The School of Greatness - 787 The Secrets of Millionaires with Dean Graziosi

Episode Date: April 22, 2019

ENTHUSIASM AND AUTHENTICITY. You don’t have to be the smartest in the room. You don’t have to have the most experience, the most charisma, or the best education. These obstacles won’t keep you from your goals. You just need to show up and keep showing up. Persistence is more important than anything else. I have dyslexia and was never very good in school. But if I had told myself I wasn’t smart enough to be successful, I would never be where I am today. Keep knocking on those doors. On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I talk about the power of persistence from one of the most successful men on TV: Dean Graziosi. Dean is an author, investor, entrepreneur, and trainer. Dean created a multimillion-dollar real estate business, is a New York Times bestselling author, and is one of the most watched real estate and success trainers of our generation. Dean is obsessed with sharing the “Success Habits” learned along his journey with the world. Dean came from humble beginnings but was naive enough to reach for the stars. He says that once you connect to your “why,” you can push through anything on the way to your goal. So get ready to learn the art of persuasion from a master of infomercials on Episode 787. Some Questions I Ask: Who were your biggest mentors growing up? (6:30) How did you get out of the scarcity mindset of growing up? (7:00) What are some of the habits that millionaires have? (22:30) What do you want to accomplish in your life? (39:00) What do people misunderstand about you the most? (41:00) In This Episode You Will Learn: How consistent action can lead to success (10:00) The two things you need more than knowledge (16:30) How making someone feel understood is the key to persuasion (20:00) The power of gratitude (25:00) About the “Seven Levels Deep” exercise (28:30) The three types of entrepreneurs (37:00)

This is episode number 787 with Dean Graziosi. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro-athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Jonathan Swift said, a wise person should have money in their head, but not in their hearts. And Benjamin Franklin said, an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. I am all about that last quote.

The investment in knowledge pays the best interest. For decades, I've been investing in knowledge. I've been investing in mentors. I've been investing in self-education. I've been investing in optimizing the tools to better my life. And the School of Greatness is that investment for myself in finding these top experts in the world and bringing them to myself and then bringing them to the world to you.

And Dean Graziosi has been a friend of mine for a few years. I've known about him for, I don't know, 15 years because I used to see him on TV all the time. When I was broke and a teenager, I would see this guy on TV. He knows about success. He knows how to create success. He's one of the best teachers, one of the biggest givers that I know. And he started from extremely humble beginnings. He started with a firewood business in high school to a collision repair shop to then his first real estate deal before the age of 20. And from there, he went on to create a multimillion-dollar real estate empire, becoming a multiple New York Times bestselling author,

over 16 years, every day on TV, and is one of the most watched real estate and success trainers of our generation. Now, Dean has maximized success and profits in each of these endeavors, along with his evolution and his businesses and brand have generated nearly $1 billion in revenue. It's crazy, guys. It's just amazing to see what he has created and the wealth of information that he has assimilated over the last few decades. He's got a bestselling book called Millionaire Success Habits that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. He's blowing up online everything. And I had him on a few years ago and I wanted to bring him back on because

he taught me some things recently that just really helped streamline my business and generate more revenue and help me optimize things. And he's just got a wealth of information. In this interview, we talk about the power of shaping your mindset around money because money is one of the most powerful things that we talk about on the School of Greatness. It's got some of the biggest episodes that we've ever done are around money. For whatever reason, people want to learn how to make more money. They want to learn how to overcome the fear of money. They want to get out of debt, all these things. So we continue to have these episodes. And we talk about the power of shaping your mindset around money so that you can attract an abundance of money.

Also, the three moments in Dean's childhood that defines his drive and how to turn being an underdog into an advantage. So if you've ever felt like you were smaller, less than, didn't have the education, didn't have the skills, came from a small town, didn't have the education, didn't have the skills, came from a small town, didn't have a silver spoon. We're going to talk about how you can turn that into your greatest advantage and the three secrets that millionaires have in common. This is going to be powerful. Make sure to share with your friends, lewishouse.com slash 787. Okay, guys, this is going to be a

game changer episode. I just feel it. In the middle of this interview, I was just getting so excited. I know so many of you are going through challenges financially, or maybe you're making a lot of money, but you're struggling on how to manage it and how to break through the next level. So I want to continue to give you as much value as possible. And Dean is just such a giver of knowledge and value. Also, Dean is doing something really cool and powerful with Tony Robbins, who we've had on the show a few times, and we're looking to get back on here soon. And they're doing a free class. They're doing a free class of training about knowledge. If you want to learn more about them and how you can turn your expertise, your knowledge, your skill set into millions,

then you're going to want to get on this free class with them. So at the end, I'm going to tell you how you can get access to this free class where Dean and Tony are going to go live and teaching about how you can turn any skill, passion, or hobby into making millions. So stay tuned for that at the end as well. Without further ado, let's dive into this episode with the one, the only Dean Graziosi. Welcome everyone to the School of Greatness podcast. We have a living legend, Dean Graziosi in the house. Thanks for having me here, man. This is awesome. I'm excited. I first found out about you probably, I don't know, 10 or 15 years ago from TV, late night when I was probably broke and depressed trying to figure out about what I was doing with my life. You were on there interviewing,

talking about a book and real estate stuff. I remember you in front of a house talking about how you generated, or this house, someone made 30 grand from or something like that, or 130,000 or something like that, vaguely. And I met you the first time, I don't know if you remember this, I think it was probably five or six years ago at, Josh Bozzone had a mastermind. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, in Austin. Yes. That's right. I was wondering where I met you the first time.

And it was like, we briefly just shook hands. And then I met you again, I think for like a hot second through Than Merrill. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. I believe, at one of his events or something. Got it. I think we met briefly, but this is- But now we're here, so- Now we're here.

And thanks to Joe Polish for connecting us. Yeah. And I know you guys do a lot of good stuff. He's the total connector, right? Yeah, exactly. I've got a lot of questions for you today. Okay. But you wrote a book called Millionaire Success Habits.

Make sure you guys go check this out. We'll tell you where to go at the end here. It's The Gateway to Wealth and Prosperity. And you are a New York Times bestseller. You've written a number of books, five books, right? Yeah. And why this book? Most of them are real estate-minded books. Why a book about millionaire success habits? It's a great question. My first book I ever wrote, my first New York Times bestseller was called Totally Fulfilled. I was in the business, and I read it now. You know what it's like you look back, if you're a person and

someone who grows, I look back at that now and I'm like, oh, can I take it off the shelves? But I wrote that book because I'd already been in the education business for 10 years. And when, you know, when you find out, when you obsess on getting people results, right? And which everybody watching, whatever you do in life, like there's nothing better than being passionate about what you do. And when I'd look where people would fall short on doing a real estate deal or taking their life to the next level or taking action, it had nothing to do with my tactical skills on what I taught in real estate.

Because what I was teaching was exactly what I did. I literally, not to go to the story, but I lived in a trailer park. I was homeless with my dad for a year. We lived in a bathroom. I went through that. I didn't go past high school. I had dyslexia. I went through that. I didn't go to past high school. I had dyslexia, all this stuff that a lot of us have gone through. I know that the strategies worked in real estate.

When I got so frustrated, I'm like, I don't need to write a real estate book. I need to write a book to get out of their own way, to get over the obstacles, to just use the crap that I'm giving you so you can take action. Because they would have the strategies, but they wouldn't get the results. The first obstacle, they turn around and go backwards, right? First time it doesn't work. Limiting beliefs, people from the outside, the stories they tell themselves, all the things that we all know.

And if your audience is watching this, they get a lot of that stuff. So I wrote that book and then went on to write four or five more real estate books. I've been blessed to sell lots of them, millions of books sold. And then in the last couple of years, it's just been on my heart to share the process in which I went through and then being blessed to be friends with really successful people and billionaires. And the more success you have, the more you realize it's less shifts in your life than you would think. I think when you're struggling and you want more, if you think back to when you were on the couch at your sister's house, you've probably thought there was a hundred or two hundred things you had to change about you

you had to discover the latest and greatest and technology and all the things the complexity of today's world right we're overloaded with information we're overloaded with delivery systems if everybody anybody's in marketing it's like do i do facebook and if it's facebook is it facebook live is it we get all so much complexity with the delivery systems and we forget that it really boils down to about a handful of things that make someone successful or not. So through my years and touching the lives of millions of people and reading tens of thousands of posts and doing live events, you realize that people are just lacking these habits that they could shift. And that's what I got on this obsession about 18 months ago. And that's why

millionaire success habits. Who was your biggest mentor growing up? You know, I would say I didn't have a lot of mentors growing up. Um, I was, I was probably more running away from the life I had. You know, I, I hated watching my parents struggle. I mean, all they were worried about was money, right? There was no time for coaching little league. And I was telling you, I'll tell you more. My daughter's here with me today to her first business trip. When she turned turned 10 she's here in the business trip but you know i get to coach little league i get to go to every dance recital i play at the park in the middle of the day i watched my parents not have any of those options

they were great parents they just didn't have those options so i think i was running away from the pain of money and broke and all that but i would have to say 18 years ago tony robbins made a massive impact on my life just i mean he's one of my dearest friends in would have to say 18 years ago, Tony Robbins made a massive impact on my life. I mean, he's one of my dearest friends in the world now, but 18 years ago, it was his course in my journal where I said, someday I hope to meet him. So I would say that he made a big impact on me for sure. That's crazy.

Wow, okay. How did you get out of the, I guess, the scarcity mindset or the scarce life you were living in where you were in the trailer park or you were living in a bathroom and your parents had these conversations, how did you shift it? Was there information you learned from Tony or from someone else that helped you get started? It's funny. I've been asked that question before and I don't have a specific epiphany. Like,

oh, this one moment. I can remember thinking throughout high school and even in my early 20s, maybe not my early 20s. I flipped pretty quick, right around 20 years old. You didn't go to college, right? No, I didn't go to college. I barely got out of high school. But I can remember thinking in high school, whatever years that was, is that I hope someday I can get a job

and make a thousand bucks a week and just get by. I'm not that smart because I had trouble reading. I still can't read great, but I've had dyslexia is what I think it's been diagnosed now, but I still can't comprehend good when I read, but I didn't realize I was an audible and visual learner. I could listen to a book and I'll memorize the whole book. I can watch somebody on stage and emulate that if it fits my life. But sometimes we're judged by a scorecard that doesn't, it's an outdated scorecard, right? So not only did we not have money, I also felt, well, I'm not smart enough to go to school.

And something changed around 17, 18 years old. Just something flipped. And I noticed, and this is going to sound like it's a pitch for the book, and it's not, but I noticed the people in my town, this little tiny town I grew up in upstate New York, the people that had money, the people that seemed happier, I don't know behind the scenes, but they seemed happier, more fulfilled. They were more relaxed. Like life just happened. Like they were walking up a ladder instead of like, my family seemed like they were running on a treadmill. You know, it's like,

we're going fast, but we're not going anywhere. So why is this guy or this woman in this town doing so well? And I remember just obsessing on it. And what I noticed it was, I didn't call it habits. I'd love to say I figured this out when I was in my twenties, and what I noticed it was, I didn't, I didn't call it habits. I'd love to say I figured this out when I was in my twenties, but what I realized is they just did different things than my family and my friends were doing. And I just started obsessing on that. And I was young enough and naive enough to just think I could do it. You know, I mean, sometimes you wish you could give that gift to somebody in their twenties, thirties, fifties, seventies, right? I had the gift of being naive and a little dumb and not listening to anybody I mean

I was in 1998 I did my first infomercial wow and almost 20 years ago yeah in 1998 I filmed my first one and my sister my daughter's aunt my daughter's sitting here like this my sister drove from Virginia because by then so in 1998 I had apartments I had a collision shop, I had an auto sales, and I was building houses. Wow. From that broke kid, I was doing well. How old were you when you started that? I was probably in 1998.

It was 20 years ago. I was 28, 29 years old. Wow. So in your early 20s, you started to do real estate. Yeah. So I hit it big in real estate by the time I was 26, 27 years old, just by taking action, knocking on a million doors, and finally got someone to do a no money down deal with me when I was 20. And then another one, and I rolled that into the next deal, the next deal.

And it was- Consistent action. Consistent action and consistent failing and getting back up, right? The space between failures is really a huge determining factor of your success, right? It's like if you can fail fast, you can win quicker, right? So I remember the first, I decided to do an infomercial. I'm going to write a book on how to make money and go on TV and my family lost their mind. Like my sister drove from Virginia to sit down with me and say, it's time to get real. You, you did good. You got lucky, not lucky. You work hard. You got here,

but you're going to blow it. And I remember that definitive, that conversation, like it was yesterday. My sister, and she did it out of pure love that conversation like it was yesterday. With your sister. My sister. And she did it out of pure love. She thought she was protecting me. How many people listening right now want to listen to you or do something and go, oh, you're listening to that, wasting your time, just get real, do something. So I remember that conversation and I literally almost gave up on it. I remember going to cancel the whole thing and say, what am I thinking? I can't read that good. I'm going to write a book and all this stuff. And luckily, I just remember thinking, if I keep these patterns,

I'm going to continue the same process my family has. And I want more. And we filmed it and the show went on TV and it aired in 1999. And I went 17 years straight without missing a day on TV. 17 years. Without missing a day on TV. Does it stop now? It stopped because we're going from my real estate book to this. So we're just pausing until the show I did

with Larry King is going to roll out on Millionaire Success Habits sometime in- 17 years. Yeah, I didn't miss a day on TV. Was it all throughout the US or over the world?

Just US. Just US. Wow. And how did you- Now, was there a guy named Big who was a part of this? Big, yeah. Big, he bought my media.

Gotcha. I met him. He bought some of my media when we were yeah he's a great guy he said he's an interesting character i love that guy yeah so he worked for mercury media and merc i had three media at one time when we were really cranking i had three media companies at the same time yeah we're running out of media it was converting so well so amazing now is this the same uh infomercial for 17 no no you shouldn't do it about every year really wow yeah somewhere it was an interview some i drove in my car that was one of my biggest

ones i just put a camera on the dash of the the window the windshield and i drove in the car for a half hour and and pitched i i'd stop it literally i'd stop at streetlights and pitch my book i'd stop and then i hold the book up and be like everybody i'm driving to my house right now for my office but if you want my book, call the number. Wait, light screen, I got to go. Oh, my gosh. How did you think that these infomercials were going to do well for you? You had a good system already.

You were making good money. Why risk something like that? It was because of Tony. If I lost all my money, I'd have to blame him. Because he was on TV. He was on TV and he inspired me. I'm like, I want to inspire people with my story. So I didn't even know, I didn't know about direct mail

or the internet really wasn't there yet. I mean, it was AOL dial up. So it wasn't the internet. And I was naive enough. I mean, I shot the infomercial and then I didn't know how to get it on TV. I was calling like stations. I'm like, who books the media?

How do you get on? Like so naive. How did you know what formula was going to work? Didn't. I didn't. I just watched Tony and I'm like, who books the media? How do you get on there? Like so naive. How did you know what formula was going to work? I didn't. I didn't. I just watched Tony and I – Let me try this out. Let me try this.

And I just – I remember I was a nervous wreck and scared but my – and I'm happy to talk about me but I really want to serve today. I want to give back anything that I can do to help somebody watching right now that wants to get over that obstacle or they feel like they're at a plateau or just they know there's more and they can't. I mean, that's the biggest frustration in life is knowing you have more gas in the tank and you don't know where to go, how to go, or get that momentum. I did the infomercial being so naive, had no idea how to get it on.

And the part I was going to tell everybody is persistence. Like I literally flew to Arizona to meet a media buyer and I said, I have no idea what I'm doing. And I just kept pushing. And, and one of those things that I think during the evolution of growing from wherever you are to where you want to go is do whatever you do best. I mean, do whatever you're doing the best you can knowing there's the bigger horizon. So I literally was working during the day on cars. I was, I'd paint cars. I was doing collision repair at night. I'd go work on my apartments and I was a plumber and, and, and, and hung sheet rock and I'd work till midnight on houses and I

was tired, but I had a dream. I knew I wanted to help people do better. So it made what I was doing okay because I knew there was more. So the big problem I see is people want more and they hate what they're doing. So they're in a state of mind where, God, when I'm done with this crap, then someday I'll reach my dreams. And if you can flop that to go, no, this is the gateway to my dreams. I don't care that I'm serving coffee or I'm painting cars or I'm a teacher right now or I'm on my sister's couch. This is what I have to do and I have to do it the best. Become a master at this. Just become a master at that.

And that's the income and the security and the mindset that fuels the next level. It's not, this is miserable. I hate it. I feel the next level and now I'm amazing. It's like you need to master that. Yeah, the process. Yeah. You got to fall in love with that process.

You do. And the evolution and the failure. You're not going to have overnight success. It took you probably 10 years until you got into that. with that process. You do. And the evolution and the failure. You're not going to have like overnight success. You know, it took you probably 10 years until you got into that. It's like the first time

you see an actor in a movie and you're like, man, I never saw that person. Overnight success. It's like they don't show the summer stock

and all the stuff, you know, the millions of theater and no money and editing. All the extra work they did. Yeah.

Sitting there drinking coffee in the background. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Wow. Okay. Can you share,

I wasn't even going to ask about this, but I'm fascinated about infomercials now since you've done it for so long. Is there a formula to the most successful infomercial, like five or six things that you must have? Yeah. You know what's so funny? When I went dead before, when my brain, there was a thought I had and it never happens because we just got off a plane.

It might be the Dramamine. But I went flat for a second because what I was thinking, what I was going to tell you is you said, how do you know it was going to work? And what I'd share with anybody watching in any kind of marketing or any kind of persuasion or any kind of getting somebody,

attracting somebody, persuading somebody, get them to take action. When I look back at those original infomercials, I had two things going for me. I wasn't the smartest guy in the world. Struggled reading, insecure about that. Wasn't college educated. I don't have a really incredible vocabulary. It's hard for me to articulate certain words because they're not in there. But what I had was enthusiasm and

authenticity. When I look back at those infomercials and they hit like monsters. I mean, one infomercial I did, one of the first sit down infomercials I did, did 150 million in sales. Just one infomercial. How long, what period was that over? About 18 months. Wow. That's amazing. And I look back at that and I don't say that to brag and all that's not profit. Of course. So I don't want anybody, I barely say anything about money. I'm saying that to make an impact because I wasn't the smartest guy. I didn't go to college. I didn't want anybody I'm not and I barely say anything about money I'm saying that to make an impact because I wasn't the smartest guy I didn't go to college I didn't come from anything

most people watching are way further ahead than I was when I started you weren't trained on the camera you weren't but what I did have is I look back even at those old shows

where I'm embarrassed to see myself and my New York accent was like super heavy that's where I grew up is I had authenticity and enthusiasm and I think people could see

this guy really wants to help. It wasn't scripted. It wasn't perfect. I stuttered. I said words wrong. I mean, I look at some of those, I use the wrong words in the wrong context, but it's still converted. And as I evolved, so I say, what's the foundation? As I evolved, and I did the first time I ever did a sit down Larry King style infomercial, he's the one that gave me the idea for that. Then I did the one where I was driving in my car. The reason I did the first time I ever did a sit-down Larry King-style infomercial. He's the one that gave me the idea for that. Then I did the one where I was driving in my car. The reason I did that driving in my car is I wanted people to know that I wasn't using a teleprompter. There wasn't somebody scripting me.

There wasn't a million cuts. It was me just driving. It wasn't produced. It was me driving from my office. I started it with a backpack. I said, I'm going home. You want to take a ride with me? And I talked until I got home.

You, Brianna, and my son were probably three and one. When I got to the door, they came running out. That was the end of the infomercial. That's cool. Right. And that wasn't even planned. They just ran out because dad was home. Right. But I did that because I could tell the authenticity and the enthusiasm I had to change people's lives was there. So what I'd say for an infomercial, for any kind of marketing, for selling yourself, you still need the core. I mean, what I wrote in this book, but what you need is the core foundations of what success are. And now I would say a couple of things when it comes to persuasion. Out of all my years of doing this and being lucky to sell, I wasn't a scientist of selling. I was just an innate, I had an innate ability to sell through that passion. And then you get your 10,000 hours in and all of a sudden it becomes good.

Right. So on the job training. Of course. Right. But when I look back and if I go off in an area that you want to reel me back in, reel it back in. But people buy from you, will love you, will learn from you, will give you a promotion when they feel understood, not when they understand you.

And that was one of the biggest lessons I read. When you watch someone who is so full of knowledge, so full of wisdom and wants to sell their product, sell themselves, get the raise, close the deal at the boardroom, they're always want to just exude who they are, their credentials, what they have and how they could solve the problem. And that will get you so far. Being great at sharing who you are will get you out of Egypt. Understand how people feel and letting them feel understood will get you to the promised land, right? So when you go to an audience or you're talking to close a deal, most people want to share. Most of the time you just need to be quiet and find what's going on in that person's life. Be an expert at

the temporary state of mind. Understand what they're going through at that minute and let them feel understood. When you let people feel understood, when someone's watching you and you do an amazing job, dude, I've been watching you forever and I love what you do. But when someone watches you and go, man, that guy gets me. He understands where I'm going at. He understands my struggles. He understands where I want to go. That's someone I can hitch my cart to rather than someone who's got great credentials and tells you can go, I understand that person, but I don't think he understands where I'm at. Right.

Right. And so the two things when it comes to an infomercial comes to anything with persuasion, the two things I always tell myself is how do I make sure that person feels understood? And secondly, how do I enter a conversation going on in their mind, not mine? You know, when you were on your sister's couch you had different struggles right now I come to Doheny Drive in LA you're in a completely different world a completely different space flying to the White House and all the stuff that you got going on

the conversations in your head have changed dramatically from when you were on your sister's couch to now so what happens and I've watched this with marketers and people in business as they evolve they hit a certain you remember that pain that passion the desire for more. I mean, you could probably close your eyes right now and remember that desire and think, am I ever going to make it? And even a little bit of envy for

maybe some of your buddies who made it or a little jealousy. It doesn't mean that you wished ill thoughts on them, but it's like, damn it, they made it. I don't have it. What if I never get it? If you remember that pain, if you remember that process, you remember that thought, you will always serve anybody watching who needs that. But what happens to some people is as they evolve and you're going to join the country club, maybe you're going to get married,

you're going to move to the suburbs, now you got an accountant and you got two assistants and now should I hire a sales team? Got a private jet. And then is the pilot going to be late? And then you're like, I got a Facebook team. Should I outsource the Facebook market? And all of a sudden your conversations change. You get to do an interview or you pitch on camera or you do an infomercial. And all of a sudden you're having conversations in your head

and your audience feels disconnected and you don't even know why you're like, what, what did I miss? Because now you're asking questions of a completely different group because you've evolved. So the two things, again, I always go back to, even before I turn the camera on, before I go on stage, before I do an infomercial, I said, people buy from you, love you, adore you, will learn from you if they feel understood. And I want to enter conversations going on in their heads, not mine. Wow. Powerful. So two, two simple, like such simple little things, but it's a foundation for persuasion. Amazing, man.

So what are some of the habits then that you learned over the years that the millionaires have that the rest of the people don't have? So this is gonna sound, this one's gonna sound crazy, but this is one that I've, I shouldn't say it sounds crazy.

It sounds too simple. But this one has been a passion of mine for the last probably two years more than ever, last six months especially. I told you before with being a dad, you always want to be able to look in the mirror no matter how much money you're making and what you're doing for a living and look at that person and say, are you good with you? Are you compromising who you are? Are you going against your values to be successful? You have to have that conversation with the man in the mirror, right? Yeah, absolutely.

But when you have kids, it compounds times a thousand. Anybody watching who knows exactly what I'm saying, kids don't do what you say. They do what you do. So you have somebody watching. If I want to be the best dad possible, I need to keep evolving and faster than ever. So I would say a morning routine, this is just one of them that's been huge in my life, is setting my day up for success. And in an interview like this, there's so many different directions we can go, but I want to give some really strong takeaways here is everybody watching, we suffer on all different levels of suffering.

Some people suffer on a high level. Some people suffer because is the job going to get done? Is the deal going to come through? We have these moments of suffering, no matter if it's five minutes of suffering or an hour of suffering or months of suffering. Some people lose a relationship and they suffer for years. Some people have a partner, take their money, they suffer for years and they're stuck in that. And if you can limit the time you suffer, the more you can work on the solutions to better your life. People stuck in suffering are stuck forever. And right now I'm saying it, and you're thinking of friends that you have that

are stuck. They went, went, went, found some suffering and they just crippled them. Or moments where I was suffering and I didn't let go of it. You can't let go of it, right? Or I held onto it for too long and it hurt me. Right. And if you hold onto it, there's not enough energy or focus to keep moving forward. That's when you stall, right? Yeah. So I've been on this obsession and literally Tony Robbins flew out. Him and I got really close.

He flew out and him and I had lunch about nine months ago and he's on the same thing of like eliminating complete suffering gone. Like instead of hours or weeks, it's moments that you catch it. So morning routines help me more than ever. And I'll tell you mine.

Anybody wants to steal this, this works for me because I want to set my days up for least amount of suffering, feeling grateful and ready to, you know, just rock at the day. Like nothing can get me off. Now, everybody knows gratitude is a key to success, happiness, joy. You can't be grateful and depressed, grateful and sad. You just can't do the two together, but it's hard sometimes. I feel like the roadrunners before your time, but when I was a kid, remember Beep Beep, the Roadrunner? There was the Tasmanian Devil. So most of our lives with Facebook and social media and cell phones, we're like the Tasmanian Devil. There's so much dust

around us. It's hard to see through it. It's like, I just got to get through this storm and then I'll be okay. You want me to set a goal and be grateful? How do I get out of this dust storm? So I just obsessed on how do I start my day to make sure that doesn't happen. So one thing I do is at night, I put my phone on airplane mode. And for the last year especially, when I wake up in the morning,

I do not check email or text. Because I can't. If I check email or text... Especially in bed, right? Right. And I've done it for years. I'm not telling you something I haven't done, but the great texts put me in a good mood.

Bad texts, I become the... You become anxious. Yeah, and you feel like, oh, you know, I should get this done. I should just done, but the great texts put me in a good mood. Bad texts, I become the thermo. You feel anxious. Yeah, and you feel like, oh, you know, I should get this done. I should just get this out of the way, right? And you become the thermometer of life. Life just grabbed a hold of you, and they're going to tell you how your day is going to be. I don't know if I'm going to adjust you on the heat up, the ice cold, or stressed, or anxious. So I leave my phone on airplane mode, and the first thing I do is I feed my soul.

And that's not this, I'm just being honest. I don't chant. I don't do hours of meditation. What I've done is I've lowered the bar of gratitude. Now these are habits that you think, oh, this is revolutionary. These are the habits that I look have made me successful, make me keep going forward, push through the negative times, keep reaching for the next thing. So I find gratitude, but I've lowered the bar. And I just said this, but I'll wake up some mornings and be like, damn, these sheets are amazing. You know, I mean, 150,000, you can Google it, 150,000 people die every day.

There's some days I just wake up and go, damn, I'm not one of them. I'm here. And when you can find gratitude on the lowest level, not I conquered, I did. Look, I see your wall. You've interviewed such amazing people. You got to be so proud of yourself. I look at it. I admire it. That's amazing goals. But sometimes we just set ourselves up until you get the next one of those pictures up there. The rest of the stuff is just mundane. It's not. We're in this beautiful world. We're blessed every day. We're learning

every moment. Even an interview like this, take all the stuff I say, throw most of it away. If you get one thing I say today, it was worth your time with us being together. Just one thing, right? So I find a way to be grateful in the first few moments I wake up by lowering the bar. No big special thing. Or sometimes I'll open a book like I just read The Untethered Soul for the second time.

Love that book. I'll read two sentences out loud. And then I feed my body. So I immediately get up and I do, I mean it's just my personal thing, but I do a big glass of water with a lemon, a green juice, some essential oils. And I down that cause I feel like I'm feeding my body. And then I go move, whether it's workout, run, exercise, and someone isn't working out. I just move. And those three things

set me up for a successful day. And then when I get back, this is something I've been doing for a year. And I'd say, Rob this, this is something I've been doing for a year. And I'd say, Rob, this, because there's things that, listen, you're in business. There's things that you love to do. It's your core competency. You were put on this earth to do. It's interviewing, it's meeting people, it's networking, whatever you have is meant to be. But there's some things that you do. It's like, I don't want to do that conference call. I don't want to sit with my accountant and go over numbers, whatever it is. Right. And I used to think, man, I have to do that conference call. I don't want to sit with my accountant and go over numbers, whatever it is. Right. And I used to think, man, I have to do that today. And I just switched that in the mornings. I write a quick little list every day of what I get to do. I just put that word,

what I get to do. When I think about that, I, I used to literally live in a bathroom with my dad and I, when my teens, I worked on cars every day and smoke, you know, smelled fumes. Cause I was like the rooms were always smoky. I was the only one painter in our collision shop and I'd have headaches and like, I could be doing that. So I have to do conference calls on Tuesdays and I don't like conference calls. Now, when I say I get to do conference calls, it changes everything. So that little routine, I'm not a victim anymore. Right. And again, on every level it's, it makes a difference. I love it. Any other, or any other thing in the morning that you, you do? No, that's it. That's, that's my morning routine.

Are there any non-negotiables every day for you besides the routine? No, not really. Yeah. I'm pretty flexible. Yeah. Okay, cool. There's a part actually that I wanted to go over in your book called seven levels deep. Is that what it is? Yeah. And this is an exercise that you do, right? and what is this exercise for and how does it go? Okay. So seven levels deep was probably the biggest impact, uh, the biggest thing in the impact of my life ever. Really? Yeah. One, one day. So I hired a guy named Joe stumped, you know, Joe stump, great guy. He's in the marketing world, but I hired him cause I want more engagement with my students. So it's, it's all about if you can get somebody to digest some of your book, if somebody will read

30 pages of your book, they'll read the whole book. But how do you get them to the first 30 pages? So I'm always obsessing and trying to create ethical bribes, whatever I can do to get you to take action, right? We know books work. It's the books and the action. So anyway, so Joe comes in and I said, I want to do whatever I can. And he said, have you ever done the seven levels deep? I don't know where he got it from. This is probably about eight years ago. She was two, so about eight years ago. And I said, if it's good, just give it to me.

I'll take it. I'll take it. And he's like, I want to go through it with you. I'm like, listen. And I paid Joe 10 grand for half a day of consulting at the time. And he's like, I said, I want to go through it. I just want it. He goes, I won't give it to you unless you do it.

So we sit there. And what the seven levels deep is, i said i want to go through i just want it he goes i won't give it to you unless you do it so we sit there and what the seven levels deep is is finding everybody wants to know your purpose and what's what's this meaning of life and what's my why and all that i get it and it's kind of played out but i don't know if anything really gets to the heart of the of it as simple as this so what it basically was he's like why would you give me 10 grand for half a day and i said because i want to create a company that stands out from everybody else. I want to engage more students, change more lives. And he basically said to me, that's a really great answer. So I asked you why I'm here. And you said you want to engage more students and get more people to change your life. So why is it important for you to engage more students and change people's lives? And I remember saying, you know, there's a lot of

people in this industry that shouldn't be here. And there's some great people. I want to help rise all boats of the good and push the rest out. I want to leave a legacy for my kids. So he said, okay, I asked you why you pay me 10 grand. I'm not going to go through this whole thing. And he's like, you did this. You know, you said you wanted to stand out and you wanted to leave a legacy. So why is it important to leave a legacy? And the whole point is asking the previous question seven times. I took that, that day, by the time I got to the third question, what happens is the third, when there was three questions left, I should say, he asked me four times, it switched

from my head to my heart. And I felt my physiology change. I felt my emotions change. I felt like tears welling up. And when he asked me, and I don't even remember what the fourth thing I said, but the third thing I said was I never want to go backwards. And he got me thinking about things I haven't thought about in years. I didn't like being the kid with hand-me-downs and I'd make my parents drop me off down the street with their junky car and I'd go to lunch. And it's just not a poor me. My life was designed to be exactly the way it was or I wouldn't be the man or the father I am today. But there was days I'd go to school without lunch money and I'd just tell my buddies I'm not hungry because we didn't have a buck right so I never want to go back there and I felt that emotion and it it it hit me so hard I'm like that's what it is and he's like well there's two more left so he said Dean why is it important that you never go

backwards and I'm like I I don't know and it hit me and I thought my kids I I just want to give them options I don't want to raise entitled kids or brats but I want to give them options that I didn't have and I'm like that's it's like, well, that's not really it because it's seven. It's not nine. It's not five. It's seven levels deep. And by now I'm crying because I'm thinking about my kids literally. And I got half my staff there and I'm like, just weeping. And it came to me. He said, why is that important? And it just hit me. And I never knew why I worked so hard since I was cutting firewood in high school and did all this stuff. I said, I need to be in control of my life.

And these emotions flooded in my parents. Everybody's got their thing, right? But for me, and I'm saying this because I want you at home to be, or when you're watching this, listen to this. I realized that my parents were married nine times when I was a kid. So I moved 20 times by the time I was 19. Different stepbrothers, stepsisters. Both parents were married. Five for my dad.

Five for my mom. Four for my dad. Oh my gosh yeah it's crazy always moving like military kids know what that feels like

right so I'd be in a cul-de-sac with a new stepdad stepbrother stepsisters have the bike come home one day and my mom's like

we're moving again and then I move in with my dad move in with my grandmother so I had this crazy hopscotch my whole childhood there was no certainty so what I realized

at that moment literally I'm bawling I mean like literally crying. It's like, I don't want anybody to ever tell me when to move, how to dress, how to live, how to work, how I'm going to raise my kids. Definitely not going to kiss somebody's ass for money. Right.

And I realized at that moment, my why was I don't want to be a control freak. I just want to be in control. When I was 27, I retired both my parents. I stopped worrying about them. I took care of my grandmother. I take care of some, like, so I got those problems out of the way. And when I anchored that in and you watching at home, it's like, if you think you're watching this because you want to be an entrepreneur, you want, or you already are. If you're watching this, you've already had great success in your life. You want that next level, or maybe it's income or, or better health

or better diet or better physiology, whatever it is you want. So many times we think it's because I want to get out of that job. I want this freedom. I just want more money. I want to take the better vacations. And it's seven times deeper than that. And when you find that, and the reason I know this, not only because it wasn't just transformational to me, is I did live events in Las Vegas for six years straight. Every single month, there was 400 people in the room that paid 20 grand to go to real estate events, real estate events. So about five and a half years, I did them every month in Las Vegas. So once a month I'd fly in and that was like the highest level. And every single month I'd raise, I'd get, I'd pick somebody out of the audience

and I'd say, come on up, let's do this seven levels deep. Like, I got it, man. I know what it is. And I'm like, okay, so like, I'm gonna give you a quick example. I won't, I won't beat this up, but this is so important because when you feel fatigued, when you want to say no, when you don't want to go to the gym, when you don't want to make that sales call, when you don't want to get your funnel working, when you don't want to start new, when you don't want to say no to someone you should say no to, or say yes to someone else you should say yes to. Literally for me still, I fall back on my why. And when I think of my kids and going backwards and being in control, I could push through anything. Nothing will stop me.

A bad day. I don't know what it's like to be sick. I can program my brain to just power through because I focus foundationally on this why. I remember this guy. He was awesome. He was a big dude. He had dreadlocks. He was like 6'7".

I mean, 6'5". He was huge. He was an awesome dude. He comes up. He's like, man, pick me up. He gives me this big hug. He's like so I said, why are you here? He's like I already know dude, you're not gonna get seven levels on me. You're not gonna i've already done the exercise He says i'm here because in my neighborhood There's no dads. There's not enough dads in my neighborhood. I grew up without a dad

These kids need dads. So i'm making money in real estate and i'm starting this youth group I already had debt we get dads together and we go spend these days. He had this amazing story. I mean, I melted on the first one. I said, why is that important? He goes, dude, what do you mean why is that important? Of course it's important. And he's laughing.

He's joking. He gives me another reason. I want more money because I want to build a building for it. But I could tell he was still in his head. He gets to number two or one and everything, everything changed on him. He gets small and he starts crying. I mean, like uncontrollable crying. And he gets to his number one. He's like, my mom raised a good boy, but when she died nine years ago, I was a drug addict and she never saw the man she created. And she said, I'm showing her in heaven. What a man she, I'm saying it right

now. I got physical. He said that. And I said, he. I'm saying it right now. I got physical good. He said that. And I said, he said, I'll never stop now. I'll never stop. And again, we all have our own reasons for doing stuff. But when you get to the heart of why you're watching, why you do what you do, it's so much deeper than what you think. And I forget sometimes. I hope I don't sit here and feel like, seem like I got my life all figured out.

I've been blessed to have more, I've had more blessings in my life than I ever could imagine. If somebody would have told me at 25, this is where I'd be, I'd say impossible. So I appreciate my blessings, but I'm not perfect at all this stuff. But when I practice these habits, when I think through this, when I recognize my why, the days that I'm off track, the days I think I bit off more than I can chew or the days where I feel like I plateaued, when I go back to that why, it's like game over. You're not getting in my way. Nothing is. Wow. Got me emotional. You've achieved so much over the years. You said in the first 18 months, 150 million in sales, and that was 20 years ago. And the things you've created now- That was about 10, yeah.

10 years ago, the things you've created now, you've created so much. You've impacted so many lives. It sounds like you don't need to work or need to keep pushing. What's the dream and why do you keep going after it? So I think it's three things. So real quick, I think there's three types of entrepreneurs. There's an entrepreneur who wants to work under the blanket of someone else, right? They're the company, they're the person that's in a company like, man, that guy, that woman, she just, they want to rise up through the ranks and be an entrepreneur, but kind of with the safety net and it doesn't make them better or worse than anybody else.

I mean, without the implementers in your life, without the team, who would I be without the amazing people on my team? Secondly, there's lifestyle entrepreneurs like my buddy, Dean Jackson. He's got this,

I know I'm being successful. When list is good for anybody who's got a lifestyle entrepreneur. There's just a certain amount of money. He says, I know I'm being successful when I don't have an alarm clock in my house and it never goes off. I wear black t-shirts every day and no one gives a shit. I golf at least five times a week. I live on a $50,000 a month net income. I live like, what'd he say? I live like an artist with a trust fund, except I don't know how to paint. So he's got this, so he like, he has this list. He knows he's being successful when and that's that's lifestyle

entrepreneur and then there's entrepreneurs that just want to keep that just want their accomplishment based it has nothing to do with the money they thought it was and i think this with me they thought it was when i get the money and success out of the way then i could stop worrying and it's not it's the next accomplishment what can you do this but it's yeah it's it's the game and i think it converts that's why you see somebody like richard branson that that his whole life now is Virgin Unite, you know, his charity. I spent a couple weeks with him out on his island

because me and Joe Polish raised a million bucks for him. So we got to spend time with him. And he started that same process, made all the money, and then now he's still driven, but now it's how many more schools he can build in Africa. So it never changes. It just, but always have your focus on something.

Like you see people who go to, you know, Warren Buffett, his age, he's still crushing because he has a bigger purpose. We always have to have that. So I would say, yeah, you know, a couple of years ago, especially when the kids are young, I was thinking of should I just cash out and spend 10 years being a dad? I wouldn't be the best me. I love accomplishing. I love creating. I love something new, you know, so.

What do you want to accomplish in your life? What's the big thing? First and foremost, I'd love to say it's, you know, I'd say top two is showing people an easier path. I think most people are, they're driving a hundred miles an hour and they don't know where to go. It's like, even if they got a Ferrari engine, they don't have any GPS and it's like, everybody's going fast. And most of the time they think it's going to be this dramatic, spectacular thing. And a lot of teams, it's going to be this dramatic, spectacular thing. And a lot of times it's the same thing that they could have learned from Dale Carnegie or Earl Nightingale or Napoleon Hill or somebody.

It's just these simple core things that can make them slow down and achieve. And I think that I can – I think I have the ability to deliver a message in a way that it sticks. And that's what I've been blessed to do in real estate. It's not that I had found the only way to make money in real estate, but I was the biggest real estate educator in the entire world. There was nobody even close to me. It was like second through 20th place

didn't make up the volume I did, right? Right. And there was other guys that were great at education. I just think I found a way to deliver it and it's probably because of my dyslexia and my learning disabilities and stuff. I found a way to give people recipes. So I would say a big fuel is getting people these strategies in their hands so they could

see there's a better way. But the number one is to just be a totally present and impactful father. Like it's just where I'm at. And it's magical age. Anybody who's watching remembers their kids, eight, 10 years old. It's like, they're just, it's all, I'm still Superman. They still love me. Two, three years. Yeah, exactly. exactly so i'm gonna absorb it while i can you know a couple years i might have a new um you know thing for trying to get teenagers to like you or something i don't know sure what's the thing people misunderstand about you the most

um i would say because i did infomercials for a year i mean years tony and i had this conversation a lot of times when somebody sees you on an infomercial, it's like, oh, that guy's got to be a huckster. He's just schlepping books on an infomercial. So I think the biggest misconception is that I'm an introvert. When I'm on stage or on camera or an interview, I love it. But if I go to my kid's school function, there's a whole bunch of people around.

I'm the one hiding in the corner or playing with the kids. I'm not a networker. I've never had a business card in my entire life. And I think some people, when they see that, if they're looking from afar, if they don't come up and shake my hand, people will say, oh, that guy, he's too good for everybody. He doesn't talk to anybody. I really don't know him. I'm hiding. So I would say that. And I think the infomercial thing, I'll give, I got just one more thing about Tony Robbins. The first time I met him about five years ago, I go up to his hotel room. He's doing a date with Destiny, invites me up for lunch. And I get there and we're talking for like 15 minutes.

And he stands up and he picks up and he gives me a hug. And he says, I got to apologize to you. He's like, I almost canceled this meeting today because you were an infomercial guy. And he goes, I made a judgment. And he goes, what an ass, because I was an infomercial guy. And he goes, I made a judgment. And he goes, what an ass, because I was the infomercial guy. He goes, I've been trying to run away from it because people look at you and wonder. And he said, and I judged you wrong. And we've been really close since then. So I think that those two things are probably the biggest.

Wow. So I'm surprised you still do infomercials then if you think so many people, you know. I don't mind because it's all about the message. I want to get my message out there. I've been off TV for two and a half years on purpose by choice. But with Millionaire Success Habits, I just, I ran across Larry King, who was a big impact in my life. We met. I said, do you want to do a show? You're the one who inspired me to do sit down infomercials. So he interviewed you. He interviewed me. And the funny thing is, so I'm going to digress here for a minute. I really digress on two things are really funny.

Eight, nine years ago, I'm watching Larry King interview Joel Osteen. He says to Joel, I'm guessing nine, nine, 10 years ago. He says to Joel,

I'm a Jew. I don't believe in Jesus. I mean, I'm going to hell. I'm like, Oh my God. Could you imagine getting asked that on Larry King where there's millions of people watching? Joel turned different colors.

He didn't know how to answer. And if you don't know who Joel Osteen is, the biggest pastor in the world, right? So I see that and I remember thinking, oh my God, could you imagine if Larry just looked at the camera and said, hey, like Joel or not, if you'd like to get his book, call our show. And that's what inspired me to do a Larry King show.

I just thought, so I raced and I built a set like Larry King. I spent four grand for Larry King's microphone, right? I did all this stuff. I do an interview and that was my big breakout show. That's when my company went from 10, 15 million a year. We broke a hundred million dollars in a year within 18 months because of that sit down live. I know teleprompter. It's like the bald guy or the balding guy. Yeah, we had different guys. Yeah, we had different guys through the years, but we did all these different things, right? So I say that. And so Larry King inspired me to do that. It was just the, now everybody does sit down interviews, but I was the first one out there and the first one who sold a book on the infomercial direct to consumer. So we sell

the book. Larry makes an impact on my life. He doesn't know it. Fast forward years. Now Larry comes. I haven't used that set in ages. We wheel it back out because Larry's coming, right, to do this interview. And I'm nervous. Like, I'm a little kid. Larry King's coming. I mean, I know you know Larry. Larry's sitting right here. Yeah.

So Larry comes, and he gets there, and we go to dinner that night. And the next day, he comes in the studio, and I'm telling him this story. And he's kind of not paying attention to me. And he looks over, and he goes, you know the mic is supposed to be here. No way. And he moved it. I was just like, oh, this is so amazing. And we just riffed just riffed he goes you have questions for me i said here's my goal larry i i do i have all your questions and i loaded on the teleprompter but why don't you just start

the show like you always start your shows when you say to somebody why this book why now he used to say that all the time and he goes dean you don't need this why the hell are you doing a book now and we just riffed for a half hour and so that's everybody watching you guys will see that show it's there was no pre and there's no questions he really used off the prompter. He just kind of went off one or two. Yeah, and we rocked it. And the show tested. It's solid.

It'll be out in February. So can I tell you a really funny story? Larry, he is an amazing joke teller. Amazing joke and storyteller. Oh, my God. There's nobody better. Jokes for days. Yeah, and I don't know if you know who Harvey McKay is.

Yes. He's a swimming shark. So last Friday, Larry came to my office, andvey's there they're there for two hours i'm between these two 83 and 84 years old they got more history and stories and they're just out doing each other with stories it's non-stop and i just and they'd look at me and i'd be like i got nothing just you guys keep going so larry's larry for like the all the years he's doing live with larry king they have this they have he has a producer who's like a practical prankster. And he said, but big time, really good at what he does.

And he said anytime that someone was in the office a little off or grumpy, they'd get him. So he said they had this guy. I don't know what department, but he was kind of a pain in the ass, for lack of a better word. So they wanted to get him. So the guy came in everyday structured. He came in with his briefcase, his hat, his overcoat. He'd hang his hat, hang his overcoat up and go to work. So they went and found the hat, the exact hat, and bought one two sizes too small.

Oh, my gosh. So every day he'd come in, they'd let him go for a week where he'd go to put the hat on. No way. He couldn't get over his head. Like me, I'd have to tell the guy like in a day. So the guy's freaked out. He's coming in off, like just off. He thinks his head's swollen, right?

Oh, my gosh. So they didn't just leave it there. I'm like, then you told him? He goes, no. He goes, then we bought a hat two sizes too big. And we left that there for a week. And he said he was rolling up paper and stuffing it in his hat. And I'm like, oh my God.

I mean, but Larry tells that story so amazing. And then they finally told him after two weeks. That's hilarious. Anyway, I didn't mean to digress. It was just a funny story. No, it's amazing. Is there any question that you wish more people would ask you that they don't ask?

God, that's a really good question. Yeah, probably how to get, you know, I think, and I watched this when we did the fundraiser with Richard Branson, we went there. I watched everybody trying to ask him, like, how'd you get to be a billionaire? And I think that's the wrong question. When you see somebody successful, I think it's, I think it's more of

like asking them either what their why was or how they overcame obstacles or how they persevered. So I think, and I don't think it's about our, it's about the story. It's just, I think so many people give up on the five yard line. I think so many of you are just there and you think it's so much heavier. When you start playing at a higher level, there's not a lot of competition. And it's not doing, I'm not doing much different. I'm just being honest with you.

I'm not doing much different now than I did to start my collision shop and start my auto sales. I'm doing the same thing just on a bigger scale. I still have to overcome negativity. I still have to get out of bed. I still am stressed some days. And there's some days I question myself. There's some days I make bad decisions. And it's just how you get over them, how you handle it, and how you go

forward is everything. And you say that, and I'm talking and thinking at the same time. And I don't know how much time we have left, but I would say the last thing, or one of the last things I'd love people to really think about is their thoughts. Have you ever read The Untethered Soul? No. It's a, got to put it on your list. It's a, how about Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now? Sure, yeah, yeah. I'm sure you've read that. I have, yes.

Okay, so, and Untethered Soul is, for me, it's that and so much more. It's a great book. So, I don't know if you had another question. So I think, so I'll reframe that. It's that one. But if it's one specific question, i'd love for people to say how do you be the observer of your thoughts and that's something how do you yeah and that's something i would and always i say this is because i've been obsessed with it for the last three years because i want to be the observer of thoughts immediately and i'm not there yet i want it to trigger because when you're having a bad day, an angst day, a stressful day, you feel off or overwhelmed. Most of the time, it's just the thoughts we're having in that particular day. And when you can look back and view those thoughts, you can make a decision to throw them out or not let that spin you up or

feel it for 10 minutes and then throw it out. But when you leave them there, they just linger. it for 10 minutes and then throw it out. But when you leave them there, they just linger. And the more I've become aware of my thoughts, the more I've evolved as a person. So again, I'm sitting here because my daughter, you're probably bored to death, hon. Love you. She's doing great over there. I'm going to tell a story about her. I am trying to observe my thoughts as they happen. So I don't know if she'll remember this, but we were, and I'm sharing this as my story, but I want't know if she'll remember this, but we were, we were, and I'm sharing this as my story, but I want you to put yourself in these shoes. This could be your husband, your wife, your kids, your coworker, your partner, people you do business with, employer, employees, but we're at breakfast and breakfast is really important to our family.

We have breakfast every single day and, and I cook for them most of the time. And so we sit at breakfast and try to have conversations about gratitude and all this kind of stuff. And my son, Brody was obsessed with these crayons and they were like these crazy colors. They weren't red. They were like aqua blue Marine, something. So I'm sitting there using them and, and I pull it out and go, God, this is a cool color. And he names it. And I'm telling this for a reason. So I pull out another, he names all, I was at 25 or 50 in that pack. So he names all of them, these big, long names., I was at 25 or 50 in that pack. So he names all of them, these big, long names. I'm like, dude, what an incredible gift. I couldn't memorize these if I spent a month trying to stop my, how my brain thinks, but that's him. He's the structured,

organized kid. So Bree, she says to me, I can do that. So I don't know if you remember this, hon, but she studied it. And like five minutes later on the second one, she didn't remember. I'm like, we're all blessed with different gifts. I couldn't remember. He does that. But my daughter is the inventor. She comes up with ideas that are real, not kid invention. She's going to be amazing.

She's going to be the visionary. My son's going to be the implementer. If you ever read Rocket Fuel, that's the two kids I have. I have an implementer and a visionary, right? So when she tried, all of a sudden she got upset and started almost crying. And she said, because there was so much attention going to my son. She says, Dad, it's because you spend more time with Brody than me in the mornings. I remember just having the immediate thought that may have came from my dad or the way I was brought up.

I said to her, Bree, don't lie to me and don't lie to yourself. That's not true. I work my butt off to be completely equal. You're telling yourself a lie. It's not a good story. I went on this rant and she tucked it up. She stopped tears. She tucked up.

It was the first time ever that she left the house without kissing me goodbye ever. And I'm like, well, she's just got to learn that lesson. And she left for about a half hour. And I like it hit me like a ton of bricks. Like I observed that thought I had. And what I basically told my daughter is that I didn't give a shit about her feelings, that it didn't matter how she felt, that dad was right. Tuck it down. I said, if she was married to a man and I watched her try to tell her husband about her feelings, how she was feeling. And he basically told her to shut up

and tuck it down. I'd have a talk with that dude if he's married to my daughter. And I treated my daughter that way. I got in my car because I, only because I'm sharing this because I practiced trying to observe what's going on. Why am I feeling this way? What is this thought I'm having? Step back, look at it. When I stepped back and looked at it, I knew I screwed up. I drove to school a hundred miles an hour. Even if you were right. Even if I was right. No, I might've been right that I keep equal time, but I didn't acknowledge her feelings. I didn't acknowledge her feelings. I mean, and that's the gift of selling. It's not what people need.

It's what they want and how they feel, right? So I told her her feelings were off. I drove to her school 100 miles an hour. You were at chapel. Do you remember I came and got you out of chapel? I got her out of chapel and I walked her outside and I said, dad screwed up. I said, I may have been right in context,

but I wasn't right in telling you your emotions mean something, your feelings mean something. And we had a great talk. We hugged, we kissed. Her and I had the been right in context, but I wasn't right in telling you your emotions mean something, your feelings mean something. And we had a great talk. We hugged. We kissed. Her and I had the best relationship in the world. And I laughed.

And I felt amazing. And she felt amazing. And I never would have caught that if I wasn't observing my thoughts. sitting here right now, but who are you not, you know, what thoughts are clouding your judgment in a marriage or in a relationship or in your partnership or trying to get a raise or taking your life to another level, whatever it is in your life. Most of the time, it's those thoughts that are messing with us. And if you can, you can observe them, you can adjust them. Amazing, man. I've got a few final questions for you. This has been great. This one's called the three truths. Okay. Many, many years down the line, you've achieved everything you want,

but it's your last day. It's your last day here. Okay. And you know it's the last day. Your whole family is there, friends, everything. For whatever reason, all your books have been erased from time. Okay.

And they've sold hundreds of millions of them at this point. Yeah. They're all gone. Okay. And someone in your family comes up and says, I have a piece of paper and a pen. And all you get to do is write down three things you know to be true about everything you've experienced in your life,

the three simple truths or the three lessons that is all we remember you by physically. All the stuff in the books is gone. What would be the three truths for you? Wow, what a great question. I'm glad I didn't know that one in advance because I would have thought about it too much. That's really good, dude.

I think the three truths are that it's not the objects, it's the things that we get to experience. So you can't buy your way. I had a lot of pain as a kid, which we all did. And I know I thought for a time in my life that money would fix that. And there's nothing more than the experience. My daughter's on her first trip with me as a business trip. This is worth millions to me. I'd give up all my books to have that. So it's the moments and the experience, not the things, is one. I would say that I lived true. Okay, this is a really good question. Sorry, I'm studying here. But I would say success is easier than people think. Like, there's a. Sorry, I'm studying, but I would say success is easier than people think. Like I, I think I, like there's a lot of days I'm like, man, when is everybody

going to figure out I'm not that smart? I'm just being honest. I literally, for years I would say, people are going to say I'm not that smart. I'm just enthusiastic. And, you know, and I have the momentum. And, and I, so I would say that that truth is don't be over-prepared, momentum. And so I would say that that truth is don't be over-prepared, be overly enthusiastic and committed. And I would say last is that I found a way to let thoughts be things, not who I am. If thoughts can be automatically a thing, but not who I am in my soul, then I lived a good life. Those are great truths. Thank you. Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Dean, for your incredible generosity and your enthusiasm for wanting to impact so many people. Thank you. From a guy that has gone through so much pain and

suffering to a person who's led a life of service and constantly pushing the envelope and showing what's possible for people like me who are dyslexic as well and who barely got through high school and college myself, seven years of college. You're such an inspiration. Every time I see your message or see you in person, you're always smiling and happy and want to give to people. Well, thank you. So I want to acknowledge you for all those gifts. Well, thank you. And I give that back. That's why I'm here because I love what you're doing. And then don't stop. Keep pushing. Yeah. No matter what it takes, get it out there. I appreciate it. Thank you, man. Appreciate you.

We have one final question, but make sure you guys go get Millionaire Success Habits. Go get the book. Where's the link for it again? Of course, it's on iTunes, but we set up a special link at mshbook.com. MSH. Yeah, like Millionaire Success Habits. MSHbook.com. Awesome. We'll have that linked up in the show notes. And where do you like to hang out the most online? Do you spend time on social media at all? I don't, not much,

a little bit on Facebook, a little bit on Instagram, but not much. Okay. We'll link it up there in the show notes as well. Yeah, that would be great. And the final question is, what's your definition of greatness? Just going at it full tilt boogie. A buddy of mine used to say when I was in high school, he used to say when he was playing football, if he had a great day, he goes, man, I was full tilt boogie. I don't even know what that means. But I think definition of greatness is just knowing that you gave it your all.

And I think so many people on that last, when you're 90 years old and you look back, if you didn't give it your all, I think that's going to be one of those things. Like I had one shot at this. Why didn't I just go for it? Why didn't I say yes? Why didn't I finally say no?

So I think greatness is just freaking putting the pedal to the metal. Dean, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate being here, man. Appreciate it. There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this. I hope you were getting a ton of value. And if you did, make sure to share this with one friend. Just take the link from the podcast, share it with one friend, or text them, hey, check this out, lewishouse.com slash 787, and it'll take them right to the episode as well. We want to spread this message. If you know someone who's struggling financially or who's got a big business

that wants to continue to grow and get to the next level, then send them this and add the value of greatness to someone's life today. It's the best thing you can do is to help someone improve, learn, and grow. Again, make sure to check out greatnesslink.com to get that free training by Dean and Tony Robbins. It's going to be a game changer. You can get it right now. It's out this moment. So go check that out, greatnesslink.com. To bring it back to the beginning, a wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart, said Jonathan Swift. And Benjamin Franklin said, an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Are you

investing in your knowledge? Are you constantly finding new ways to learn and add skill sets to your capabilities so that you can pay dividends to yourself every single year moving forward. It's one of the greatest things I've done for myself is self-education. It's learning new skills, learning new mindsets, learning new beliefs, learning new information to give me those tools that I can tap into in any moment. You're doing that with the School of Greatness, so I acknowledge and honor you. And we've got some big guests coming up. Wow, some huge names coming up. We just had some previous big guests

in the last couple weeks. So if this is your first time here, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. Leave a review, as that helps us spread the message of greatness. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music you