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

1. 0:00 – 2:06

   The Unyielding Spirit of Persistence

   1. DGDean Graziosi0:00

      There is no more one try. 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 one or two more tries." It's you just try until you find... You burn the boats. There's no B plan.

   2. CSCodie Sanchez0:15

      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 name.

   3. DGDean Graziosi0:28

      Somebody has already done what you're hoping to do. Stop trying to figure out how and start thinking who. Who has already made a million in this space and I haven't? Who has already bought multiple companies? Who has already doubled the size of their marketing or doubled the size of their business? And then do everything in your power to understand what they've done. 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.

   4. CSCodie Sanchez0:53

      You've said before that one of the biggest business hacks is... Is that true?

   5. DGDean Graziosi0:57

      Being in business is, 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's 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, you're scared to death compared to someone go...

   6. CSCodie Sanchez1:14

      Hi, I'm Codie Sanchez and this is the Big Deal podcast for those who are willing to do the work to get what you want. Today, we are actually gonna 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 when things are going wrong in my business or when I want things to go really, really right. 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 behind the scenes when it comes to a lot of the biggest names you know building really big businesses. Dean Graziosi is his name. We're gonna talk about building businesses. We're gonna talk about making money. We're gonna talk 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 that you actually like or

2. 2:06 – 5:53

   The Power of Relationships in Business

   1. CSCodie Sanchez2:06

      maybe an 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 Dean. You've said before that one of the biggest business hacks is a happy marriage.

   2. DGDean Graziosi2:20

      [laughs]

   3. CSCodie Sanchez2:21

      Is that true?

   4. DGDean Graziosi2:23

      I think it's a, a, um, a hack on, on everything. A- and I can only go through two experiences. One, I've been in a marriage that failed.

   5. CSCodie Sanchez2:31

      Mm-hmm.

   6. DGDean Graziosi2:32

      And I take full responsibility for probably being the majority of the reason it didn't work.

   7. CSCodie Sanchez2:36

      Mm-hmm.

   8. DGDean Graziosi2:36

      And when you're in something like that, uh, when you're in a relationship that's not empowering, not fulfilling, right? And, and again, not blaming the other person, but it's not ri- it... You don't even realize how much of a drain that is, that when you wake up and it's on your mind, you wake up and you realize maybe there's not intimacy or maybe there's not connection in your life. But it doesn't matter. I can power through with business. I'm so strong with business. I, I just got this, right? But I'm blessed to see... I, I can only talk through experiences. Um, I'm, I'm, I'm really fortunate to see the other side of that. You know, when my relationship ended and there was a gap, I had two children and I'm like... And I won't go too deep into this, but-

   9. CSCodie Sanchez3:14

      Yeah

   10. DGDean Graziosi3:14

       ... the fact of the matter is, I just said, "I'm gonna be a single dad. I'm going deep on dadding and on fatherhood, and when they're off to college, I'll consider a relationship." But I remember I was with my partner and friend Tony, and he's like, "But if you were gonna get in a relationship, what if you just wrote down all the things that would be an absolute must in a relationship and all the things that were unacceptable in a relationship?" So I remember writing all that down, and when I got done, something pretty profound hit me. I realized, "Wow, you're pretty full of yourself. You want all of this, but to get that, you better be the man-

   11. CSCodie Sanchez3:45

       Mm

   12. DGDean Graziosi3:45

       ... that attracts and keeps that, and don't just be the facade that gets it... It's like, don't get the deal in the door and then be horrible with customer service. [laughs] Like, if this is who I'm gonna be to attract that woman, I better become that man.

   13. CSCodie Sanchez3:57

       Yeah.

   14. DGDean Graziosi3:58

       And it was probably the biggest shift of my life. Like, I wanted to be the man that attracted that. So long story short, I'm blessed. You know my wife Lisa. I, I don't have an Instagram marriage. I got, I'm in love... I, I have the love of my life. We're eight years in. She's my best friend. She's... It, it just, it's, it's everything that was on that sheet, but I'm trying to stay the guy that deserves that, right? But once I had that kind of marriage where I could call... And, and, and it takes somebody special to be married to a crazy-ass entrepreneur.

   15. CSCodie Sanchez4:23

       [laughs]

   16. DGDean Graziosi4:23

       I met your husband on the way in. I, I wanna just-

   17. CSCodie Sanchez4:25

       Totally

   18. DGDean Graziosi4:26

       ... I wanna go, I'm be like-

   19. CSCodie Sanchez4:27

       Just give him a public thanks today

   20. DGDean Graziosi4:27

       ... I'm sorry, thank you, I love you. [laughs]

   21. CSCodie Sanchez4:29

       [laughs] Thank you so much.

   22. DGDean Graziosi4:29

       Like I want... Come here. Let me, let me, let me just give you a little pat on the back, right?

   23. CSCodie Sanchez4:32

       I wanna do the same thing to Lisa. She's sweet as-

   24. DGDean Graziosi4:34

       Yeah. I just wanna, like, give him a hug, go, "I, I get it," right? But, like, the difference of feeling empowered, like, a- as, you know... It might be date night, and we're supposed to go to a, a dance recital on date night, and I'm just sh- being overly, uh, you know, just for, for story reasons. But I know I've called my wife and said, "Babe, I am so sorry. I c- I'm in the middle of, of closing this deal. I can't make dinner. I'm not gonna make the dance." 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."

   25. CSCodie Sanchez5:08

       Right.

   26. DGDean Graziosi5:08

       "You go kick ass in that meeting. I'll make sure the kids feel good, and we'll do dinner tomorrow."

   27. CSCodie Sanchez5:11

       Nice.

   28. DGDean Graziosi5:12

       I get goosebumps sharing it because that, that relationship is f- my business has doubled since I met her.

   29. CSCodie Sanchez5:18

       You guys, I know if you're listening to this podcast that you care about growth, and you are going to be one of the few builders in this world, and we need you more than ever. So one, I'm just thrilled you're here. And if you think that this podcast episode is valuable for you, imagine what it can do for others in your life. So often we share the funny, really ridiculous, useless things on the internet. Do yourself and maybe somebody you love a big favor and pass this episode along to them. 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.

3. 5:53 – 9:57

   Building a Supportive Partnership

   1. DGDean Graziosi5:53

      My, my relationship with my kids has gotten better. I'm better, I'm just a 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, 'cause I'm telling you, that little bit of extra support... Because Being in business is, 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's a new devil. Every time there's something, um, you, you question yourself. Like, "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-

   2. CSCodie Sanchez6:33

      Yeah

   3. DGDean Graziosi6:33

      ... you're scared to death compared to someone go, "Codie, you freaking 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 dreams, so hopefully they fuel yours.

   4. CSCodie Sanchez6:53

      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, and the reason is because I actually have found, and I find it again and again with entrepreneurs, that when you don't have it, you don't think that an incredible marriage is so important.

   5. DGDean Graziosi7:08

      You don't even know what you're missing.

   6. CSCodie Sanchez7:09

      Yeah, yeah. You're like, "It's fine." But then when you do have it, you're like, "Dear Lord." And it, it's not to make people feel bad if you don't have it, 'cause I've been in a terrible one that I take a lot blame for, too.

   7. DGDean Graziosi7:17

      Yeah, I'm raising my hand. If you're not seeing me-

   8. CSCodie Sanchez7:18

      Yeah

   9. DGDean Graziosi7:19

      ... my hand's up high.

   10. CSCodie Sanchez7:19

       Exactly. S- but man, if you can prioritize what you got, it's really important. So one, one other question on marriage before we go into more business stuff is what is the secret, then, to having an incredible marriage?

   11. DGDean Graziosi7:31

       You know, when, 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 gonna give it, is you can't keep score. Keeping score ruins relationships. It ruins partnerships, too, right? Like, if I was looking at a partnership, I've watched so many times through the years. Why is everybody so ex- like, attracted to opening up a restaurant? I, I never knew that.

   12. CSCodie Sanchez7:54

       I never knew that.

   13. DGDean Graziosi7:54

       Like, 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, and I've watched the chef in the background where the food is amazing, and somebody convinces them, "Hey, why would you just be a chef? Let's start the new restaurant. I'll put up the money." I've had friends do this. They put up the money. They get a great chef. They come up with a great concept, and they launch the business. At first, the marriage is amazing. The relation- the business marriage is relat- v- 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 not seeing his family, and the partner who put the money in hasn't changed. Same person. He comes in with his friends, round of drinks for everybody, and the, the scorekeeping starts. I'm back here slaving over this hot stove. I'm trying to make incredible rest... 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.

   14. CSCodie Sanchez8:57

       Mm-hmm.

   15. DGDean Graziosi8:57

       And it's the same thing, I believe, in marriage. You come home after a long day working, and if it's your significant other, and say you come home, it's like, "Man, I worked my butt off all day, and I came home, and there's no, there's not even dinner on the table," right? I'm just using this as a dramatic experience. And then you think to yourself, "Wow, that's, that'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, "Well, what the hell? Why is he so cold?" Or, "Why is she so cold?"

   16. CSCodie Sanchez9:27

       Mm-hmm.

   17. DGDean Graziosi9:27

       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-

   18. CSCodie Sanchez9:33

       Mm

   19. DGDean Graziosi9:33

       ... 'cause you don't feel like being affectionate with someone that you're keeping score with, and, and then resentment comes in. And once the resentment there, it, it's, it's done, right? And I, I gotta tell you that there's this little hack. What if... And I, this takes a while, and this is hard, and if you're the wrong person who just abuses it, then that's a whole different story. But what if you felt love when you gave it?

4. 9:57 – 14:57

   The Importance of Leadership and Accountability

   1. CSCodie Sanchez9:57

      Mm.

   2. DGDean Graziosi9:57

      And that was the only payback you had. When you look at Chris and you know he's there for you, he does whatever it takes, 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 even? Without him saying, "Oh, Codie, you're so amazing. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Can I do something for you?" Like, and it, it creates this... I, I'll be honest with you. My partnership with Tony Rob- my, my relationship with my wife, I can't do enough for her, and she can't do enough for me.

   3. CSCodie Sanchez10:30

      Mm-hmm.

   4. DGDean Graziosi10:30

      And it's, we fight to, like, outdo each other. It's crazy. But I, 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 off his plate for three weeks.

   5. CSCodie Sanchez10:49

      Mm.

   6. DGDean Graziosi10:49

      And I'll call his assistant. I'll call, but all the crap comes to me. 100% of it comes to me. And don't tell him. And then he finds out, he's like, "Oh." And then he'll do... [laughs] Like, so instead of keeping score, like the first phase is don't keep score.

   7. CSCodie Sanchez11:00

      Mm.

   8. DGDean Graziosi11:00

      The second phase is how do I do more for you than you do for me? And it, it builds this thing that I, you know... The other thing too, Codie, it took me... I'm 56, like I said. It took me a, it took me decades to figure this out, so it's not something that comes naturally.

   9. CSCodie Sanchez11:14

      You guys just heard us talk about acquisitions. If you guys have ever thought about buying a business, I don't know if you know this, but we have what I think is the best education system in the world for doing acquisitions, for buying businesses, and now for scaling businesses. If you've thought about wanting to buy your next business, or right now you have a business and you want to scale it, my goal is we at Contrarian Thinking have everything you need to do that. And so if that's you, I guess I'm talking to you today. You can go to contrarianthinking.co, click on our education, and right there you're going to see ideas for how you can buy your first or next business and how you can also scale your next business. We have taught more than 5,000 people how to do M&A, mergers and acquisitions, to date. People have bought hundreds of millions of, in businesses so far, and my goal is that you become an owner if you aren't already one. So I hope you join us on the journey. Contrarianthinking.co, check out the education section. It's so good, though. I've actually never thought about it that way, because man, it would be pretty easy. I mean, you are huge on the internet. You have millions of people that follow you. You've helped m- millions of people over the years, and Tony is also huge on the internet, you know, maybe one of the most famous business people in the world.

   10. DGDean Graziosi12:26

       Hands down. Right.

   11. CSCodie Sanchez12:27

       And it would be very easy for somebody like that to continue to say to a partner, "I don't need you anymore." And that's probably what happens a lot is like, you know, that starts-- one side could feel a different way, and I think that's a really cool way to think about life.

   12. DGDean Graziosi12:40

       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?

   13. CSCodie Sanchez12:45

       Mm-hmm.

   14. DGDean Graziosi12:46

       In a big e- the, the 60 Days of Four event is insanity, right?

   15. CSCodie Sanchez12:48

       It's insanity.

   16. DGDean Graziosi12:48

       You're putting a million, million three people in an event. There's a gazillion moving parts, and I'm the architect, and I'm in that, like, I'm in the thick of it. But Tony's s- 47 years of being a business leader, he could make one phone call and solve millions of dollars' worth of problems or make millions of do- I... So when I'm in it, I don't go, "Wow, I'm putting 70 hours a week in. 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 s- like, so I just find a way to appreciate everything. And then on the opposite side, he does the same.

   17. CSCodie Sanchez13:28

       Yeah. Love that.

   18. DGDean Graziosi13:29

       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 gonna stay on, find a way to appreciate what they do. Try to outdo it. And there's, here's the thing what trips it up, different personalities.

   19. CSCodie Sanchez13:40

       Mm.

   20. DGDean Graziosi13:40

       You might be a conservative and you buy a business where the person's a liberal. You might be religious and Christian and, and they, they're an atheist. Find a way to appreciate something about them. Do more for them than they realize. And 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 exit chute.

   21. CSCodie Sanchez13:59

       How do you know when to pull the exit chute? How do you know when somebody is taking advantage of you and you are giving too much?

   22. DGDean Graziosi14:06

       You know, I think, you know, in the beginning of a business relationship or, or a, you know, when you're first dating Chris, right? Everything is wonderful. Right or wrong. There's not enough, 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 it doesn't w- like if you're not feeling that way in a year, it's like, "Why do you always have freaking seeds in your tooth," right? [chuckles] It's like same thing, different experience. What, 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 just treated the next 90 days like the first 90 days.

   23. CSCodie Sanchez14:38

       Mm.

   24. DGDean Graziosi14:39

       You were a little more respectful. You actually did active listening, looking in your significant other's eyes. "What did you have to say? What was your day like?" What if you did all the things like when you were thinking about, you know, the first time you were gonna hold hands or kiss, you're like, "I'll listen for four hours if I get the kiss." Like, you know? [chuckles] Then you're like, "What are you saying, babe? Could you just spit it out?" Like, you know? [chuckles] All these things evolve,

5. 14:57 – 19:51

   Unlocking Your First Million: Mindset and Strategy

   1. DGDean Graziosi14:57

      right?

   2. CSCodie Sanchez14:57

      I would never do that. Yeah.

   3. DGDean Graziosi14:58

      Yeah. Yeah, me neither. I've never done it once. [both laughing] I, I didn't, I just asked what time it was. I don't need to know how the watch is built, right? Like...

   4. CSCodie Sanchez15:05

      Yeah.

   5. DGDean Graziosi15:05

      But what if you did that for 90 days, and at the end of the 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.

   6. CSCodie Sanchez15:15

      I love that. Y- you're really big on, you know, if you have an action you wanna take, you need a deadline, and I've heard you say that many, many times.

   7. DGDean Graziosi15:25

      Absolutely.

   8. CSCodie Sanchez15:26

      What does that look like in practice? So I have something that I wanna do. I put it on my calendar, and I say, "By this date, I will have achieved XYZ." How do you instigate that in your actual l- in your life?

   9. DGDean Graziosi15:36

      Love that. I, I, you know, it's something I'm big on this year, 'cause this year our business is growing just, I mean, I love watching the business growth that you're having right now, but it, it's beyond well deserved and people need you m- more, now more than ever. So I, I love watching all that you're doing for the world, and I mean that.

   10. CSCodie Sanchez15:52

       Thank you.

   11. DGDean Graziosi15:52

       And, and I feel pretty cool. I've built multiple hundred million dollar a year businesses. I've exited from business. I'm working harder than ever before 'cause I love it. I, like I, I wanna fall dead doing this at 97. You know what I mean?

   12. CSCodie Sanchez16:02

       You actually do-

   13. DGDean Graziosi16:03

       Like-

   14. CSCodie Sanchez16:03

       ... because I know you as a human-

   15. DGDean Graziosi16:04

       I love it

   16. CSCodie Sanchez16:05

       ... and I call you all the time.

   17. DGDean Graziosi16:06

       A- and, and I'm, every year I'm trying to evolve as a leader 'cause what you, what I realize, and I know you're realizing it now, to go to that next level of business-

   18. CSCodie Sanchez16:14

       Mm

   19. DGDean Graziosi16:14

       ... like whatever got you here, there's a core competency. There's something or several things you do better than anybody on the planet, and what I realized, I was really good at creating incredible products. I was really good at marketing. Operations, finances, those things, I just duct taped those together and Band-Aided them forever. I was so good at selling that the money covered the problems. But when I wanted to build a real business, I realized the skill I had to learn was leadership, and leadership is not project management. I've, I've promoted so many great project managers to leaders, and I 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 back. This one I have to go to lunch with once a month. This one I gotta listen to their story. This one I just need to give love. This one I just need to leave alone and they do their thing. Stop trying to be... Like, a leader figures out the human condition.

   20. CSCodie Sanchez17:09

       Mm.

   21. DGDean Graziosi17:10

       And it took me a long time to really understand that, right?

   22. CSCodie Sanchez17:13

       Yeah.

   23. DGDean Graziosi17:13

       And a good CEO has different relationships with each person. So long story short, I tried Mastermind, the company that Tony and I own. It's growing and it, 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 goals? What's your goals?" And when I have a department give 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 say, "If you had to narrow it down to one, two, or three, what would they be?" "Oh, that's really hard." "But if you had to." And I just give the framework. What is gonna 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 this, you would, you should get a raise, you should get a promotion, the company moves forward.

   24. CSCodie Sanchez18:03

       Mm-hmm.

   25. DGDean Graziosi18:03

       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, I draw it as a pyramid. So picture the top is a, is goal, right? The next one down is, okay, so what are the constraints holding you back from achieving that? Like, what is it? "Well, not..." I'm like, "No, no, no. If we had to know." "Well, I don't have some." 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?

   26. CSCodie Sanchez18:27

       Mm.

   27. DGDean Graziosi18:27

       A lot of times it's like, "Oh, if I had a better system, I wouldn't need the person." So what is the constraints? How do you solve them or how do you widen the circle to let me and others help you solve it?

   28. CSCodie Sanchez18:35

       Mm.

   29. DGDean Graziosi18:36

       And then the third thing, there's only four steps. The third step is How are you gonna measure your progress?

   30. CSCodie Sanchez18:41

       Mm-hmm.
6. 19:51 – 24:14

   The Role of Proven Practices in Success

   1. CSCodie Sanchez19:51

      That's so good. I have, like, a to-do list in my mind right now of all the things I have to do, listen to you, which is what happens every time we talk-

   2. DGDean Graziosi19:56

      [laughs]

   3. CSCodie Sanchez19:56

      ... by the way. Um, let's, let's talk about, let's imagine that there's somebody out there right now, and they're listening, and they haven't made their first million bucks.

   4. DGDean Graziosi20:05

      Mm.

   5. CSCodie Sanchez20:05

      They maybe even haven't made their first $100,000. I know it's so hard to overly simplify this, but what was the biggest unlock for you to make your first million dollars? Because you have made, you know, w- I'm not the IRS, but you've made millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions. But that very first million, I think, is the hardest. So what would you say to somebody who hasn't made their first million yet? What do you have to unlock?

   6. DGDean Graziosi20:30

      Oh, wow, so many... It's such a great question. There's so many things that, that I think about. Um, but if it really, if, if you really boil it down, and I, I don't wa- I, I wanna give business tactics. Let me do that on the second half. But the first one, have, have you... With all the people, you get amazing people to sit in this chair. You've met such incredible people. You, you have, 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.

   7. CSCodie Sanchez20:59

      Mm.

   8. DGDean Graziosi20:59

      Right? I mean, you think about it. Why do most people who hit lotto go bro- broke? 'Cause they have resources, but they don't have resourcefulness. So if I, if I think about it, like, I, I'd lo- I, I'm gonna give you a tactical answer. I can tell you about marketing, I tell you all about those things, and that's, that's... I don't wanna talk about all that today. But foundationally, maybe 'cause I've been in this industry so long and I've built multiple companies, is if you don't have a hunger that's super strong, when you hit obstacles, when things go wrong, you go, "Oh, I can't believe that happened. All right, let me give it one more try." Compared to, "There is no more one try. I will persist until I succeed. I will crawl across glass. I will break through steel. I will, 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, there's, you burn the boats. There's no B plan. And that is something that, that's why Tony and I work so hard on, on helping people have an unstoppable mindset, and then we give them a business plan.

   9. CSCodie Sanchez22:13

      Yeah.

   10. DGDean Graziosi22:13

       Because you can give the greatest business plan to somebody who's not committed, or you can give a crappy business plan on a yellow pad to someone who's committed and hungry, and th- 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 till you succeed. That's number one.

   11. CSCodie Sanchez22:33

       Love that.

   12. DGDean Graziosi22:34

       Number two is, I wish someone would've told me this earlier in life, and I, and I know you've found it way earlier than I did.

   13. CSCodie Sanchez22:41

       Mm.

   14. DGDean Graziosi22:43

       But you have to model proven practices.

   15. CSCodie Sanchez22:46

       Yeah.

   16. DGDean Graziosi22:46

       Like, that, that is just... I mean, I, I know it sounds simple, and you're like, maybe I'm just a reminder service for everybody listening or watching today, but somebody has already done what you're hoping to do. Stop trying to figure out how and start thinking who.

   17. CSCodie Sanchez23:00

       Mm.

   18. DGDean Graziosi23:00

       Who has already made a million in this space and I haven't? 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 what they've done. 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, but you could extract it. So hunger and modeling proven practices.

   19. CSCodie Sanchez23:33

       It's so good. Yeah, we always say, um, first you imitate, then you iterate, then you innovate.

   20. DGDean Graziosi23:39

       Oh, I freaking love it.

   21. CSCodie Sanchez23:40

       Not the other way around.

   22. DGDean Graziosi23:41

       Yeah.

   23. CSCodie Sanchez23:41

       You know? [laughs]

   24. DGDean Graziosi23:41

       Oh, that's so good. [laughs] Ooh, that was, that was the clincher, is not the other way around.

   25. CSCodie Sanchez23:45

       Right, 'cause everybody was like, "Well, we'll go ahead and try this thing." And it's like, "Why?" "Well, my gut says so." "What's your gut based on?"

   26. DGDean Graziosi23:50

       [laughs]

   27. CSCodie Sanchez23:51

       You know, do you have, do you have a history of proven success in this? Have you modeled proven practices? We're not curing cancer here, unfortunately. Like, we are doing things that other people have already done before.

   28. DGDean Graziosi24:00

       Yeah.

   29. CSCodie Sanchez24:00

       So I think that's... It's so big. Um, you know, and it kind of takes me to this random next idea from you, which is, um, you have helped millions of people create

7. 24:14 – 29:02

   Collaborating with Influential Figures

   1. CSCodie Sanchez24:14

      a ton of wealth in their life. That mindset part I didn't use to understand. I used to think tactics just 'cause-

   2. DGDean Graziosi24:19

      Same here

   3. CSCodie Sanchez24:20

      ... that's how my brain works. I'm like-

   4. DGDean Graziosi24:21

      Yeah

   5. CSCodie Sanchez24:21

      ... "Just give me steps one through seven." And I didn't realize that most humans will fail miserably if you just give them the how to instead of the why to-

   6. DGDean Graziosi24:27

      Yeah

   7. CSCodie Sanchez24:27

      ... which I learned from you guys. Um, you've also partnered with some huge names to break through in a way that isn't normal for most people. Can you tell me about the time that you partnered with Matthew McConaughey on your big, huge event?

   8. DGDean Graziosi24:43

      Yeah.

   9. CSCodie Sanchez24:43

      What happened, and how did you talk one of, like, the world's biggest celebrities into sharing how he ... lives his life?

   10. DGDean Graziosi24:51

       Yeah. A, a great question. That was so much fun, by the way.

   11. CSCodie Sanchez24:54

       It looked so much fun.

   12. DGDean Graziosi24:55

       He's such, he-

   13. CSCodie Sanchez24:55

       I was texting you like-

   14. DGDean Graziosi24:56

       He's such, he-

   15. CSCodie Sanchez24:56

       ... "Is he as cool as he seems?"

   16. DGDean Graziosi24:57

       Yeah. No, and tell-

   17. CSCodie Sanchez24:57

       Don't tell me if he's not

   18. DGDean Graziosi24:58

       Yeah. And, and I-

   19. CSCodie Sanchez24:58

       'Cause I don't wanna know

   20. DGDean Graziosi24:58

       ... remember I texted you back like, "He's actually cooler."

   21. CSCodie Sanchez25:00

       Oh, my gosh.

   22. DGDean Graziosi25:00

       Like, he's just the coolest dude. Like, I'll put it this way. His work ethic is off the charts, and I'll, I'll tell you, I'll answer the question. But his work ethic's off the chart, and, um, I, I'll start from the beginning. The beginning is I listened to "Greenlights." Have... Did you listen to the book?

   23. CSCodie Sanchez25:13

       The book's incredible.

   24. DGDean Graziosi25:14

       I, I got taken with the book.

   25. CSCodie Sanchez25:15

       And I don't like celebrity memoirs.

   26. DGDean Graziosi25:16

       No.

   27. CSCodie Sanchez25:17

       Do not care.

   28. DGDean Graziosi25:17

       So couple things, why I respected it first off, he didn't come at it as, like, a memoir of a star.

   29. CSCodie Sanchez25:22

       Yeah.

   30. DGDean Graziosi25:23

       What he said was, "I've been journaling for 30 years. I found all the journals, and I geeked out for six months," and went... He went through all his old journals. He said some of it was painful, but he found the patterns that led to success and the patterns that led to failure. And I'm like, how could you not listen to every single word of 30 years of success and failure, right? So then he tells this amazing story in the book, and he's got the voice. Like, he's just got, you know... Like, and you're just like... And, and I remember I get to the end of the book, I'm like, "Oh, I want more." Like, I want-
8. 29:02 – 34:17

   Overcoming Doubt and External Criticism

   1. DGDean Graziosi29:02

      with him every single day to midnight. E- I mean, he came seven days, and then when we did the launch, the actual e- event, she came for four days. She was there every night, a part of every experience, giving incredible feedback. He loves her to death. He's an incredible dad, so a- and he's someone you keep forever.

   2. CSCodie Sanchez29:18

      Ah, I love that.

   3. DGDean Graziosi29:19

      Someone you keep.

   4. CSCodie Sanchez29:19

      You know, it, it made me think about the opposite of that, which is, I think when you're trying to have big success, we all have people, friends, sometimes family, loved ones, who 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 to not let other people hold you back from the things you want in life?

   5. DGDean Graziosi29:44

      So I, I give little reference points, like little things in my head that I can remember, and this one is, don't dim your glow.

   6. CSCodie Sanchez29:51

      Mm.

   7. DGDean Graziosi29:52

      Without realizing sometimes we have people in our life that think we're a dreamer, which most people do. Entrepreneurship is a lonely road. Wait, uh, uh, 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. You don't know, and, and you gotta have conversations with people that... This is gonna sound horrible, like, uh, maybe this is rude to say, but, like, 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.

   8. CSCodie Sanchez30:27

      Yeah.

   9. DGDean Graziosi30:27

      Right? Um, oh my God, I l- what was your question? I'm gonna go back.

   10. CSCodie Sanchez30:33

       What do you do to have other people not stop you from achieving your dreams? Those, uh, like, I think about it, like, um, for instance, I remember when I was first starting out in my business, I had a family member that basically, uh, said, I, I was in finance at the time. I was working at, uh, I think it was at Goldman, and my family member looked me right in the face and said, "Biggest mistake of your life will ever be trading the names Goldman Sachs for Codie Sanchez."

   11. DGDean Graziosi30:58

       Oh.

   12. CSCodie Sanchez30:59

       Oof.

   13. DGDean Graziosi30:59

       You f- oh my gosh. Uh, what a- m-

   14. CSCodie Sanchez31:02

       And they love me.

   15. DGDean Graziosi31:02

       No, I get it.

   16. CSCodie Sanchez31:03

       Like, they're, you know?

   17. DGDean Graziosi31:04

       So, so the way I look at it when I'm saying even, even being i- is most people can't see what you see. So you know Trent Shelton, right?

   18. CSCodie Sanchez31:11

       Mm-hmm.

   19. DGDean Graziosi31:12

       Love Trent. And he said one day, he was on, on our stage. I b- I invited him to speak during the McConaughey event.

   20. CSCodie Sanchez31:19

       Mm-hmm.

   21. DGDean Graziosi31:19

       Right? So he is just doing what Trent does best, and he said the exact thing. He said, "No one saw my dreams." What, he was an NFL player, now he's gonna be an influencer? And he said his first year, his mom would, 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? [laughs] 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 this prescription, like a pair of glasses.

   22. CSCodie Sanchez31:45

       Mm.

   23. DGDean Graziosi31:45

       And he said, "When I put my dreams on, my glasses, I see crystal clear the man I'm becoming." He said, "But my wife and my, my sisters, my, uh, 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?" He said, "God gave me this prescription, this dream, this goal on my heart." 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 get my family on board? 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 wanna do give you advice. It's like your broke friend telling you how to get rich, your single friend telling you about relationships. And you gotta remember, this is downloaded in your heart, your soul, and you gotta find a way to just not dim your glow to match the people around you. 'Cause I truly believe the gr- biggest regret we could ever have is getting to the end of our lives and realize we missed it. I mean-

   24. CSCodie Sanchez32:42

       Yes

   25. DGDean Graziosi32:42

       ... life's going fast, and we only got one shot at this. I don't wanna 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 ask God or the universe or whatever you believe in, like, "Can I go back and do it again?"

   26. CSCodie Sanchez33:00

       Yeah.

   27. DGDean Graziosi33:00

       So what I do to, to get my, like, to, to, to push me, not only thinking, "Don't dim your glow," I also think about I have that opportunity now. Like, if I got to the end of my life and said, "Can I go back and do it over?" It's almost like wish granted. Like, you're back there right now. Today's your day.

   28. CSCodie Sanchez33:15

       Mm-hmm.

   29. DGDean Graziosi33:15

       Today's your day to go, "I, I don't care what they think. I love them. I respect them. I'm not gonna ask their permission anymore. I'm not gonna ask their advice anymore, 'cause they're not qualified for advice. I'm gonna find somebody who's already done what I wanna do, and I'm gonna use them as my inspiration. That's my new mentor. That's my new path." And, and, uh, just like the Theodore Roosevelt, uh, Man in the Arena.

   30. CSCodie Sanchez33:34

       So good.
9. 34:17 – 35:49

   The Value of Experience: Victory and Defeat

   1. DGDean Graziosi34:17

      know?

   2. CSCodie Sanchez34:17

      It's so true. Yeah, the, my favorite line is there, is, um, about those cold and timid souls who know neither-

   3. DGDean Graziosi34:24

      Ugh

   4. CSCodie Sanchez34:24

      ... victory nor defeat.

   5. DGDean Graziosi34:26

      [laughs]

   6. CSCodie Sanchez34:27

      And, and it's, it's... What, what it reminds me of is that it's not just about victory. He says just as equally, "Nor defeat." That other people who don't try, n- they also don't feel what that feels like, because there's so much learning and failure.

   7. DGDean Graziosi34:40

      Yeah, and the other side of defeat is when you win, it's just that much, uh, it's that much g- uh, it, it, it's that much em- m- so much more empowering, because you know both sides, rather than living kind of this flat life.

   8. CSCodie Sanchez34:53

      Yeah, yeah. The, the sweat and tears are worth it, that is for sure. Um, you know, one thing I was thinking about is we talk a lot about the difficulty, how hard this is, the hard work that happens.

   9. DGDean Graziosi35:09

      Yeah.

   10. CSCodie Sanchez35:09

       And I think that's really important for a million, like when you wanna make your first million. But is hard work really the only thing that matters?

   11. DGDean Graziosi35:20

       No. No. Uh, I mean, uh, and, and I know everybody listening probably knows that, that to be true, 'cause, you know, I remember driving to my office. I live in Phoenix. That's where your parents live, right? Did you grow up in Phoenix?

   12. CSCodie Sanchez35:31

       Yeah.

   13. DGDean Graziosi35:31

       Yeah, so you know summers in Phoenix.

   14. CSCodie Sanchez35:33

       Yeah. Not fun.

   15. DGDean Graziosi35:33

       Right? What's that?

   16. CSCodie Sanchez35:34

       Not fun.

   17. DGDean Graziosi35:35

       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 guys on top of a flat roof putting tar down, and I remember the day I saw them,

10. 35:49 – 37:22

    Beyond Hard Work: The Right Direction Matters

    1. DGDean Graziosi35:49

       and I remember literally saying a prayer for them, right?

    2. CSCodie Sanchez35:52

       Yeah.

    3. DGDean Graziosi35:52

       'Cause I did that kind of work when I first started, right?

    4. CSCodie Sanchez35:54

       Mm-hmm.

    5. DGDean Graziosi35:55

       But they're not working harder than me. I mean, I'm not working harder than them. Sorry.

    6. CSCodie Sanchez35:58

       Yeah.

    7. DGDean Graziosi35:58

       I'm not working harder than them.

    8. CSCodie Sanchez36:00

       Mm-hmm.

    9. DGDean Graziosi36:00

       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, 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 planting the foundation for their grandchildren to live into who they're, they can be, right? So it's, it's not just hard work. It's a combination of that hunger and hard work, but being in the right industry that's growing, not dying. 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 that the prize is at the end of the journey, not at the beginning of the journey. All, all those little things are all part of it. So, so hard work alone isn't enough.

    10. CSCodie Sanchez36:52

        Yeah. I think that was a big lie that was told to me, too-

    11. DGDean Graziosi36:56

        Mm

    12. CSCodie Sanchez36:56

        ... you know, when I was young. And it's not a malicious lie, but it's a real one, which is, you know, the harder you work, the more money you make. And I do think the harder you work, the more opportunities you get.

    13. DGDean Graziosi37:05

        Of course. Oh, absolutely.

    14. CSCodie Sanchez37:07

        And then you get to seize those. But I'm wondering, so if we say now You know, it's not just hard work. How do we f- how do you figure out what work matters? How do you figure out if you are doing the work that will make you more money or just being busy?

    15. DGDean Graziosi37:21

        Yeah.

11. 37:22 – 39:42

    Identifying High-Value Work: The Bullseye Concept

    1. DGDean Graziosi37:22

       So good. I, I think, I, I used to draw this on a, on a, on a whiteboard and, and picture 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 make us the most money in our company.

    2. CSCodie Sanchez37:41

       Mm-hmm.

    3. DGDean Graziosi37:42

       Right? If I had to ask you, what, what do you think moves the needle for you the most? Is it, is it relationships and negotiating deals of buying a business?

    4. CSCodie Sanchez37:49

       Deals, relationships, hiring.

    5. DGDean Graziosi37:51

       Right. So let's just say, I, I'm just gonna throw out a crazy number. When you are in that center circle, you make $10,000 an hour, excuse the round number. And then the outer rings and outer rings, there's stuff that you still do, we all do, that someone f- would do for $20 an hour. True?

    6. CSCodie Sanchez38:07

       True.

    7. DGDean Graziosi38:08

       Right? [laughs] And you just like in a hypnotic rhythm, you don't even realize you're still doing certain things. You're still searching emails, and you're still staying up doing text messages. Like, "Oh my gosh, AI could do this," or, "Someone else could do it." Some- I could automate this, I could delegate this, or I could just eliminate this, right? 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, 'cause it's so unique. I would just say polish that diamond.

    8. CSCodie Sanchez38:37

       Yeah.

    9. DGDean Graziosi38:37

       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 the stuff in the outer rings?

    10. CSCodie Sanchez38:49

        Mm-hmm.

    11. DGDean Graziosi38:50

        And it's an evolution. It doesn't happen overnight. The way I used to explain it is kick o- all the stuff you could get somebody $20, $30 an hour. Can you make $20, $30 an hour doing the thing you do? Everybody goes, "Yes, I absolutely can." Great. 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 m- needle mover. 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. A- and I think that's just a different way to look at it. I, I gotta tell you a quick story, is my, um, my mom came to visit me, I don't know, probably seven, 10 years ago. I live in Arizona. She lives on the East Coast. So she comes

12. 39:42 – 42:29

    The Importance of Delegation and Focus

    1. DGDean Graziosi39:42

       out, and this has been my philosophy fo- forever, and I, I... 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. My... If I look back on my most, my first memory of wanting to be successful was to retire my mom. One of the sweetest women in the world. She, I, 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.

    2. CSCodie Sanchez40:01

       Yeah.

    3. DGDean Graziosi40:01

       So she cut hair, cleaned houses, painted houses, just manual labor-

    4. CSCodie Sanchez40:05

       Mm-hmm

    5. DGDean Graziosi40:05

       ... to get... So long story short, she worked hard her whole life and, uh, and one of the reasons I worked hard is 'cause of her. Anyway, long story short, she comes to my house and she's there for a couple days and she said, "Babe, I realized your garbage bins are filled. 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? W- when do you take the garbage out?" I said, "I never have." She goes, "You've lived here for five years." She goes, "Baby, don't tell me you pay someone to take your garbage out." I said, "I don't just pay somebody to take my garbage out. I pay people to change my light bulbs, 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."

    6. CSCodie Sanchez40:46

       [laughs]

    7. DGDean Graziosi40:46

       And I said, "Sit down, Mom. You've never made more than $30,000 in your whole life. Let me tell you how it really works. When someone's getting gas in my car, changing a light bulb, mowing my yard, taking out my garbage, picking up my dry cleaning, 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 $10,000 an hour. They 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."

    8. CSCodie Sanchez41:14

       Oh.

    9. DGDean Graziosi41:14

       I always was broke. Like, she got it. I mean, no one ever just taught her that simple philosophy.

    10. CSCodie Sanchez41:20

        Yeah.

    11. DGDean Graziosi41:20

        So I, 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, the greatest gift would be that you live in your core competency, and that's where real business is.

    12. CSCodie Sanchez41:35

        It's so true. I think people don't tell other people that because society makes us think that it sounds bad. They make us think that it sounds bad to say, "I hire somebody else to fill my gas tank. I hire somebody else." They go, "Oh, are you too big for your britches? That must be nice if you're a rich person."

    13. DGDean Graziosi41:51

        No, I have more impact to make.

    14. CSCodie Sanchez41:52

        Exactly.

    15. DGDean Graziosi41:53

        A- and the person-

    16. CSCodie Sanchez41:54

        But you have to own the fight back

    17. DGDean Graziosi41:54

        ... and the person doing that, and the cool part is the person doing it appreciates the job that they get to do that.

    18. CSCodie Sanchez41:59

        You're being too rational. This is not how it works in 2025.

    19. DGDean Graziosi42:01

        Oh, yeah, [laughs] exact- I'm sorry, no common sense here.

    20. CSCodie Sanchez42:03

        [laughs] That's not-

    21. DGDean Graziosi42:03

        Let me do the opposite of common sense.

    22. CSCodie Sanchez42:04

        That's not how this works-

    23. DGDean Graziosi42:05

        [laughs]

    24. CSCodie Sanchez42:06

        ... on the internet. But it's, it's a beautiful unlock because-

    25. DGDean Graziosi42:09

        Yeah

    26. CSCodie Sanchez42:09

        ... it's the truth, and what would you rather do? Do you want to feel right and virtuous, or do you want to win and actually make massive impact? And I think more people should want to make an impact and win than signal that they are somehow a good person through non-action. What does it take to make $100 million? Is it just more of the same?

13. 42:29 – 45:22

    Scaling Up: Leadership and Team Dynamics

    1. DGDean Graziosi42:30

       No. It, it, I, I think I said it earlier, but every level has a new devil, right? And, and you and I have had conversations about this. The thing that got you out of E- like, like, the thing that gets you out of Egypt doesn't take you to the Promised Land.

    2. CSCodie Sanchez42:42

       Yeah.

    3. DGDean Graziosi42:42

       So you can, as a, as a rugged individualist, I heard that term, so I'm kinda-

    4. CSCodie Sanchez42:47

       Mm-hmm

    5. DGDean Graziosi42:47

       ... just utilizing it, but, like, 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 skyrocketed here, and I'm just gonna share this with everybody. This is the f- part when it skyrockets, and right at that edge, whether it's 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, you think you're gonna crack because you're doing all of it. I'm on the ro- like, let use an example. I'm doing the podcast. I'm on the road. I'm the one on 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."

    6. CSCodie Sanchez43:24

       Mm-hmm.

    7. DGDean Graziosi43:24

       "I wish I had the perfect operator. I wish I could hire the CEO that takes all this off my plate," that is the time ... that you need to obsess on leadership skills. That is the time where you have to learn how to bring in the right generals and how to get a team behind you and alongside of you, where you collectively... There, there's n- uh, in my opinion, there's no way to go from 10, 20, 30 to 100 without a team where all of you are in the same boat, all rowing in the right direction, and not you babysitting. I, I'll tell you the other thing I did wrong for years, is I was really good at hiring young, amazing soldiers.

    8. CSCodie Sanchez43:56

       Mm.

    9. DGDean Graziosi43:57

       Like, A players that I could see their potential, and mentoring them and training them to be amazing and turning them into leaders. That worked at five, $10 million a year. It didn't work at the higher level because I'm already maxed out of my brain. I'm already like, I, I don't even know if I have time to go to the bathroom today, right? [laughs] Like, what do you mean there's a dance recital today? Oh my God.

    10. CSCodie Sanchez44:16

        [laughs]

    11. DGDean Graziosi44:17

        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 the 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 gotta bring in generals who immediately adapt to your culture and they're the wind behind your sails. They got 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 a- and for your kind of company, my kind of company, it doesn't mean it's all the same. There was a crazy-ass entrepreneur who started it. 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 the decisions and these are the co-... It's like, no, we're a little crazy, but the craziness got us here. So I think the, the 20 to 100 is understanding leadership, bringing in generals, and getting everybody aligned. And, you know, culture can, you can go down a road of culture forever. It's really, you gotta get people with the same values as you. And when you do and you align, it is magical to watch that next level.

14. 45:22 – 47:36

    The Shift from Tactics to Leadership

    1. CSCodie Sanchez45:22

       Yeah. It's so wild. Early on, I think th- the problem is a lot of people listening, if they're new in their entrepreneurial journey, will be like, "Shut up leadership, shut up culture, shut up hiring."

    2. DGDean Graziosi45:30

       Of course.

    3. CSCodie Sanchez45:31

       It sounds too far away.

    4. DGDean Graziosi45:32

       Yeah.

    5. CSCodie Sanchez45:32

       It's like, tell me how to make the money right now myself. But then what I've found is, like, level two, three, four entrepreneurs, the only thing they wanna talk about is leadership and hiring.

    6. DGDean Graziosi45:42

       Yeah.

    7. CSCodie Sanchez45:42

       They don't wanna talk tactics at all, because at a certain point, it's not the tactics that'll get you there. It's like, tell 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 if you can start getting interested in the boring things that you almost don't quite understand at an early level-

    8. DGDean Graziosi46:00

       And they're coming, 'cause they're coming.

    9. CSCodie Sanchez46:01

       Yeah. You'll get there farther.

    10. DGDean Graziosi46:02

        A- and here's the cool part, is think of it, 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.

    11. CSCodie Sanchez46:14

        Mm.

    12. DGDean Graziosi46:15

        And 20 s- percent should be on the company you're becoming.

    13. CSCodie Sanchez46:18

        Oh, that's good.

    14. DGDean Graziosi46:19

        So if you think through that lens, w- what, what Codie and I are saying is you don't have to focus obsessively on leadership at 100 million if you're ready to do your first million. 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 obss- you have to work on the company you are. But if you just spent 10 or 20% going, "But when I get there, what should I do? Oh, maybe I'll just start reading one leadership book a quarter," 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 curve for you.

    15. CSCodie Sanchez46:50

        Mm.

    16. DGDean Graziosi46:50

        If there's something that would've taken you a year on your own, five years on your own, you go, "Maybe I could do it in eight months instead of a year. Maybe I could do it in three years instead of five." And that's the gift of modeling proven practices, 'cause I've already failed more than, more than most, right? [laughs] So-

    17. CSCodie Sanchez47:03

        Yeah

    18. DGDean Graziosi47:03

        ... why fail in the areas where I failed when you can learn it sooner?

    19. CSCodie Sanchez47:06

        You're also a genius at the first stage of a company that matters all the way through to billion-dollar companies, which is product creation, and figuring out, do I have an offer and a product that is not going to be something I have to muscle people into buying continuously, but going to be so good that they're gonna thank me for selling it to them?

    20. DGDean Graziosi47:25

        Yeah.

    21. CSCodie Sanchez47:26

        How do you know if your product or business is a good one, and whether you should leave it or you should run with it?

15. 47:36 – 51:42

    Falling in Love with Your Clients and Products

    1. DGDean Graziosi47:36

       This might sound a little foo-foo, but if you fall in love with your clients, if you create something that you would create for family-

    2. CSCodie Sanchez47:46

       Mm-hmm

    3. DGDean Graziosi47:46

       ... sell a product, a service, and if your family went into the business and got served, how would you feel? How would they feel? So I, I know that sounds a little, uh, like I said, a little s- but you gotta 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 they use the product and oh my God, they, they used your coaching, oh my God. They used you in, 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 and promoting it, right? When, when people ask me, "How do you stand in front of the McConaughey event? Hundreds and hundreds, thousand people live and you sold this product?" 'Cause I watched this guy work his tail off, and it was so sh- 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, I'm just gonna say, l- I, I know I just said this, but people ask me, "What's the secret to selling at such a high level?" Is you don't have to like 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 ch- get feedback from the customers, adjust and tweak. And when you know it's better than anybody else, there's just this extra push of marketing. There's this extra push of sales. There's a lot of times people ask me, "C- can I give you a, a, you know, a quarter of a million dollars a day for consulting?" And I, 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 love it.

    4. CSCodie Sanchez49:30

       Mm.

    5. DGDean Graziosi49:30

       I can tell they like it. But they make excuses. "Well, people don't use that kind of thing anyway. Oh, it breaks anyway. Oh, that's what everybody does in our industry." I'm like, "You'll never have a marketing team or a sales team because you're the leader and you're not absolutely in love with it." And, and sometimes it might be boring. I'm gonna say, "Go back to your drawing board. Fall in love with your product again like when you first launched the company, before it got diluted, before someone else was the 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 on there, 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, then you wanna go to 100 million, 200 million, a billion, because you get to change more people. They have a better experience.

    6. CSCodie Sanchez50:14

       It's so true. And I... You know what's so interesting is that most people won't do that second part, which is instead they'll make excuses why they said that online, why that happened.

    7. DGDean Graziosi50:27

       A person's lazy. They don't like anything. They don't like the dinner. They don't like... Right.

    8. CSCodie Sanchez50:30

       Exactly. And, um, we have a rule at our company that you're never allowed to talk badly about a customer, ever.

    9. DGDean Graziosi50:37

       I love it.

    10. CSCodie Sanchez50:37

        It's not that the customer-

    11. DGDean Graziosi50:38

        Same here

    12. CSCodie Sanchez50:38

        ... is always right. I don't actually believe that.

    13. DGDean Graziosi50:40

        I don't believe that either.

    14. CSCodie Sanchez50:40

        But you are never allowed to talk back-

    15. DGDean Graziosi50:42

        But even-

    16. CSCodie Sanchez50:42

        ... badly about the customer

    17. DGDean Graziosi50:43

        ... even with someone who isn't right.

    18. CSCodie Sanchez50:45

        Mm-hmm.

    19. DGDean Graziosi50:47

        I always find an essence of truth.

    20. CSCodie Sanchez50:48

        Yeah.

    21. DGDean Graziosi50:49

        Right?

    22. CSCodie Sanchez50:49

        Yeah.

    23. DGDean Graziosi50:49

        Like, we do provide customer service that's great, but why are we taking six hours to get back to people? Can we get it to three?

    24. CSCodie Sanchez50:55

        Yeah.

    25. DGDean Graziosi50:55

        Can we get to 30 minutes? Like, like, there's always a glimpse of, of truth in it, and I think if you have the courage to read the critics, it doesn't mean you have to cave. It just means take that advice. 'Cause I, I mean, it is the, the greatest gift you could give your entire company is to love what you do.

    26. CSCodie Sanchez51:15

        Yeah, that's very true. And you can feel it.

    27. DGDean Graziosi51:17

        Yeah.

    28. CSCodie Sanchez51:17

        Like, when you sell something, I can feel from you the energy that comes from the fact that you actually think... I mean, you call it, um, like getting your customer to want to ask you for the next step.

    29. DGDean Graziosi51:29

        Yeah.

    30. CSCodie Sanchez51:29

        Which I love. So maybe you could talk a little bit a- about that. I think a lot of companies die because they try to sell somebody one thing once, and so they're trying to get this whole universe of people to buy one thing from them once. A lot of successful companies,

16. 51:42 – 58:06

    Creating Lifelong Customers: The Service Mindset

    1. CSCodie Sanchez51:42

       they get one customer and they wanna serve them for life-

    2. DGDean Graziosi51:44

       Yeah

    3. CSCodie Sanchez51:44

       ... which is what you obsess about. Can you talk about how to get customers for life, and how you can get them to say thank you for offering them the next step continuously?

    4. DGDean Graziosi51:53

       Yeah, a great question. So maybe, maybe I could use it through the lens of a live event.

    5. CSCodie Sanchez51:59

       Mm.

    6. DGDean Graziosi52:00

       Just 'cause it, it, it'd be the same model of any company.

    7. CSCodie Sanchez52:02

       Yeah.

    8. DGDean Graziosi52:02

       So what I love to think about is the end in mind. And at the end, I, 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 that sounds like, "Duh, isn't that what everybody does?" Not really. Just think, like, for example, if To- if somebody's gonna work with Tony and I, and we're gonna 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. They're just not sure what to do.

    9. CSCodie Sanchez52:39

       Mm-hmm.

    10. DGDean Graziosi52:39

        I don't want people that have bought and sold, bought a million courses on how to get rich for doing nothing, because I can't serve them.

    11. CSCodie Sanchez52:45

        Right.

    12. DGDean Graziosi52:45

        I don't want people that, that don't wanna do the work. They just want the outcome. Because they're never gonna, they're never gonna be an ideal client for me. So if I know our ideal client is someone who is hungry as heck, they're brilliant without a blueprint, let's say that, right? They, they know they wanna do something different. They're unfulfilled in their current business or their current career. They wanna do something different. They're hungry. They're willing to do the work. Cool. Ideal client. Love you. Number two is what is their ideal outcome? We show them a path. They don't give up on theirselves. 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 some purpose in their life, right? The third thing, what's the ideal product? Well, I need the training. I need some AI that thinks like Tony and I. We need some accountability to help you when you get stuck. All the things I wish I had when I first started, right?

    13. CSCodie Sanchez53:33

        Mm-hmm.

    14. DGDean Graziosi53:34

        So if I know that's my ideal cri- client, my ideal outcome, ideal product, then I work backwards on all the marketing I do, whether it's a free podcast or a book I'm selling. I wanna market to those people knowing they're gonna end up there.

    15. CSCodie Sanchez53:48

        Mm-hmm.

    16. DGDean Graziosi53:49

        They might end up in our world. They might end up doing a high-level mastermind or something like that. But my marketing, I wanna deter. I wanna attract those I want and push away those that I don't. So my marketing looks for the brilliant without the blueprint, the hustlers, the hungry ones, the, they're finally fed up with living their life the way it was. And if I do that, then they're gonna stay in my ecosystem forever.

    17. CSCodie Sanchez54:10

        Mm.

    18. DGDean Graziosi54:10

        And then the way I look at it is each product you build... I, I, I'm sorry I'm doing this through a live event or, or kind of our company's phase, but I, I hope it relates to every business, is I look at building every piece of your company so good that they're like, "Gosh, that was so good. What's next?"

    19. CSCodie Sanchez54:32

        Mm-hmm.

    20. DGDean Graziosi54:33

        Right? So your book, amazing. As soon as I started reading it, I, I just say I posted immediately-

    21. CSCodie Sanchez54:37

        I know, you were so sweet

    22. DGDean Graziosi54:38

        ... about it, and I... But it was amazing. And if I read that book, just like I read McConaughey's book. I, I read McConaughey's book. I'm like, "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-

    23. CSCodie Sanchez54:52

        Yeah

    24. DGDean Graziosi54:52

        ... than a service provider that comes over. It's like, "50 bucks, we're gonna clean everything in your house." And then they get there. It's like, "Well, it's actually 500 'cause we gotta change a thing." Like, it feels sneaky. Rather than saying, "It is so clean. Everything's done. Your stuff is good. Hey, while I'm here, would you like..." There's just a subtle difference between how much can we sell people or how do we meet them at these different levels.

    25. CSCodie Sanchez55:14

        Yep.

    26. DGDean Graziosi55:14

        So in, in our business, Tony and I, on, on, you know, in, in May, on May 15th, we're doing a three-day event, for example. We're gonna give massive value to people for three days. No obligation. It's free. But we wanna deliver so much value that a group of people go, "Heck, if I wanna be in this industry, I wanna work with them."

    27. CSCodie Sanchez55:31

        Yeah.

    28. DGDean Graziosi55:32

        And at each level, I try to create everything they need, right? So for us, somebody who says, "I just want th- this, this..." What they're offering is unbelievable, I'm in. But I wanna deliver so much value that if they go, "Hey, I kinda need more help," that they go, "These guys were so good. Hey, do you have what's next?" So the way I, I look at it for any business, your lifetime value of your client determines everything, right? I promise you, no matter what business you're in, if you are a one and done, every Monday your business starts over again.

    29. CSCodie Sanchez56:08

        Yeah.

    30. DGDean Graziosi56:08

        Every Monday you're fighting for new clients. What about building a product so good that anything they need in advancements of that, that they stick with you, right? If I read your book, I would be hoping that you had a coaching program, and I hope if I crushed it in your coaching program, that you have a, a consulting pro- that would help me buy companies or help me understand how to grow this business, 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. That would... You would be doing people an absolute disservice if you didn't have all those pieces in your company.
17. 58:06 – 1:00:20

    The Importance of Lifetime Value in Business

    1. DGDean Graziosi58:06

       They're one and done, and that's why they struggle.

    2. CSCodie Sanchez58:09

       Yeah, you, you taught me that actually, because in finance, you know, when I, what I did previously-

    3. DGDean Graziosi58:14

       Mm-hmm

    4. CSCodie Sanchez58:14

       ... in private equity, when we buy a company, you know, we have these LPs. We have them sort of trapped for like five to seven years.

    5. DGDean Graziosi58:21

       Right.

    6. CSCodie Sanchez58:21

       We don't have to continuously sell them in that way. If we get a return at the end of five to seven years, they're with us again for another time. But as I've gotten into this space and thought about education in particular, when we created the book, I wanted to make sure that the book had every single thing in it that they needed to buy a business.

    7. DGDean Graziosi58:36

       And you accomplished it.

    8. CSCodie Sanchez58:37

       I think so. And that was my goal. I was like, "We are, we are not gonna 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.

    9. DGDean Graziosi58:47

       Well, think, think about the greatest gym you could ever go to.

    10. CSCodie Sanchez58:50

        Mm-hmm.

    11. DGDean Graziosi58:52

        Think of a gym that holds nothing back. They have the greatest equipment. They have an oxygen cha- chamber. They have s- 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?

    12. CSCodie Sanchez59:10

        Accountability.

    13. DGDean Graziosi59:11

        Accountability.

    14. CSCodie Sanchez59:12

        Yeah.

    15. DGDean Graziosi59:12

        So the way I look at it in our space is give them everything they need. If they can accomplish it on their own, amazing. That's how you get a good reputation.

    16. CSCodie Sanchez59:19

        Yeah.

    17. DGDean Graziosi59:19

        "Codie wrote a book that's everything you need. Raising my hand though, I need someone to help me. I need somebody to keep me accountable." That's how they go, "Codie, you have anything else?"

    18. CSCodie Sanchez59:27

        Yep.

    19. DGDean Graziosi59:27

        "Can you hold me accountable?"

    20. CSCodie Sanchez59:28

        Right.

    21. DGDean Graziosi59:29

        And then you... It- it's, it's usually, one more thing, especially in this space, but maybe you can, uh, relate it to any business you're in. It's usually not more stuff that you share.

    22. CSCodie Sanchez59:39

        Yeah.

    23. DGDean Graziosi59:39

        It's helping people actually do the thing that's in the book.

    24. CSCodie Sanchez59:42

        It's less right stuff at the right time-

    25. DGDean Graziosi59:44

        Yes

    26. CSCodie Sanchez59:45

        ... for them, which is what we've been obsessing on lately. Like, there's so much you can learn about acquisitions, but if you learn about how to finance the deal and you haven't even figured out what a deal looks like for you, it's gonna be kinda useless.

    27. DGDean Graziosi59:58

        True.

    28. CSCodie Sanchez59:58

        So it's like how do we pace you exactly to the spot that you need so you don't get overwhelmed, so you don't get discouraged? Because I think, and I've heard you say before, that it's, it's not hard to start a business. It's hard to keep going in the business when nothing-

    29. DGDean Graziosi1:00:10

        So true

    30. CSCodie Sanchez1:00:10

        ... is working, working.
18. 1:00:20 – 1:08:06

    Overcoming Challenges: Embracing Change and Courage

    1. CSCodie Sanchez1:00:20

       struggling? What do you do to keep going in the impossible moments in your life?

    2. DGDean Graziosi1:00:25

       Yeah, I've never had one of those. Just kidding. [laughs]

    3. CSCodie Sanchez1:00:28

       This week? Today?

    4. DGDean Graziosi1:00:30

       You mean before I came?

    5. CSCodie Sanchez1:00:31

       Yeah.

    6. DGDean Graziosi1:00:31

       Um, you know, I, I love, I love the question, and you probably have heard this when people say, "A- as you get successful, are there less problems?" And what I like to say is, you know, Jim Rohn, old personal development guy, used to say, "If for things to get better, you gotta get better." So if I translate that into problems, is don't wish for problems to go away. Wish to get better at dealing with bigger problems. 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, right? So when those things happen, when it goes sideways, a- and maybe 'cause I just timed decades in, in business, I don't apr- Like, I, I think there's a misnomer that like, "Oh, I appreciate the failures 'cause it makes me stronger." No, I hate every freaking one of them, right? But I do know at this phase in my life that every problem I solve sharpens the iron. No one's ever gonna get me again.

    7. CSCodie Sanchez1:01:36

       Yeah.

    8. DGDean Graziosi1:01:36

       I'm never gonna 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 beliefs that got me going in the first place, that I need to be in control of my decisions, my calendar, my chi- like I, I wanna be that dad. I take my kids to school every day. I make them breakfast. I go, I do as much as I can with my kids. I, I never wanna miss date night. All... 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 wanna go backwards. I want my kids to have choices, and I need to be in control of my calendar. Get this shit done." Excuse my language. "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 of me on the other side of the storm. I went through a divorce. That was a storm. I'm a better man on the other side of it. I've almost gone broke. I've 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 me through.

    9. CSCodie Sanchez1:02:38

       Yeah. It's so good.

    10. DGDean Graziosi1:02:40

        And if I share one more thing is I work out every day, right? And everybody says-

    11. CSCodie Sanchez1:02:44

        I can tell. Look at those veins, man.

    12. DGDean Graziosi1:02:45

        Well, yeah, I-

    13. CSCodie Sanchez1:02:46

        56, looking good.

    14. DGDean Graziosi1:02:47

        Yeah. Well, thank you. But it's-

    15. CSCodie Sanchez1:02:48

        Lisa's hot too, so.

    16. DGDean Graziosi1:02:49

        She is. I gotta st- well-

    17. CSCodie Sanchez1:02:50

        You gotta stay

    18. DGDean Graziosi1:02:50

        ... that's what I was gonna 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. If you get nothing else from this podcast, take this. I don't focus on the workout. I don't focus on how many sets I'm gonna do. I focus on my wife is hot as hell, and I need to look good for her. I like the way she looks at me, so I focus on, "Hey, I'm gonna 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 them to. Both of them work out, my son obsessively, because they watched their dad every morning at 5:00 work out. I 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. It's how I burned through your book. It's how I listen to your podcast and other people. So I feel like I'm getting smarter, I'm 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 gonna feel when I'm done, and then I just do the workout. And it's the same thing in business. When the thing goes wrong, when the CEO leaves and takes two employees with you, and you're like, "How can I get through this?" 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 gonna fix it, and I'm gonna be better off, stronger, and my business is gonna go up, and I just focus on that.

    19. CSCodie Sanchez1:04:08

        Dean Graziosi, it's just like some adrenaline rush of veins every time I talk to you. Where I wanna end with is, um, I think people are gonna take a lot from this. There's so many things that they're gonna take here. But I've heard you say a line that's stuck in my head so intensely, it, like, keeps me up at night sometimes. And the line is that procrastination is the highest form of self-abuse.

    20. DGDean Graziosi1:04:30

        Mm-hmm.

    21. CSCodie Sanchez1:04:31

        So with people listening today, if you're gonna take one thing away, how do you, Dean, make sure that you never become the procrastinator who says they're gonna do a thing and never actually does it? And maybe people listening can become that same person and take one or two things and go do the damn thing today.

    22. DGDean Graziosi1:04:48

        So I'm gonna give you two things. I'm gonna tell you a quick story, and then I'm gonna give you, remind me of the three Cs-

    23. CSCodie Sanchez1:04:52

        Mm-hmm

    24. DGDean Graziosi1:04:52

        ... 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 gonna get straight A's," or, "I'm gonna keep my 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, hey, you don't have to promise me anything. But don't make a promise to yourself that you break, 'cause it's a habit."

    25. CSCodie Sanchez1:05:22

        Mm.

    26. DGDean Graziosi1:05:22

        "I'm gonna work out seven days a week. I'm gonna stop eating bread." Like something as simple as saying, "I'm gonna stop eating so much bread," and then you eat bread all week. "I'm gonna stop having four cups of coffee. I'm gonna have one." But you still have four cups of coffee. When you lie to yourself-

    27. CSCodie Sanchez1:05:34

        Mm

    28. DGDean Graziosi1:05:35

        ... 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 a, like know that your word is freaking iron to you.

    29. CSCodie Sanchez1:05:48

        Mm.

    30. DGDean Graziosi1:05:49

        So that, that, like I watch my kids. When they say something, I'm, "Whoa, oh. Before you put that out there, don't li- are you sure?" "All right, I'm gonna commit to five then, Dad." "All right, commit to five. You, I'm not gonna check you. I'm not gonna... If you don't do it, it, it's your failure." Right? So that's number one. Number two, there, there's three Cs I always think about, and the three Cs are this. We ha- number one first is change. We have to embrace change. We have to fall in love with change. Uh, the, the one constant in our life is change will always happen, no matter what. When you think you got it figured out, something will go sideways. When you think you're at the last breath, you figure out how, and, and all of a sudden your business starts to grow. We have to learn to embrace change. Do we have to embrace it 'cause AI is coming? Decide not to use AI and watch where you are in a year if you're in business. You're gonna be behind. You'll never catch up. You have to embrace change, especially in this world with technology and you can't be- you can't bury your head in the sand. 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.

Episode duration: 1:08:06