The Modern Gladiator philosophy is about living your “best life” across all aspects of life—personal, professional, family, faith, and so on. Gladiators with the entrepreneurial spirit now have a new way to achieve new heights in business while embracing their natural spirit of adventure.
Fellow gladiator and CEO Paul Kirchoff is the man behind the creation of EPX Worldwide, a new group of pioneering explorers and entrepreneurs experiencing incredible adventures around the world. The community combines adventure travel with accelerated business success through greater social/business networking, peer-to-peer teaching, and the bond that comes from sharing exceptional experiencs.
The company is powered by the first data-driven experience software platformTM enabling each member to teach and assist each other in an online format while also experiencing the world’s greatest adventures in the real world. Members can be matched based on business needs and expertise, and the entire community votes on the expeditions that interest them most. These experiences include trips to Cuba, flights to space, taking an experimental helicopter to the base camp at Everest, balloons across the Great Migration in Africa, and much, much more.
In this spotlight, Paul explains what led him to create EPX Worldwide and how his personal and professional journey can be a lesson to others on a similar trajectory.
Why did you create EPX Worldwide?
EPX Worldwide evolved from my own struggle as an entrepreneur and as someone who enjoys meeting other accomplished people and seeing the world. I am not the type of entrepreneur who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I had horrible market timing, starting two companies in the heart of recessions. In these tough market conditions, there was no access to financial capital or help. Everyone was dying around me.
Every decision I made had to be carefully executed to avoid business death. The amount of emotional investment in addition to the sheer hours worked was significant and happened over long periods of time. It developed into a pattern of spending my time being a great father and the rest working on the business. I did not, however, spend time on the things that made me happy.
I had a limited social network because of the amount of time I spent on business, and I certainly was not experiencing the world. I just knew I would do it “someday.” And time continued to pass.
“So, I changed everything.”
I learned how to rewire myself so that insecurities built in the past faded away as did any fears or expectations of the future. This newfound boldness put me in an indestructible mindset to the point where it was natural and simple for me to push ideas in business that I may have never tried regardless of how lofty they were. It gave me emotional independence that grew and strengthened relationships near and far. And it made me fearless to embrace this planet’s diversity of experiences at the same time running, growing, and launching businesses on the move.
The more I exercised this new bold lifestyle, the more other entrepreneurs admired the way I lived. The convergence of understanding the challenges that entrepreneurs face combined with an interesting life inspiring others led to creating the EPX platform. It was a way to organize talented explorers and entrepreneurs with technology so they can help each other accelerate business success, teach each other how to free up time from the daily grind of business, and how to grow their network while maxing out the planet’s greatest experiences.
Do you see “experiential networking” becoming the new norm for entrepreneurs to connect?
I am 100% convinced there is no more powerful way to solidify relationships, personal or business, than experiential networking. My most coveted relationships have come from other groups I am part of that also share unique experiential networking in different ways. I’ve been part of groups to Necker Island with Richard Branson, dog-sledding in Norway, Formula One races around the world, and expeditions to places like Cuba to experience truly unique cultures.
Every single time talented entrepreneurs experienced something remarkable together, they become brothers and sisters for life and ended up launching more business success for each other than any other business investment they could possibly make.
Q: What’s your fire within—what is your drive and passion behind your vision?
I don’t believe it’s a single fire that fuels me. On the one hand, there’s the spirit of adventure—embracing the unknown while always respecting the world’s resources and its diversity. On the other is the desire to inspire and to be inspired by other remarkable people. I am addicted to a blank sheet of paper that is always a pen stroke away from what could be. I know what’s possible when an entrepreneur embraces the many things put off until “sometime when.”
I can’t imagine a better life than to explore the planet, to surround yourself with incredibly talented people, and to help each other accelerate success. I believe we have a responsibility to improve ourselves as leaders, and that affects everyone around us. Living a life that combines all of this is the fire within.
Q: How do you see the Modern Gladiator tribe being a part of EPX?
I believe these two are one in the same. The modern gladiators inside of EPX are born adventurers, risk takers and appreciate all that success can bring. They are proven. They are good people. They give more than they take and that is why they are modern gladiators. We certainly welcome any entrepreneurs in the Modern Gladiator tribe to visit our website and apply.
About the Author: Audrey Strong
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