The School of Greatness - 859 How to Build a Multi-Billion Dollar Empire with Tilman Fertitta

Episode Date: October 7, 2019

SEPARATE FROM THE PACK . We all want to be successful. Some of us even want to be wealthy. Some think that to achieve success they need to become someone different. What if you could achieve your goal just by being yourself? Perhaps the change isn't who you are but what you are doing. Maybe it's your habits or a lack of hunger. The important thing is to separate yourself from the pack. But where does the mentality of a winner truly come from? On today's episode of The School of Greatness, I talk about being a bull in your profession and being a boss that everyone wants to work with, with one of the world’s leading businessmen in hospitality and sports: Tilman Fertitta. Tilman Joseph Fertitta is an accomplished businessman, entrepreneur, author, and television personality. He is the chairman, CEO, and sole owner of Fertitta Entertainment, one of the largest restaurant corporations in the U.S. He also owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Tilman teaches us that the things we want are within our grasp. We have to be the bull in the room and learn how to take what we want. So get ready to learn how to let go of fear on Episode 859. Some Questions I Ask: How do you keep a competitive edge? (7:15) What should you look at when you are acquiring a business? (16:40) How do you stay grounded? (28:20) What is your definition of greatness? (42:00) In This Episode You Will Learn: How to cultivate a culture that makes employees want to stay (10:30) Why you shouldn't get caught up in things that don't matter (15:50) Why you should always take advantage of a good deal (17:50) How Tilman has raised grounded children as a wealthy parent (25:00) Staying grounded and why TIlman thinks it’s important (28:20) Tilman’s best advice on how to borrow money for a business deal (30:35) Why you should relentlessly pursue your talents (39:29) If you enjoyed this episode, check out the video, show notes, and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/859 and follow at instagram.com/lewishowes

This is episode number 859 with the Houston Rockets owner and billion-dollar buyer, Tillman Fertitta. 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. John Quincy Adams said, if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. I am so excited about this because I just had the opportunity to sit down with Tillman Fertitta. And what an incredible

life story, journey, and how he's built this amazing empire organically, just starting out with one restaurant and building over decades. It's so amazing to see what he's been able to create, how he still continues to treat people with respect, look people in the eyes, no matter what level they are, have service, and really be a great leader. And I had this amazing opportunity with him to just really dive in on how he built everything organically to becoming a multi-billionaire and having one of the largest restaurant and entertainment organizations in the country. And if you don't know who he is, he's an accomplished businessman and recognized as

a world leader in the dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming industries. leader in the dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming industries. He's the sole owner of Portita Entertainment, which owns the restaurant giant Landry's, the Golden Nugget Casinos and Hotels, and the NBA's Houston Rockets. Through his restaurant and hospitality company, Tillman owns more than 600 properties in 36 states and in over 15 countries. He is one of the largest employers in the nation with more than 60,000 employees, 60,000 people he employs. He also owns 50% of Ketch Hospitality, one of Los Angeles and New York's most popular eateries, which we had Eugene Rem on about two months prior. So you can go listen to that episode because he talks about Tillman in there as well. And he's been named Entrepreneur of the

Year from Ernst & Young and was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame as the second youngest inductee. And in 2018, he was named Restauranteer of the Year by the Greater Houston Restaurant Association and named Executive of the year by the Greater Houston Restaurant Association and named executive of the year by the Houston Sports Authority. His first business book is out right now. It's called Shut Up and Listen. And I highly recommend you get it because it's got practical lessons and strategies that I haven't heard from other business leaders yet. And in this interview, we talk about how burnout is a state of mind and why hard work and your success is your choice. And he talks to me about how he's never been burnt out and the

secret to why he's never been burnt out. We also talk about what Tillman means when he says, be the bull and why you should always be the bull in your industry, and why that will make everyone want to work with you. Why paying a premium for something is sometimes more about a business strategy than an acquisition. He bought the Houston Rockets for the most expensive price of any NBA franchise ever, and most people weren't willing to pay that,

and he talked about why he did it. The importance of not outliving your business and staying within your means regardless of your success. The key to being financially prepared for your future and Tillman's top advice on asking for money. That and so much more wisdom, and I'm so excited for you to dive into this. Make sure to share this with your friends over on Instagram. Tag myself, at Lewis Howes. Tag Tillman as well. The episode is lewishowes.com slash 859. And make sure to text us the one friend right now while you're listening and say, hey, check

this interview out, all about how to build a multi-billion dollar empire with Tillman Fertitta and how he started out with just one restaurant. It's amazing to see what he's created and what you can learn from his life story and all of his experience. And now without further ado, let's dive into this episode with the one, the only Tillman Fertitta. I'm so excited about this. We're here with the man, Tillman. Thank you so much for being here. Absolutely. Looking forward to it, my friend. I'm so excited.

Your new book is out, Shut Up and Listen. I've been going through it. And there's not many books that I like to read. I like to skim a lot of books, but I'm really diving into the stories of yours. So I really appreciate it. And every once in a while, there are people that I really want to learn from. And I've been excited about this interview because you've done something that very few people have ever done you've built an empire and

It's amazing what you've created in the last 30 30 plus years of your business and I love that you keep taking risks We're just talking about this off-camera about how you're hungry about this book project This book project is probably making you the least amount of money. Trust me. I spend more money flying my G5 to do interviews than I'm ever going to make from the book. Exactly. So this is making you the least amount of money probably. Big impact. It's making you some money, but it's also, you're just like, I'm so hungry and I'm willing to sacrifice to stay competitive. And you were telling me that most people aren't willing to stay competitive for a long time. And that's what's really, I've seen and admired about you, is how you're able to buy the Houston Rockets, how you're able to do these big projects and buy these things because you're so competitive consistently over decades.

Where most people go in for three to five years, something doesn't work out, and then they stop their competitive edge. So how do you keep that edge? You know, it's really interesting because I did an interview yesterday with somebody who's really popular right now and they're very young and yet they said they already have those valleys where they went into a funk, like they were burned out. Right. After like two years of working hard. Yeah. Yeah. And I just said, you know, what's funny is I've never had a burnout, ever. And I've been going like this for a long time. Decades. 35, 40 years even. I mean, I started going at it in my teens hard. And

I never had that burnout. And I think that's kind of a state of mind that you're going to get burnt out if you want to get burnt out. But I always was going like this. And so I just kind of felt like I'm so fortunate to have it going. Why should I ever let the momentum go the other way? And then, of course, one of my great sayings is there's positive people and negative people. And when you're with a negative person or you're with a positive person, one of two things is going to happen. The negative person is going to make the positive person negative, or you're going to take the negative person and make them positive. So I've always paid attention to who I've always been around also.

And I never wanted to be around people that didn't want to achieve. Right. But I've never even come close to saying, I'm done. I'm burnt out. I'm not doing this anymore. Right. come close to saying, I'm done, I'm burnt out, I'm not doing this anymore. Right, how do you spot the people

who are truly wanting to achieve and who have that positive energy? Because sometimes people, you could bring people on your team and they could have that in the beginning, but they could kind of lose that or they could spin off a negative cycle. Do you, are you very loyal to the people

that you have in your companies that could give them multiple chances? Or is it like, okay, enough is enough, like, enough is enough? What a great question that is, because I even list a bunch of people at the front of this book who really helped make me become who I am. Because even though I'm the leader, I'm the bull, you are dependent on people when you build a company my size of 60,000 people. That's it? Pretty small, right? And I truly probably have 25 vice presidents that average 25 years.

Wow. And I tease my people about this all the time. Wow. I go, I never, ever in the last 35 years have probably lost direct answers to me, maybe one or two people. And so why are y'all losing them every year? Right, right. And so when people ask me, what are you most proud of? And I think it's the people that truly deal with me on a day-to-day basis.

Even my assistants. I have one for 27 years and I'm one for 26 years. Wow. You know, that truly grew up with me, you know, that were young girls. Right, right, right, right, right. And so, and I think it is, if they'd tell you, they'd say, that's the hardest to work for in the world,

but I would not work for anybody else. Wow. I think that's what they would all tell you. I mean, in a world where it seems like everyone wants to change jobs every year or two because they want something new and exciting, how do you cultivate that culture or environment where they're, like, still excited every year? Is it because you're acquiring new companies all the time? I think that's part of it is that they know that we're the bull and that even in tough times, if I call them into my boardroom, it's not, hey, we're getting bought out. It's who are we buying? Because we eat the weak in bad times. So I think it's

leadership, respect. It's knowing that we're the bull out there in our industries. For those who don't know what you mean by the bull who haven't read the book, what does that mean to be the bull? Just you're the ones always that everybody else is worried about. We bought a couple of companies in the last week. And it's because we were opportunist and we're the ones who can always deliver. And we're the ones who have the funding, the due diligence to do it quickly. We outwork people. A lawyer of mine who handles all the M&A, he was at the office from 9 a.m. Sunday a week ago till Monday night at 9 p.m., 36 straight hours,

getting a deal done. Okay, it's just a culture of we are the best. And not that there's not great companies out there. And we're just still in the whole world a company. Right. And what we do and doing mergers and acquisitions in the rest of business or gaming business or whatever, aquariums, amusement parks. But we outworked everybody to get the Houston Rockets. I mean, my team during Hurricane Harvey, when everybody was flooding, was still at the office trying to get that contract signed because we wanted it done by Monday of Labor Day.

During the big flood in Houston. Yeah, 100%. Wow. But the Houston Rockets went on the market on July 17th, and we signed the deal up on September the 5th for the most money ever paid for a professional sports team. And so it's just saying we're going to get it done before anybody else can. Now, why pay the most premium? Why not try to like create the win-win, get the best deal for yourself?

Why say, I'm going to overpay? Maybe it's not an overpay in your mind, but why do that? And when everyone's telling you that, ah, maybe that's a little too much, you know. Because I listen. I listen. And I'm going too much? Because I listen. I listen. And I'm going to tell you what I heard.

I heard from some very, very smart people. And this is one of the reasons that the book's titled Shut Up and Listen is because I do listen. I had some really smart people who know a lot of people who went after sports franchises say they quit too soon. It's the biggest regret they ever had. Meaning they sold the franchise? No, no, no. They went after, say, the LA Clippers. They went after the Golden State Warriors. They went after, and people that could afford to do it. And they just said, oh, I'm not going to pay that extra $100 million or $200 million or whatever.

And then they had to go buy a team in the years to come somewhere else, not in their hometown. Right, or a minor league team or something. Whatever. And so I was told there's never been a team sell for less in sports. And it's just a mistake you don't make. And so I listened to people and said, you could regret this. And it's kind of funny, but I already knew I was not going to lose, okay? I was not going to lose this opportunity.

And when other people, I even had the Tad Brown, who I've known for years, who runs the business side of the team even today, call me at one point and said, y'all weren't in the room kicking tires like some of the other people. Are you losing interest? I said, no, Tad, I haven't lost interest at all. I said, everybody else is in there trying to justify how do you pay $2 billion? Because they made it really clear that they wouldn't sell it for under $2 billion. Wow.

They're all trying to figure out how you pay that for it. I was out there making sure I could raise the money. And so- I like that. No, seriously. You weren't even thinking. You said, I'm going- Right.

I knew that the team on a bad year is going to make $40 million and on a good year is going to make $90 million. Okay. I knew that. Okay. And I'd known Tad for 15 years. But if you start trying to say, okay, if it makes $40 million or it makes $80 million- It's going to take me as long as you get.

$1.9 billion or $1.8 billion or $2.2 billion. It has nothing to do with it. And so while everybody else was doing due diligence that way, even people that have a lot more money than me, they're trying to get there. And they missed the box. They were looking at the wrong thing instead of realizing this is a 10-year play. And I could promise you one thing. I bought this team in 2000 and what, 16? Yep. In 2026, it'll be worth $3 billion.

Really? Okay, yes. Okay, it's already moved up in value. So it's just the feel and knowing what to do and not getting caught up in the due diligence that doesn't matter. And I think one of the reasons I've been successful is because nobody does due diligence on an acquisition more than my team does. But it's just don't get caught up in the things that don't matter, like price of a few hundred million. And then, and you know what's so funny? And then you know how I got their attention?

Everybody else wrote letters. They said, okay, we want everybody's letter of intent today. Everybody had all the potential buyers. Everybody had all kind of ins and outs and everything. And you know what I did? I said, I'm going to put up $100 million non-refundable. Love that. No financing contingency, no NBA approval contingency.

And if something happens, I'll walk away and lose it. Okay. With the previous owner. Yeah, with the previous owner. Wow. No one else would go in and do that. Nobody else would do that. And you were willing to.

That's the second time I've done that and it worked for me. Because my great casino in Lake Charles, right outside of Houston, I did the same thing. You did $50 million, right? Or $40 million? $50 million. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So it worked for me twice.

What is the hope I have the opportunity to do it again. It's something I want that bad. What is the things that people should be looking at? You mentioned people are looking at the wrong things. They're thinking about the price or the other things. What should they be thinking about if they want to acquire something? Whether you're a small business owner that wants to acquire something for $100,000 or you're a billionaire like yourself trying to acquire something for a hundred grand or you're, you know, a billionaire like yourself trying to acquire something for 2.2 billion, what is the thing they look for? Well, if it's something that you really, really want and you can afford and it doesn't really matter, you should just go get it. Okay. Why? Is that for the peace of mind? Just for the peace of mind. And so you never regret it. Okay. I can go back 20, 25 years ago,

and I've been asked this the last few days, What is, I had a chance to buy this unbelievable car collection about 25 years ago that had great muscle cars right when they were, it was unbelievable. And I was really buying it at a bargain because the father had died, the son was selling it. Wanted to make money. And I lost a deal over a couple hundred thousand dollars that today if I own that, I would just walk in there and say, this is mine. I just love it. And I learned a lesson. And 25 years later, that's the one deal that comes back and haunts me because I negotiated a little bit too hard for something that really mattered. Now, let's look at a box of a real business deal.

You can't get caught up emotionally. There's always another deal. And I walk away from deals all the time. Really? All the time. Because there's always another deal. But you know what? There's only so many great car collections.

There's only one NBA team and you're on hometown, okay? And so there's certain things you don't worry about. And that's where you have to be smart and say, there's always another casino to buy or another restaurant company to buy. But keep it right. Know what's in the box and know what's out of the box. I'm glad you said that because I acquired something a couple years ago that I was, I did this move without knowing I was doing a Tillman move.

Greatness.com was available. And it was probably overpriced. Tillman move. Greatness.com was available and it was probably overpriced. What was it? Greatness.com. In my space, there's only one word for domain and my word is greatness with the School of Greatness podcast. I wanted to build something bigger than just this show. I wanted to build a media engine around this word that every athlete uses when I see them talking about it on social media and press conferences. Brands talk about it in their slogans. Belt for greatness, pursuit of greatness. I love that. I truly love that. I was just like, I want to own this word. I don't want anyone else to have the word. I want to own it. And there's only one domain in the world. It's like a franchise

of one. And I was just like, I want that. And were you able to get it? I bought it, yeah. For? I know, but I'm surprised you could get it trademarked because it's a word. I don't have a trademark. It's just a domain. Okay, just a domain for a podcast or something. For anything I want to build on it. For my media engine, for content, for all that stuff. My books, everything that I have, I can build around that word.

And I haven't used it yet. I just have it. It just redirects to my personal site because I want to build it the right way. I love it, though. But for me, it gives me peace of mind that no one else can build something and confuse my audience. No, because it's such a strong word. Strong. And it's something that we all are after every day.

Right. You know, the people who want to be. Exactly. Okay. And so I love that in you. Yeah, yeah. So I got to learn how to continue to level up like you're doing now. I'm curious.

Who was the most influential person in your life growing up? There wasn't. There just- There wasn't one? No. I would love to say there was, but there were a lot of people that were even family members that were entrepreneurs that had some success. I mean, not great success, but were still very successful. There were people in Houston. There were people that I just watched around the world. And you just said, God. But I never had that one person.

But I saw little things that different people did. And I picked up different things. Lots of mentors. Yeah. And I kind of looked, and I liked the way this person handled themselves. I kind of liked the way this person handled themselves about this. I just never had that one person. And maybe I wish I did, but I just- Turned out okay. Yeah.

No, it's okay. What was the mistake or hard lesson you learned in your early years or in your teen years that really embarrassed you, that really made you feel ashamed or not proud about yourself that you did that or you said that or you acted in a certain way or someone you really let someone down that has stuck with you all these years you know i i have to say i never had that big hit over the head with where i had to you know sell a car sell a house or whatever because things weren't going well. And yet I've been through some tough times. But also, and I talk about this in the book, don't ever outlive where you are in your business life. What that means is that there's so many people that get a little success in a business and they go get a lifestyle that is bigger than the business. And then all of a sudden the business takes a dip a little bit,

and they've got to keep up this lifestyle, so they're sucking more money out of the business than they should. I complain to my people all the time, I'm poor, I don't have any money, because I always put everything back in the business, and I just try to take out a few crumbs to live on. Because I've always made the business first then I just try to take out a few crumbs to live on. Because I've always made the business first and not me first. But that's why I have a great business and I own 100% of it, so it really doesn't matter. But a lot of people, they start with a company and they become

entrepreneurs. They get some success and they're buying more houses they can afford or more cars or art or philanthropy. Oh, I want to be recognized for giving this away. And then all of a sudden their business dips and they can't do it anymore. And then their business fails because they took all the money out and they're not putting it back in because they're trying to keep their lifestyle. I always made my business number one. I never put myself ahead of my business. And that's one of the reasons I've gone like this. Never put anything ahead of it. Wow. But was anything ahead of it. Wow.

Was there an embarrassing time as like a teenager before you got into business where you did something and you're like, man, I shouldn't have done that or said that, you know, in your teen years? You know, I've said so many things I shouldn't have said, but I just don't have that one. I just don't have it. Memories of that, yeah. No, I just don't have, you know, sure, we all did stupid crap, but I just don't have that one. Is there anything you did that you weren't proud of? Whether it be, maybe it was a personal relationship or with family or you. I just don't have it. I just don't have it.

I'm just curious if there was anything like that shaped you. And maybe it's, I've always been a positive person. That's amazing. And I just. Where did you gain that positivity from? I don't know. I think you're born with it somewhat. And I always wanted to succeed.

You know, do I wish I wouldn't have dropped out of college because I was making money because I only had like 32 hours to go? Yeah, but you know what? But now I'm the longest running chairman of the Board of Regents of that university. So it really doesn't matter, does it? Yeah, exactly, exactly. But that bothered me for a long time that I never finished school.

But then as you become more and more successful and you see all these other guys in the Forbes 402 that never finished school, because there's something in us that we just can't, we can't have those handcuffs on it. We were making money and I can't deal with going to class. I've got to make money. And when I was 21 years old, I was already making a couple hundred thousand a year. That's big money back then. Back in what, the 80s, 70s? Yeah, the early 80s.

Wow, that's big money. Big money. And people don't realize that when you say I was making a couple hundred thousand dollars, but that was big money. Huge money. Big money. Now, I'm always curious about, I don't have kids, and say, I was making a couple hundred thousand dollars, but that was big money. Huge money. Big money. Now, I'm always curious about, I don't have kids, and you have four kids, right?

Yes. I'm always curious to ask my very financially successful mentors who have kids, because I want to prepare myself for my future. And I'm always asking, how do you raise kids that aren't entitled when you essentially have everything available, when you could buy them a car, when you could buy them the nicest, you know, trips or whatever it may be, when they do get to go on the jet? I'm not saying that they do or not with you, but how are you not trained, but how do you educate and cultivate great kids?

Because what I've heard about you and your kids is that they're very respectful. I don't know if all of them are, but I've heard that they're very respectful. No, all three of them. No, no, no. Every single parent will tell you. They care deeply about people. They're courteous. You would never know they grew up in the lifestyle they have. Because they've grown up from the beginning. Yeah, so how did you— They grew up flying on—because I had my first jet in 91, and I think the first one was born in 92.

So how did you teach them? How did you lead them? I think their mother had a lot to do with it because she's very balanced. We just never acted like we were that special, and they always saw me work hard. I was special because we had nice things, but I never acted like I was special. They still saw me talk to everybody, dress the same, be nice to everybody. And they just picked it up. And at the same time, I mean, they've gotten on my ass because they went to the right schools and they lived in the right neighborhood.

And so, therefore, they had lots of friends that were spoiled. and they lived in the right neighborhood. And so therefore they had lots of friends that were spoiled. They also looked at the people that were generational money, that you go back generations and they didn't like what they saw in those kids and how their parents acted and realized that they just weren't motivated people. And they're just, I've made them realize that you're not going to go to a club just because your friends do and you can buy $5,000 bottles whenever you want. Okay, like a lot of their friends have credit cards. So they've been on me many times and through their college years and saying, you know, it's embarrassing to us because everybody knows we have more money than them.

And we can't keep up with them. Right. And I said, well, that's good for you. They'll see how much we appreciate the dollar. And believe me, they're not hurting, trust me. But I didn't make it where you can just go spend whatever you want. I mean, it's always, hey, can I please go do this? you want. I mean, it's always, hey, can I please go do this? Right, because let me tell you something, I still watch every dollar I spend. I still walk through a store, and if I'm going to buy a jacket, I want to look at it, and I think if the perceived value is too expensive, I don't buy it, okay? And they've always seen me do that. You know, whether we were in Capri or Rome or Saint Tropez, they'll see me look at something and say, that's ridiculous for that. We're just, you know. You don't just say, give me the best of everything. No, I mean, they never saw their mother or me act like that. And so they looked, even though, you know, they've flown here on helicopters everywhere.

They still see, but that was more for convenience. They see us watch how we spend money. And that's the smartest thing you can do. How did you keep this attitude for yourself when I'm sure a lot of your friends who have accumulated wealth over the years, maybe you saw them start to change that grounded attitude. How did you keep that for yourself when so many people are pitching you, you know, on your TV show, which is great. It's like, everyone's coming to you for the answers.

Everyone wants an opportunity from you. Everyone's got the deal. Everyone's, how do you stay grounded? And I'm sure you're, you know. It just happened over a period of time. You know, it's not like I was a tech baby and I had an app and all of a sudden I wake up and I'm worth this.

You know, it's been like this for 35, 40 years since I was 20 years old. And so I just, I never had that issue. And so I didn't wake up one day and I was rich. I mean, even when I took my company public in 93, I was already worth a few million dollars. And so, you know, even though you got a bunch of paper net worth, it just still wasn't. So the paper net worth, I think worth a few million dollars. And so, you know, even though you got a bunch of paper net worth, it just still wasn't. So the paper net worth, I think, was $100 million at that time? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then what changed for you mentally when you saw that kind of paper net worth? When you're like, okay, I was worth a few million or whatever it was then, but now I'm on paper worth.

Well, I mean, once again, I was smart enough to realize that that paper net worth could go away. I watched many companies have IPOs and then three years later, you know, tank. And so I didn't. I know there's a paddle for everybody's ass. And I talk about it in the book. And I think that's probably what I could give everybody out there who's ever made a few dollars. You better watch for it. Even today, you know, when I came out yesterday, it was number

140 on the Forbes list, 4.9 billion. I still get up every day and worry and worry if that paddle's going to get my ass. And the day you stop worrying and you just spin freely, the paddle's going to get you. Because you don't know what's going to happen. Is our government going to change to a socialist government? Is all of a sudden somebody going to come out and the millennials say, we're never going to eat meat again. You just don't know. But we've seen some crazy things happen in our world and during my lifetime and your lifetime already. So remember, I mean, I'm the one who grew up and you had one telephone in the house. And if you wanted to talk to your friends, you went to that telephone. And it was just a different world. It was just a different world. You talk about, I've never borrowed money or raised money, but you talk about the importance

of getting cash when you are already making a lot of money. Why should someone like myself or a business owner get a lot of credit, get cash out, even if they're already thriving and doing well and they've got cash in the bank? What's the importance of that? Well, everybody does different things, and you've got to do with what you're comfortable with. And I've always been comfortable with borrowing money. But that's also my success because the way you look at every, unless you're a tech baby again, the world was created because of leverage finance. There's the reason that you had all the tech companies and the media companies and the great big casinos in Vegas, the things that cost billions of dollars.

You had to raise a lot of money. You did it with leverage finance with my good friend in California, Michael Milken, really came up with. But that's why there was such an explosiveness in the 80s because of leveraged finance. I've always been scared of debt, but I haven't been scared of debt. I never had a problem with using it. But I talk in my book is this is the problem that we all do is say you have a small business and you want to go out and borrow some money. And you do a performer for the bank, a budget, you know, to keep it simple for people. People always give a budget that is the best case scenario and they start to drink their own Kool-Aid and think that's what they're going to do.

Well, one of the things that I've— The projections. I'm like, here's where we're going to be in three years and five years. Yeah, or even next year. And what I've always done is I've done that for the bank. But even today, in a deal that I bought last week, I want a worst case scenario. The world's coming apart, okay? And all of a sudden, all your expensive accounts are gone and are people still going to eat steaks? And I run a budget and a performer based on that. So best case scenario, worst case scenario.

Because you know what happens 80% of the time? The worst case scenario. Really? Yes, that's just life. And that's a tool that I've always used because what happens is they give that to the bank or to whoever and all of a sudden you start drinking your own Kool-Aid, like that's easy to do that to the bank or to whoever. And all of a sudden, you start drinking your own Kool-Aid like that's easy to do. It's not easy to do. Being successful

in business is not easy. But that's why I talk about just simple tools in here. When Harper Collins came to me, they didn't say, we want a life story. We see you on your show. We see you on these business talk shows. We read these articles. We want you to write about your tools, why you've never failed and you've made it through all these recessions. Rather, you're a carpet person or you're an entrepreneur. Why did you get to go like this and never really went like this? Right, right. So I want to go back to your family for a second. Is there anything that you do with your kids, like a ritual or a gratitude practice or something over a dinner table? Or is there anything you say to them at night? Maybe not anymore because they're more grown up, but when

they were growing up, was there something you said to them every night or every morning? Or was there a practice that you had as a father with your kids? I never did. I've never been one to try to make my kids something that they aren't. And so you're going to go play baseball or you're going to take piano lessons or you're going to, we've always kind of let them do whatever they wanted to do.

But at the same time, I've taught them it's nice to be important. It's more important to be nice. And I've taught them even today, I just said, y'all've learned, they've learned a lot too, where y'all have learned. They've learned a lot too, where I'm very observant. They've learned a lot by watching other families that have money. And I've told them, you see what all these people do? They go and the next generations

become recluses and really don't want to be bothered because they don't want people asking them. And they've lost their power and their juice. Y'all can have this power and juice in this city, in this state, in this country for the next 100 years. Don't give it up. Don't become a recluse just because, oh, you don't have to do something every day and stay relevant. So many rich families, you go look at all your great wealthy, wealthy families and look at the generations below them that just kind of live in a cave. Live off the money that keeps coming in. The trust or whatever. And they're not relevant anymore. Why is it important to stay relevant? I just think it's important to stay relevant. I

think it's relevant to continue philanthropy and give back to your community. And there's nothing wrong with being a leader in your community. And just because I'm still on boards that I was on 10, 15 years ago, and it's just, well, now that I'm worth a few billion dollars, I should change? Why should I change? My ego that, oh, well, you shouldn't be on the Better Business Bureau board. That's no big deal.

That's when you're up and coming. I've just never changed. I've just never changed. I've just never changed. You've evolved. You've grown. But you haven't changed. But I'll still be in this dining room. And if I see something I don't like, I don't have a problem with going over there and telling the busboy, hey, remember those people there?

They deserve that table where their feet go just as clean as the table on top. I've never changed. I'm not going to embarrass them, but I don't have any problem in talking to people and training people today. How long have you been married for? 30 years. 30 years? That was a trick question. Bob Quiz, 30 years. Do you think you'd be where you are today in business without being married to your wife for 30 years? I think a wife is very important and very supportive. You could easily be married to a wife that wanted to go out and spend money and you didn't put the

money back in your business. And Paige always was very supportive of everything. I never once was not supportive. Really? Not one time. Wow. Do you think you'd be where you're at today without that marriage, without that relationship? I don't know. I just know she was always very supportive.

Supportive. That's great. That's great. Now, what is the thing that is missing in your life? Because it seems like you have everything. You've got the family. You've got the family. You've got the businesses. You've got your sports franchise.

I mean, honestly, nothing. Honestly, nothing. Honestly, nothing. You know, I'm very fortunate. But I know that, too, though. I mean, you always want more. You're always working on the next deal. But I cannot complain.

I mean, but as we all know, there's a paddle for everybody's ass every day. Yeah. And is there anything you're afraid of? Fear nothing, but worry about everything. Yeah. Fear nothing, though. I love this. I've got a few questions left for you, and this has been really inspiring. Is your show on still? Not this year. I loved it. I know, but the problem is, and you should understand this with production and everything, is they want to shoot 12 shows because you bring the crews together. And the first year I shot six shows, and then we shot 12 shows, and then we shot 12 shows. And so they want to shoot 12 and i want to shoot six yeah i just can't give up four months and then another and then the fifth month going back and re-editing

and green screen so it truly takes a lot of work it is truly full-time basically you know four days a week yeah for five months and yeah i love going to the basketball games and all of a sudden i'm sitting here playing the lakers or the clippers at home this year, and I have to be on the other end of the United States to shoot a show. So I'll do six, but I'm not doing 12. Yeah, I hear you. It's a great show, though. If people want to go watch and binge it, it's a lot of fun. You do an amazing job of educating the viewer of how to run business better. It is. It's simple. But that's the gift that God gave me. He didn't give me a lot of other talents, but he gave me knowing numbers. I love it. I want you to, this is one of my final questions. I want you to imagine that it's your last day on

earth, far off in the future. Okay. It could be a hundred years. It could be 200. It could be whatever, but you get to choose the day that you get to die, right? You get to choose the day that you move on and imagine that you've accomplished everything you right? You get to choose the day that you move on. And imagine that you've accomplished everything you want. Every dream you have now or later, you've accomplished it. You own the league. You own every league. Whatever it is you want to do, you own every restaurant, you've created it. You see your family grow and flourish. You see everything you want. But for whatever reason, you can't leave any of the messages you've put out into the world behind. You have to take all your messages and all your

work with you. So there's nothing left for people to see that you've created in the world. It's just hypothetical. But imagine you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. Three things that are your truths that you know to be true for you. That would be lessons that you would want to leave behind. And this is all people would have is access to your information. Lessons that you would want to leave behind? And this is all people would have is access to your information, lessons that you would share with the world. What would you say are three truths that you have? Always try to do the right thing. Never give up.

Find out what, take out the never give up. Always do the right thing. Find out what you're good at. And I don't care if you're an interviewer or the greatest chef or whatever. Find out what you truly enjoy doing and do it. It's not always about just making money. But take that God-given talent that he gave you, because I believe everybody has a talent, that they're better at that than the majority of the other people. Okay. And then probably third, just remember you can always separate yourself from everybody else if you want to. I do believe that, that field that you understand.

Yeah. I like that. Okay. Well, I want to acknowledge you, Tillman, because ever since I found out about you, it was because of your TV show a couple years ago. When I watched it, I was like, who is this guy? And I started learning more about you. I really acknowledge you for the genuineness you have in your heart towards the people around you, at least from what I've experienced, what I've seen, what I've seen, everything.

I'm sure you have your moments, but it's like you bring a sense of care. With all the empire that you have, you still care about people. And I think that shows on how successful you continue to become is that you have an amazing heart and you care about human beings. You care about listening because most leaders with empires don't want to listen. They want to talk and you listen very well. So I really know even before we started the interview, you asked, asking me questions and I really acknowledge that about your heart. So thank you for, for all that you do. Make sure you guys get this book, shut up and listen. Really cool. I've been loving it. I haven't finished the last 20, 30 pages. So I'm excited to finish it and learn more about your

story, but get this book right now. Shut up and listen. It's going to be helpful for your life, for your business. The final question is, what is your definition of greatness? What is your definition of greatness? Everybody can't be the GOAT, the greatest of all time. And so everybody's got to find that greatness within themselves. And regardless if she's going to go home and tell herself, I'm the best camera person, or my regional over there who says, you know what, I'm going to be the best regional and have better numbers and have better restaurants than anybody else. Everybody's got to define their own greatness because different people expect different greatness out of themselves.

And that's what makes us all special. I love it. It's what different people find happiness different ways too. Sure. So you got to find out what you're comfortable in in this world. Yeah. So. Oh, man.

Thank you so much, sir. Appreciate you very much. Appreciate you. Wow, my friend. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'm so grateful for Tillman for opening up, for sharing his wisdom and getting personal about his life as well.

If you enjoyed this, make sure to share it with a friend, lewishouse.com slash 859. Text one friend right now. You can be a hero in their life. You can be a champion. You can be a giver by sending that link to one friend or just copy and paste the link on the podcast app

that you're listening to, Apple Podcast, Spotify, or anywhere that you're listening to your podcasts. Send that link to one friend and say, hey, let me know what you think about this. I really enjoyed this part of the episode and start a dialogue. Be a giver in your life.

Share it on Instagram stories, Lewis Howes on Instagram and make sure to tag Tillman as well. I'm sure he would appreciate seeing this. And just use the link lewishowes.com slash 859 or again, the podcast link where you're listening to it. My goal is to constantly bring the brightest, the smartest, the most experienced individuals on different walks of life to help you take your life to the next level. This was all about business and really taking your business ideas to the next level, your career, your finances, everything. You have the power to transform your life. It's up to you to learn the knowledge and the information.

And my mission is to continue to bring you the best information possible. So thank you for being a part of this. Thank you for making this community what it is. This would not be a powerful community without you specifically. So grateful again for Tillman for bringing us all this information. And John Quincy Adams said, if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. Yes. When you focus on yourself, what you lack, what you don't have, what you're stressed out about, what the world isn't giving you, what's unfair, who hurt you, who criticized you, who judged you, who said no to you. When you focus on that, you are not becoming a leader in you, who said no to you, when you focus on that,

you are not becoming a leader in the lives of other people. It's when you overcome the things that aren't helping you in your life, when you become more fearless, when you have more courage, when you do the uncomfortable things, when you seek discomfort, when you dive into the unknown, that's when you start to inspire other people and you become more of the leader

you were born and designed to be. My friend, I hope you enjoyed this episode. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Outro Music