The Man Who Makes Millionaires (for 30+ Years): His Money Framework I Dean Graziosi

There's no more I will persist until I succeed. I will crawl across glass. I will break through steel. I will climb a mountain, whatever it takes. It's not, I guess I'll give it... You just try! There's no beat. Today, you are going to hear from a man who I think will teach you more in an hour and a half than a four-year business degree. He has partnered with Tony Robbins. He's partnered with Matthew McConaughey. Dean Graziosi is his... Somebody has out how and start thinking.

Who has already made a million in this space? And I haven't. Who has already bought... companies who has already doubled the size or double-sided business. everything in your power they've done. If they offer coaching, get it. If you can be a mentor for free, If you can build reciprocity by doing something for them first, do it. You've said before that one of the biggest business hacks is... Is that true? Being in business is not easy. It's not for the faint at heart to buy a business to.

scale the business. Every level is a new devil. All that shit happens. And if you have a partner that says, yeah, who are you to do it? Even a little bit. to death compared to someone. Go. Hi, I'm Cody the work to get what you want today. We're actually going to do the work for you. You are going to hear from a man who I think will teach you more in an hour and a half than a four-year business degree, and you can also save the $200,000. He's the guy I call.

He has built businesses to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. He has partnered with Tony Robbins. He's partnered with Matthew McConaughey. And he's sort of what I often think of as the man. really big businesses. Dean Graziosi is his name. We're going to talk about about what to do when people you love even tell you that something's not possible for you. We're gonna talk about how do you have a marriage?

incredible marriage. And we're also going to talk about what does it take to win in all aspects of your life, but certainly if you care about business at all. Without further ado, let's go to Dane. You've said before that one of the biggest business hacks is Is that true? I think it's a hack on everything. And I can only go and when you're in And again, not blaming the other person, but it's not right. You don't even...

It doesn't matter. I can power through with business. I'm so strong with business. I just got this, right? But I'm blessed to see, I can only talk through experiences. I'm really fortunate to see the other side of that. You know, when my relationship... And I won't go too deep into this, but the fact of the matter is, I just said, I'm going to be a single dad. I'm going deep on dadding, on fatherhood.

But I remember I was with my partner and friend, Tony, and he's like, but if you were going to get in a relationship, what if you just wrote down all the things that would be an absolute must in a relationship? But to get that, you better be. tracks and keeps that and don't just be the

It's like, don't get the deal in the door and then be horrible with customer service. Like, if this is who I'm going to be to attract that woman, I better become that man. And it was probably the biggest shift in my life. Like, I wanted to be. So long story short, I'm blessed you know my wife, Lisa. I don't have...

I have the love of my life. We're eight years in. She's my best friend. It's everything that was on that sheet. But I'm trying to stay the guy that deserves that, right? But once... where I could call, and it takes somebody special. I met your husband on the way in. I want to just, I want to go, I'm like, I'm sorry, thank you, I love you. Come here, let me just give you a little pat on the back. I want to do the same thing to Lisa. Yeah, I just want to like give him a hug, go, I get it, right?

Like the difference of feeling empowered, like as you know, it might be date night and we're supposed to go to a dance recital on date night. I'm just. for story reasons, but I know I've called my wife and said, babe, I am so sorry. I'm in the middle of closing this deal. I can't make dinner. I'm not going to make dinner.

In prior relationships, it might be like, oh my gosh, you always put work first. How could that be? My wife now, and maybe because I give her what she needs, she would say, babe, we live this lifestyle because of you. You go kick ass in that meeting. I'll make sure the kids feel good. I have goosebumps sharing it because that, that relationship is, my business has doubled since I met her. You guys, I know if you're listening to this podcast that you care about growth and you are going.

So one, I'm just thrilled you're here. And if you think that this podcast episode is valuable. So often we share the funny, really ridiculous, useless things on the internet. Do yourself and maybe... Share it with them, letting them know that you care and that you want them to be successful too. Builders are rare. We need more of them. This is your chance to share the show.

better human being. And the only reason I'm sharing that is because I know both sides. So if you're in, I know this isn't a relationship podcast, but If you're in a relationship where you don't have the support, do whatever it takes to get the support. Let them see you. Let them be vulnerable with your feelings because I'm telling you that little bit.

support. Because being in business, it's not easy. It's not for the faint at heart to buy a business, to start a business, to scale a business. Every level is a new devil. Every time there's something you question. Who am I to do this? Who am I to get these eyeballs? Who am I to own this business? All that shit happens. And if you have a partner that says, yeah, who are you to do it? Even a little bit, you're scared to death compared to someone go, Cody.

got this. You're a badass. If you don't see it in you, I see it in you. So my business has grown. Who I am as a man has grown. So if you're in it, try to fix it. If you're single and you're looking, make sure it's somebody who can, you fuel their... So hopefully they feel yours. It's so true. I mean, I think the best business deal I've ever done is the deal with my partner. I mean, and I say that frequently, you know, that was the best contract I ever wrote.

When you don't have it, you don't think that an incredible marriage is super important. You don't even know what you're missing. Yeah, yeah, you're like, it's fine. I'm raising my hand if you're not seeing me. My hands up high. What is the secret then to having an incredible marriage? You know, when people ask me that, I think what comes to mind, and I don't know if this is the best secret, I'm just going to give, is you can't keep score.

Okay. If I was looking at a partnership, I've watched so many times through the years. attracted to opening up a restaurant. I never knew that. You hardly find a restaurant that makes money, but everybody wants one. Maybe it's the significance or the, I don't know. But I've watched forever. Picture a great chef, right? I'm 56, so I've been on this earth for a while. I've been to restaurants. The food is amazing.

I've had friends do this. They put up the money, they get a great chef, they come up with a great... At first, the marriage is amazing. The business marriage is amazing. Great cook, didn't have the money. Money, know how to run a business. But then all of a sudden, the chef's back there 70 hours a week. And the partner who put the money in hasn't changed. Same person. He comes in with his friends, rounded drinks for everybody. And the scorekeeping starts.

I'm trying to make incredible. He's out there drinking, pretending to be the big shot. It's my food. And then the person with the money said, you would have never done this if I didn't give you the money and show you how to start a business. And the end is inevitable. And it's the same thing. You come home after a long day working, and if it's your significant other and say... And I came home and there's not even dinner on the table, right? I'm just using this as a dramatic experience.

It's so disrespectful. So that night, you go to bed, and instead of laying cuddle next to each other, you're keeping score, you lay on the opposite side of the bed. And your significant other goes, And then all of a sudden the scorekeeping, well, he's not there when I need this and he doesn't there when I need this. And all of a sudden intimacy dies first because you don't feel like being affectionate with someone that you're keeping score with. And then resentment comes in.

Right. And I got to tell you. Little hack. What if, and this takes a while, this is hard, and if we have the wrong person who just abuses it, then that's a whole different story. But what if you felt...

And that was the only payback you had. When you look at Chris and you know he's there for you, he does whatever. and there's something you know makes him happy. Maybe it's breakfast before he asks, and he gets up, and there is breakfast made, his favorite meal, and just sitting there, and he eats it. What if just seeing his smile was enough to make the score? Without him saying, Can I do something for you? Like, and it creates this, I'll be honest with my partner.

My relationship with my wife, I can't do enough for her and she can't do it. And we fight to outdo each other. It's crazy. But I built that partnership with Tony as well. We're partners in multiple companies. We co-founded Mastermind together and all these other companies. We can't do enough for each other. Like if he's going through something, has to have a little surgery on his eye or something, I'm like, what can I do? Take everything.

And I'll call his assistant all the crap comes to me a hundred percent of it comes and don't And then he finds out, he's like, oh, and then he'll do, like, so instead of keeping score, like the first phase is don't keep score. The second phase is how do I do more for you than you do for me? And it builds this thing that, you know. The other thing too, Cody, it took me, I'm 56, like I said, it took me decades to figure this out. So it's not something that comes naturally.

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Because, man, it would be pretty good. the world. And it would be very easy for somebody like that. If you just take it out of your mind, I mean, think about this. There are times when we do, like we're doing a big event, right? The 60 days before event is insanity, right? You're putting a million, million, three people. There's a gazillion moving parts. And I'm the architect. I'm in that, like, I'm in the thick of it. But Tony's 47. He could make one phone call and solve millions.

or make millions of dollars. So when I'm in it, I don't... 70 hours a weekend. Damn it, he's not. I'm like, man, this combined talent just brings so much value to the world. And because he worked so hard for 50 years. He can make one call and say, like, so I just find a way to appreciate everything, and then on the opposite side,

So if you can find that in your marriage or your business relationships or if you're buying a business and the person that's still going to stay on, find a way to appreciate what they do. Try to outdo it. And here's the thing that trips it up. You might be a conservative and you buy a business where the person's a liberal. You might be religious and Christian and they're an atheist. Find a way to appreciate something about...

Do more for them than they realize. But then there's a point. You might do more for people for a certain point and realize no matter what I do, it's not enough. And maybe that's the trigger of time to pull the... too much you know I think you know in the beginning of a business Everything. Right or wrong? You can't do enough for that person.

Well, like if they have a seed in their tooth, like, oh, that's so cute. And then if you're not feeling that way in a year, it's like, why do you always have freaking seeds in your tooth, right? It's like, same thing, different experience. What I always thought about is, what if? You're in a relationship, you're not sure, like, should this be over? Business or personal? And you're just treated the next 90 days like... You are a little more...

You actually did active listening, looking at your significant... What did you have to say? What was your day like? What if you did all the things, like when you were thinking about the first time you were going to hold hands or kiss, you're like, I'll listen for four hours if I get the kiss. Then you're like, what are you saying, babe? Could you just spit it out? All these things evolve, right?

Yeah, me neither. I've never done it once. I just asked what time it was. I don't even know how the watch is built, right? But what if you did that for 90 years? And at the end of 90 days, if you didn't get anything back, if it didn't spark any reciprocal actions like that, I think it's time to take a look deeply at that relationship. I love that. You're really big.

you need a deadline. And I've heard look like in practice so I have something that I want to do I put it on my calendar and I say by this date I will have achieved xyz how do you love that you know it's something I'm big on this year because this year our business is growing just I mean I love It's beyond well-deserved and people need you now more.

all that you're doing for the world. And I mean that. And I feel pretty cool. I've built multiple hundred million dollar businesses. I've exited from business. I'm working hard. I want to fall dead doing this at 97. You know what I mean? You actually do because I know you as a human. I love it. And I know you all the time. And every year I'm trying to evolve as a leader. Because what I realize, and I know you're...

to go to that next level of business. Like whatever got you here, there's a core competency. There's something or something. And what I realized, I was really good at creating incredible products. I was really good at marketing. Operations, finances, those things. I was so good at selling that the money covered the problems. But when I wanted to build a real business, I realized... And leadership is not project management. I've promoted so many great...

loved them as project managers and wanted to shoot them when they became leaders. Because a leader is more of like a kindergarten teacher. You have to understand different personalities. This one thinks through their ego. This one needs a pat on the... need to give love. This one I just need to leave alone.

trying to be like a leader figures out the human condition. And it took me a long time to really understand that. Right. And a good CEO has different relationships with each person. So long story short, I tried mastermind the company. growing. And I love this company. And I, every year I say, how can I be a better leader? So a long answer to your short question, how do I set a deadline? I didn't forget is this year I've gone to each department and I'd say, what are your

And when I have a department giving me 10 or 12 goals, I realize if you have 10 or 12 goals, none of them are important. When I say, which is the most important? And they say, they're all important. If they're all important, none of them are important. I said, if you had to know. And I just give the framework. What is going to move the needle in your department? There's lots of things that are nice to have. What is the need to have that if you accomplish?

You should get a raise. You should get a promotion. The company moves forward. What are they? So I had all the departments, hundreds of employees, narrow it down to the most important things. And then I said, and I draw as a pyramid. The next one down is, okay, so what are the...

What is it? Well, I'm like, no, no, no. If we had to know. Well, I don't have something. Okay, great. The constraint is you need a right person in that place. Could it be a system you're missing or do you actually need a person? A lot of times it's like, oh, if I had a better system, I wouldn't need the person. So what is the constraint?

How do you solve them or how do you widen the circle to let me and others help you solve it? And then the third thing is only four steps. The third step is how are you going to measure? How do you know you're actually moving forward, winning the game? And then the four... When are you going to have it done by?

Mid-January. January what? January 9th. Done. I'm here to help you get that done. So we went from 15 tasks. Picture if each thing has three constraints. You have 10 goals. Each thing has three constraints. You have 30 constraints. That's why people...

oh, that one's got a lot. I'll just go to this other thing because I have so many things going on. I'll work on the easier one. You don't even know your brain does that, but when you narrow it down and go, crap, we have to, we want to do back-end sales so people can enjoy this amazing.

Okay, what is the goal? The goal is to do a million dollars a month helping people be a part of a program that actually transforms their life. Great. What are the constraints? We don't have the salespeople to do it. Great. What are the constraints? I don't know if I can find them. That's the things we have to solve. How do you know if you're winning? I need to hire two a week. Great. What's the deadline? Three months from now. Great. All of a sudden, that person has those four things.

deal, which is what happens every time we talk, by the way. And they're listening. made their first hundred thousand dollars. I know it's so hard to overly simplify this but what was the biggest unlock for you? Because you have made, you know, I'm not the IRS, but you've made millions... But if you're really...

I want to give business tactics. Let me do that on the second half. But the first one, have you, with all the people, you get amazing people to sit in this chair. You've met such incredible people. I mean, you just surround yourself with great people. If you look at the common denominator of successful people, is they have just a little bit more hunger than anybody else, right? I mean, you think about it. Why do most people... Because they have resources.

So if I think about it, like I'd love, I'm going to give you a tactical answer. I can tell you about marketing. I tell you all about those things. And that's, that's, I want to talk about all that today, but foundationally, maybe because I've been in this industry so long and I've built. is if you don't have a hunger that's super strong, when you hit obstacles, when things go wrong, you go, oh, one more try. Compared to, there is no more one try. I will persist until I succeed. I will crawl

I will break through steel. I will climb a mountain, whatever it takes. It's not, I guess I'll give it one or two more tries. It's you just try until you find the answer. And the most successful people you know, even in your own life, as you're listening or watching right now, you know that they didn't set like three failures and then I go back to the job I hate. It's like you burn the boats. There's no beep.

And that is something that, that's why Tony and I work so hard on helping people have an unstoppable mindset. And then we give them a business plan. Because you can give the greatest business plan to somebody who's not committed, or you can give a crappy business plan. a yellow pad to someone who's committed and hungry, I'll take them 100% of the time. So the first thing is hunger, and that hunger leads to resourcefulness, and that resourcefulness leads to persisting.

Number two is I wish someone would have told me this earlier in life, and I know you have found it way earlier than I did. But you have to model proven practices. Like that is just, I mean, I know it sounds simple in your life. Maybe I'm just a reminder. But somebody has already done what you're hoping to do. Stop trying to figure out how. Who has already made a million in...

Who has already bought multiple companies? Who has already doubled the size of their marketing or doubled the size of their business? Who has broken through from one shop to 50 of them across the country? Who has already done it? And then do everything in your power to understand.

If they offer coaching, get it. If you can be a mentor for free, get it. If you can build reciprocity by doing something for them first, do it. Because they have the plan. And most people don't even know that they have the plan. So hunger and modeling proof.

not the other way around you know oh that's so good oh that was that was the clincher is not the other way around right because everybody was like well go ahead and try this thing and it's like why well my gut says so what's your gut based on you know do you have do you have a history of proof

proven practices, we're not curing cancer here, unfortunately. Like we are doing things that other people have already done before. So I think that's, it's so big. You know, and it kind of takes me to this random next idea from you, which is... You...

just because that's how my brain works. I'm like, just give me steps one through seven. You've also partnered with some huge names to break through in a way that... It looked so much fun. I was texting him, like, is he as cool? Don't tell me if he's not. And I remember texting him back, like, he's actually cool. Like, he's just the coolest dude. Like, I'll put it this way. His work ethic is off the charts. And I'll tell you, I'll answer the question.

And I'll start from the beginning. The beginning is I listen to Greenlight. Did you listen to the book? The book's incredible. I got the book. I don't like celebrity memoirs. Do not care. So a couple of things. Why I respected it first off. He didn't come. What he said was, I've been journaling for 30 years. I found all the journals. And I geeked out for six months. And he went through all his old journals. He said some of it was painful. But he found the pattern.

could you not listen to every single word of 30 years? So then he tells this amazing story in the book and he's got the voice. And I remember I get to the end of the book. I'm like, oh, I want more. Did you feel that way at the end of the book? So I had a mutual...

Someone that knew Matthew and knew me. I'm like, can you do me a favor? I'm going to record a seven-minute voice memo. Can you just ask McConaughey to listen to it? And I left him a message. And fortunately, he had already watched my stuff. He loved Tony. But I just said to him, I know this sounds completely crazy, but this book was so good when it was done. I wanted more. And I think the world needs more McConaughey. And this is what I said to him. I said, books are very... but courses can

It's video. You give homework. You give assignments. You give challenges. Like, go do this right now. Stop playing this video. Go do the work. And I explain the difference of inspiration. I think you owe it to the world to create something next level that actually turns it into not just an inspirational book, a program.

And the man went all in. Like, we talked about it, closed the side of the deal. We decided just to be partners on it. He brings Matthew McConaughey. I bring the experience of Tony and I in our world. And I said, imagine the collision of your people and our people. So what I love about the guy, he flew down, spent a week at my office. We stayed up till midnight every night and he obsessed over every sentence.

Every word on, is this the way to transform? Is this the way to transform? We called it road trip, the highway to more. So everything was like, how do you have more joy? How do you have more cool? How do you have more time? So everything was through this lens of more. But I got to tell you what was fun.

And he can't help it, right? So he says, I said, oh, that story. You remember the story when he goes to Africa and fights the guy and it's an amazing story. So here's what's cool. This is what I get. is he can't help himself but to stand up and tell the story in Matthew McConaughey-style hands. And then I'm sitting there like this, and I'm like, am I really going to fight this guy? And I look around, and my team, because we're all captured us, I look at my team, and they're all like...

The girls are like, can we take a shirt off? You know what I mean? Like, he's just the coolest guy in the world. And anyway, so Long Star Shirt, we do this, and we have two and a half million people show. So we did a live event, and at the live... Not only do we have two and a half million people watch on day one, he probably is the best-selling course in history in one day. People fell in love with it. But I'm going to end it with this. Talk about the guy being cool. He gets off. We get done.

what'd you think of that he was one of the most incredible I said, why? He said, well, usually I read someone else's script, I'm directed by somebody else, and someone else edits it. He goes, I got to play me today. He goes, that's cool. He goes, you know what would be even cooler? Let's do a couple shots of tequila to celebrate. I'm like,

You are the coolest man alive. I haven't done a shot at tequila in a decade. I'm back there. We have it on video. I did a couple shots with him. He's like, should we do three or does three make you fuzzy? I'm like, three makes me fuzzy. He goes, no, two's good. That's incredible. What a disappointment it would be if he was like a hard worker, amazing husband. Camilla, she was with him every single day.

I mean, he came seven days. And then when we did the launch, the actual event, she came for four days. She was there every night, a part of every experience, given incredible feedback. He loves her to death. He's an incredible dad. So he's someone. It made me think about the opposite of that, which is... say you can't you know why would you do that who like don't want you to go grow when you are about to have what you think might be a huge breakthrough so what do you do

So I give little reference points, like little things in my head that I can remember. And this one is don't dim your glow. Without realizing sometimes we have people in our life that think we're a dreamer, which most people do. Entrepreneurship is a lonely dream. Wait, being a dad of four, there's nothing worse than going to a five-year-old birthday party where you don't know one other parent.

They're just, it's a different path to be career oriented than to be the crazy person that puts your life on the line, puts your money on the line, puts your family on the line, you risk everything, you go up and down, all the stuff that happens in the invisible. It's just a different philosophy, right? Oh my god, what was your question? Uh, so. Oh, my gosh. And they love me. No, I get it. So the way I look at it when I'm saying even being, is most people can't see what you see. So, you know,

I love Trent. And he said one day he was on our stage. I invited him to speak during the McConaughey. So he is just doing what Trent does best. And he said the exact thing. He said, no one. He was an NFL player.

an influencer and he said his first year his mom would when he'd do a video his mom would say you're doing such a good job baby it would be the only comment you know and people were reaching out and he said he had this dream and he said one day he realized And whatever your beliefs are, he realized God gave him... put my dreams on my glasses, I see crystal clear of the man I'm becoming. He said, my wife.

People in my life, if I give them my glasses, it's blurry. So how can I expect them to see the vision that I have? God gave me this prescription, this dream, this goal. And when he said that, it's like, wow, like the only thing I could say is it is the biggest question I've gotten in 40 years is how do I get my wife on board? How do I get my husband on board? How do I?

They think I'm crazy. And what I'd say is you can't let someone who's not achieving and hasn't done what you want to do give you advice. It's like your broke friend telling you how to get rich. Your single friend... You've got to remember, this is downloaded in your heart, your soul. And you've got to find a way to just not dim your glow to match the people around you. Because I truly believe the biggest regret we could ever have is getting to the end.

I mean, life's going fast and we only got one shot at this. I don't want to get to the end and go, I played small because my husband didn't believe in entrepreneurship or I played small because my parents thought college and this career was better. I think it'd be the biggest regret of your life. I think you would. God or the universe or whatever you believe in like can I go back and do it again so what I do to get my push me not only thinking don't dim your glow I also

I have that opportunity now. Like if I got to the end of my life and said, can I go? It's almost like Wish Grant. Like you're back there right now. Today's your day.

Today's your day to go, I don't care what they think. I love them. I respect them. I'm not going to ask their permission anymore. I'm not going to ask their advice anymore because they're not qualified for advice. I'm going to find somebody who's already done what I want to do, and I'm going to use them as my inspiration. That's my new mentor. That's my new mentor. And just like the Theodore Roosevelt man in the arena, right? I don't want to be in the stands with someone else's name.

critiquing how they're playing. I want to be in the field where they say getting bloody, getting marred, and at least, at the end, I'm going to paraphrase this terribly, but at the end of that, if you don't know it, go Google man in the arena. At the end it says, at least. I know that I went out in the field and I tried my hardest and I got back out when I got knocked down. But at best, being out in the game allowed me to live and do it.

You want to be in the game. I want my name on the back of the church. I'd rather have my name and say, we lost the game, but you fought like hell, than being in the stands going, oh, he should have done that. It's so true.

neither victory nor defeat. And what it reminds me of is that it's not just about victory. He says, just as equally, nor defeat. there's so much learning. And the other side of defeat is when you win, it's just that much, it's that much, it's that much, so much more empowering because you know both sides rather than living. The sweat and tears are worth it, that is for sure. You know, one thing I was thinking about is...

the difficulty, how hard this is, the hard work that happens. And I think that's real. But is hard work really? And I know everybody listening probably... I remember driving to... That's where your parents live, right? Did you grow up in Phoenix? Yeah. Yeah, so you know.

Not fun. What's that? Not fun. Not fun. But I remember somebody asked me that question about hard work. When I drive to my office in summer when it's 113, and there's a bunch of... roof putting tar down and I remember the day I saw him and I remember literally saying a prayer for him right because I did that

I mean, I'm not working hard on them. Sorry. I'm not working. They're on a roof at 109 degrees. That tar is hotter than that. It's probably 150 to them. They're all wrapped up so they don't get sunburned. They're working hard.

But they're not in the right boat rowing in the right direction. And I wish all of them the best. And some of them are like my grandparents who were immigrants to this country. And they had to start that way. And look where I get to be two generations later. So they might be planning the foundation. So it's not just hard work. It's a combination of that hunger and hard work, but being in the...

It's about modeling proven practices. It's about not giving up. It's about stamina. It's about moving forward. It's about realizing. of the journey, not at the beginning of the journey. All those little things are all part of it. So hard work alone isn't enough. Yeah. Yeah. I think that was a big lie that was told to me, too, you know, when I was young. And it's not a malicious lie, but it's a real lie. Of course. Absolutely. How do you figure out what work matters?

Yeah, it's okay. I think I used to draw...

And picture it like a bullseye, right? There's an outer ring, smaller ring, smaller ring, and then a dot in the middle. And there are things that you do, that I do, that when we do them... If I had to ask you, what do you think moves the needle for you the most? Is it relationships and negotiating deals of buying a business? So let's just say, I'm just going to throw out a crazy number. When you are in that center circle, you make $10,000 an hour.

And then the outer rings and outer rings, there's stuff that you still... That someone would do for $20 an hour. True? True. Right? And you're just like in a hypnotic rhythm. You don't even realize you're still doing certain things. You're still searching emails. You're still staying up doing text messages. or someone else could do it, I could automate this, I could delegate this, or I could just eliminate it.

But each of us, if we can build our businesses and thinking through, there are certain things I do. When I do it, it's $1,000 an hour, $10,000 an hour, $100,000 an hour. whatever it is because it's so unique i would just say polish Get better at the thing that moves the needle the most. Try to recognize that. And that's where your energy, your effort should go. And then it's how do you get an ROI by letting people do it.

And it's an evolution. It doesn't happen overnight. The way I used to explain it is, all the stuff you could get somebody, $20, $30 an hour. Can you make $20, $30 an hour doing the thing you do? Everybody.

then hire somebody to do that outer ring. I don't know if it's a personal assistant that stops you from going to Home Depot and stops you from dropping your dry cleaning off and stops you from grocery shopping and stops you from cleaning your house. Get somebody to do that, but replace that time immediately with the needle. And then as you get more and more in business, you get closer to the ring. There might be a time where...

Something's $300 an hour, but you know you're making $3,000 an hour, so you still hire the COO, who's that much money because you get to do your thing. And I think that's just a different way to look at it. is my mom came to visit me. I don't know, probably 17. She comes out, and this has been my philosophy forever. The reason I worked so hard is I retired my mom when I was young. My parents split. She didn't have money. She worked three jobs. If I look back at my first...

One of the sweetest women in the world. I like to think of her as a badass without a blueprint. Like she's such a good woman. She just didn't know what to do with herself. So she cut hair. So long story short, sure. Anyway. And she's there for a couple of days. And she said, babe, I realized your garbage.

When do you drag them out to the street? What day comes? I'll bring them out for you. I'm like, I don't know, Mom. She goes, what do you mean? When do you take the garbage out? I said, I never have. She goes, you've lived here for five years. Baby, don't tell me you paid. I don't just pay somebody to take my garbage out.

to go fill up my gas in my car. And I named all those things. She goes, oh my God, I think you got too big for your britches, honey. And I said, sit down, Mom. And you've never made more than 30. When someone's getting gas on my... in my yard, taking out my garbage, picking up my dry clean. I'm in there writing my book or I'm writing a sales letter or I'm building a new course or I'm doing new training. And when I'm in that computer working, I might make 10.

I mow my lawn for 60 bucks in that hour. Which one should I do? And I remember my mom, she got it immediately. She goes, this is why I'm always... broke. I mean, no one ever just taught of that simple. So I tell that as an example, what moves the needle in your life and do more of it. And as you do more of it, get people to help you with the things on the outer rings. And through time, the greatest gift would be that you live in your life.

They go, oh, are you too big for your britches? That must be nice if you're a rich person. No, I have more impact to make. Exactly. But you have to know how to fight back. And the cool part is the person doing it appreciates the job that they get to do that. works. I'm sorry, no common sense here. Let me do the opposite of common sense. That's not how this works on the internet. But it's a beautiful unlock because it's the truth. feel right and virtuous or do you want to win

What does it take to make $100 million? Is it just more of the same? No, I think I said it earlier.

And you and I have had conversations about this. The thing that got you out of Egypt doesn't take you to the promised land. So you can, as a rugged individualist, I heard... as that driver that has a core competency good at finding businesses good at making things happen that takes you to a certain level and then there's this phase where your business

And I'm just going to share this with everybody. This is the part when it skyrockets. And right at that edge, whether it's 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, you think. I'm on the road. Let me use an example. I'm doing the podcast.

social media. I'm the one that's making the decision. I'm the one closing the deals. Oh my God, I don't even know if this is worth it. I'm about ready to crack. When you start hearing people say, I wish I had a twin. I wish I had the perfect operator. I wish I could hire the CEO that That is the time that you need to obsess on leadership skills. and how to get a team behind you and alongside of you where you collectively... In my opinion, there's no way...

without a team where all of you are in the same boat, all rowing in the right direction and not you babysitting. I'll tell you the other thing. is I was really good at hiring young, amazing soldiers, like A players that I could see their potential and mentoring. That worked at five. It didn't work at the higher level because I'm already... I'm all right. I don't even know if I have time to go to the bathroom.

Right? Like, what do you mean there's a dance recital today? Oh, my God! Right? Like, I remember all those moments. And you don't have the time to mentor for three years to make that general. Right? I think I'm just using terms soldier versus general. So there's this time where you have to build such a strong culture and be so good at bringing people in that you've got to bring in generals who immediately adapt to your culture and they're the win behind you.

your back. They talk amazing about you when you're not in the room. They understand you're a crazy-ass entrepreneur that changes stuff and invents stuff. And for your kind of company, my kind of company, it doesn't mean There was a crazy-ass entrepreneur.

You need operators and people on the team that know how to work with entrepreneurs, not the typical traditional company and CEO and CFO. And these are decisions. And these are the, it's like, no, we're a little crazy, but the craziness got us here. So I think that the 20. is understanding leadership, bringing in generals, and getting everybody aligned. You can go down a road of culture forever. You've got to get people with the same values as you. And when you do and you align, it is magical.

early on, I think the problem is a lot Shut up, leadership. Shut up, culture. Shut up, hiring. Of course. It sounds too far away. It's like, tell me how to make the money right now myself. The only thing they want to talk about is leadership and hiring. Yeah. They don't want to talk tactics at all because. me what your org chart looks like how do you incentive align compensation plans you know what does an equity payment plan look like and so the boring things.

And they're coming. Because they're coming. And here's the cool part. Think of it this way. Always... If you did it in an 80-20 split, 80% of your time should be focused on the company you are. And 20% should be on the company. So if you think through that lens, what Cody and I are saying is you don't have to focus obsessively on leadership at 100 million if you're ready.

We're just showing you the path. We're future pacing you so you can see it when you get there. But I would say, you have to work on the company you are. But if you just spent 10 or 20% going, but when... Start reading one later. Just to see. And slowly these little tactics and all we get to, like what I hope today, I know there's a million things you could be doing, but if you're listening to us today, all I hope is that we shorten the learning.

If there's something that would have taken you a year on your own, five years on your own, you go, maybe I can do it in eight months instead of a year. Maybe I can do it in three years. And that's the gift of modeling proven practices. Because I've already failed more than most, right? So why fail in the areas where I failed when you can learn? all the way

business is a good one, and whether you should leave it or you should run with it. This might sound a little foo-foo, but if you fall in love with your clients... and got served.

So I know that sounds a little, like I said, a little, but you got to fall in love with your clients. If you fall in love with your clients, then you fall in love with their outcome. Whether you're a service business or a product business, you fall in love with a user. used your coaching, oh my God. They used you in a service, you know, to service their home or their car, oh my God, it was amazing, right? So if you fall in love with the client, you fall in love with the product and the outcome.

then there's no way you can't feel good about selling it. Right? People ask me, how do you stand in front of the McConaughey event? Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people live and you sold this product. Because I watch this. such a good product. I never felt like I was selling. I was doing people a disservice if I didn't let them know about it, right? So you said, how do you know?

Is it a product or a service that you would recommend to everybody? Because when people ask me, and I'm just going to say, I know I just said this, but people ask me, what's the secret to selling? is you don't

your product. You have to freaking love it, right? And it doesn't mean it has to be perfect out of the gate, but start with the thing you love. Ideate, iterate, look at the chain, get feedback from the customers, adjust and tweak. And when you know it's better than anybody else, there's just this.

There's this extra push of sales. There's a lot of times people ask me, can I give you a quarter of a million dollars a day for consulting? And I really don't have time for doing it. But sometimes if I really like the person, I will. And when they talk about their product, I can tell they don't like it.

I can tell they like it, but they make excuses. Well, people don't use that kind of thing anyway. Oh, it breaks in. Oh, that's what everybody does in our industry. I'm like, you'll never have a... team because you're the leader and you're not absolutely in love with it. And sometimes it might be boring when I say, go back to a drawing board. Fall in love with your product again like when you first

before it got diluted, before someone else was part of the fulfillment and you don't even look at it anymore. Go listen to your customer service calls. Go look at the feedback. Go Google your name online and your product and read all the shitty stuff up.

and make your product better, you'll automatically build a different sales department. You'll automatically build a different coaching department. And then you don't care. Then you want to go to 100 million, 200 million, a billion because you get to change more people. They have a better... They said that online. A person's lazy. They don't like anything. They don't like the dinner. They don't like, right?

Ever. It's not that the customer is always right. I don't actually believe that. I don't believe that either. But you are never allowed to talk back to the customer. But even with someone who isn't right. I always find an essence of truth. Yeah. Right? We do provide customer service. That's great. But why are we taking it?

Can I get to 30 minutes? Like, there's always a glimpse of truth in it. And I think if you have the courage... read the critics it doesn't mean you have to cave it just means take that advice because I mean it is the greatest gift you could give your entire company is to love what you do Yeah. yeah that's very true and you can feel it yeah like when you sell something i can feel from you

Getting your customer to want to ask you for the next step, which I love. So maybe you could talk a little bit about that. I think a lot of companies die because they try to sell somebody one thing. A lot of successful companies, they get one customer and they want to serve them for life.

Great question. Maybe I could use it through the lens. Продолжение следует... of a live event. Just because it'd be the same model of any company. So what I love to think about is the end in mind. And at the end, I ask myself three questions. Who's my ideal client? Right? What is their ideal outcome when they use our product? And what product would supply that? I know it sounds like, duh, is that what everybody does? Not really, just think, like, for example.

If somebody's going to work with Tony and I and we're going to teach them how to create a workshop or a mastermind or create a course or write a book, at the end result, who I love working with is people really hungry. I don't want people that have bought a million courses on how to... Because I can't serve them. I don't want people that...

don't want to do the work. They just want the outcome because they're never going to be an ideal client for me. So if I know our ideal client is someone who is hungry, They're brilliant without a blueprint. Let's say that, right? They know they want to do something different. They're unfulfilled in their current business or their current career. They want to do something different. They're hungry.

Cool. Ideal client. Love you. Number two is what is their ideal outcome? We show them a path. They don't give up on themselves. They get an unstoppable mindset. Then they have a blueprint to start and scale their business. That's the ideal outcome. They're making sales online and they feel... Right? The third thing, what's the ideal product? Well, I need the training. I need some AI that thinks like Tony.

some accountability to help you when you get stuck, all the things I wish I had when I first started, right? So if I know that's my ideal client, my ideal outcome, ideal product, then I work back. On all the marketing I do, whether it's a free podcast or a book I'm selling, I want to market to those people knowing they're going to end up there. They might end up in our world.

level mastermind or something like that. But my marketing, I want to deter, I want to attract those I want and push away those that I don't. So my marketing

the brilliant without the blueprint, the hustlers, the hungry ones, they're finally fed up with leaving their life the way it was. And if I do that, then they're going to stay in my ecosystem forever. And then the way I look at it, each product you I'm sorry I'm doing this through a live event or kind of our company's phase, but I hope it relates to every business, is I look at building every piece of your company so good. So good.

So your book, amazing. As soon as I started reading it, I posted immediately. But it was amazing. And if I read that book, just like I read McConaughey's book. I read McConaughey's book. what's next? It wasn't, and this is where people mess up. Some people think, hey, I need to upsell all this stuff. Like, there's nothing worse than a service provider that comes over. It's like, 50 bucks, we're going to clean everything in your house. And then they get there, it's like, well, it's actually

We've got to change the thing. Like it feels sneaky rather than saying it is so clean. Everything's done. Your stuff is good. Hey, while I'm here, what'd you like? There's just a subtle difference between how much can. Or how do we meet? So in our business, Tony and I, you know, in May, on May 15th, we're doing a three-day.

We're going to give massive value to people for three days. No obligation. It's free. But we want to deliver so much value that a group of people go, heck, if I want to be in this industry, And at each level, I try to create everything. So for us, somebody says, I just want what they're offering. It's unbelievable. I'm in. But I want to deliver so much value.

that they go, these guys were so good. Hey, do you have what's next? So the way I look at it for any business, your lifetime value of your client determines I promise you no matter what business you're in, if you are a one and done, every Monday your business starts. over again. again. Every Monday. What about building a product so good that anything they need in advancements of that, that they stick? If I read your book, I would be hoping that you had a...

And I hope if I crushed it in your coaching program that you have a consulting program that would help me buy companies or help me understand how to grow this. Or I would hope that someday if I'm killing it, I could be in proximity to you and you had a mastermind, no matter what it costs, that I could ask you questions directly. You would be doing people an absolute disservice if you didn't have all those pieces in your company. And again, if you can make...

So when you do the first thing, it's so good. People go, you over delivered on that. What's next? Because what people don't realize, it is way easier. to upgrade than it is to go find another brand new client in your door. And if you think about advertising, probably if you own a business, you know you spend money on advertising.

Yeah, Facebook. Who else wins in advertising? You know who wins in advertising? Those that can afford to spend the most to acquire a client. So if you and I have similar... Say we both have a service business. We service... If you're a one and done and your customer's lifetime value is...

$200 profit, whatever it is, right? But I service them so well. And while they're there, they say, oh my God, if I need this, and then I need this, and then I need this. At the end of the year, When I go to advertise, I can spend two grand to acquire that client. Right. So it's not just a matter of selling more. It's about serving them at every level, knowing your lifetime value. You should know six months, one year.

reverse engineer. And that's what you can afford to acquire a client. And most people don't do that. They're one and done.

you know, we have these LPs. We have them sort of trapped for like five to seven years. We don't have to continuously sell them in that way. created the book. to my ability. We're not going to hold anything back. Everything goes in there. But the problem is that if you only have the book but you don't have a hand to hold, I think your success in buying a business will be lower. Think about the greatest gym.

Think of a gym that holds nothing back. They have the greatest equipment. They have an oxygen chamber. They have hot sauna. They have red light therapy. They have spin, yoga, free weights, everything. It's got everything you need to get in shape. But what do most people need to get in shape? Accountability. Accountability. So the way I look at it in our space is give them everything they need.

you hold me accountable and then you it's it's usually one more thing especially in this space but maybe you can relate it to any business you're in it's usually not more stuff that you share. It's helping people actually do the thing that's in the book. It's less right stuff at the right time. Yeah. much you can learn about acquisitions. But if you

the deal and you haven't even figured out what a deal looks like for you, it's going to be kind of useless. True. So it's like, how do we pace you exactly to the spot that you need so you don't get over it? to keep going in the business when nothing's working. What do you do when Dean has like a night of difficulty and darkness and a business is struggling? What do you do?

I've never had one of those just kidding this week today I mean before I came you know I love I love the question. less problems. And what I like to say is, Jim Rohn, old person, For things to get better, you've got to get better. So if I translate that into problems, is don't wish for problems to go away. Wish to get better.

You know, if you and I are in a room with 10 people and they're all successful, the most successful person in that room handles bigger problems than you do. If they're more successful than you, they handle bigger problems. So when those things happen, when it goes sideways, and maybe because I...

I don't, like, I think there's a misnomer that, like, oh, I appreciate the failures because it makes me stronger. I hate every freaking one of them. Right? But I do know at this phase of my life that every problem... sharpens the iron no one's ever going to get me again i'm never going to make that mistake again i solve something bigger i solve something stronger so what drives me through is two things i still have my old deep I need to be in control of my decisions, my calendar. I want to be...

So I have these things in my mind that are like my compelling why that make me put tears in my eyes. So when I'm having a bad day, I'll go all the way back to go. I don't want to go backwards. I want my kids to have choices. And I need to be in control of my calendar. Get this. get it done, make it happen. But secondly, I don't love the experience, but I know because of doing it that if I go through the storm, I am a better version.

I went through a divorce. That was a storm. I'm a better man on the other side. I've almost gone broke. I almost quit. On the other side of it, I'm a better, stronger man. So I've come to realize that I need to focus on the other side of it and what carries. If I share one more thing is I work out every day, right? And everybody says... Well, thank you. Well, that's what I was going to say. When people say to me, oh, you love working out that much? I'm like, no, I don't like working out at all.

I wake up at 4.45 every day and work out before my day starts. No, I don't like it most days. But what I focus on, and this is, you really hear me on this one. I don't focus on the workout. I don't focus on how many sets I'm going to do. I focus on my wife is hot. And I need to look good for her. I like the way she looks at me. So I focus on, hey, I'm going to continue to look good. I focus on that my 18-year-old and 16-year-old, they just started working out. I've never told.

Because they watched her dad every morning. feel better. I have more mental clarity. I even stack it. Every day when I work out, I listen to a podcast or a book. That's how I burn through your book. That's how I listen to your podcast and other people. So I feel like I'm getting smart. Staying, looking, trying to look good for my wife. I'm setting an example for my kids and I feel better. I focus all of my energy on how I'm going to feel.

And it's the same thing in business. When the thing goes wrong, when the CEO leaves and takes two... I focus on when I understand what I did wrong, what I did wrong to hire the wrong person or not nurture that person. When I understand what I did wrong, I'm going to fix it and I'm going to be better off strong. some adrenaline reds in my hands every time I talk to you. Where I want to end with is... There's so many things that they're going to take here.

that procrastination is the highest form of self-abuse. So with people listening today, if you're going to take one thing away, how do you... Maybe people listening can become that same person and take one or two things and go do the damn thing today. So I'm going to give you two things. I'm going to tell you a quick story and I'm going to remind me of the three C's that helped me change that.

Number one, what all of us as parents, we do the best we can. That's it. So I'm not saying I'm a perfect parent. But there's something I've been telling my kids forever. When my son will say to me, hey, I'm going to... room clean or I'm gonna eat cleaner or I'm gonna work out I'm gonna work out seven days a week the answer I've told my kids forever is like hey

a promise to yourself that you break because it's a habit. I'm going to work out seven days a week. I'm going to stop eating bread. Like something as simple as saying, I'm going to stop eating so much bread. And then you eat bread all week. I'm going to stop having When you lie to yourself.

It becomes a pattern and you get used to letting yourself down. Do not let yourself down. Don't worry about what anybody else thinks, what anybody else feels. If you make a promise in the mirror, be the person that's like, know that your word is freaking iron to you. So that, like I watch my kids when they say something, oh, before you put that out there, are you sure? All right, I'm going to commit to five then, Dad. All right, commit to five. I'm not going to.

If you don't do it, it's your failure. Right? So that's number one. Number two, there's three C's I always think about. And the three C's are this. Number first is change. The one constant in our life is change will always happen, no matter what. When you think you've got it figured out, When you think you're at the last breath. and all of a sudden your business starts to grow.

have to embrace it because AI is coming. Decide not to use AI and watch where you are in a year if you're in business. You're going to be behind. You'll never catch up. You have to embrace change, especially in this world with technology. You can't bury your...

So learn to fall in love with change, just whatever it takes, because you have to realize if you don't change, you die. If you want, read the book, Who Moved My Cheese? Realize you had to go out in the maze and find new stuff. So the first C is change. The second one is courage, right? Courage is the precursor to confidence. Confidence only comes...

Courage comes when you have to blindly, it's jumping out of the plane and growing wings on the way down, right? And borrow courage from the past. Borrow something, your big personal why, but something that makes you take that uncomfortable action because you're not going to build the third. You're in the game. But then once you do, that confidence becomes intuition. It becomes gut feeling. It becomes drive. But at every level, I go back to, Dean, this is a big one.

We got to embrace it. I need the courage to move forward. I'll borrow it from the past. Whatever I got to do to move forward. And then once I'm in it, I start building confidence. F***ing wait. Get going. Dean Graziosi, thanks for being here. Great.