Niko Mercuris poses two questions. They are the same inquiries he answered himself a few years ago, fueling his passion as a business consultant and personal development coach for entrepreneurs.
What is your true passion? If money did not exist, how would you spend your time? What would you be doing with your time if money didn’t exist? Mercuris believes that if you know your niche – an area in which you have extensive knowledge and interest – then you have your answer.
“Everybody can determine how to make a financially comfortable living doing what they love do what they love instead of working in an unsatisfying job just to make money,” said Mercuris, who is the author of Millionaire Mindset Mastery and offers personal development tips at www.nikomercuris.com. “For me, it is helping people overcome their fear of change and realize their true potential, and showing them how to make it happen.”
Mercuris wasn’t always focused on helping fellow entrepreneurs maximize their lives. He has evolved from a childhood that saw his family encounter financial difficulties and building a business and had real estate investments where he made millions to losing it all and starting again from scratch.
The son of Greek immigrants, Mercuris’ father built and operated several successful restaurants, though he did not advance past middle school. For Niko Mercuris, life dramatically changed at the age of eight when his father died. At the time, his mother stayed at home and took care of the three children.
“When my father died, we couldn’t afford the house where we lived, so we moved into a motel where we lived for six months while my mother worked 12 hours a day to support us,” Mercuris explained. “She couldn’t afford a babysitter, so I had to become the man of the house at a young age.”
Mrs. Mercuris was passionate about antiques, so in her little spare time, she attended estate sales and garage sales, buying antiques and reselling them for profit. She eventually opened an antiques shop in the 1980s and grew it into a thriving business, teaching her children that “you can do or be anything you want in life with hard work and resilience.”
Mercuris developed an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to drop out of high school and enter the business world as a teenager. By 35, he was a millionaire with real estate investments and 120 employees at his bustling marketing firm. When the real estate market tanked, Mercuris lost his investments, and in the same year, he lost a major contract which led him to shut down his company and start over again. Since then, he regrouped and has helped built three new companies with gross revenues in the millions.
“Before losing everything, I was materialistic and ego driven. I spent money as fast as I made it, buying high-dollar sports cars and lavish homes,” Mercuris said. “I’m a positive thinker, so I believed the level of success would continue to get better and better.
“When you think you are at the end of your rope, you still have a few choices,” Mercuris added. “You can stay where you are and worry about everything. You can climb back up the rope. Or, you can let go. Guess what? Whichever choice you make, you will survive.”
Positive thinking, Mercuris believes, leads to positive results. A person’s mindset is what determines their success or failure. This is what Mercuris illustrates in Millionaire Mindset Mastery and during his coaching sessions.
“People perform better and have more fun when they understand that they are in control of their life and their career instead of the other way around,” Mercuris said. “
Through motivational speaking appearances and one-on-one coaching, Mercuris strives to help people reach a more personally fulfilling life while increasing their income.
“I love talking to people, hearing about their struggles and problems and quickly creating ideas and solutions that can significantly change everything for the better,” Mercuris said. “Obviously, we all need money to survive, and most of us have to work to earn money. Why not turn what you love into your career and implement strategies to become financially comfortable?”
As part of his coaching and mentoring, Mercuris not only helps clients identify their niche and turn it into a career, but he also helps existing business owners who are already pursuing their passion maximize their revenue stream.
Mercuris is a firm believer of getting his clients to venture outside of their comfort zone because it helps them overcome fears and more easily achieve goals. A few years ago, Mercuris felt that getting experience as an actor would bolster his own development, so he took acting classes, had headshots taken and ended up appearing in a movie and commercials.
In October, he agreed to appear in the Tampa Bay version of Dancing With the Stars though he does not have dancing experience. He took formal dancing classes and was a runner-up in the competition. Most importantly, Mercuris believes, is that he did not let the fear of the unknown prevent him from trying something challenging.
“I don’t want to wake up years from now and say I wish I would have tried this or that,” Mercuris said. “I want to show people what my mother showed me – that they can do anything they put their mind to. It is not a cliché. It can be a way of life if you decide to make it happen.”
