Sean Whalen is The Lion
Sean Whalen is a founder of multiple companies and a serial entrepreneur. He is also the author of the Amazon bestseller, How To Make Shit Happen, which has sold over 425,000 copies. He also coaches other male and female entrepreneurs on scaling their businesses AND their home lives. Whalen is also the founder and CEO of the clothing line, Lions Not Sheep.
Sean Whalen didn’t always have the following that he did on social media, and he didn’t always use social media in the same way. Whalen has been a serial entrepreneur for a while now. He has launched many businesses, some of which have succeeded and some of which have failed. However, he now boasts over a million followers on social media because he is ready to share aspects of his life that many other “alpha” influencers like to gloss over, downplay, or ignore.
Sean Whalen appeared on the Steve Sims podcast to speak about entrepreneurship, depression, social media, and more. He spoke about his past, his divorce, and social programming.
Whalen Is Unapologetic
Whalen might be known for his brash demeanor, but the truth is that there was a time in his life where he was scared to speak up. Whalen elaborates that there was actually a moment in his life where he contemplated suicide because he wasn’t ready to share his frustrations with the world. He felt this way even though he was successful at a very young age. At the time, he was having some real issues when it comes to balancing his personal and professional obligations.
One way that Whalen ended up getting out of this funk is by sharing experiences from his life. He also ended up being extremely outspoken about his divorce on social media and spoke about his feelings and confusion surrounding his family’s uncertain future.
He eventually found that this one post soon had millions of engagements. He realized that many people looked to him for answers because he was considered the “alpha” and felt better through sharing. His content has since been viewed hundreds of millions of times, and he boasts over 100,000 followers on Instagram.
The Importance Of Honesty
Whalen also realized that he had thought that it was only “socially acceptable” to share your wins, but that his honesty about sharing his losses might resonate with more people than he had anticipated. Whalen has started many businesses and he began sharing more about the mistakes and losses that he had made. In the process, he was able to build a multi-million dollar business!
He calls social media a “part journal” and “part marketing tool”, and all of the honesty makes him feel better than ever before. As he puts it — “There are no skeletons. There’s nothing to hide.” Whalen admits that, at times, it can be scary and vulnerable…but he feels better than ever once he started being honest on social media.
Whalen has seen a lot of success with respect to being honest, and it’s one of the reasons that his clothing line Lions Not Sheep has become so successful in less than a year. He thinks that one of the reasons for the success is because he truly EMBODIES what he believes, unlike other “bottom-feeder” coaches that might preach about the ultimate lifestyle but are actually struggling.
Stop Bottling Things Up
Whalen also had a lot to say about the way that people are programmed. He brings up that there are people that are scared to talk politics at Thanksgiving Dinner, and that it has to do with the way that we were indoctrinated. Ever since elementary school, Whalen feels like human beings have been meant to just “bottle things up” instead of actually sharing their emotions, opinions, and perspectives. Whalen believes that people should be able to share what resonates inside of them, even if it hurts someone else’s feelings.
This isn’t just because Whalen wants to be polarizing, and he points to recent statistics about male suicide as evidence. Whalen states that it’s crucial for him to continue to “be the lion”, and that this strategy is more important than any kind of content or advertising strategy.
Important Links:
Personal Website http://seanwhalen.com
Meetrz www.meetrz.com
Lions Not Sheep Website http://lionsnotsheep.com/
