is a veteran entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in building successful companies. He is the CEO of upcoach, and he leads a portfolio of businesses with more than 500 employees.
With a personal mission to help individuals and organizations reach their full potential, David’s passion project is ManagingHappiness.com, an online platform dedicated to personal development akin to Toastmasters, and LoveNotFear.com, a community-driven initiative focused on helping people and organizations to act out of love and not fear.
Through his various endeavors, David remains committed to positively impacting the world, one person and organization at a time.
For more details, visit the Love Not Fear website here.
Here, we sit down with David to get valuable insights about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Q: How did you get started on the entrepreneurial path? What inspired you?
David: Originally from Germany, I became an entrepreneur with a double purpose when I was in my twenties and set up an e-commerce website all for the aim of building up the company to sell so I could make the financial investment required to be able to move to America, which I did. In the States, I founded the company MaxCDN, a content delivery network that I ended up selling at its prime when my wife got cancer, and we decided to move to Turkey to be closer to her family.
There, we have an animal sanctuary, farm, and a retreat center. While I have continued to upkeep a portfolio of companies in the near double-digits in the entrepreneurial realm, my passion project and main focus is on the Managing Happiness program, where I get to provide value to individuals and organizations seeking improvement by implementing personal development techniques to establish healthy habits and increased productivity. It works as an online do-it-yourself course as well as in both virtual and in-person cohorts. The Managing Happiness program is part of the Love Not Fear alliance, which is a community-driven initiative to spread the message that we should act out of love and not fear.
Q: What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive?
David: I never used to think I had enough time to work out, but I have learned that incorporating regular healthy habits into your life, such as “sweating every day” or meditating, has many positive effects on the way I show up in all of my roles.
I make sure to schedule in time for these types of key habits, which contribute to my overall well-being, thus keeping me productive and focused when engaged with work and others. Setting goals and planning for them in my personal, family life, and professional life has alleviated points of friction in my life and allowed me to always be driven by purpose.
Q: How do you stay organized with such a busy schedule?
David: Planning and time blocking in my calendar are vital for me to stay organized. I also color-coordinated my time-blocking sessions according to the different roles in my life and block out specific time slots to spend quality time with my family.
I also keep an error log to see ways of improvement such as time restricting myself from scheduling any evening work meetings. Additionally, I plan the week on Sundays and then plan for each day the night prior, as this allows me to jump straight into what I need to do the next morning. My team meetings are held weekly in consecutive time slots and they follow the EOS Level 10 format, which is extremely productive and efficient.
Q: What would you do if you had a magic wand?
David: That’s easy, I would have people act out of love and not fear. People either react from a place of love or fear, but we can choose the right path, which is love. This concept, which spans back into history and even to the Mayans, has somehow been forgotten. But if people realized it is in their power to act out of love and not fear, then this world could be a different place.
I’d like to make a positive impact on change in the medical field by implementing the “Love Not Fear” concept in hospitals and through training personnel. My wife went through a rough course of chemo, and the whole experience was even more stressful because of the way the medical staff interacted with patients.
So many people are plagued by a scarcity mindset and self-limiting beliefs. I wish that people could overcome their trauma and break free from whatever is holding them back, which is possible through awareness, adopting a growth mindset, and dedication to personal development.
Q: If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
David: “The Recovering Introvert” would be the title of my book because I identify myself as a recovering introvert and would love to share how changing my mindset and adopting certain practices of tackling this challenge turned me into someone who is extremely comfortable speaking in front of an audience and regularly hosts podcasts.
Q: What motivates you?
David: My motivation is to provide as much value as I can to individuals and organizations. Whether it be my family and friends, my businesses, stakeholders, or customers, I want to be of benefit to others. I believe that spreading the concept of “Love Not Fear” to as many people as possible reminds us that we can act on either the emotion of love or fear, but it is in our power to choose love.
Q: What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
David: For me, the best investments I have ever made are joining different networking organizations, such as my membership with EO, business masterminds groups, and personal development communities.
The experiences had through the connections made through these types of communities have been worth the time, effort, and costs designated. From making friendships and business connections to sharing and gaining insight into how others operate in their professional and personal development, it has been invaluable.
Q: What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs invest their time in?
David: Networking and making connections is one of the most worthwhile activities anyone, and certainly any entrepreneur, can do.
I would certainly recommend that entrepreneurs make a concerted effort to attend however many networking events that they can. From professional fairs and conferences to personal development masterminds, make attending events an active part of your endeavors and connect with others.
I also advise pre-networking for events such as reaching out to potential connections or planning for and inviting people you want to meet to a dinner.
Q: What is your ‘one-sentence’ piece of advice you’d like to give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner?
David: “Choose love and not fear.” This is the phrase that I will be sharing with as many people as possible, but it especially resonates with those who want to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner.
Choosing love means doing what you do to provide value to others and not with the motive of making a sale.
The driving force of love changes everything for the better, it is felt by your colleagues and customers and means you are on the right path.
To keep up to date with David and his journey, connect with him at https://www.instagram.com/davidhenzel/ and https://www.instagram.com/lovenotfearcom/.