Sometimes the best business lessons come from a chance encounter. Our final CEO business visit of the year was pure serendipity. One late winter morning, first session students arrived at MOTO wearing their CEO badges when a cheerful, charismatic guy stopped to offer a few powerful insights about the mindset of a CEO. We assumed he was part of the tour. He wasn’t—he was just grabbing his morning coffee. That “random guy” turned out to be SIFU (Niko Alsup)—owner of Five Elements Fitness and a contestant on Survivor Season 45. After discovering who he was and what he stood for, we knew we needed to learn more. I asked if he’d host us. He said yes—on the spot. Fast forward: our final visit of the year was to his gym, where SIFU dropped wisdom wrapped in Survivor-style grit. His custom presentation, Entrepreneurial Advice for New Founders, included gems like:
+ Leverage Your Uniqueness
+ Niche Down or Get Drowned
+ Monetize Your Scars
+ Adapt or Get Voted Off
+ Build a Tribe, Not Just Clients
And by the end of the day? Two second session students were already in talks to sell their protein products at Five Elements. As a CEO facilitator, so much of our job is in the planning. But sometimes the most meaningful growth comes from what we couldn’t plan.