The Mello Millionaire with Tommy Mello - The Secret to True Wealth: Inside David Meltzer’s $100M Fall and Rise

Episode Date: August 1, 2025

David Meltzer is a legendary entrepreneur, speaker, and humanitarian who once lost everything — $100 million, his identity, and nearly his family — only to rebuild a life of more profound success and purpose. As the former CEO of the legendary Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency (the inspiration behind Jerry Maguire), David lived the high life until it all came crashing down. That fall became his greatest gift. Today, he’s a best-selling author, top podcast host, and coach to some of the world’s most elite performers — from athletes to executives. His mission? To empower over 1 billion people to be happy through value-driven leadership and radical generosity. Known for his raw honesty and spiritual edge, David teaches that true wealth isn’t in your bank account — it’s in your mindset, your impact, and your ability to serve others. His story is more than a comeback. It’s a blueprint for turning pain into purpose.00:00 From Bankruptcy to Empowerment07:40 The Journey of Self-Discovery14:58 The Power of Saying No22:55 Navigating Private Equity and Trades23:55 Final Thoughts and WisdomMeet me at Home Service Freedom 2025 ⟶ https://homeservicefreedom.com/Check Out My Social Media:Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymelloInstagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/Facebook ⟶https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/My other podcast: <p><br></p>Home Service Expert ⟶ https://open.spotify.com/show/4WHQ3ldGThHsP1cfzNF33GLive Q&A submission form: https://homeserviceexpert.com/questionsLearn more about David Meltzer: https://dmeltzer.com/Key Topics: Millionaire habits, going bankrupt, sports agency, Jerry Mcguire,Empowering others to be happy, Comparison, Discipline, motivation, Saying no, Reading every day, growth, Private equity, Business, Wealth

I lost over $100 million when bankrupt while I was running the most notable sports agency in the world. They made the movie Jerry McGuire about our firm. I want to tell those people out there that have the desire that they must be what they can be like you. I've been around billionaires, millionaires, entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, and entertainers. And the common denominator, there's only one, a desire that they must be what they can be. Visionary, tenacious, game-changing. Our guest today isn't just an entrepreneur. My life's mission is to empower others, to empower others to be happy.

He's a master dealmaker whose journey reads like a real life Jerry McGuire story. Show me the money. Blending sharp business savvy with heartfelt leadership. I wake up every morning and I say to myself, there is nobody's going to outwork me today. David Meltzer made his mark as a powerhouse sports agent, representing top athletes and negotiating high stakes deals that built his reputation and fortune. You've got to take action.

You've got to make it happen. David found it. several successful companies, including Sports One Media and the Meltzer Group, which he's used to help countless entrepreneurs, athletes, and executives unlock their potential and scale their businesses. Make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun. He is the host of office hours with David Meltzer and the Playbook podcast, where he shares lessons on leadership and personal development. Prepare for an inspiring conversation that will change the way you think about business, leadership, and the art of the deal. All right, guys, welcome.

back to The Mellow Millionaire. Today is going to be an awesome episode. I'm super excited. I got Dave Meltzer here. Dave is the chairman of the Napoleon Hill Institute and formerly served as the CEO of the renowned Lee Steinberg Sports and Entertainment Company. If that sounds familiar, it's because the movie Jerry McGuire was based on David's agency. And we're excited to have you on today, brother. It's about time. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me and look forward to diving into some of the great curiosities that I've seen you have and helping the community the best I can. Yeah, you know, you've got one of the best stories I've ever seen. You met your wife, I believe, in fourth grade. You made a ton of money young, lost it, got it back. You came from a tough

household like me when things weren't easy. Your siblings made it, made it as well, you know, did very successful. And you're a giver. And I just want to start with the story. Yeah, so, you know, blessed to have the mom that I had. My mom, She raised six kids on her own. My dad left when I was five. She worked two jobs. I always say lessons are either taught or they're caught. And when you had a mom like mine, you caught a lot more lessons than she had to teach me just by watching her.

A second grade teacher. Packed my dinner in a paper bag, drove me around with my siblings, filling up turnstiles at convenience stores with greeting cards, just so we could eat off of food stamps or other things. things that we couldn't afford. But that's what drove me to make a lot of money. And I was blessed. I always make money. People laughed. You know, I lost over $100 million went bankrupt while I was running the most notable sports agency in the world. They made the movie Jerry McGuire about our firm. And it wasn't because I didn't know how to make money. It was because I surrounded myself with the wrong people and the wrong ideas. And I didn't learn to shop for the right things for the right

reasons. I was buying shit. I didn't need to impress people I didn't like. And that's a terrible zero-sum game that so many people live. I learned in my journey from building up a massive empire, losing it and building it back up, that you got to give more. And I just had to change my perspective to what God was giving me, then feel worthy of receiving it. But most importantly, the people that have the most, most faith in the world, they're not takers, they're askers. They have enough faith that there's more than enough of everything so they can give more.

So instead of ending up in that zero sum game, they ended up with more than enough of everything for everyone. Yeah, I mean, look, you know, I think there's a story about your father. I know he left when you were young. And I think when you, right before you lost everything, didn't he get you a suit and cut out the pockets? What's that story?

Yeah. So, you know, I always say there's the red flags of the fact of how I lost everything. People are curious. How the hell do you lose $100 million? Well, you surround yourself with the wrong ideas, the wrong people, and you don't ask for help. Well, when I was 30 years old, my dad hadn't given me a birthday present in 20 years. He sent me a beautiful jacket with no pockets. And I called him.

I'm like, dude, why couldn't you just give him? me a birthday present and he said because David you're just like me you think money is going to buy you happiness and love you think money is everything and that jacket I want you to hang it in your closet to remind you that you can't take anything with you you can't take anything with you when you're gone money will not buy you love or happiness and I told my dad at 30 years old that I hated him that I was nothing like him told my mom in the next six years when she told me I was lost and she was worried about me, told her to F off, my best friend in the world, a guy since the fourth grade, he's actually the guy that asked my wife at sixth grade camp to go steady for me.

That's how close to a friend he was. Here I was. I invited him to Master's. I told him to F off because he told me he didn't want to hang out with me anymore because of what I was doing and who I was surrounded myself with. And then finally, the night you're talking about, I came home after lying to my wife. I went to the Grammy Awards with Little John. She told me she was leaving me, told me she wasn't happy. Went to bed, woke up the next morning full of hate, thinking I hate my mom, I hate my dad, I hate my best friend, and I hate my wife, which by the way,

were the only four people telling me the truth. Everybody else was just interested in taking my money and using me for all the access I had as a sports agent and an entertainment guy, all the things I did. I was about to call my lawyer to get a divorce, and I looked over, and I had not seen that jacket for six years. And there it was staring at me. I started bawling, crying to my knees. I hated myself.

And my wife told me something before I went to bed. She said, take stock in who you were and what you want to become. Because if your mom, if your mom knew who you really were, what would she think of you? I was the liar, the cheater, the manipulator, overseller, back-end seller, and I was going to take stock in who I was and what I wanted to become.

But when my mom passed away and I eulogized her with thousands of people and my siblings all there because she did so much for the community as the head of a private Jewish school, as a Sunday school teacher, as a mom, as a friend, people showed up all over San Diego to come to this. When I was done eulogizing her, my wife turned to me and said, David, your mom knows who you are. And she's proud.

And to me, that was the ultimate compliment of the effort that I put in to change my entire life to be on a mission, not worried about commissions to help other people. You know, I was listening to an interview from Robert from Shark Tank. And he said, you know, I've been pretty successful. for a long time. He goes, when I had one Rolex, I'd see a better one and I'd want that. I'd be in these rooms. I was able to buy a G4 and all I wanted was a G6. And he went through a decade of this. And he said, now I just want to make sure I live up to my potential. And I think guys like us, there's really no finish line. There's no, you know, the goalpost always moves. And it's really for me, I'm competitive. I've always had a chip on my shoulder. And like I've never done. Tiger Woods was never. done after he won four majors in a row. And sometimes, you know, I hang out with a guy named Joe Polish a lot. And he goes, it's just the way you're wired. It's in your DNA. He's like, you can't turn it off either. You know, what's your best advice for these drivers, these people that just can't stop? Yeah. Well, first of all, I want to tell those people out there that have the desire that they

must be what they can be like you, that you're given a gift because the common denominator, I've been around billionaires, millionaires, entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, and entertainers. And the common denominator, there's only one. They all have that, a desire that they must be what they can be. Now, there's two things to remember if you have a desire that you must be what you can be. is one, do not compare. Do not compare. Comparison is the thief of joy. It's the greatest interference that you're going to have

because there is, even if you have a desire to be what you must be, there's always someone better. There's always more. And then secondly, if you attach to an outcome, you're going to end up creating way more interference. What you need to attach to is your ability to enjoy what other people don't like or love,

enjoy what you don't like or love, and be able to not only enjoy it, but do it every single day without quitting. It's not the mistakes that you're going to make. It's the lack of commitment that you will cause you not to get to where you want to be. So number one, if you can identify that you're born energetically or genetically, with the desire that you must be what you can be. And you live in your divine direction. Not worried about what other people think,

what's missing, what you don't have, not comparing yourself to other people, and not attaching to the outcome, but still being able to enjoy the pursuit of your potential. Every single day, life will tell you all its secrets. And you still have that grind. You'll still have that desire, but you have much more ease.

by understanding those two things that will get into your own way. You know, there's this author, I'm sure you're familiar with him. He wrote Influence, Pre-Suasion, getting the yes, Robert Chaudini. And I've had the opportunity of hanging out with him quite a bit. And one of his seven forms of influences commitment, and it's my favorite one, because I'm like, listen, you've got to build your own commitments. You need to make sure they're visible. You need to make sure you got accountability partners.

Because, listen, discipline is tough. Discipline, I think, beats motivation. Discipline is getting in the cold plunge, you're getting up when you don't want to. It's setting your bedtime to go to bed instead of your alarm clock to get up. And I think people struggle with this. They put themselves, I always say, if you look at your circle and you don't get inspired, it's a cage.

When I see a great father with two young kids and their kids are just smiling and they're sitting there and they smile, it's something you want to become more of. How have you been able to get in the right rooms? It always goes back to money in these conversations. But for me, it's been about having fun, about future self, about fitness, about the other things other than just finance. Yeah, you know, for me, it's finding people who sit in the situation I want to be in. But it's even further. You know, a lot of people tell you you're the aggregate of the five people that you spend the most time with.

I think that's bullshit. You know, if that was true, then some of the stay-at-home. moms would be the aggregate of their four kids, you know, because that's who they spend the most time with, a two-year-old, a three-year-old, or five-year-old. It's not that. The secret to what you're talking about is you need to find a team and you need to know what position you want to play on that team. And so when I look at, you know, my family, that team, I want to be the captain of that team. When I look at other things in my life, I may be the water, I want to learn about certain things.

AI, for example, I consider myself, I have an AI team, but I'm a water boy. I've got an engineering background, but I'm surrounded myself with the guy that developed the AI for Clear, you know, and I developed the guy from McKinsey, and he's on my team. And they know that I'm playing the water boy, but I also provide help to the team for the business acumen that I have, as they explain and teach me AI, how to apply. to what's doing well, what's stable, what I think is doing well in business, and make introductions to big opportunities because they're not good at sales, right? I'm a good team member on there. So the best thing that we can do is prioritize our subject matters. You got to know your non-negotiables. So for me, I spend a minimum amount of time on my non-negotiables seven days a week, minimum of seven hours a day sleeping, minimum of an hour a day on my health. minimum of an hour a day with my family, a minimum amount of time studying time, a minimum amount of time on my finance, 12 of my 24 hours a day, which includes my sleep, the number one value of my life is the subconscious

behavior of recovery and access of information called sleep. 12 hours a day, no matter what the F happens circumstantially, I'm going to be exponentially growing. regardless of the interest rates, the weather, the stock market, it's not going to matter. And so when you have a driver, you're telling me, I get the non-negotiables because you're prioritizing your sleep, your health, and your family instead of thinking that's humility, which it's not. My biggest problem that I think most people like me have is, you know, it's, I tend to say yes too much because I remember when I was in a place where I needed help and people gave me

help. And so like if somebody reaches out and they say, hey, I got a small home service company or home improvement company or this business, I kind of feel obligated to help. And so how do you get out of when someone approaches you and you know it might not be a good payback, it might not be the best use of your time, but you feel like giving? And I'm sure you're like this all the time. How do you get the ability to say no? Yeah. So this is an interesting thing because saying no is difficult. And I'd like to instead of saying no, I like to have options that includes not doing what they asked. So what I learned to do was to have buckets. And so when somebody asked me to do something that I can't do, I let them know I don't do that. But here, come to my Friday trainings.

Here's my book for free. Come to a free meetup, as you suggested earlier, that I did. do in 200 cities a year. Watch, come on my live with me. Ask a question. Let me help you, empower you to do it yourself instead of having me give you money. Let me teach you how to make money. And here's how I can do it. So I believe that you need to say no to things that you're not capable of doing because

of your time, your value, and your emotions. I like saying, I'm sorry, I don't do that, but here's what I can do and let them choose. I'd love to know who are your, you've hung out with so many people over the years. You know everybody. Who inspires you? What people do you look up to and why? Einstein, I study every day because I study time and relativity and I learn those lessons. I study the Dow every day, the 81 verses of the Dow. I study the course in miracles every day. I study Napoleon Hill, not just thinking we're rich, but outwitting the devil. My mentors, people like Wayne Dyer, Wayne Dyer, Power of Intention, Bob Proctor, one of the biggest mentors for me, Dennis Waitley, Ziglar on the sales side.

But today, my number one mentor is my sleep coach, because that's a third of my life. So Dr. Medas Singh is the sleep coach for MLB. She's an amazing doctor. She's taught me to recover and access information every single day. And so sleep is one of those things that I compound in my life. information and recovery. Another mentor of mine is a business consultant, a world business consultant, Blaine Bartlett. So he's in his 70s.

He's been trained by all the greats. And he's a great business mentor for me that has a great knowledge base of international business. I think there's three things, Tommy, in your business that you should be teaching your guys. One, you need to knock doors somehow. It's going to be the biggest differentiator in the future. The people that know how to sell person to person are going to get so much more out of life in the future. Because most people aren't going to have this skill anymore.

If I could get my kids to knock on 150 doors a day selling solar or security or window cleaning, I literally, if I could get them to do that, that would be the best blessing I could give my four kids. Two, you got to read, man. you're a big reader, you got to read because people who read practice imagination, and they also know imagination versus reality. And that's only the best tool in the world is through reading. So I read every day. And then the third one is you've got to start learning AI.

Create an AI team. This is the future. If you don't understand, you're going to miss out on the efficiencies of the universe over the next three years. you can get such a head start on everybody when you realize how to use AI to give back your time to your family, your health, your sleep, et cetera. I love that. There's this talk going around right now in the home service, home improvement space. And the number one subject is private equity. It's learning, is private equity ready for you? Are you getting out of financials? Could you get through a Q of E? Do you want a partner? And I'm a big advocate. I think that they,

can't do what a lot of us founders can do, especially in the blue collar industry. I think when it first started, they thought, shoot, we can go into this business and kill it if these farmers are doing well, these guys that without a really good education, but they're missing a lot of the simple pieces of respect and treating people like people and also culture. What are your thoughts about private equity today? Because look, some of the multiples are going above 20. I mean, if you're in a certain industry like pest control, you're getting 25x on EBITA. And software is getting 10, 20, 30, 40 times if it's AI on revenue. But what are your thoughts when it comes to private equity and where we're going? Well, it will always be an integral part.

I've been in, you know, got hired into sports because of my venture background and my technology background, not because of my legal background, which I had. It's going to be a major part, especially in blue collar industries because of the database and the need that is exponentially valuable. When you're looking at all the trades, these aren't going anywhere. These are last mile businesses. And most of them are antiquated with technology and people. And so I think that when you take a perspective like you to understand your skills, your knowledge and your desire in building your business, that is the distinctive value. And that is why the multiples are so high because what you know combined with

what a PE firm knows or a venture firm knows is a multiple deadly combination because it's just math to those guys. They know they can look and see here's the amount of business you have. If we roll your business up and make this a national offering and solidify the advertising. We're getting a bargain at 20 times. So take skincare, take health and beauty. What was the skincare game? It was, okay, we have all these really great skin cares out there. You know, these people develop these, you know, amazing things with stem cells or whatever they have, right? And we, they built it up to $30 million. And, you know, gross $30 million.

We know the product's good now. We know that it has a brand now. So we're, we're going to go ahead and buy it for a hundred million, cash out this entrepreneur and put it through our channel and it'll be worth a billion dollars overnight. So I'm L'Oreal, your skin suiticles, you're a $30 million company. I buy you for a hundred million. You're like, hell yeah, I put it into a L'Oreal brand at every department store online, etc. Overnight, it's a billion dollar company. I was a couple years ago, I was talking to a good buddy mentor of mine, Kent Goodrich with Gettle. And he said, look, I don't know many people that know the home service game, leadership,

culture, marketing, the way to motivate people. He goes, but I want you to get involved with private equity. And here's why. He goes, when you learn the number ninjas, what they know, how to raise money from LPs, how to use debt, maximum leverage. The returns are so great because they know how to use debt in a responsible way. And as I'm learning this, I'm like, this is so unfair to the average person. So like the first thing I talk about, I'm writing a book called Pay Them What They're Worth.

And it's about equity incentive programs. It's about forming a board. It's about a stake in the outcome, golden handcuffs, holding on to people, giving their, changing their life. And a lot of people despise private equity. They say they're ruining it for the small guy. And it's just very difficult for me because I'm like, I became so much better. The bottom line got better. They asked me, and I got very fortunate.

They asked me very great questions. I think, do you write? recommend someone start looking for a trade or what are your thoughts on the trades? Yeah, absolutely recommended. I think, you know, that it, especially today with the diminishing value in curriculums and education that's, you know, built off of the 1930s, the 1950s, that, you know, the respect and opportunities to utilize trades as a form of education, you know, education is enormous. And I would encourage, I'd be excited if any of my kids would want to get into and

build a business based off of the trades. I think there's a lot of freedom. There's a lot more potential, earning potential, and a lot better education by building those type of businesses than going to work at a law firm. All right. Final question, then I'll have you close us out. By the way, I know you're one of the busiest guys on the planet, so I can't tell how much I appreciate this, but I'm going to let you close us out.

Any advice, any final thoughts, any message to the listeners? Yeah, number one, I'd like to offer all your listeners, my book for free. I'll pay for it. I'll pay for shipping. I'll sign it. So email me directly, David at demelzer.com. Email me. I answer all my own emails.

I will ship it personally to you and pay for the book and shipping. But what I want you to remember is two things. One, be more interested than interesting. Be kind to your future self. Continue to do good deeds. And I promise you, you'll make a lot of money, you'll help a lot of people, and you'll have a lot of fun. And I've never met anyone in my entire life that makes a lot of money,

helps a lot of people and has a lot of fun that isn't happy. And that's what the human experience is about. This has been fantastic. Last thing I want from you, so I know how to find you now, your podcast, your books. We'll have that all on here. Can you make me a small pinky swear that when you're going to be in Phoenix next, you'll at least give me a text message.

You got it, man. I'll be speaking on the Aspire tour in Phoenix. I'm blessed to be part of that with Goggins and Tim Story and the rest of my crew. So we'll be there very soon right after Denver, the next city's Phoenix. And we definitely want to get together and let me know how we can share a stage together too. I'd love to watch you speak and have you see me in my ultimate realm. Sounds great, David. Appreciate your time. I hope you have a great day and a great week.

You too. Thanks, Tommy. Take care. Thank you. See you soon. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. Like always, we're going to close it out with the Tommy Truth, which is a little slice of wisdom from me to you that can help guide you in whatever you're striving towards right now. I'm going to give you guys three financial strategies that helped me start with nothing and make a ton of money in my home service business. Number one is I had to reverse engineer my goals. I had to figure out how to make a plan and that included a budget.

So make a really detailed budget. Number two is invest in things you like, know, and understand. That's what Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger talk about. Don't invest in wild ideas that you don't understand the businesses. You can't read the balance sheet or the income statement or even the annual report. Number three, you want to make sure everything you're doing has tax advantages. As you start to make money, the number one thing that people lose is they have to pay a ton of taxes. So I have a tax strategy.

You do those three things. You got a plan. You reverse engineered it. You got a budget. You are investing in things you understand. and you understand the tax responsibilities that go along with that, you're going to make a lot of money, you're going to be a lot of happier.

And that's it, guys. We'll talk to you next week.