The Underdog Advantage: Intro (Audiobook)

Well, what if I told you that being an underdog could actually be one of the greatest unfair advantages of your life?

Welcome to the Dean Graziosi show.

All success starts right here. Introduction. The underdog advantage. I should be drinking tea, eating crumpets, driving on the wrong side of the road and bowing to the queen. You know why I'm not? Because of an underdog. One single person, a. A man who was an underdog his whole life, leading a group of men who were underestimated and dismissed, found a way to win a war against the biggest, baddest military machine the world had ever known. You know who I'm talking about? George Washington, the father of America.

Of course.

I thought I knew this story. I mean, we learn about it in elementary school, right? George Washington chopped down the cherry tree and told the truth about it. And then he went on to beat the British, formed a new nation and became president. That's about what I remember from school. I wasn't a very good student, if you can't tell. But I didn't realize how amazing the actual story of George Washington was. And when I read about it, it hit me that this is the story of every struggling underdog like I've been most of my life. And you probably are too. In fact, if you see yourself as an underdog. I think the story of George Washington and the founding of America is maybe the most important story you'll ever hear. You know why? It's because of how he won. He won because he was an underdog. How could that be? How could being an underdog lead to victory? Don't you want to be the favorite? The one destined for greatness? The one with all the advantages and all the people behind you? Well, what if I told you that being an underdog could actually be one of the greatest unfair advantages of your life? You see, underdogs have certain traits. They can turn into superpowers when used correctly. And in fact, when viewed properly, I think being an underdog is the best advantage you can have in your life. And it's been the key to all the success I've been able to achieve in my life. But before I tell you why being an underdog could actually be the rocket fuel for your next level of life. Launch. I'm going to tell you the part of the George Washington story you probably don't know. The underdog's history of the Revolutionary War. George Washington was born in America to a well off family. But that's pretty much where his advantages stopped. He was the fourth son of his Father. So by the time he was old enough for school, there was no money left to send him. He had to learn everything on his own at home without a teacher. That seems pretty bad, right? Actually, it turned into an advantage. Not going to school allowed him to focus exclusively on the subjects he liked. And he self taught and mastered fields like math, surveying, draftsmanship and map making. This led to him becoming the youngest surveyor in Virginia and allowed him to find and buy the best frontier lands before others even knew they existed. He learned early on how to use one of the main underdog, turning what most people would consider the anchor holding him back into the wind behind his sail, changing the disadvantage into an advantage. He was eventually made a major in the Virginia regiment, which was a colonial army that the British organized and supplied. His British superior offers didn't give him the same level of respect as they did the British born enlisted men. They paid him far less money and they gave him the leftover supplies. He could feel them making fun of him behind his back. And he wasn't paranoid. They truly looked down on him. Did this bother him? Heck yes. But he didn't let it bring him down. In fact, he used it as a fire to drive him even more. Once again, he used the disadvantage to his advantage and let that bad treatment motivate him and his troops on a level most people could never comprehend. What resulted from this disrespectful treatment was growing success. Even though he got the toughest and worst missions, the ones no one else wanted. In one battle, even though he was sick with dysentery, he organized a rear guard action that allowed another general's army to escape and avoid capture. He had two horses shot out from under him and bullet holes in his hat and coat. His heroism and leadership gained acclaim throughout the colonies and Europe. He turned their disrespect for him into motivation for himself and his men, which resulted in respect from people all over the world. Talk about using his underdog advantages. It gets even better. Way better. Washington used the land he bought, plus his marriage to a wealthy widow to become a successful planner. He was elected a burgess, meaning he was part of the representatives of the colonies underneath the King of England. Here again he was always looked down upon because he wasn't British born. And of course England totally disrespected America by taxing them with no representation and ignoring all the demands of the colonies. I won't go over Paul Revere's ride and the Declaration of Independence and the start of the war and all that. You. You probably Know that because that's the cool stuff taught in most classrooms. What I want to focus on here are two events that defined George Washington and showed how much of an underdog he really was and how he used it to win. The war starts. The Americans kicked the British out of Boston in the Boston Tea Party, and now the British are pissed. The King of England doesn't want to play games anymore. He wants to come and show the uppity colonists who's boss. They decide to come for New York City, but Washington assembles about 7,500 troops to fortify it. Now, you gotta understand, those 7,500 men, most of them didn't have shoes. They didn't have uniforms. They didn't have enough gunpowder. They weren't trained. They were anywhere from 15 to 60 years old. Basically a bunch of farmers with guns and knives. Some even had spears and bows and arrows. England sends 30,000 soldiers. 10,000 of those are hired guns. They're Hessians from Germany, which are not only amazing fighters, they're pretty much ruthless. Like, they're the type that would rather bayonet you in the face than capture you just for fun. So now you have the most ragtag bunch of soldiers that existed on the planet at that time. And they're going up against the greatest military force in the world, trained and battle hardened with guns and ammunition, and master strategists and experienced generals. So what happens? Do the underdogs win? No. Hell, no. They get their asses kicked. The British beat the Americans at every level. They lost New York, they lost Brooklyn, they lost Long island, they lost Fort Washington, and then they lost Fort Lee in New Jersey. They couldn't even hold New Jersey. Washington barely escapes with, like, 5,500 troops. Of the original 7,500, they're pushed out. Now they're running across New Jersey. Tired, beaten, no shelter, shoes on, only 50% of them, minimal ammunition. And worst of all, they're out of food. They're retreating in the snow, and there's blood trails from people with no socks on. They're literally sleeping under leaves. As you would imagine, a lot of the soldiers started deserting. The British government at the time would give people pardons. If you bail out on the revolutionary army, they give you a pardon and some money. So people were running nonstop, and his army dwindles even more. At the time. Everybody's starting to criticize Washington. Congress is starting to question all his decisions. His top generals are like, george doesn't know what he's doing. So think about all that piled up one thing on top of another. Congress isn't feeling it. People are deserting the army. Every obstacle possible piled up against them. And the strongest army in the world ready to hunt them down and finish them off. And even worse, people are turning against them in each little city, giving information back to the British army on where they are and where they're going. I mean, I didn't learn all this in school. I couldn't believe how bad it got for him. And I honestly couldn't see any way out for Washington and his army. When I read this, I thought to myself, zero chance they can win this. I know how the story ends. I live in a free America. And I still thought this. But Washington had something the British didn't have. They had always been the privileged. The British were the biggest empire the world had ever seen. They had been the opposite of an underdog as long as anyone alive could remember. But Washington had been told he was nothing his whole life by the British. He was passed over for promotion by the British army because he wasn't a professional general. He didn't have the pedigree of being born in England. He didn't have the King's support. He had only half the America's support. His own mother was ruthless to him. He didn't have the money. He didn't have any of it. Nothing. The ultimate underdog. What no one could see from the outside was that he had a burning inner desire to prove something to himself and those that doubted him. He was tired of being told he wasn't good enough. He wasn't from the right family. He didn't have the right accent. He wasn't from the right schools. He was tired of being passed over by people he was better than. He wanted the freedom to be who he was. And. And he used that as motivation for himself and for his men. He felt like everyone was against him. And he found a way to turn his underdog disadvantages into his underdog advantages. Since he didn't have ultimate resources, he found a way to be resourceful. He found a way to be innovative. He used the feelings as motivation to find a way forward. And the British never saw him coming. Washington decides to do what they would least expect. Attack on Christmas morning. And not only that, the only way this is possible is for him to take his entire army across the Delaware River. You have to understand, this was nuts. It's one of the worst winters ever. There were icebergs in the river. No one even wanted to be outside. The British assumed that Washington would stay on his side of the river and wait till it was warm to resume fighting, because that's what they were going to do. And beyond that, the closest army to him was the Hessians, who already whipped his ragtag group of farmers in New York City. The Hessians thought they would never have the nerve to cross a frozen river on Christmas with thousands of men. So they partied all night. They drank, and they were festive and lazy with their guards down. So what does he do? He knows he has to go for it. And he writes down on a piece of paper before he plans his attack where he's outnumbered, outgunned and outmanned, he writes victory or death. And on Christmas Eve at midnight, he starts crossing the frozen Delaware river. And he's got thousands of men that need to cross before morning. And cannons, horses. It's snowing, it's raining, the wind is blowing. Everything seems to be working against him, but he's not going to stop. He's got the power in him, the power that comes from resisting all the people telling him he can't do it. He's a joke. He's just a bumpkin farmer. He'll never beat the British. He eventually crosses his army. Everyone gets across by 4 o' clock in the morning and they march on the Hessians. They take them completely by surprise and capture most of them along with their supplies in less than an hour. After that first victory George Washington has against the British Empire on Christmas Day, he crosses another time and sneak attacks the British again at Princeton on January 3, where they kill the British general and force a larger army to retreat. They had defeated the world's best army twice in a week. That was the shift in the American Revolution. We all know what happens from there. What's being an underdog actually like? Have you ever felt like an underdog? When I say an underdog, I don't mean your life has to be tragic and you're living on the streets. It just feels like a few or many cards are stacked against you and if you could just get them out of the way, you could soar, you could unleash that next level version of you to the world. Only if. But what if you were actually given gifts wrapped inside what you think is a disadvantage? What if you knew how to unlock it? You could have a superpower like Washington and so many others. What if by the end of this book, you were actually grateful for all the shit that's happened or currently happening in your life, because it was designed perfectly for your future greatness? My writing style is simple and to the point. I write as I talk, and together we're going to fuel your next level of income growth, happiness, confidence and abundance by using the gifts you already have. We just need to help you unwrap them, then give you the implementation process to make your next level real. So let me ask you this. Have you ever felt like no one had faith in you? That no one backed you or supported you? Maybe you feel stuck in your life. It doesn't look bad from the outside, but you feel like a prisoner trapped in mediocrity. Ever feel like others look down on you or think your goals are pipe dreams? Maybe made some bad decisions? Maybe you really didn't understand what you were up against? You ever feel like you missed your chance? That no matter what you do, nothing ever moves you forward and you're spinning your wheels? You ever feel like so many things in your life are a disadvantage? That no matter what happens, it always somehow ends up not working out in your favor? Maybe you feel like the world is not designed for you, that it's made for the privileged, the winners, the ones who already possess all the advantages. Well, what about George Washington? Even though he's respected now, George Washington started out as the quintessential underdog. It's easy to look back on that now and dismiss this. I mean, George Washington is the father of America. What's that got to do with you? The fact is, he was a huge underdog. He was facing terrible odds, but all he did was figure out how to use advantages of being an underdog to propel himself forward and actually win. If you're still skeptical, I get it. I come from where you came from. I. I grew up in a small town of about 6,000 people in upstate New York. It seemed like everyone had something going on for them but me. And it sucked. This is who I was growing up. I was short, I had goofy teeth. I was 4 foot 9. Imagine that. And 90 pounds going into 10th grade. And the only one in my class that hadn't reached puberty yet. That was a lot of fun. My parents had no money, no social standing, nothing. Just hard working people trying to survive. My parents got divorced when I was 3. Lived with my grandmother a lot, then moved into my dad when I was 12. When I moved in with him, we lived in a bathroom of his house for the first six months or so. Since it was small enough to heat with an electric heater, there was no heat in the rest of the house. I had a learning disability. I could barely read until 6th grade. I was in various special ed classes all the way to high school, and I have fond Memories of Ms. Thompson calling me stupid on a regular basis. As she would say through her clenched teeth. Just sounded out. I never went to college. I couldn't even get into college. I got divorced. I finally started to gain momentum and I lost all my money three different times because of plain old stupid decisions and being naive. I've got way more stories about how messed up my life has been in various times. Don't worry, you'll read them all in hilarious and gory detail throughout the book. Yet here I am. I'm married to the woman of my dreams. I live in the house of my dreams. I'm a dedicated father to two amazing children and I get to spend my days helping other people realize their dreams. How did I go from being such an underdog to that life? I did the same basic thing that George Washington did. I utilized the underdog advantages. I flipped my disadvantages into advantages and I used them to prove everyone wrong, not be left behind and to squeeze out all the juice life has to offer. What is the underdog advantage? What if the outside world and even your inner self voice of doubt has been lying to you since day one? What if everything you thought was a disadvantage was actually your advantage? What if the things you thought were holding you back were actually superpowers if you only saw them that way? What if you were actually in a great position and one or two small shifts could unlock the animal inside of you? What if by flipping the success switch to on, by changing the framework on how you see things, you could unlock limitless potential income and abundance? I know, I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but this is exactly how I turned my life around. And I'm so passionate about this stuff. I discovered all of this by accident and once I got it, I made it my life's mission to teach it to others. Ultimately, I believe the idea behind the American Dream is the underdog story where anyone, no matter how poor or weak or disadvantaged or where they live, can use what they have to achieve victory. That's what this book is about. I want to teach you about the underdog advantage and how to use it in your life. There are many different parts of the underdog advantage. Here's a list of what I'll teach you in this book. Many of them are similar and some may or may not apply to you. I'm not saying this list is exhaustive either. In fact, you can probably think of more if you really tried. What I did was think of all the underdog advantages I could and then I organized them into chapters around the biggest ones, the ones that I see moving the needle towards success the most in my life and the lives of other people. Chapter one. Underdogs have nothing to lose. The privileged are expected to win. But underdogs have nothing to lose and can compete without fear of loss. Underdogs have no one to impress, no expectations to meet and nowhere to go but up, which takes all the pressure off of them. Chapter 2. Underdogs can use the power of you can't. The privileged may have already reached their goals and can struggle with remaining motivated, but underdogs can find motivation everywhere and use it to their advantage. Underdogs have desperation and heartbreak that they can use as fuel to create action. And of course, underdogs use the power of you can't motivation. There's a reason they say in sports it's the nobody believes in us phrase that empowers victory over all else. Chapter 3. Underdogs act fast and improve quickly. The privileged have to plan their actions carefully, but underdogs can take action immediately and get momentum. Underdogs can also do more of what works and less of what doesn't. Can focus on progress over perfection and don't need to worry about getting everything right. Underdogs can easily get momentum and then use it to rocket past people. Chapter 4. Underdogs are relentlessly resourceful. The privileged are always being watched and have to follow the rules. But underdogs can operate on the margins outside of view without having to get permission. They can take more risks and go after bigger problems with the knowledge that they aren't big or important enough to be stopped or restricted. Chapter 5. Underdogs can self educate. The privileged have to pretend they know everything, but underdogs can admit they don't know things. This allows underdogs to go get the help they need, use alternative learning strategies and take uncommon action to achieve their goals. Chapter 6. Underdogs don't have to care what other people think. The privileged have to make everyone happy. But underdogs don't have to be concerned with what others think. They can grow in peace because no one is watching them and they're free to fail without much consequence. Underdogs can work on themselves without distraction and because they are out of the spotlight, can see who their real friends are. Underdogs can find and utilize new ideas as well without worrying about looking weird. Chapter 7. Underdogs can turn desperation into persuasion. The privileged don't need to be especially motivated because they already have their status and their position. They aren't as hungry or desperate anymore. This might seem like an advantage, but it's not. Not because desperation is the very best fuel for persuasion. And without persuasion, nothing happens. What this book is not before we jump in, I want to be really clear about what this book is not. It's not a way to easily make money without doing anything. A quick fix, a few tips and tricks. Something to read once and forget about. I'm sure you know that, but sometimes people get a little excited and expect things that are unrealistic. I like to manage expectations and to make sure going in that you really know what this is and what you're going to get. To be clear, the underdog advantage is an entirely new way to look at your life. Especially if you feel like an underdog and haven't yet achieved what you desire out of life. I'm not going to help you recreate yourself or become someone new. I believe you already have this power in you. All I want to do is help you see it, unlock it, embrace it, and then give you the tools to get your rocket ship off the ground. I've been an underdog my entire life, and even now, when I have so much going for me, I I still feel like an underdog. In fact, I make sure to keep that underdog mindset. Why would I keep that mindset when I'm so clearly and objectively not an underdog anymore? Because that mindset is such a big advantage. Underdogs have to be innovative. They have to be creative because they don't have all the assets somebody else has. Underdogs have to be passionate to prove themselves. Underdogs are the people you never see coming. Underdogs are always underestimated. Underdogs can harness the power that comes from people telling them they can't. What if being an underdog was your gift? What if this was actually meant to be your journey? It was there to provide you the difficulties you need to sharpen your tools and become the person you needed to become. What if your problems were actually the catapult to put you above the rest? History is a great teacher of what's possible. Think about George Washington or read any history book. Look back at the people that have changed the world and have changed the legacy for their families because they didn't give in. At some point in all of our lives, we felt like no one was in our corner, that it was too hard to start the business that people have already done what you want to do that. It's the wrong timing, it's the wrong government. You come from the wrong pedigree. Your parents don't support you, your husband, your wife stands in your way. You have an underdog story. I have my own. We all feel like we're underdogs in some way, shape or form. We can use this as our anchor and say, poor me, I wasn't born with the right things. No one supports me. I don't have any money. Whether that's from your family, your financial situation, where you live, what you do for a living, your education, your supposed capabilities, knowledge and expertise, I know you felt that way. I know because I've felt that way. Hell, I still feel that way at times. Let me warn you, you might get offended by some of the ways I challenge you in this book. And I don't doubt that many of you might be going through some tough times as you read this. But when I think about people like George Washington or read stories like the ones that are coming about famous people, you know, and average people just like you who, who've used these techniques. When I read the stories in which they had so much worse things against them, it motivates me. They had so many obstacles in front of them, but they turned their disadvantages into advantages and they made an impact. And when they had the big machine against them, they won. And I want you to win. This book is the way. Now let's get started.

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