“Divorce Was the Best Thing For Us” How Dany Garcia’s Divorce to The Rock Sparked Massive Growth

I never expected that I was going to be divorced. Was it the greatest thing that ever happened for both parties? Absolutely. But the fact that that was such a core decision for me and it went wrong shook me to the core. That was the first lesson of how much what I wanted was burned. The true Danny Garcia. I'm Danny Garcia. I am founder of the Garcia Companies, co-founder and CEO of 7 Bucks Productions. Danny Garcia is Unstoppable. The one and only- Danny Garcia. Dad, kiss a ring! If someone said to me when you were young, did you believe you could own a sports league? I would say yes.

Really?

If they said, do you know what that is and how it is? I would say, I have no idea. But I could feel more. I guess inside of me, it was almost like my body was too small for what I wanted to accomplish.

I don't think I've had a conversation with any of my exes. and yet you've been able to figure out how to be a business partner and build global domination.

Because I'm badass, so you do what has to be done. I am driven to evolve and coming from nothing and having these really, really big ideas that became inherent into my process.

What is the biggest thing you learned that he taught you when you were married versus since the divorce?

Oh, he taught me a lesson that he may not have known he taught. He showed me.

I just got the chills hearing that. Wow.

You unpacked it all.

Welcome back, everyone, to School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring and powerful Danny Garcia in the house. So good to see you.

So good to see you.

Thank you for being here. I'm so glad we got to connect beforehand because when I think about you and when I see your content online, I see an extremely powerful authoritative leader in entertainment, sports and media and many other things, fashion as well. And I wasn't sure what to expect, but when I'm meeting you, I'm meeting a very kind, compassionate, loving, generous human being.

I appreciate that.

So I just wanted to acknowledge you first for your incredible success, but also your ability to be loving, kind and compassionate as well.

Well, I received that and I really appreciate that. And I do laugh because I think the comment where you're like, I didn't know what to expect. I think I hear that all the time.

Really, really.

So I maybe have to look at my content and be like, what is the message I'm saying where everyone's like, I don't know what to expect out of this woman, but I've heard that. So, yeah.

I'm curious because you have a, you've accomplished so much and been so successful in many different industries. But when you were like 8, 10, and 12, did you have this dream that you were gonna be, you know, an owner of a professional football team and owner of all these companies and building, producing these massive movies? Was that part of the dream or what was the dream when you were 8, 10, and 12?

You know, really simply when I was-- because they're actually 8, 10, and 12, and specifically 12, those are different versions of me. I would say between 8 and 10, I was recognizing and wanting to create happiness in my life and for my family. That I can look back maybe as an adult narrative and see what I was trying to do. At 12, I started to work and between 12 and 13, I decided I was going to become a millionaire so I could take care of my family. Really? So these ideas about like all the great things I wanted to accomplish actually started from 13, 14, 15. But for you know, It's as a young child being like, you know, I wish I could create more happiness in my family. You don't have any tools. You don't know what that means. You're just sort of kind of like overwhelmed and what are you thinking of? And then getting between 10 and 12 and seeing like, oh wait, when I work hard, that brings my father joy. When I work hard, it actually gives me great satisfaction. What if I worked really hard and I could create a lot of money that would take care of my entire family? So it was more that.

You went into finance for many years. Was that kind of early on when you were graduating high school, getting into college, like if I get into money, then I can become financially successful?

Well, it was really, so it was in high school, I did decide that I guess I was one of those people where I was like, you know what? International finance and marketing. I'm gonna do that 'cause the world is global. And if I have international and domestic finance marketing, I can take, you know, what are the tools I needed? I was like, what are the tools? I had already committed to the fact of creating wealth to take care of my family. So then it was in my small mind of, with the limited exposure, I'm like, okay, step one, international finance and marketing. University of Miami. Be you. Okay, actually Miami is the gateway to Latin America.

Right, right.

I started to put all these pieces together and I went into finance more so once I graduated, it was one of the opportunities. It was, I remember Kellogg's, marketing, Merrill Lynch, there are a few things and I was looking, I was still in this tool gathering phase. I was like, okay, whatever happens at Merrill Lynch, I know I can take finance with me. that information I can carry forward. But I didn't know I was going to actually end up there until I was, you know, until I was interviewing and I was that opportunity came up. And I was like, okay, I can work with that.

But you knew kind of you wanted to be in financial money.

I knew I wanted to create wealth. And I knew, okay, if you're gonna create wealth, you should really understand finances.

Wow. What was your, I mean, what was your understanding of money growing up? Did you have an understanding of it or what was your relationship to that?

Yeah, so my, not deep, my, you know, my parents were immigrants from Cuba. My father worked extremely hard and was able to have a lower middle class upbringing. But money was tight. Money was always, always tight. So my understanding was literally make more money. I didn't understand about CEOs. I didn't understand about corporate America until I got to the University of Miami. I was enrolled, obviously, in the School of Business and I started working for the dean in the Executive Education Department of the School of Business. And let me tell you, the first time I went to, I don't know if it was the CEO of Pepsi or Coke who came in to do the executive education sessions, which I was helping to put together as a student, you know, working through that college program. I was like, there it is. I was so like, oh my God, the CEO. of a major corporation. But I had, you know, my understanding was just, I know this will take care of my family. I know this can change everyone's future. I don't have any idea what it looks like. Just keep going. Go with whatever small resources you have, figure out a step, and then figure out more, and then see more, and then see more. And that's sort of what led me there. But no, it wasn't, you know, if someone said to me when you were young, For example, at 15, did you believe you could own a sports league? I would say yes.

Really?

If they said, Do you know what that is and how it is? I would say, I have no idea. But I could feel, I could always feel more. Like I could do more, if only I could do more. I want to do more. I just had this sort of, I guess inside of me, it was almost like my body was too small for what I wanted to accomplish.

I mean, you're Cuban American, right? Immigrant family, middle child, which is supposed to be kind of the peacemaker, I guess.

Yes.

Not the one like, I'm gonna go create more, but more like, let's just make sure everything's okay here.

Right. There was a lot of that though, mixed in.

I mean, when did you, how did you develop this belief in yourself that you could be a sports league owner or do anything, be a millionaire or do anything?

The less of a belief in myself and more of the fact that I would always try. I would never stop trying. So if someone said, Do you think you could do it? I would be, Yes, but not because I know I'm this great leader, but because I knew every day I would never stop. And I've been asked, ESPN had asked me on a documentary that said, you, know, what is your superpower? And it was so simple. I said, My superpower is Prower is that every day I try. It's, I try.

Where did that come from though? Was that like something that you thought.

About you or was it just something.

That you- I think it was part of the idea.

It was pretty much, it was really a feeling because the aspirations versus the reality were so great that, you know, I was either, do I put that down? No, the only thing I have is, okay, well tomorrow I'm gonna try. Tomorrow I'll try this. Tomorrow I'll try this. evolved into a philosophy of what I've done today, I will leave in the past so that tomorrow I can do greatness. Wow. And so it's so simple, right? That is try all dressed up in the Met Gala.

Right, right, right.

That comes down to keep trying, try, try. And so, yeah, that was, and I think, I think they're for almost everyone, I would say you have this too. I know you have this too. We've talked about this. There's an intangible feeling inside that we do try and put words to when we're speaking and trying to share with everyone. But when that feeling is inside, you just connect with that, and next thing you know, you are a master of trying.

Right, right. And just keep showing up.

And you keep showing up. And you keep exploring. You keep on saying, okay, whoa. You know, now that doesn't mean I wasn't emotional. That doesn't mean that my losses didn't bring me the tears.

Really?

You know, I'm like, I'll never be a bodybuilder again, or I won't be able to, no. All that humanity lives there as well, but the try never goes away.

What would you say, speaking of losses, what would you say are one or two of the biggest losses that you've faced, whether it be early in life, you know, or somewhere in the last 10 years?

I would say the, I would, I would be very frank, I would say one of the biggest losses was definitely not a loss as far as like, I'm sorry this happened, but in unexpected way, having a divorce early on.

Really?

I never expected that I was going to be divorced. Was it the greatest thing that ever happened for both parties? Absolutely. But that was such a track that I was like, I didn't anticipate that, nor was my intention that.

Well, you don't get into a marriage.

Thinking you're gonna get divorced.

Right.

You think in the long term. And so, The fact that that was such a core decision for me and it went wrong, shook me to the core and said, okay, that actually set off, that was one of the key markers that set off a massive amount of growth for me, personal growth and changed my philosophy and changed everything. Because what I decided was, okay, from that point on, and the divorce was, there was incredible dissatisfaction. So that was why it wasn't like, oh no, I'm so... I was like, wow, look at all this dissatisfaction. So that made me say, how did I get to all of these decisions? When did I move so far away from myself and the execution I wanted that I got here? And that started an entire journey which has shaped the woman I am today. It's magnificent. And then I would say the other loss It's actually personal. It was my last bodybuilding competition, which I then retired shortly afterwards. And it was my worst performance.

Really? Why do you think it was your worst performance?

It was, there were a few things happened. The size of the ladies got bigger. Well, I had not competed for about three or four years. That's the one of the, but that's actually a little bit less. It was everything around me. was not supportive of the execution I wanted. And I had put so much, it had taken me nine months, I lost 40 pounds. I was actually very ill afterwards. I thought it was going to go one way. I had three or four major events happen before the competition. And by the way, when you compete as a bodybuilder, as you know, you're being an athlete. That's the one sport where you can't actually, your body can't handle great stress because you have pulled your body fat down below four. So your body has no, like, I've never experienced that.

I don't know what that feels like.

4%. You just, you're so your body has no room. It doesn't have room for any psychological stress.

You can't, you have no patience.

You have no patience anywhere. And you physically are, your body is so taut. So anything that streams this way or that way, whether it's something in, in with your family that you have to deal with or a hurricane coming in, you have to flee orlando, those things wreck the physique. So I got there, you know, I was like, oh, I'm not thinking it's coming in. I'm trying to, you know, carb load, so my muscles are filling out, and I'm like, oh, I don't think so. And as a bodybuilder, you compete in a little thing thong bikini. Like, you know, it's enough. Remember, this is your body that's getting judged, right?

Oh, man.

So, and I had to go through, and it still had to happen, and, you know, I had I had clients coming in. I had the, you know, the CEO of Under Armour flew in specifically to see me.

What year is this?

It was, I think it was 2018.

Oh man, so you're crushing business.

Crushing business.

You've got a million problems in businesses.

Yes, I have to face. And massive movie release is a success. And I walk on there and I come in 15th. And not only come in 15th, I knew as soon as I got into the room and saw my competitors, I'm like, Darn, I've already lost.

Oh, no.

So before you start, because once you have a size difference, you know, I knew I was going to go through the whole process, but I had already lost by the time I stepped in the room.

There was nothing you could do on stage to win.

Nothing, nothing. You win before you ever get to the show. Oh, my God. And that means I had lost before I ever got to the show. So if that doesn't unpack a book of, like, lessons.

Wow. How did you-- now, I'm fascinated by this. When you-- I mean, when you walk into that arena, backstage or in the locker room or wherever this is, and you start seeing one by one, the other competitors, you know, get undressed, start doing the pump up, whatever it is, and you're like, that looks a little different than me right now. What is your inner voice and inner coach or critic saying? And how did you manage to get through to the end without completely falling apart.

So I do have that thing where it goes, this is what it is. Like it goes, game face, click.

Even when you knew that.

Even when I knew I had already lost, right? I was like, click, and here we go. And you just compartmentalize and it's like the execution has to happen and I execute all the way through, all the way through. Good health there, all the way through, finished, got 15th, went out to see, I think we had like, I don't know, 18 people who had come to support me. It was so beautiful. Carry that in me until I can be done because the love was there and the support was there and oh, you know, my husband, my daughter Simone running to hug me, it was so beautiful. And then wait because the cleanup, I have to unpack the failure I lost before I got there. That is again another moment where a pure intention was completely off.

Yes.

I mean, that is huge. So yeah, you know, and because I'm a badass, so you do what has to be done.

Wow. So what are you saying to yourself on stage as you're going out knowing I've already lost or you've already decided that? What is your, How do you go out there still with pride, with courage, with confidence, and say, I'm gonna give my best?

You know what? At that point, I still have things to do. I have to hit my poses. I can have, so it goes to victory. Your victory changes, right? And now your victory moments are in the steps, the executions. Did I hit that pose? Okay, good. Move to the second pose. Okay, go around and hit the back pose. All right, have presence, okay? You're in the call out, stay full. You have so many things you still have to do because you know the getting, even I have been blessed to get first place and overall championship, and that's a moment. It's just one moment. You still have the dignity to make all those other moments that are, that matter, that matter, they matter to you. And so I went into let me win, every personal moment I have until I'm done. That's beautiful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The whole idea of, you know, 12, 13, 14, like, the idea, I'm just gonna keep trying.

Yeah. Stayed with you. Stayed with it. Exactly.

You didn't say, well, I'm gonna give up and stop trying now. Yeah. Even though you knew you weren't gonna win. And I think that's a, that's a powerful lesson that came from that, that loss. And I, and I always look at losses as opportunities for growth and, and wisdom, you know, but. That's beautiful lessons there. I'm curious about the divorce. What was the biggest lessons that came out of that? And I know it was that it's not something you wanted to happen. And I'm assuming they had a lot of pain and loss and grief and things like that. But what were the two or three biggest lessons that came out of just that whole experience?

I would say the, that was the first lesson of, sort of a discovery of how much what I wanted was buried. Like the true Danny Garcia, how buried it was in narratives of, you,'re supposed to be like this, and this is who you should be, and this is what you want, and this is, you know, and you're pleasing, and you know, it's not surprising, obviously I'm Gen X, and Latina. It's not surprising that there's pressure Success looks like having a stable marriage. Being married is success, right? All of those male elements are meant to be success. I started the process of saying, what is my success? What gives me great joy? You know, how did I not show up and who was filling in all these spaces inside of me? And were they filling those spaces inside me because I didn't believe I could fill those spaces?

Wow.

So that lesson stays every day. That lesson is today, tomorrow. That lesson is why in my marriage now with my amazing husband, I am fully myself and he is fully himself. So that was very, very, very powerful.

Wow, that's beautiful. What would you say the things that you were neglecting for yourself?

Yeah.

Or that maybe you weren't voicing or that you weren't able to step into?

The first thing was a lack of understanding that with my success, others succeed. My definition of success would be other people succeeding. And then I guess I'll succeed. They'll take care of me. It was flipping that to say, no, my success ultimately will be the success for those around me who care and believe and love me. So that's a great, great understanding. There's a whole codependency thing in there that's probably very middle child in my upbringing. That's another chapter that everyone can know about. And the third thing I would say, I would say the third thing would be getting comfortable with me specifically, individual, not as part of a family, not as part of a couple, not as part of something else. Which is a lesson I should have had, you didn't recognize, but if you look at myself as a youth, you always had that narrative that I had maybe one friend or one or two close friends. I spent a lot of time by myself. I was never one who fit into a crowd. So if I wasn't one who fit into a crowd, maybe the crowd was wrong, not me. Interesting. And that's where those conversations started. Wow. All of that, not that they're wrong people, but maybe- Were right for you. -It wasn't right for you. -And all of a sudden, right for me was a concept. Never, by the way, no one ever said, Hey, now I teach that to my daughter every day. Right for you is the win, but never was that a concept.

That's interesting.

That was me.

With my fiance Martha, who I was telling you about beforehand, as we started dating, and before we got committed exclusively, we were dating for many months. And I said, okay, I wanna take this forward. I have a vision of us being together and I wanna move forward in this relationship. But I said, there's only one condition. And it's the condition that I neglected in the previous five relationships in my life. And I lacked the tools. You talk about the tools. Right. What are the tools that you're learning? I lacked the tools beforehand, so it was never anyone else's fault, my responsibility. I said the one condition is, if this is who you're showing me that you are, if this is who you are that I've seen, or at least 90% of who you are, you know, I'm not gonna know all of you in a few months, but if this is most of who you are, then I'm choosing to fully accept you as you are, as your career choices, and she's an actress, so she's doing make out scenes sometimes or whatever. I'm not gonna change your life or your decisions or who you are. I'm gonna choose to accept you, but you have to choose to accept me. Because in all my previous relationships, I changed myself to try to please others. And you mentioned people pleasing, and I had this tendency to wanna please others, to make them happy and not stress people out. And I was just like, I'm done doing that. I'm done trying to fit into those crowds. Not that they were wrong people, but they were wrong for me.

Absolutely.

And that has given me so much peace and harmony.

Totally.

Stepping into who I am. and accepting myself and being around others who accept me for who I am and vice versa.

Absolutely.

It sounds like that was something that you did as well, is you were, I'm gonna step into me, all of me, and make sure I'm accepting myself and with people that accept it.

Absolutely. But I will say what you just articulated, oh, you did it so much better. And I wanna, I gotta acknowledge that, I'm so glad, and maybe you should share that, but man, I'm so glad that gem came out of you in our podcast. That was so beautifully said. and so fair to your partner to say this agreement. It's such a, you know, it's like marriage vows at that moment where you're like, We're formalizing this. And I do know myself. And so I'm respectfully asking you as well to agree to this.

100%. Well, I lacked the courage in my 20s and early 30s, you know, so I met her around 38-39 I guess. So it's, I had to, Learn tools through pain, through sadness and suffering.

That was a great tool though.

It was really a beautiful tool. But what you said through your divorce, it sounded like it was the biggest devastation at the time and you never expected it. So you're breaking an expectation, which is a shock to the system, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, physically, all these different things. Whenever we have an expectation that is not fulfilled, But it sounds to me like the lessons and the wisdom that have come after that, you wouldn't trade.

Oh, I wouldn't trade. And I have an incredible business partner because of that journey. You know, I have, we are individuals who are, we can't even say we're anything similar. We have been reborn time and time again. We're almost like a new universe. So absolutely. And you know, there is no, you cannot build to where you are today without destroying what's in the past, right? And the today, I could leave this world tomorrow and be grateful for every moment because of the people who are in my life today.

Wow.

Because of that. Wow.

Now this is the thing that fascinates me. I don't think I've had a conversation with any of my exes And yet, you've been able to figure out how to be a business partner and build global domination with yours.

Which I do love that word, by the way.

But I mean, for people, and I'm not saying I'd ever want to have a relationship with my exes or whatever, something like that, but how are you able to transform a relationship that once is and then no longer is into something what seems to be way more powerful For both of you.

The, you know, the interesting, the mechanics that lie within this process, I would say most likely are mechanics you're using everywhere else. The only difference is the subject matter is two individuals who are together, who are now divorced, which makes it even more, you know, it does add the story of a, oh my God, narrative. But if you were to strip the marriage portion and you had two individuals who had a certain relationship and then said, but we want to build something more together, How are we going to be there? We have done things here, you know, we are interacting in a way that is not feasible for a future. Because for some people, they should say, ¡Hasta la vista! Like, that's beautiful. That is the right choice. It just so happened, this story is always about making a choice for what your future can look like. Right. And then doing everything possible. you know, then you add on, okay, now let's, where did that land? It happened to land with two individuals who are married and were now divorced. And it does begin to make sense, you know, so there is the commitment to discussion, the commitment to being different people. There is the absolutely vital commitment, the support of my husband, Dave Rienzi, the support of his wife, Lauren Hashian, to say, yes, we Support this. We, because we don't do things like that.

That's like, how do you get over these egos and your emotions?

That's the magic. Fascinating. Yes, we did the work. Dwayne and I did the work. But the truth is, the magic is our spouses.

Wow.

Fascinating. Because without their support, none of this would happen.

I want to ask you about the support of them, because I know this wouldn't be where it is without them.

Absolutely.

And they are probably just as instrumental as you both, obviously.

Absolutely.

First off, do you think if you would have stayed married, you'd be able to create the wisdom and the skills you have now? You'd be able to develop that in a marriage too before?

I think so.

And build the success you have now? Or did you need to separate?

Okay, so you can't even imagine staying married. So that's a hard question. And I would say my partner would also definitely say that. So that's a hard question. So let me, If I jump back to that, I think I look for lessons everywhere. I could stare at this cup and be like, okay, that's all I have for today. The School of Greatness. And this, what does this make me think of? Like, I am driven to evolve and be, I have a very simple understanding. If what I aspire to experience or live is not in front of me today, I am not the person for that aspiration or experience. That means I need to evolve. And coming from nothing and having these really, really big ideas that became inherent into my process. So I do think, I do believe in myself that I would have created an empire that is vast. It may have different names attached to it, but that drive and that try in front of me, inside of me, yeah, I believe in it.

What do you think of the the tools that unlocked inside of you after the, you know, that, that new you came out after the course. What were the things that were born from that?

Well, definitely never again. Always a good never again. I feel like a healthy never again. Really healthy.

Good boundaries.

You know what? Never again. I also, I have to mention that at that time, one of my, my best friend, one of the greatest women i've ever known, came into my life specifically because I was looking to evolve. And she came in as a life coach and a healer. And we began this journey where we weren't best friends. We were close. And she was wonderful to now, you know, 16 years, 18 years later. Wow. The best friend of my life.

She was more a coach teacher for you.

Yes, she was. She specifically came in and was like, Look, I need to talk to someone. I do not have any of these tools. And she had tools and beyond, and also is my soul sister.

Wow.

So what was unlocked was there was never an idea of therapy or, and you know, that's not very Gen X too. So even growing up, there wasn't this help books.

I remember the first- It wasn't talk about your problems.

It wasn't talked about, wasn't any of that. It was, I mean, I experienced this improving yourself from Merrill Lynch where they would send their brokers to these incredible training schools. And I was like, all of a sudden reading Carnegie Mellon and, you know, and I was like, oh, I was learning all these techniques, so I didn't have access. So what opened up for me was that there was a wealth of knowledge and information that I could put my trying to. I didn't have to be frustrated. And I happened to have a wonderful, wonderful woman who was helping me and guiding me and working with me weekly and unpacking. And I started to get the tools. And as soon as I got the tools, I became voracious. because this I could control. I couldn't control so many of the things out there, but I could control who I was every day. I could invest, invest, invest, self-investment. This is powerful.

I don't think I've ever heard you talk like this in other interviews, so I'm just getting really excited that you're saying this.

I do want to say, I am saying the words that I've never said before. So we are talking about things I haven't talked about.

I love this.

It's really delightful.

I've heard you mention tools probably seven times now throughout this conversation. If you could go back to, 13 year old Danny, and you could only give yourself three tools. Of all the things that you've learned from 13 till now. Yeah. Personally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, that you wish you had then.

Yeah.

And that you wish all young women had. Right. What three tools would those be?

I would definitely, I would give, I guess some advice slash tool, but I would definitely say, your uniqueness is the gift of the future. Don't spend another minute worrying about it, being anxious about it, worrying that you don't have more friends, you don't fit, don't worry about any of that. Because it would have quieted my mind and that means more of my mind would have gone into creation and creativity. What do I want to do? And what is this idea? And I would have, started doing at a much earlier age, things that I started doing later in life.

But did you have more like anxiety around that?

Yeah, it was more like, who am I? Yeah, I was 30. I literally, you know, it's always difficult to be very aware as a young person. So being very aware but not having context can be powerful. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking, oh, all these incredible aspirations I hadn't wanted to, you know, build companies and be out there and have these and be influential and guide people and looking in the mirror and being like, okay, this is what I got. I was a very awkward young 13-year-old, like, I saw photos.

Yeah, yeah.

We were both awkward. Don't worry. I was like, we're awkward. And I was like, all right, this is what I got. All right, all right. That's all right. 'Cause I've got a great personality. I'm really smart, you know, so. But that you still, I still carried that. So that means I carried a fake Hurdle, right? A fake obstacle in my head. So if I could have removed that, it could have moved so much faster.

Interesting. Okay, so that's the first thing.

That's the first thing.

Weakness is the gift of your future.

The gift to your future.

Beautiful. Right.

Do not look at it with any other lens than that. The second thing I would say to myself, again, this is a little bit more advice, is read everything you can. and understand that not all of it is for you, right? So gather, gather information. We've talked about it a little bit. When individuals who are not experiencing your life write books on how to do things, they have a whole set of different rules. And those rules actually matter if you don't, but won't apply to you. So gather the information, gather the tools. And mind you, if you're not have, if you don't have these fake obstacles, you're gonna have a little bit more space to have agency and be like, oh yeah, okay, I like that. I'm gonna put these pieces together. So I would definitely, I would have, there's so much in this that is about self-investment. And then the third thing I would say is have greater discipline towards your goals. Right? And I would even translate that. Create the discipline of making yourself the most important thing in your life. Which could sound, it could, right? Catholic, that doesn't sound good, can sound very vain, can sound all these things. It's a dangerous lesson, right? Make yourself the most important thing in your life.

What would that have looked like for you in your teens, early 20s, instead of the path you took?

Yeah, I would have, it would have, I would have studied harder. So, because I did wanna go to Georgetown, I didn't have people around me who were like, Hey, by the way, is what you got to do. You should be studying. You should be doing this. My family was like, We have a roof over your head. Go to school. Come home. Do chores. Don't do bad things. And it was, so there was so much to what I wanted to accomplish that I didn't have the basic tools of discipline to get to. I had great discipline when it came to work, like I said, I started working at 12, I never stopped and doing a great job, but carrying that over to myself, discipline for my, for that benefit, Danny Garcia, because even when I worked, I was working at a barn, that discipline was so that the barn was taken care of, so the horses were taken care of, so the, you know, Mr. Blanchard who owned the barn would come in and be like, whoa, look at how clean this is. And the horse was taken care of. but it wasn't applied to me.

Really? So what would you not do for yourself that you did for others?

For everyone, prioritize myself, prioritize my goals, prioritize my happiness, explore what makes me happy, recognize that I'm uncomfortable. That may be a problem. You know, just the continuous, like, how are you feeling? What do you want? Are you today, when you got up today, did you do the things that led you closer to what you want to have happen? Or did you do the things that led someone else closer to what they want to happen?

Interesting.

And most of the time it was that.

Really?

It was the latter. Yeah.

When was the moment?

After my divorce.

That's the moment.

That started the whole thing. That started it and then it became very, very, very good. When I said, when my husband, or he was my boyfriend at the time, said, Hey, there's a new division in bodybuilding. It's called Women's Physique. You should do it. I said, Yes.

Well, then you had like goals for yourself.

Well, I had wanted to be a bodybuilder since I was 13. Really? And I didn't start until I was 42.

Come on.

No, no. Wow, that's amazing. I know. So that was, so it started there when I said, okay, yes, I will do that.

Wow. So you, wow. So I'm 41.

So you're saying there might be something next year for me that I could step into. I turned pro when I was 44. That's incredible.

Became a pro. Yeah. what did those first, I guess, few years of really going, I'm going all in on this passion. I don't know if you call it a passion project, but a passion for your life that you had for you. What did you learn about yourself as you started to apply that discipline towards bodybuilding and going after that, that dream?

I am. Well, I first, Sports, like you, sports has been one of the greatest lessons in my life, right? As athlete in high school and athlete in college and then that gap until I could start competing again, I learned first of all that I won't die. And especially with my husband training, there was points where he was training me where I was like, I'm gonna die. He's like, you,'re not gonna die. I learned how incredibly strong I was physically. And when you diet for nine months, my first competition, I lost 50 pounds. When you diet for nine- 50, you lost. 50 pounds. When you diet for nine months straight, you're like, I can do anything, anything. And that process also, and it's so funny because I started in 40 and I, it's like you learn a lesson, but you almost relearn the lesson, the power of the lesson. Like the first time you were like, oh yeah, that's a good lesson. But then as you start to get clearer and involved, you're like, oh my gosh, the power of that lesson. So that first competition, not only did I see the extraordinary discipline I had, But also, I was a full CEO at that time. I did have, I had a production.

I had multiple lots of responsibilities.

I also started to put the structure around my life so I could do both. So I had to start saying no to that, hey, put in systems in place. Basically what I, people have heard me say that I began to remove the people and the elements that would force me to eat chocolate cake. Because you cannot, you can't eat any of that. You can't have a wine, you can't unwind with wine, you can't unwind with food. You can't. So that means you begin to recognize all this friction around you that has been numbed by the food you eat, just not paying attention to it, not being so each competition made me very, very aware. And that started to put the idea that, wow, if it's maybe if it is only all for me, everything gets better because every time I would come out of competition, you would see this massive escalation in growth in the portfolio. Really? One correlation. Because I would get so disciplined and sharp and also training would become a very, it would become a deep philosophical experience. I would get all these lessons coming through the process. I'm like, oh, got that, got that. So I would come out sharper, clearer, all the individuals or the people, the processes that created friction were gone. and I could just lead and I would, you would see the company, I mean almost 1-2-1, it was like boom after, even after my loss, which I do think is closer 2019 XFL. You know, it's like, right afterwards.

Right.

That was the, in fact, I was like, I purchased XFL, I was like, you know what? I'm retired from bodybuilding because this is such a huge enormity. I had to put all my physical strength into launching this. But yeah.

Do you feel like because you put, when you were in the bodybuilding season of life, because it's such a demanding schedule of every decision has to be scheduled, structured, measured.

Yeah.

And you've got to create parameters around your life. Sleep, when you wake up, when you train, that the window of time you have to make decisions in business shrinks.

Right.

So do you feel like because it shrank and you didn't have all this time to be like, I can take on more, you just said, no, that doesn't work for the vision I'm going. So I'm saying no to all these things and just focusing in on these few things.

I think that's an, first of all, I think it's an excellent interpretation and I love that you're interpreting it that way because I've never interpreted it that way. So it's, you know, I don't want to be like, yeah, no, I want to say what you just said, I can look at this history and be like, Yes, that's exactly what's, you took the, you just took the phrase of not chocolate cake and elevated it eloquently and beautifully. But no, that is exactly the, it's amazing how you have to have sharp points in your life to maintain the discipline of sharp focus. Because there was no, this is the other thing when you diet, your emotionality begins to decrease. Oh man. You're not soft and warm and fuzzy. and that sharpness actually aids in the distance. So something might have been like, oh, well, we'll see. Drag along. Maybe, maybe you're like, no, yes, no, and then Clarity.

Yeah, it's easier to say yes and no.

Clarity.

That is fascinating.

Yeah, but that was beautifully said.

Oh, yeah. Well, I'm just. I'm just picking up what you're sharing here. I talked to Phil Heath earlier today.

You spoke to Phil Heath?

Yeah, we've had him on the show. The Gift. And the Gift, man, that guy's talented. And, 'cause I know you guys have a relationship and he's been working with.

You for many years.

That's a great guy. You guys did a, I still haven't.

Seen it yet, but the documentary movie about him. Enjoying him.

I'm excited because he's- He's breaking Olympia. He's a machine. He is a machine.

But he had some beautiful things to say about you. And I'm gonna ask one of his.

Questions that he asked me to ask you. Oh my gosh. I'm gonna wait till later to ask this. Okay. But he said that a lot of people see your success, but he said that public facing, he doesn't think they see your heart as much the way he sees it behind the scenes and how amazing you are and how inspiring you are in so many ways and supportive and just there for him, right, and his vision as well. I'm curious, how have you taken your heart into business? Again, you have so many different Companies in your portfolio, how have you learned to bring that as well? Because you do bring a sharpness and an authoritative power to your businesses and your company and your brand. But how do you also bring the heart to it?

That's a great question. That is, what a great observation from the gift. The gift. The gift. By the way, I've always wanted a nickname. I don't have one.

Oh, we gotta come up with one.

I was like, man, I wish I knew the UFL, my CEO of the UFL, I like to call me magic because I can pull things out.

All right, all right.

But yeah, the gift. You know, my heart hasn't actually, the beginning, if I look back, especially in the last, let's say, 14 years, there wasn't a lot of room for heart with the execution externally. But my execution internally in the strategy, for example, even architecting around DJ as IP, right? Looking at him, which was a new business model I'd created where he was the IP. That was all heart. My million, like I have to create a million, was all heart. It was so I could take care of my family.

Wow.

The space to have heart, targeting external partners, probably not there. But one of the reasons I was so, and I still am today, DJ and I were having this conversation, about what's created around him was because I wanted to make sure that wherever he went in life, if he wanted to stop making a film, he had capital structure all around him.

What do you mean by that?

That means that he had, he could fall back into anything.

He had his businesses, his investments, his equity.

He would never be that person.

He didn't have to work to make money.

Exactly. He would have something as a legacy for himself, for whatever choice he wanted. his children, his wife, total freedom. I know what this business is like. I know what wrestling can be like and what happens. And so I was like, and that was all, that was my love language, right? My love language is, can I create enterprise and can I create your future? And with Phil, it's so funny that, and Cherie, my approach around anyone I worked with was always, okay, can I, yes, I'm going to support you and you mean, and this industry or whatever talent you're gonna do, it's going to be hard. But I'm gonna take the fiduciary responsibility of, can I create something around you so you are taken care of? So that became, that's sort of how my heart is automatically in strategy as time has gone on.

That's beautiful.

Thank you.

So the intention, your heart was the intention.

Always.

And the analytical driven you was the executing. Right.

Because the, let's say the environment I was in, you, Leap With Heart, they're like, what'd you talk about? I was like, let me just What it here? I have over, you know, and over time, and especially as I have created, you know, I'm very, very fortunate that my C-suite at the Garcia Companies, the incredible female executives, my Sky Blue team, you can see my beautiful glasses.

Yeah, they're awesome. Heart.

So I have now areas that where we drive and we build and we grow from heart, who they are, and the investment I make in my C-suite executives will always be more important to me than what happens at the end of our balance sheet.

Right.

You know, that is the journey. And it's maybe because I'm very confident about what's gonna happen, but I know that how they live their lives when they're with me is the most important thing. So that is when I buy the purchase with the XFL, ZOA, Even GSDQ, every company now has an ultimate purpose. The XFL was to unleash the dreams that football makes possible. And as I've gotten more agency and success, I can be very clear about saying any execution we have, we start with a fiduciary responsibility. And that responsibility is to our team. If it's the UFL, our athletes, my coaches, my partners, my consumers. And let me tell you, that takes your to-do list from three to 2,000. Right. But it cannot be any other way for me. So that is where now I get to lead more with heart.

This is beautiful.

But heart only gets discussed when people ask me about heart. Usually they just wanna know, can you tell me about the little thing, right? So yes, it's everything.

You mentioned that all your businesses and Investments have an ultimate purpose. Yes. What would you say is the ultimate.

Purpose of you currently? I would say my ultimate purpose, it was such a good one. I was gonna, I always have to share the one for the Garcia company. Cause I'm so proud of it. Which is that we invest to inspire and my chief brand officer created it and she's here. She's, it's one, no one has beaten those three words just yet. Um, but I am, I have always been here early on, you, you mentioned something. So I think you relate to this. I'm here to advance the human experience. I'm here so that anything I create and touch, and this goes back to that young girl being like, okay, money, money off my family. They probably needed other things, loving, caring, you know, therapy, whatever it was. But it, it, it all so that if I brush against you or you brush against my companies or my athletes or my tequila or drink my Zoa, that afterwards you have something more. I can't take, I will never take for granted that we had an interaction and you consumed or felt or had something of mine that I created and it should be like, okay, how can the other, how can your consumer not be sacred? Like, there's, unless you're just making widgets, which I don't, you agree immediately to have a relationship with the person on the other side of that transaction. That's how I look at business, that I'm having a relationship with this person. And that's sacred. And maybe because I didn't have a lot of relationships when I was young, I don't know, but I know that that's sacred. And I know that if I can impact someone and because of a little brush with me, they have something more or had an experience that was delightful, that's a life well lived.

Yeah. I'm grateful for this brush with you right now. this idea of fiduciary responsibility that you have with all of your businesses.

Yeah.

Can I ask you about how people can understand money differently?

Sure.

Because you grew up, you know, lower middle class, let's say, in your words. Then you went to school, you learned some in school, but then you went on to be in the financial services.

Had massive debt.

Yeah, right.

Made 18,000 a year. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I sold all my CDs. to pay bills.

Right? I mean, you're up and down financially until you really started to learn and hit your stride. But now you've created an incredible amount of financial abundance for yourself.

Correct.

How can someone, maybe a young woman in her career right now watching or listening or a young man, have a different relationship with money based on the knowledge that you have and the experience you've had from where you were in your 20s and 30s to where you are now financially? What is your relationship with money? And how did you start to look at it in a way where you could manifest, create, attract more of it to you? What was the process for alchemizing financial abundance more for you?

Great. I think it's an excellent question. And I think it's really interesting now for, you know, millennials and Gen Z who have sort of a different relationship with wealth and money. and almost starting, I think it's actually safer for them to now look at that relationship because they're starting from a place of like, hey, life balance and I need to have happiness. And soon they're gonna be like, oh wait, but I maybe should have. I might need financial. But to be so grounded in balance and quality of life first as compared to, you know, my generation, the generation before me where it was like, it is about the dollars and who knows what the hell is happening at home. this is a safe space. And so when I talk about a fiduciary responsibility, you can almost apply that. You can apply that to yourself, right? A fiduciary responsibility first of all requires agency and it requires a commitment to what's right and what's wrong, but also what's really of value, right? So if now these individuals, and we'll look at these two generations and they begin to look at money in one way, they can start with the small steps. And we didn't have credit cards that would take two cents and five cents and invest it, right? You can still be comfortable with interacting or deciding how to build wealth without the shame of what it's going to turn you into. And if you start with that, the great thing, so now we're talking about simple investing. The great thing is, you know, $10 a month, $20 a month, $50 a month, automated, your life has changed. Now let's talk about big things, though. What I did believe in, and I would say the big change came for me, is when I understood that wealth can be symptomatic.

What do you mean by that?

What that mean is that I can start with an ultimate purpose, which creates guide rails and guidelines for people to operate in. I could then put best systems in place of having smart people who understand finances, you know, sticking to P&Ls, paying attention to all those things. But having this ultimate purpose of the why of what we were doing all of a sudden made the connection with the consumer, the connection with the partners who were creating whatever we were creating, it's almost like it elevated the attractor pattern, the energy vibration, and the success became, the financial portion became symptomatic. I didn't look at, and this is very, very rare. Most people look at business plans, they will create how many spreadsheets? I'm sure you've seen them over and over and over. Nothing has happened and you'll be like, you know, we'll bump this up, we'll take this down. Okay, look, we'll go cash flow positive in three years.

We'll project this, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nothing has happened. You have not done one thing. You're literally doing things to make yourself feel comfortable to get started, right? If you start with all of these tenets about who, first of all, you're going to have a relationship with the consumer, you're going to honor that relationship. What comes next? What is the ultimate purpose? You begin to put pieces in place. What I have found is that the steps flow and the connection happens. So I decided that yes, I will always honor a P&L and I will honor the best practices, but I will overlay on top of it the way I want business to be run, how I want it to feel. Moving it away from the story of, the ruthless capitalism, and we're driving for the dollars, and this is war, and it's just putting that all away and approaching it with heart. And so I think there's not enough examples. I actually, I would say, I absolutely know there's not enough examples for young people to say, well, I can achieve that and be human. I can achieve that and care about the people around me. I can achieve that and actually be really, really, really proud. I hope that I get to represent capitalism that's evolved. You know, my execution should create full sustainability. And that's, I would say, as you and I talked about, what's the next step? The next step is business models where there is full sustainability on the execution. You know, we have a restaurant that sells fish and then we, you know, we support all the fishermen and then we, you know, it's just like, what is that full, full? and those are our clients. And, you know, how taking that very simplistic model and actually applying it to everything. So I maybe, I haven't given one advice. I've given a philosophical viewpoint, but to open your mind to say, okay, the journey to money can begin from a whole different platform, I think changes so much of the friction.

You, there was a word that you added in this conversation and you said shame.

Mm-.

Did you ever feel shameful about not having money, about having money, or was that ever a part of the journey that you had to overcome?

The, you know, I, I didn't have access. I knew, so I knew my parents were working very hard. I didn't have access to sort of what the balance sheets were until I was, I remember I was in high school and then I came across my dad's checkbook.

Sure.

And, and I saw that it must have been either a second mortgage because he was able to go negative in the checkbook. And then he would come up once he had his paycheck. And that's when I was like, okay, where is anyone living to this reality? Is he the only one carrying this reality? Is he the only one who's actually in charge of this family with three kids who knows this? Actually, I kept to tell, I'm glad you asked me. This is a huge turning point in my life, really, when I saw this responsibility.

Wow.

That he carried. It is, I had forgotten that it was so pivotal. It is one of the reasons why I was like, I will always work and I will be completely accountable to myself and I will never put on my partner this responsibility of being it. And actually, as a business partner, I take on a lot of this fiduciary. It probably stems from that moment where I was like, okay, I am never going to create a system where one thing is dependent upon one person and they have to carry. this entire weight. What life is that? So I would say that was the shame moment. The shame because I didn't know the shame that that was the execution, the idea. And I didn't have a conversation with my dad about it. So, you know, he could be like, Hey, no, this is actually very strategic. Sure, sure. But in my mind, he was the only one who was carrying the responsibility of family with awareness and knowing what the balance sheet looked like.

Wild. That's interesting. I'm so fascinated by all this wisdom you have. You had mentioned something a little earlier about, I don't know if this is a nickname for you, but being the mastermind really behind DJ as IP, not just as a, I guess, a personality or, you know, in the WWE or movie star or whatever, but as IP, where did that vision come from? And how did you learn to execute it without having prior experience in building someone as IP?

Well, it came from a few things. One of the, the WWE, one of the things that, or they were WWF at that time, converting WWE, one of the great things they do is they know how to take talent and then they license the heck out of talent. So, you know, Dwayne was very successful in the WWE, continues to be. And then at the same time, I was deep within Merrill Lynch. So I was looking at balance sheets, I was looking at all these corporations, and I saw this gap. I was like, first of all, why can't the professionalism that lives within a corporate structure apply to someone? And specifically, it can't apply to everyone. You have to be a very specific talent because you could have worked your butt off. Apply to an individual. who consumers have already, they're used to seeing, and they're used to consuming. They buy his dolls, they buy all his things, they buy tickets. It's not like an actor, it's very hard when an actor, and Phil tries to turn into something where they're monetizing outside of a film. That's what you do as like a step down, and that's a really hard bridge. But Dwayne, within the WWE, was in your home five times a week, four or five times, in your kitchen with your kids, etc. between all the shows. So that connectivity was so, so personal and tight, which is, again, another challenge actors have because you see them in film different now today because you can stream them. But back then, so as I was, I was always involved in his career and he started to transition a little bit more. He was, you know, doing more things in Hollywood, which was, it was so appropriate. I started having this conversation with his agents, and his agents would come back to me and say, you know, there's only so many spokes in the wheel. And I would say, I don't think so. I think I would like to do this, but I was hitting so much resistance. So we had to move to find the right people. And when we found the right agency, I was able to clearly articulate, I want this around him, this around him, this around him, this around this. Dwayne is one of a kind, and he is so consumable on so many different levels. doesn't look like anyone else. He has this incredible personality. Let's begin to build this team.

Wow.

And Dwayne is, I think what I said, you know, Dwayne is like the iPhone, right? He is that. And we're gonna bring all these elements around him. And it was the first time that was done. And WME did a fantastic job of letting me push in delivering the best that they're like, okay, do you think it's this? Do you think it's that? Do you think it's this? and we were able to start executing. And now it's a model that hundreds, and I mean, talent goes into agencies expecting to do this. Wow. So yeah, I'm really, really, really proud that I was able to sort of, it was a white space, right? It was happening here, but not happening there with individuals. And then you overlay social media with that, where now You have an absence of maybe Dwayne not being on your TV and in your house five times a week, but he was on your phone. And you, and now, yeah, that's the social media. Activity. So we, yeah, it was just starting.

This is like 2008, 2009 around there, right?

It was right after he and I divorced and he asked me to take over and it just started, it just started taking it. So I had that tool.

Wow.

And he loves connecting with fans. That's another thing. So you have to be a very specific type of person.

But you weren't that. the Danny Garcia that you are now, you know, 14 years ago.

Right.

Right. Or 16 years ago, you weren't like the authority figure.

I mean, you were, were like, I.

Was like, obviously, but no, they were like, powerhouse.

Yes, that's true.

Like with all the answers and all the success, they were like, what do you mean? You can't do these things.

Right.

So how did you enroll a massive agency, agencies, production companies, business leaders in this vision that had never been done before? How did you?

Yeah.

Danny Garcia, 16 years ago, enrolled people from that place without all the experience you have now.

Because the vision was true. Once I articulated it, and I'm like, Here is this individual. Look at what we've done. And I started to put the pieces together. But you had to have the right people. Once I had the right people, they were like, I see what you're saying. They didn't need to know how to do it. They just knew that I knew how to do it. And they believed in me. And, which is funny because I was very similar to the XFL where I was the one speaking to the vision of the XFL, to Fox, to Disney, to TNT. It was, we did those calls and I would be speaking to this vision and then we were able to get the buy-in. So that's finding the right partners. and then, you know, I happen to have that Dwayne is IP. Dwayne Johnson is one in a lifetime. I mean, the amount of work and the tenacity and his, his appetite for more and greatness and his number one commitment, which was to always the audience. It was, it was a perfect, perfect. Yeah. And we, you know, we became a case study.

Did a few things. You know, you did a few things.

And we're a case studies, so I'm really excited.

What is the thing, what is the two questions here? What is the biggest thing you learned that he taught you when you were married versus the biggest thing you've learned from him since the divorce?

The, those are great. I have the before, let's see. Okay, so I have the after. Let me jump to the before. I would say the before was Oh, he taught me a lesson that he may not have known he taught me. So this would be nice. He may not have also listened to this. He showed me, he showed me the magic that lives between being human and being spectacular. So if he would go back to the 90s and, you know, DJ, when he first came out, some difficulty, they put him as a baby face. It wasn't working. Then he turned heel, then he turned into the rock. And then he would go out and then he would hit that ring. And the difference between here and here, when he threw his arm up and he was performing, was electrifying. I had not witnessed that. And to be able to witness that up close, that there is a sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th year in a human being. is an incredible scientific experiment to not only witness. And so, I saw that and I was like, oh yeah, magic is real. You know, it was just like amazing. And people have seen it over and over again, you know, when, you know, he'll go and his music hits and it's just like amazing. And the audience goes crazy. So he taught me that. And I was like, that is, you know, it was an honor to witness and to witness up close. Right? Because if you didn't know Dwayne, you're just seeing it. You're like, wow, that guy's amazing. But if you're with Dwayne and you see how he is normally, which is.

He's a human being.

He's a human being. Incredible high EQ, highly personable, really charming, but that difference, you can't appreciate that difference. So I thought that was like, that's amazing. And then the second thing is, he always would say, Protect the thing that allows you to do only what you can do. And I think it might say it a few times, but it was basically protect the thing that allows you to do what you do every day. That one thing that only you can do, protect that thing. And those were two like, they're very, very excellent.

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. I hear him talking about you often. You know, in his content, he seems like he's always referencing you as the, co-owner, the leader, the executive, the, you know, all these different things, the visionary, the mastermind behind the brands, the business, all these different things. What do you think, if you had to guess, would be the biggest lesson you've taught him?

-Oh, okay.

-Because he has such high, it seems like he has such an act.

-Right.

-He shows such high respect for you.

-He is a user of such high.

Appreciation and gratitude and love in a--.

Gosh, I could not take that leap. So when he thinks he would be like, Don't do that. You would have to ask Dwayne. All right, I'll ask him one day.

I'll ask him.

He's truly a scholar and he absorbs so much information from leaders. I'd be really curious to know.

I'll ask him.

I'll ask him.

I'm curious about, and by the way, I told you before we started that I probably wouldn't ask you any of the questions that I had prepared. And I haven't looked at one yet because I'm just, one question leads to the next one. But this has been beautiful. I've got a few more questions for you, if that's okay. You know, you talk about support system and having the right people in your life. And when you have the right people in your life, you can do extraordinary things.

That's correct.

Your husband, when I'm curious, and I've seen content of him online, you know, I've seen him be your coach, be your husband, be, you know, Dwayne's trainer at different times, all these different things, right? But what is the thing that you love the most about him and why do you feel he has been so supportive in helping you step into exactly who you need to be to have a lot of the success that you can do?

Oh, that's such a great question. I will always say, you know, I used to say, I couldn't say this actually, and Dave does this, I could never say Dave was a dream come true because I never drank that big.

Really?

That is who my husband is.

I just got the I was hearing that. Wow.

If I could have dreamt that big. Wow. So I could never honestly say because I had no idea dreams could go that way. My husband is the greatest man in my life. He is so steady and compassionate and I am not simple. Oh, yeah. so to say, that was a kind.

Thing for a Latina to say.

Yes, that's it. So one of the greatest attributes is his enormous capacity of steady, you know, to hold a partner that has, who wakes up every day and like, today I shall be, you know, and he's.

Like, I got you.

He's like, I got you, and he sees I don't think I could have had that conversation with him where I said, do you accept who I am today? Because I have been now, I have changed a million times since then, but I could have said to him, do you see my soul and do you accept that? And he would have said, yes, I see your soul. Oh my gosh, that's beautiful. So, wow. Incredibly steady, a beautiful artist. an incredible athlete, and so good. So one of the interesting things about Dave, when you meet Dave, you'll meet, he's calm, he's quiet. And Dave is like this book that you continue to unpack. And I always said, we start working with people who have to work with Dave and I together, and I'll say, I was like, I know you're very happy to meet me. I go, but in two weeks, you're going to love my husband more. He just brings people in.

That's cool.

He really is. so much so he's been an incredible, an incredible stepfather to Simone. You know, he came into our lives when Simone was 10 and basically has raised her with me from that point on.

Wow.

And seamlessly fit into be a game changer for Dwayne. Dwayne's physique before Dave and after Dave and for a man who needs to train and that is his anchor to his life, it's you know, so he is the gift that keeps on giving.

Wow. So he gives you the gift, your daughter the gift, and-- and my ex has the gift. And Blaine the gift. His physique has transformed with his teaching and knowledge and coaching.

He does his training programs, his diet, and he cares about him first as the human being who he is. And so Dave is always very human first. And so yeah, those are a lot of words. I could tell you more. That's beautiful.

That's beautiful. And as a mom, how do you, I think you've been asked this before, but I'm just curious, how do you navigate world domination in every business that you operate and the evolution of you as a, you know, an owner, a leader, an authority, and also continue to be taking care of your daughter? Like how does that, I'm sure, I guess the question is, how can moms be driven to be entrepreneurial and want success for themselves but also be a great mom at the same time.

Probably by starting first and saying and knowing that I intend to be a great mom. I may not be a great mom today or tomorrow, but the mom aspect, one of the things I was able to put down quickly with this idea of, okay, great mom does this, this, this, this. A great mom shows up and loves and seeks to be a great mom and a better mom. I hope the only one who can say I'm a great mom will be Simone. She's the only judge of that. My job is to be a mom and to work as hard as possible at being as good a mom as possible. And that required, you know, one of the things which I did do early on, which was to give her a voice. And when she's like, no, to say, okay, you may be right. This might be a no situation. And to not override and just because I say so, and to, and maybe it's because so much for her personality, to try and individualize with her. The other thing I had to recognize, which was truth, was that if I wasn't being an entrepreneur, I would be miserable. And there was unhappiness in my family growing up. and no one is spared when the mom is unhappy or the dad's. You can pretend, but it seeks. So instead I had, I was very, very fortunate where I had wonderful women who were helping me to raise Simone.

Sure. So you didn't try to do it all on your own? No.

And I was fortunate again, some people are not as fortunate that I could afford to have. And you know, these women were with me since Simone was early and once when Simone was four, who's still with me today and runs, you know, helps me manage the house. in Orlando, just like a sister. But it was just that try, not putting it down and just every day consistently. And then also looking for opportunities to intermingle my family. So Simone's been on set and she has a voice. Simone has told me yay and nay and I'm like, what do you think of this? And I actually, you know, we talked that I'm going to execute on a new business strategy in a few months, which we're not, which I'm teasing with you.

You'll tell me later. Yeah, yeah.

I spoke to Simone yesterday to say literally yesterday, Simone, I want to do this, this, this, this. Does this align with you? And she's like, It does, Mom. And just watch out for this, this, and this. And I was like, Fantastic.

Oh, it's beautiful.

So the, you know, if we put down archetypes of what it looks like to be a mom from the 90s, 2000s, or the 80s, and instead say, let me build my journey of what it's like to be a mom. You'll find more success because you'll remove those supposed obstacles that you're failing at that maybe are not applicable today, and you'll create new pathways that are best for you and your child. So it's permission, permission, permission.

You just said the word alignment, and it brought up another question for me to ask you. When we-- I mentioned before that we had seen it-- well, I had seen you at a place we were both staying at. I won't say where.

Place that will not be named.

I won't say where. But about a year ago. And when I was there, I was actually doing an interview with Matthew McConaughey.

Oh, okay.

As well. And the famous speech that he gave about chasing his hero, which is himself 10 years ahead.

Right.

Made me-- came to me as you were saying alignment with your daughter. And I'm curious if you could go 10 years ahead. I don't know if you know the speech I'm talking about.

His award speech. Right, I had the Oscar Awards speech.

Yes, and I only caught little glimpses of it. Yeah, yeah. Anyways, he says in the award speech that someone asked him who his hero was. Matthew McConaughey. And he said, Myself, 10 years away. And then 10 years later, that same person asked him, Are you your hero now? 10 years later? He said, no, my hero is 10 years away from me now. I'm always chasing my hero 10 years out from now. And he's trying to create alignment with the vision of himself that he has 10 years away.

Right.

And that's where this triggered for me this question. You mentioned alignment with your daughter and all these different things. And you've mentioned the word tools throughout this conversation and learning and unlearning things and making sure you're you're stepping into your ultimate purpose. If you could imagine 10 years out, and I can, you know, after the last 10 years of what you created in your life is fascinating, not only personally, professionally, all these different things, but if you can imagine 10 years out, if you were able to hypothetically have a conversation with yourself today as a 10-year wiser individual.

Right, so the 10-year wiser person is talking to you today. Got it.

What do you think in this hypothetical question? I know this wasn't in the pre-planned questions, Danny, I apologize.

I can't wait for it to land. I'm waiting, I'm waiting.

What do you think would be the one or two things that your future self would tell you today that you get to continue to step into or let go of to support your growth?

Ah, I would imagine, I would like to think my 10-year-old self would say, Hey, don't worry, we're still jacked. so that would be important.

We're still shredding.

Still keep working out. But I think what I would hope that 10-year-old person, 10-year older Danny would be telling me, you are right about your success, your success for yourself that you're passionate about changing the world. So stay on that self-investment, self-investment. and every time you begin to fall into have faith, because it is faith, you are worthy to have success that will impact the world.

Cool.

That's what I hope. That would be great. I really appreciate that. If you could come tonight in my dreams. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, your future self is speaking to you and you're doing it. So this has been incredibly beautiful, Danny. I'm so grateful for this conversation. I want to wrap it up because I know your team's probably saying we gotta, we to finalize this. But I want people to follow you online because they can see all of your success and your moves behind the scenes. I think you're just like a mastermind. Every time I see you post something, I'm like, there's another move. I like that. But they can follow you on social media. Instagram is where a lot of your content is. Danny Garcia Co. on Instagram. Where else should people follow you or stay in contact or just be aware of what you're up to? you have a plethora of businesses. Where can people check out the portfolio and how can we best serve you today?

Oh, well, thank you for that. Everyone should watch the UFL and come to the games. But really, social media, LinkedIn, I'm enjoying that platform. I get to use more language. I get to go on the written word, which is, I love the written word. I show up in all my companies. So, you know, whether it's seven bucks productions or TSTQ, you or, you know, you'll see pieces of me everywhere, but the, the, the website of the Garcia Companies is pretty quiet. We should be very low key. But I think, I think if they follow me digitally, they'll begin to see more and more, more and more because I'll continue to emerge. I have committed to being more forward facing.

I love it.

And I'm having, which has led me to this.

That's why you're here. I know. I'm excited.

So, it's been a great experience.

This is a, this is out of you. I don't think anyone has seen based on your content. I've followed your content for years. You don't do many long-form interviews that I've seen, maybe one or two. And I haven't seen you talk about the soul and the heart of your life in this way, so I'm very grateful. This is two final questions for you, so we're wrapping it up, I promise you. Before I ask the two final questions, Danny, I want to acknowledge you again for opening up, for your heart, for sharing so many behind-the-scenes stories that I don't think a lot of people have heard.

Oh, you unpacked it all.

And for going with me on this journey of of discovery. I really appreciate it. And for also just sharing more of who you are behind the successful, powerful, world dominating mastermind. I don't know if that's the nickname that you're gonna have, but the mastermind is feeling good to me right now for my nickname for you. But just, yeah, the love that you bring. And I can feel it with your team. I can feel it with your energy that you've brought into the space. So I really acknowledge you for that and I'm grateful for you.

I receive that, thank you.

This question I ask everyone at the end of my interviews. So this is the, I think the only question that I sent you beforehand that I'm asking you, so I apologize, but this is called the Three Truths.

Okay, great.

Another hypothetical scenario. It's your last day on Earth many years away. You get to live as long as you want.

I appreciate that you're like, and you can live as long as you want.

You can live as long as you want. But it's the final day. And you've gotten to create the exact life you want from this moment until then. The businesses, the impact, the success, the love, the family, all this stuff, it happens. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you've got to take all of your work with you. So the content, this conversation, anything you create in the future, for whatever reason, no one has access to your message anymore. But you get to leave behind three final truths. about your life experience and what you've learned and experienced, three final lessons that you would share, and this is all we have of your content. What would those three truths be for you?

Okay, here we go. Let's try. The first one is going to be, you transform yourself, you transform the world. That would absolutely be that. Not transform the world. You transform yourself, you will transform.

That's beautiful.

That's gonna be the first one. The second one, oh my gosh, it comes from Antonio Machado's Spanish poem and it's been written all the time, which is, you know, it's something to the effect of traveler, there is no path, every step is the path. And the reminder that as much as we look for systems and processes, to create comfort in the journey we're going to, those are false. The best path is the first step you take. And I think that's really, really important. There's so much individualization in that, and the magic of people being individual creates greater community as compared to being fully cohesive following steps. I think that would be that. And the third one is going to go back to health. It's gonna be like, if you're not clanging and banging, you're dying. It would really be something similar to looking at you, you know, your body is not separate from your soul and your mind. It is all one.

Wow.

Move them forward together.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Health is wealth.

Health is wealth. Clang and bang to the end.

Clang and bang all the way. Build that muscle. Let's go. Again, I'm so grateful for you, Danny. And I have one final question. It's, what is your definition of greatness?

Ah, that's a great one. You know what? It's so funny. I saw that and I was driving, I was like, what is my definition of greatness? I will say this, my definition of greatness is going to be the sense of satisfaction you feel in the moment. I will always go back to an internalized sense of greatness. There is no sort of measure of greatness because we have accomplished things and been like, well, it's always going to be the level of satisfaction you can have in that. That'll be victory and greatness.

Danny Garcia, thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And I want to remind you, if no one has told you lately, that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.