David Schmidt

Do the basics over and over and you will succeed.

 

David Schmidt is the CEO and Founder of LifeWave, a leading wellness company. The longtime inventor has an extensive history of working in business and development, with 30 years of experience in creating innovative products to solve difficult problems. After studying Management Information Systems and Biology at Pace University, the future CEO spent his early career pursuing a variety of entrepreneurial opportunities.

One of the companies he created in this capacity, Advanced Applications Group, operates in the area of research and development with a focus on energy-production technologies with applications for both commercial and military purposes. While involved with the company, Schmidt worked on a range of projects including a bladeless turbine generator, combustion rocket engines, and new methods for producing oxygen and hydrogen.

Due to his long history of developing novel technologies, the LifeWave founder was awarded an honorary doctorate by the International Hall of Fame of Inventors. He was also recognized by the U.S. Navy for his ground-breaking work when he received an invitation to participate on an elite research team developing the next generation of mini-subs.

LifeWave’s technology, which utilizes phototherapy patches to create cellular changes in the body, stems from many years of Schmidt’s research into drug-free methods for increasing energy and stamina for military personnel. LifeWave has now been in operation for 15 years, providing consumers with access to this effective method for improving wellness.

The entrepreneur holds close to 100 patents, with over 70 in the field of regenerative science and technology. Among these patents is the Double Helix Conductor, which produces fields made up of electromagnetic and non-electromagnetic energy. These fields help to improve wound recovery rates and can produce results that are comparable to some stem-cell treatments.

Through his work on the Double Helix Conductor, Schmidt theorized that phototherapy could be used as a means for activating a person’s own stem cells and returning them to a more youthful state. From this kernel of an idea, after ten years of research into the concept, his company created the X39 patch. When applied to a user’s skin, the patch works to stimulate stem cell activity and produce an extensive number of wellness benefits to help combat aging, improve recovery after physical exertion and more.

Schmidt has been CEO of LifeWave since he founded the company in 2004. Through his efforts, along with those of his corporate team and dedicated independent partners, the company has expanded into approximately 100 countries across the globe, with offices in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, Philippines and Ireland. Warehouses and distribution facilities are even more widespread, with numerous locations throughout the world. Thanks, in part, to this marked expansion, the company has been recognized multiple times by Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest-growing companies.

Where did the idea for LifeWave come from?

At the time I was co-owner in a company called AAG. We were developing survival equipment for the US Navy. I was invited to be part of a design team for the Navy’s next generation mini-sub. The problem to solve for was that the crew of the sub (navy Seals) had to be awake for 30 hours or more. The common solution was to use caffeine or drugs. I wanted to find a natural solution. After 3 years of study I invented LifeWave as a natural method to increase energy metabolism in the body so people could have more energy and stamina without drugs. Once 911 occurred, the Navy was interested in weapons and not survival equipment so I turned my attention on the consumer market, and LifeWave began.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My typical day is very broad in scope and includes meetings with staff, conference calls with leader distributors, e-mails and other business functions. Part of my day also involves working with the research team on new product development, as well as contacting researchers involved in clinical studies on our products.

How do you bring ideas to life?

It always starts with prayer. There is only one source of true knowledge and information, and that can be accessed with prayer. Once I receive an idea the goal is to produce a prototype and/or run an experiment to validate that the idea works and is something new and unique. Online research is also conducted to make sure we are not duplicating someone elses work. A patent search could be performed to insure what we are doing is completely unique. After the initial experiments are performed and validated, an evaluation is performed to see if this new invention can be marketed, and if the need is there. Sometimes the only thing you get from research is information, and it takes you a step in a particular direction. Sometimes it yields a new product. And every once in a while lighting strikes and you produce magic.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Age reversal. The bleeding edge of medical research is practical age reversal which we will see within the next 20 years, if not sooner. It is no longer science fiction as this is seen now in the lab. The question remains on how to apply this to human beings, which is one of our goals.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Resilience. Being an entrepreneur means you should enjoy the good times, but you also accept that there are going to be some bumps in the road so you should not let that upset you (too much). So when the tough times hit you continue to work and press forward. Rocky Balboa said “that’s how winning is done” and he was right.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be yourself. Never give up on your dream. You will make it despite what people tell you, and despite that most people fail. You will win.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I made a statement a few years ago that I would be able to produce an invention that could heal a wound in minutes. EVERYONE said it was impossible. After 9 months of building the equipment, it worked on the first test and healed the wound in only 10 minutes.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Do the basics over and over and you will succeed. Coach Richard Quick, 6-time United States Olympic Coach would say that the difference between the Gold medalist and someone that does not finish is that the Gold medalist practices the basics each and every day. So do the basics that are required each day, keeping taking steps in the right direction and you will succeed.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Introducing new, cutting edge products that are patented and exclusive to our distributors.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Trusting the wrong people. Everyone makes mistakes in business, and when you make one you pick yourself up, learn from it, and try not to make the same mistake again.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

The age of regenerative medicine is here. Any product that is an alternative to stem cell injections or supports stem cell therapy will be a growth industry.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Taking my daughter to dinner. She appreciated that I took her to one of her favorite restaurants, it was another way to show her I love her, and we had a great time together.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Microsoft Outlook. Can anyone in business survive without e-mail?

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Power versus Force. David Hawkins. It will give a person a fresh perspective on life.

What is your favorite quote?

“What lies behind you, and what lies before you, pales to insignificance as compared to what lies within you”. Ralph Waldo Emerson