"Killers”

By John Duever

WrapFam Unleashedasked me: “You talk about surrounding yourself with killers. Who’s a killer?” reat question and topic, thank you.

Let’s start out by defining who I personally consider to be a” killer.”

A killer is someone that will push you, do their best to outwork you at every single minute, they will tell you the truth even if no one else will, someone that will talk crap to your face, and fight for you behind your back, your ride or die, they will hold you accountable. Someone that you can lean on, and respect in most or all aspects of their lives. These people are in a constant state of self-improvement and even if they fail on their goals or aspirations, they get back up and attach day after day.

These types of people are hard to find, straight up. In all my years, I have only a few people close to me that I consider killers, especially in my close inner circle. However, there are different parts of your life that require different types of killers.

The Work Killer

We all want these types of killers at work but they are hard to find. They can be built and trained but you must find the right person first with the right “go after it” mentality. These people go the extra mile every single day. These people go above and beyond every day and lead by example with little to no push. They hold their team members accountable and lead by example in most or all aspects of their jobs. People that believe in you and are not afraid to give their opinions on things specifically on topics related to your business. They are the type of people that NEVER, and I mean NEVER point out a problem without a thoughtful suggested solution to the problem. These people are in a constant state of business and self-improvement to better the business as a whole. They have answers to the issues you point out and the best response you can ever get from a business killer is “Yes, I noticed that a few weeks ago, and here is the solution I have been working on or already implemented.” When you find a killer for your business you must do whatever it takes to keep these people on your team.

The Friend Killer

The older I get the fewer close friends I have, just part of life. The people I chose to surround myself with in my inner circle are all killers in their own rights. These people love to hear about your wins, they do not get jealous of your success, and they feed off of your successes and use that as fire for their lives. These people are there for you at 2 am when you need to talk or are there for you when you need advice. They critically think and make YOU think about all aspects of a situation, not just agree with you to appease your stance on something. I have a few of these people in my life that are not local to me, they are all around the country. We may see each other once a year but we talk on a regular basis. Being local has nothing to do with having close friends in my opinion. Why let any amount of distance hold you back from pouring into your friends especially when you can pick up the phone and reach the other side of the globe in a matter of seconds? The friend killer is one of the most valuable people you can ever come across in your life and should be treated as such and the relationship must be reciprocated or it will not work for the long run.

The Competitive Killer

These are people you love to hate, during actual competition. People that push you to do your best when you are competing in anything. These people might be better than you at a certain competition but because of that you learn and grow as you compete. They do their best to not only beat you in competition but also coach you to be your best because they are killers themselves. When I compete in anything I try to coach my competition. Why? Because I want to beat people at their absolute best so there are no excuses as to why I won. I first learned about these people during my first vehicle wrap competitions. Orlando 2008 I competed in my first vehicle wrap competition and met a guy named Jim Miller. I knew right away I was going to do well in the competition, but I also knew I’d have my hands full with Jim because he was good, really good. Jim and I have competed against each other more times than I can count over the years and I have grown to know and love Jim and his family. I also want to smash Jim at every competition, as he does me, and this has made us close friends. We respect each other because of this. Jim makes me a better wrapper, a better father, and a better person. As much as I want to kick Jim’s ass every time the bell rings for us to compete, the value he has brought to my life is unprecedented. Jim is the definition of a killer in all aspects. Some of the most competitive people in the world, whether it be in wrap competitions, business, sports or just winning at life in general, are the people you want to surround yourself with.

The Spouse/Partner killer

I see many people in relationships where they are just along for the ride or they dictate how their relationships work, or it is one-sided

Have a question for John? Submit your question: and “they’re the boss”, it is laughable to me. I am married to a straight killer. My wife Stephanie and I have been together for 22+ years and we share 3 children, she is my best friend. She is my rock and I worship the ground she walks on, and that is reciprocated. Stephanie holds me accountable, isn’t afraid to call me out on my bullshit, and puts me in my place when I need it. She respects me and when I am wrong she tells me. I respect her so much that I make the right decisions so she has no reason to ever be ashamed of me or being married to me. I win big to selfishly make her look good. I work hard so I can provide her with anything she could ever imagine. Stephanie is the toughest person I have ever met in my life and the fact that she has been able to wrangle me in and keep me grounded is a testament to who she is at her core. I believe these people come along once in a lifetime and you better make them your priority because if you lose them you will never forgive yourself.

Killers don’t only fall into one of these areas, they can fall into multiple or ALL of these categories or other categories as well. When you find someone who falls into all of them and the feelings are reciprocated you better hold that person near and dear to you because that may happen only a couple of times in your entire life. The adhesive-backed industry is absolutely full of killers, you just have to find the right people that align with your views and beliefs and hold those people near and dear to you. Also, make sure anyone claiming to be a killer actually is a killer. Lots of fakeness out there and the last thing you want is to trust someone only to find out they are not what they portray.

One of the best ways for you to find and surround yourself with killers is to join a mastermind or coaching group. People in these groups are investing in themselves and staying in a constant state of self-improvement. If you want to be a killer yourself, you better surround yourself with killers and the best way to do that is this right here.

John Duever John@wrapiq.com Co-Owner/Operator, Vinyl Images Founder/CEO, WrapIQ