How to Buy Back Your Time and Build a Business You Love with Dan Martell

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What people don't realize is we'll do more for other people we'll ever do for ourselves.

For sure.

I wake up every day. Not for me. So when people go like, where do you get all the energy? Oh, it ain't for me. I know why I'm here.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Earn your Happy podcast. Today's episode is another throwback, one of my favorite conversations. And you guys know that I've had this podcast for eight, eight years. So if you're newer to the podcast, I have literally recorded over 1400 episodes, you guys. So I want to make sure that you don't miss any of these super amazing, juicy conversations that I have chosen just for you. Because I can't tell you about the wealth of knowledge that is in this freaking catalog of throwbacks. I don't want you to miss it. It's truly what has changed my life and, and helped me on my journey of growth in entrepreneurship, in relationships, in personal development. And I know that these messages are gonna hit you in the same kind of powerful way that they hit me. So I hope that you love this one as much as I do. And let's get started. Welcome back to the Earn your Happy podcast. This podcast that you're about to listen to is definitely going down as one of my favorites. Not only because I really feel felt like this book impacted my life and the concepts in it, but because it was so much fun getting to drop in with this human being who I did not even realize listened to Chris and I's podcast and him and his wife came to Nashville. They just happened to be in Nashville at the same time as me while I was filming these podcasts, and we made this podcast happen. So today on the earn your happy show, we have Dan Martell. He's a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and investor. You guys, if you have not seen him Instagram right now, not only has his career just completely exploded, but he has blown up all over social because he is sharing such incredible things. Truly, you cannot go viral this frequently without sharing incredible concepts, which is what his book is all about. So serial entrepreneur, speaker, and investor, he has built and exited five software companies, currently buying a software company per month. You guys, bestselling author of buy back your time time, which I think is how most people first found him. He's an ironman athlete, husband, and father to two incredible boys. He has such a powerful story of overcoming addiction as a teenager and discovering his passion for software for the first time at 17 when he came out of rehab. And if you want to feel motivated and pretty much crush any excuse that you're holding onto right now, this episode is going to be a good one for you. We cover everything from business and how he's made comebacks from the time he wasn't able to make payroll. And you guys, especially now that I have my company glossy, let me just tell you, when I hear these stories, they, like, hit my heart because I can't even imagine. So he also shares the funny dating story of when he questioned if his wife Renee was the one. He also shares nerves that he had speaking at Tony Robbins event and how he had to push through all of his fear and the challenges that he faced. And we seriously cover everything this episode, from anxiety and overcoming challenges to health and fitness and even buying companies. That one was really interesting for me. I'm like, I don't know if that's ever on my radar, but he really opened the door on that one. So if you're listening to this podcast, I know you have a big purpose in calling on your life. Let's get into the show. Dan, welcome to the earn your happy podcast. I'm so excited that you are here in the flesh.

This is cool. In real life.

Yes, in real life, we're in Nashville, which is kind of random for both of us.

Yeah. Don't live here. Yeah.

Do not live here. And it worked out for. But I was going on your stories, looking at what you were doing in Nashville, and you went to see Jelly Roll last night.

Well, so, no, I didn't go see Jell. I want to see Andrew Schultz. So I'm a comedy fan.

Okay.

Oh, yeah. I get like, Shane Gillis is my top. Andrew's top guy named Tony Hinchcliff. His Show Kill Tony. Like, I watch comedy every night to go to bed.

Why?

I think. Cause, like, I spent most of my day just being so, like, business. Seriously, like, sometimes I like to giggle. Like, Renee asked my wife. She. She almost, like, 50% of the time, she has to, like, kick me or poke me to stop laughing.

That's how I go to meet you, by the way. I got to meet her.

She's the best.

Yes.

Yeah. But I laugh a lot at night. But, yes, I went to see Schultz, and then at the end, we're like, okay, there's 6,000 people. It's a grand old Opry, which was just iconic.

Yeah.

I was like, okay, all these people are going to try to squirm their way in the same parking lot. Let's go. And as we're walking up the aisle, Schultz goes, you know, we're in Nashville. I got some friends here in music. It'd be kind of weird if I didn't invite them out to do a little bit of shindig. And. And I think to myself, there's only. Literally. There's 15 people in the world because of his background with going to prison for five years and just has come up and 15 years of grinding, like, it's just a beautiful. It's literally a movie that could write itself. I said, if he says Jelly Roll, we're gonna turn around and sit back down. There's only one name even he said, Dolly Parton. Like, I love her, but I'm going, yeah, I gotta get to sleep. And he said, jelly Roll. And I looked at Sam, my creative director, and we just both had wide because we were talking about that day, and we got to rock out to some Jelly Roll. It was. It was just magical.

Why do you love him so much?

His background? I mean, I heard. I think I really got to fall in love with his story when he was on Joe Rogan. But even before that, I saw a lot of clips at the. I think it was a CMA Country Music Awards, where, you know, he won. And even his wife, I think, is Bunny. People think she's a gold digger. And he laughs. He goes, I was broke, and she took care of me. Like, legit people are like, oh, yeah, she's a gold digger. Because what he looks like and what she looks like, and he just laughs, and he's like, you have no idea. And then just, like, just the care, you can tell he is. There's people like that that I think, when I think of, who do I want to emulate? Like, people that have created A massive, like, audience, but are just still inherently great people in their hearts. He's one of them. And you just. You see him. He's so grateful. I saw a clip of him meeting one of the Beatles and somebody else. Oh, Elton John. And you could tell, like, he was just in a dream. He was like, I cannot believe right now I'm meeting my heroes. And both those guys were like, no, jelly, we love your music. And he just melted. Like, he started getting emotional, and I was just like, dreams come true. He's just. It's. It's. He's proof of what can happen if you literally put your head down and say, I don't know how, don't know when, but I know if I show up for long enough, something's going to happen.

Isn't that true? Just literally the discipline of showing up over and over. And I know, you know, you are, like, really into fitness. You're into wellness, you're into health, you're disciplined.

I like to listen.

Yes, you can. You can lift things while we're on this. That's fine.

Yeah.

But fitness was the first place I learned discipline. It was, like, the very first thing that taught me everything.

It's like a gateway drug.

It is a gateway drug. And I had this realization of, wait, if you just keep showing up, it'll eventually happen. Because in fitness, I. The first, like, two years, if you don't have nutrition dialed in, you don't really see anything, even though so much is happening underneath.

Yeah.

And that helped me in business going, okay, I may not see a result right now, but I know I've just spent a year laying groundwork or, like, getting my life in order or trying to figure different things out. But also, before we talk about that, you just told me you love a good Cinnabon.

I. I love Cinnabon.

How often does that happen?

Not as much as I'd like it to, honestly, now that I think about it. I will tell you this funny, funny story. When I first met Renee, my wife now. So this would be 13 years ago, we go. We might have only been together for three. Three months. And we decided to go to Bahamas.

Yeah.

And in the airport in the Bahamas, there's a Cinnabon. And I go, hey, Renee, have you ever had cinema? She's like, no. What's that? Oh, well, we're gonna have an experience. Okay. So I go to the counter all excited. I order the Cinnabon. I think I might have did, like, maple pecans. Like, you got extra whatever. Like, I'm just Like, this is the best one. And we put on the counter. I have to use the bathroom. So I go to the bathroom. When I come back, I can't even make this up, Lori. The center was gone.

Just the center.

Just the center.

The best part.

And I'm, like, sitting there going, what happened? She's like, I ate it.

Did you leave her behind?

Well, this is it. I go, oh, my gosh. This is not this. She's not the one. For me, there's an issue. Wow. What kind of. What. What would need to be true for her to think that might be okay? I'm like, you clearly have had a cinnamon roll before. Then proof. Because you knew to go for the center. And she was just like, why are you overreacting? I was like, I can't even. I'm just gonna go get another one. And we're just gonna. Yeah, it's so. I do love. I lived in. You mentioned Toronto earlier because I'm Canadian. And you enjoyed your time there on the. The. Essentially, the. What they call the ttc, the subway system. The. I think it's Eglinton stop, has a Cinnabon. So it's my favorite. Anybody that lives there, I'm like, I'm coming just to smell the Cinnabon and just walk by. But, yeah, it's been a while. I don't. I don't have sugar as much as I. Yeah, I used to. I used to weigh 265 pounds, and now I'm, like, insane to eight to eight.

So what was the biggest thing that had to shift for you mentally? Like, what belief was that that you had kind of growing up that had to shift for you in order to have this identity now?

I think it was a lot of things, but if I think the. The. Like, the. The moment I got my heart broken, I think a lot of people go through that where I was in a relationship and it didn't work out. You know, I always tell people, don't waste a good crisis.

It's amen.

Like, if you. Yeah. Right now I'm at that age where a lot of people are having troubles in their marriage and they're going through things, and I'm like, hey, man, you gotta. You got a chance right now to pull out a clean piece of paper and write down some stuff and go for it. If you want to get the best shape of your life, you got time, too. So that's kind of what kicked it off initially. But I. I Honestly, Lori, like, I yo. Yo'd up and down, but it was Kind of like I went up and down, up and down, but better and better. So like 265, 225, 250. So like over the last 20 years, I got better and better. Better last eight years. And it was really having my kids. I put on like £25 after because they're 11 months apart. So we had two boys. Emotional eating, staying up late, sleep deprived, just totally running a company. My wife was running a company. We decided to build our dream house. I mean, just. Just bananas. My life is crazy. And. And then, yeah, I just had a wake up call. I was just like, I can't be this dad. I don't want to be tired. I was too. I couldn't even at the end of the day, I couldn't play with my kids. You know, they were asking us to play. And I'm laying on the couch going like, I just need to relax. And I'm like, no, I don't. So it's been a lot of different things over the years. What changed now is just identity. Like, it's just who I am.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But did you decide that was it.

Like 100 a decision?

Yeah.

Yeah, I think. I think what's interesting about, you know, getting in shape is that it's not. For one thing, when people say, I gotta lose weight. I said, no, you don't. You gotta release it, because if you lose it, you're gonna go find it again.

I did found it multiple times. Yeah, it was really easy too.

Cinnabuns help. Yeah. It turns out coming back to, it's a lot easier than losing it. And then just over the years, it's funny because I do this journaling every morning and part of it is essentially like affirmations. And the affirmations, the best way to do them is I am. So probably two years before I had any proof that I was. I was writing down, I'm an athlete. And I wasn't even working out or running or anything. So. But I write it down, hoping that might just be like a deposit in the potential few. Like, I literally would write stupid stuff down like, I'm a billionaire, I'm an athlete, I'm a epic husband. None of these things. I had proof for zero. There's like, my wife would not be like, yes, Dan's an after husband. And then, then I. I remember I went to a crowd. My buddy Marty was like, hey, come, come to this thing. It's called CrossFit. This is about nine, eight, nine years ago. And I remember the first day they had this thing about compete every day. And they, and there's, it's fascinating as a, as a thing that people do. Cuz all of a sudden you're an athlete if you just show up. Cause you competed. Cuz every class is a workout of the day. That's a compet. Like. And I was like, oh crap, I'm an athlete. No, I'm not great at anything. But there's proof now and then I think I did that for two years. And then I started writing down, I'm a tr. I'm a triathlete and I couldn't even swim. And. And I just kept writing it down. I'm a triathlete. I'm a triathlete. I think I changed it. I'm an iron man. Which is bananas because I had no, I had no interest in being anything. I didn't want to wear spandex. So that's, you know, first time I got on a bike, I'm wearing like, like basketball shorts.

Oh, totally trying to do that.

Oh yeah. I'm like, I don't want to be that. I used to judge those guys. Saturday morning seven, I see them on the roads, full spandex and their weird little bikes.

This was Chris.

Yeah, yeah. I was just judging and I became that person really quick.

How much spandex do you have now?

I have drawers full. I have multiple kits, as Chris would probably know. Yeah, I have kits with different logos depending on my mood.

Yes. Deep gratitude for the spandy.

Yeah, well, it makes you fast. It turns out there's a reason it's functional. But I couldn't swim. And then one day my buddy says, you know, we did, we did a bike ride, 20k bike, 5k run. And he said, you know, if we would've swam 600 meters, that would've been a sprint triathlon. I was like, whoa. So that summer we decided to commit to it and I just pulled on that string. Not only did we do the first try, then we did two others that summer. And then we committed. Originally we committed to an Olympic size, which is kind of like double. And my buddy Mark called me up and he says, hey man, I didn't think you were so weak. I was like, what are you talking about? He goes, I heard you signed up for an Olympic. I said, yeah. He goes, dude, half Iron man or your baby? I was like, I'm not getting egged into this. Like the word iron man scared me. And I think I sat on it for two weeks. And then I said, I'm in. And we trained and then covet happened.

Wait, so were you able to do it or no.

This is such a crazy story. So obviously, every race across the world stopped. Yeah, everything. And I was sitting there and I'm in the heat. This is like April. So March was kind of like when everything started, April. Our race was in June. And I'm, you know, I work with a lot of incredible CEOs, and at that time, everybody was in this, like, fog. Like, what is the future going to look like? What should I brace myself for? And I've. I've been in, you know, I went through the crash.com crash99. 2000, 2001.

Same.

Yeah, all of them. So, like, I know what to do. It's just forward movement, a little slower course correct a bit. Right sides of business. And then wait for the rebound. Because on the rebound, that's where the wealth's created. Most people don't know this, so I. Not that I got it. I wasn't happy with what's going on in the world, but I knew if I could just get ready. But the big thing was, like, I got to get my clients ready. So in many ways, because I was working with all these incredible CEOs, I had to tell them I'm still racing because I needed to show them they need to still stand up and go to work and build.

So good.

So in many ways, that pressure of having them watching me and listening to me, I just dug my heels in. I went live every day, shared with them what I was thinking about, what I was learning. And the way we got the race done is we hired the guy who ran the chips, like the. The tracking. Okay. He thought we were crazy. All his stuff was in storage. We were the only race. And we. We called it Corona man because Iron man, you know, obviously.

Yeah.

Like, branding reasons. Couldn't call it. And when we reached out to our rep at Ironman because we were registered for the race, he was so impressed. He. They sent us our kits. So we did a 70.3. Iron man was called Corona man. And in Iron man gear, it was two of you. So we ended up. We did five.

Okay.

Yeah. Because we. We. A lot of people heard and they're like, how do I get in this race? Like, we didn't want to get shut down by the city, right? Yeah. Because it was like bubbles, you know, you couldn't hang out with people. And we. The swim we did was like in swamp water. It was so gross. When we were putting the buoys in, I was like, guys, this is. This Is bad. Like, can we do it at a pool?

Picturing leeches?

You. You don't want to know. Even the smell.

No.

Right. And I'm not a good swimmer in the first place. And I'm getting nervous. I put my head underwater. I'm closing my eyes. I don't want to see. I'm worried I'm going to look underwater and these eyes are going to. Like a human. I was so scared. I'm so slow at swimming. But we got it done. Then the bike and then. Well, you know, is a blessing in all of it, is because we ran our own race, everybody and. And what was going on in the world, all of our family was there and my buddy's front lawn for the finish and. Yeah.

Who did you become from that? What, what shifted from that?

Such a great question. Because I was just thinking of my two boys watching me finish. That was like, I would have done. I would have done three times of those races just to see their faces, like, see their dad do something hard. What shifted was, is like it was easily the hardest thing that I'd ever done in my life eight years prior. It was one of those things, if somebody said, I'll be a billionaire, I'd be like, that's how distant. Like, there was just no belief around it. And to see kind of the mindset I had to where I had gotten it made me really start thinking, like, where else am I under indexing in my life? Like, where else am I not allowing myself to believe in the possibility? And that, like, that shift of being consistent, you know this. You like, I think people that grow up in fitness, like yourself, man, you guys, you have an advantage. Like, I'm just so, like, I talked to Alex Hermosi. I'm like, dude, you've been like, I get why you're so successful. Because that foundation of showing up every day, every decision non stop, with no visible proof today, that's the key. All the work under the surface until like a bamboo tree, right?

Million percent.

Boom. And then it shows up. And then everybody goes like, oh, good for you. And you're like, no, you don't know. So I started just screaming in my head, earned, earned. Like, earned. Like, anytime people would say, like, I'd love to do that, I would just, I wouldn't say a word to them. I would just go, earned.

That's literally where the podcast came from. Earn. You're happy. It was like earning. Earning the right to the feeling that you have.

Heck yeah.

Like earning the right to your pride. Earning the right to your confidence, courage. Because I used to think like, oh, that person must just have that or they grew up that way or whatever it was. And that's the most disempowering belief possible. It's like if you go research the work, like not sitting with you, hearing about all of these moments that were probably not probably, we know are painful, difficult, isolating. It's like you are literally slaying demons in your head daily. It is those moments take, take me to a moment where it was just like such a battle that you just felt like you were either breaking down all the time or you'd never make it through. And I know there's so many of them, but do you have one where you just really doubted if you'd ever get through it?

I share my story growing up because. And I didn't share that for 15 years. The first time I ever shared it on stage publicly. My wife Renee did not know.

Oh my God.

And her parents were in the audience. Oh, wow. Yeah. Before I went on stage, she goes, hey, my parents want to surprise you. They come to see your talk.

I was like, did you know you were going to share this too?

No, no. What happened was the morning of my talk, the organizer came to me and said, hey, I just want you to know that we're doing a fifty thousand dollar prize to a charity of your choice for the top speaker voted by the audience. Well, I ain't gonna win that talking about marketing.

Right, right.

And I knew I had a story and I shared that story and it, it literally changed my life. And I'll tell you why and I'll share it. I grew up in just a really chaotic childhood. My mom was drinking all the time, hardly present. My dad was traveling, he was in sales, so he wasn't home a lot. I'm the second oldest of four. I had a lot of energy, you know. I got diagnosed with ADHD when I was 11, put on Ritalin. And pretty much from a young age, I always thought there was something different about me or I was broken. For sure. I felt broken like when, when you have to take a pill, you're the only one in your family, let alone your friend group, because you're. There's something wrong with you. And then they like treat you different in school. And then eventually I got put in a special class that just messes with you. And I ended up getting introduced to drugs when I was 13 through my buddy Richard, just casually. And it was the first time that I didn't feel sad. And I went on a 13, 14, 15, 16. I went on, yeah, three years of just hardcore using, getting in trouble with the law. Ended up in juvenile detention the first time when I was 15 for two months. Got out, said, I'm cleaning up my act. Those friends, I'm done with them sober. I think I lasted 12 hours right back at it. And then it was another year of just craziness. Like kind of when people go like, was it really that bad? I'm like, call my dad, he'll tell you. It was. It was almost like, I don't know if you have any family members or cousins or anything where, you know, they don't even know where he's at. And it makes me sad because I just, I feel, I feel like, I feel guilty for. I know my brothers and sisters were probably really worried about me back then. Anyways, I ended up breaking into a house. And again, I'm not proud and I'm. There's a lot of shame around. That's why I didn't tell anybody to steal these guns. Which is just, I mean, how stupid is that? You're breaking into a home where you know there's guns. Like, it's just, that's how my brain.

Yeah, you're not thinking.

Oh, zero thinking.

You're literally, absolutely. Your brain is not your own.

Yeah, I was taking anything. Somebody's like, I got Valium, I'll take some of those. Well, yeah, you got speed. Let's do it all. Like, literally it was just, give me what you got. And my mom found the guns in my room, called the police. My brother says, don't come home, cops are waiting for you. I decided to go on the run. I steal a car. I'm in east coast of Canada, right above Maine. I decided to go to Montreal. I had a friend there. And on my way there, I get in a high speed chase.

You just really stacked that right there.

It went.

That is. That went sideways.

It went from zero to messed up. Wow. Really fast. And it was nuts is when I stole the car, I had a handgun on me from guns I stole. And I said because I didn't, I just didn't want to. I honestly didn't want to live.

Yeah.

And I said, if the cops stop me, I'm going to pull the gun and let them take my life. Oh my God. And in the chase, I came into a neighborhood and there was a open garage door. And I just came into that driveway going like way too fast. Smashed into the house, wasn't wearing a seat belt. Yeah, I was drinking like I literally had open booze in the car, high hit the house, the airbags go off, everything. I mean, it was just almost like, you know, when you hit your head hard and there's like a ringing in your ears, that noise. And I just remember, get the gun.

Wow.

I just. I started looking for it, and I found it, and when I started pulling on it, it got stuck. It was in, like, an old, like, canvas duffel bag, and it got stuck between the. The side of the seat and in the back. And I just kept pulling on it and pulling on it. And for whatever reason, cops opened the door, picked me off out of the car. I mean, I didn't even, like, I didn't. My feet did not touch the ground. It was, like, in the air. You know, the four police hold me in the air across the front yard, kind of frisked me and threw me in the back of the cop car. And the next morning, I woke up sober, just wondering what my life was going to look like. So at 16, I'm sitting there in this jail cell in Sussex, New Brunswick, and Jelly Roll's got a song. I didn't realize why I liked him so much, but it's that song. And he says, I only turn to God when I need a favor. I didn't believe in God at the time. I didn't know. I just said, hey, man, if you're real, I could really use some help. And help was honestly, like, just, I'd rather not go away for, like, seven years, you know, I know I did some bad stuff, and I deserve it, but if you help me get through this, I'll. I'll just. I'll just clean up my act. Like, this is it. I'm done. And I got sentenced almost two years. Ended up in an adult prison. And it was horrendous. But I had some beautiful people show up in my life, and that's been my journey. That, like, since then. From Brian, the prison guard, who told me he couldn't understand why I was in prison and that he believed in me. That got me through that period. I got released to a rehab center, and I met some more angels. I did 11 months. 11 months. When people say, like, man, how did you become who you are? I'm like, I did. I did personal therapy for 11 months at 16 years old. Yeah, like. Like, I worked on my feelings, my values, my communication skills, skills, like, basic things, like, real deep found. I'm like, any adult that would go through this program would just come out of Superstar. And I had the gift at 16, 17. And you know, guys like Mark Pence and it was cool. Is this, this place is a very special place in the world. Honestly, all the staff, Rex, drug addicts. So I learned the concept of getting a mentor.

Yeah.

At 17. And it was at the end of that program I was helping Rick the maintenance guy clean out one of the cabins because it was built in an old church camp. And in one of the rooms is this old computer and a book on programming sitting right next to it. Never touched a computer my whole life. And there's just something. When I opened that book, I was expecting it to be like secret codes and you know, almost like hieroglyph. I just expected like weird scribble stuff that nobody could, you know. I mean like totally the smartest in the world. And it, it was English. You, you read it. It was like, if this, then do this and then this. And I'm like, that's not like crazy. And I just sat there for 20 minutes and I got tapping on the computer and within, you know, not too long, I got the computer to say, hello world. And I know that's not impressive, but as a 17 year old that never touched a computer his whole life, I took it as a sign. I took it as like, oh, maybe my brain is different, but it's different for that reason because that seems pretty cool. I don't like. I think it's pretty good. And I just became obsessed. It's funny, when I, when I went my dad forever grown, I said, if you could just find something you're passionate about that isn't illegal.

Yeah.

I think you'd actually do okay. Because like when I do stuff, I'm in.

Yeah.

And when I.

You are, you are.

And he goes, I was doing. I had two passions. I had. I eventually computer programming or botany.

Okay, okay.

Yeah. I grew a lot of weed.

Interesting.

No, no, it's not, it's not. Yeah. Like hydroponics. Like I. I just loved plants. And. And he's so funny. He goes, dan, he's very careful. He doesn't like give me advice. He knows that I'll immediately, you know, back then more so. Way more.

Okay.

And he goes, you could. I think you should do the computer thing. And you have a garden as a hobby. Yeah, that was a beautiful advice. And this is 97. So I get out and I discover this little thing called the Internet. And I became obsessed and I allowed that obsession to fuel my fire and focus. And that's why when people go like, how have you built and exited five software companies. And, you know, I've invested in over 100 companies like Intercom and Udemy. And, you know, I buy. I literally buy a software company a month right now.

Wow.

It all started in rehab at 17.

Wow.

So it's not impressive. If you think about. I've been doing it for 26 years. I'm 44. I've just been one thing every day, non stop.

So how did you learn to fall in love with that journey?

I. The unfair advantage I have, Lori, that I wish everybody could discover. And I think they have it because I think their number one superpower, their strength is. Sits right next to the worst thing that's ever happened to them. I believe that.

Yep.

If you're willing to look. What I had the gift in today is why I'm so driven to go on that journey. To wait, to stand back up when I get absolutely knocked down.

Yeah.

Like, I'm talking like full flying kick through the air to the chest kind of hit is. I know why I'm here.

Do you ever have the moments where you kind of go back to that dark place where you're just like, you feel like a little hopeless or you lose track of that? Why? And how do you get that back.

100? I mean, this is, this is the. The. It's. It's kind of cool because over the years you just see your. Your mindset get better.

Yeah.

But every. You know, like, so. So what happens is it gets better. So the rebound is short, so you spend less time there. And the. The rebound is better. So like, it's like, how much time do you dwell? When I was in my 20s, for days.

Yeah.

You can. You can ask Renee. I would get into funks where I just cleared my schedule, lied to everybody, said I'm busy or I'm not feeling good. That was a. That's an easy one. I got the flu. Got the flu. And I would just lay in bed and watch stupid TV shows. And she'd know.

Yeah.

Because she walked and she opened the door. It's one in the afternoon. She's like, again. And I'm like, the Netflix influenza. I wish I was smart enough to call it that. So good. But. So, yeah. And over the years I just. I just had like, the way I got out of those that could serve people. Because the first one that really hit me, I was 26. I failed my first two companies major way lost money. And you gotta understand, the two benefits I had is one, nobody expected me to do anything good with my life. So the fact that I Just stayed sober.

That is a benefit.

That was like, oh, I had no pressure. The pressure is, Dan, could you just not do any drugs or drink or anything? And I was like, so as that was good. It was like full cheerleader from everybody. But I just was so not smart about learning business or how to do it that I failed. I failed my first company. I started when I was 18, failed that one at 19, started another one, shut that down at 21. My dad's like, maybe you should go get a normal job. Like, you're clearly smart and driven. You just, you just may as business things and for you. And I was like, there's no way. So I finally started my third company at 24, hired a business coach that was like a game changer. I actually hired him when I didn't have a business. I was just like, hey, I just don't want to be insane. And insanity is the definite. You know, it's like doing the same thing over and over again. What is a meaningful difference this time? I hired this dude, Bob, you know, went online, didn't have the money, hired him, said, if you're good, you're gonna make me. I literally, he didn't know this, but I had, I had two months of money to pay him. 1500 bucks a month. American. I'm Canadian. That's real money.

Yeah.

Okay. Our money's a little monopoly money, but that US dollar is real strong. So I had two months of it. And I figure if he's good, he's gonna help me make some money.

You're like, you got two months.

I didn't say it to him, but I was like, I really hope you're good because this could be awesome. We're really short lived and we did almost a million in our first year.

Wow.

Yeah, wow. He taught me all the stuff I was missing. I was willing to do the work. Like, that's the thing. I'm a hard worker. If you just give me direction, if anything. Sometimes when I was younger, I just worried about making the wrong decision. Now I've learned real simple. My job is to make a decision, to make it right. I don't worry about making the right decision. I just trust that I'll learn fast enough.

Yeah.

And what changed on the second one in regards to like the moment of. Of getting over it when you're in a funk Two years in, around Christmas time. A few things happen at Christmas for me, obviously, Christmas Day. My birthday is December 26th. It's a day to reflect. And it's right by new Year's which is another day to reflect. And going into the holiday season, kind of like December 15th when everybody starts checking out.

Yep.

I looked at my bank account and I wasn't going to be able to make payroll. And everybody's like, hey, have a great, you know, happy holidays. And I'm like, yeah, happy holidays. And I'm going, I'm going to have to lay everybody off. We had a team of 20. I know. And. And this is a third time.

Yeah.

And I went into a depression, like full on. I never, I don't, I didn't feel. I don't even know. I couldn't even replicate it today because it would just felt like I was wearing a weight blanket. And I don't like, I'm just going to tell you what I did. I would go in the bathtub. I'm a big dude. I lay in the water, I put my head underwater and I just my nose above the water and I would stay in it for two or three hours. And I did that for like four nights in a row. And on the fourth night I said, dan, this is dumb. You gotta do something.

Plus, this is boring. Yeah.

Like, what are you doing? But it was because I wasn't doing drugs or anything. I hadn't. That was my way of numbing out.

Totally.

There's just something about just. It was almost like, just turn my brain off. Stop the chatter. And on the first fourth night, I said, okay, I'm gonna decide what time. I literally said, tomorrow. You know, whatever. I'm done.

Yeah.

And the next day, out of desperation, I just asked myself a simple question. Who in the world would care if I failed as a business house? And this is the best I had. Dan Martell at 26 years old.

Yeah.

Was the guy who ran the province where my, my business lived. All of our revenue is from the U.S. so I thought, I'm Canadian. They always talk about like, export dollars is better because it brings money into the economy. All my team was in our city.

Yeah.

And I cold emailed this guy, Frank McKenna at like 2 in the morning. Had enough. I like sat there knowing I should email him.

Yeah.

You know, holidays. This is like probably the 28th of December. And the guy replies right away, wow. And he goes, you need to talk to these three people. And gave me three names.

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It was, it was.

That was one question. It was day four of bath time.

Yeah. But I just, I made the decision as good bath time. I made the decision to just, just to be done with it.

Yeah.

And that's like that to me when in the, and then when it's happened ever since, all I've done is said I'm done with. So Renee would come in the room like, how long are you gonna do this for? I'd be like, I'm done. Tomorrow at 2. She go, cool. And then, then I Prepare myself at 2 o'. Clock. I'm gonna start line on my team. I'm gonna sit down my email, I'm gonna work through my inbox, I'm gonna schedule my time, I'm gonna do and dump my brain. Like I know how to recover. And that's. And now it's just become kind of part of the routine that when I get in those funks, those are moments, not days.

Yeah.

And that's the difference. I still get there. I still try to push on something and embarrass myself or you know, think I can do something and over commit and you know, so like I'm 100% human and I just try not to dwell on stuff. The rumination, I think is actually the biggest killer of happiness right now for sure. It's fascinating because I coach a lot of really high level people and sometimes I'll sit back and let them. And I'm listening and I, and I, I, I should record it and transcribe it and then play it back to them. Because if you listen to the words they're using to describe their situation, there's a, there's difference between giving somebody context to move forward versus selling yourself on why it's okay for you to feel this way and that it's almost like you're, again, you speak your future in existence. So most people don't realize that they're literally speaking what they don't want by repeating back what happened to them that they didn't want.

Totally.

So that's what I've gotten just better at is just like in those moments, just make sure I don't use language to describe it too much. And then Start looking for the opportunity, the positivity. Like, I literally just go, okay, I can't control this.

Yeah.

Like, what would have been recently? Oh, I had a full distance ultramarathon I trained for last summer and we had a massive fire in Kelowna. Like, literally the city almost burned down.

That doesn't go well together. Yeah, yeah.

So no race. But as anything, when you train for it, there's. There's a taper and then there's race day.

Yes.

So I was ready to race and I was like, for a week. I was bummed. I was like, I can't believe I trained for a year to do this ultra marathon and now I can't race. But I had the proof from the previous Ironman. And I remember I was training one day at the gym and I said, screw this, I'm doing on Sunday. I messaged my buddy Dave. I said, dude, I need some support.

Was Dave the same guy?

No, no, he was my running partner. I said, dave, I'm racing Sunday. Make a route. Go on Strava. Go. Make a route through the mountains. It was the exact same one of the race we were supposed to do.

Yeah.

Can you support me? Could you show up on the trail heads and just give me some water and some food? And I showed up and I raced.

That's so much harder.

It was so hard. Like, people don't realize. Like, even when we did the first Iron Man.

Yeah.

They're like, oh, do a real Iron Man. I'm like, dude, when after I did, I actually eventually did it because of those freaking ding dongs that were commenting that stuff. And I laughed the whole time at how easy a real produce race. Water station, ice, every kind of fun thing you could possibly want to eat every, you know, four miles. Like, you have no idea what we did versus that. Plus the energy of the crowd. The energy and just the excitement. So, yeah, I mean, that was. That was. But what I, you know, even though it was a super scary time when we almost lost our home and the fire's going off, I just kept repeating, what can I control? Control the controllables.

I'm hearing over and over. Like, just to choose a date, like lock something in.

Yeah.

And trust that your identity is going to change from that thing and just show up no matter how much it hurts and know you'll be different on the other.

It's a hundred percent that. Let me give you the two parts because I actually break this down now. For clients, it's the commitment to the date and it's Also a public commitment to somebody else. Because a lot of people make goals to themselves and they don't share them. When Renee comes in the room and says, how long is this going on for? I have to tell her.

Yep.

If I didn't say tomorrow at two and I just said not much longer, those are two different things. Yeah, Tomorrow at two is a commitment. How much longer is maybe When I called Dave up and I said, I'm racing Sunday, I didn't just say, I'm racing Sunday, Dave, I'm racing Sunday. So now I made a commitment to him. If I decide to bail or chicken out, he's gonna know. What people don't realize is we'll do more for other people we'll ever do for ourselves.

For sure.

I wake up every day. Not for me. So when people go, like, where do you get all the energy? Oh, it ain't for me. I know why I'm here. I mean, just look at people that have dogs. Your dog gets sick, you go to the veterinarian, it gives you a prescription. You have a hundred percent completion of that medication for the dog.

Yep.

100 of the people, 100 of the time, same person goes, gets the flu, goes to the doctor, gives him a medication. Average person, 65. As soon as they start feeling good, they stop taking the medication.

Wow.

It's so. It's actually fascinating to just watch how much more people do for an animal, let alone other people. So anybody that's struggling with a goal or trying to get out of funk, you gotta, you gotta flip the inward focus to the external. You know, One of my favorite stories, this is artist Oliver Anthony. I don't know if you know, he is Richmond, north of Richmond.

Oh, yes.

Yeah. What I love about his story, if you watch it, he was on Joe Rogan. Joe asked him, man, what, what changed? Because this guy that was a drunk, living in a trailer, 20 year old car, barely keeping a job, and he goes, two things, Joe, he said, first off, I started to read the Bible, said I gave my life to God. But the second thing is I stopped making about myself and I started making other people. His music stopped being about, hey, do you like my song? And more. What can I share that might help you? That frame is the difference maker for a lot of people. It's like when people get nervous going on stage. I understand where the nerves come from. I think nerves are actually a beautiful thing because it shows that you care. But what I do to helps me shift it before backstage, I literally meditate and I pray and I Say, God, please use me to serve the people. That's it. Please use me to serve the people. It's not about me. I did all the work, worked. I've shown up. I lived the life. They're my stories. They work for me. I can only teach what other people what I did that worked. So now I just need you to use me to. And all of a sudden, the nerves just go away because I'm. I'm like. They're now going, oh, I'm here to pour into people that are a few steps behind me that want to get some results, and that ever since I started doing it as a speaker, it's like, it's made speaking fun because I don't freak out. You know, six weeks prior or, geez, man, I just did Tony Robbins. Oh.

And if you're gonna freak out, that would give you a moment to do it.

Oh, and I'll be lying if I. But every time I'd start to freak out, I go, dan, just show up and pour into people. Stop it. Just pour into people.

When you would start to freak out, what were the thoughts? Was it like, am I gonna not say the right thing? Am I gonna pass out? Am I gonna throw up? Am I. What were the fears?

No, I worked through. Luckily, all of those ones, the passing of the throwing up. I used to get blotchy, right? It was so bad. I used to get. Get so nervous that I would get, like, nerve.

That will still happen to me sometimes. So I'm waiting to hear this.

So then you get this. So when I started speaking, I almost stopped speaking about six months in. Because this would happen 100 of the time.

Yeah. It's not fun.

No. And I remember one time I'm speaking, and I'm, like, trying to find my flow, and I think I'm like, 20 minutes in, and this woman in the front row puts her hand up, and I thought, oh, she has a question. I said, yes, you have a question. She goes, I don't have a question. But I just. You're. You're getting really. I think you might be having an allergic reaction. She says this in front of the whole room. What do you think happened to my face, Laurie?

I can't even. I said, no, it's.

It's a. It's a thing. It's a birthmark. I know about it. Thanks for telling me. And she's like, oh, sorry. And I'm just like. I cannot believe. I was like, you're getting on. I know. I'm literally. You're getting on. Stage right now. You. You. You just earned the right to take over from me right now. You want to talk? You want to do that to me? You get on stage. Let's see your palm sweet wet. And I almost gave up. And I just kept pushing through because here's what I was thinking. I was like, how can I talk to you? And I'm good. But then when I go on stage, why do I feel this way? So I just. I just kept working on the mindset and the kind of the psychology around it, and. And for Tony, I mean, the fear was very simple. It's such a dynamic stage. Like, if you've ever been to his event. Have you been to an event?

Definitely.

Okay, well, you don't realize how much is going on. The soundtrack, the music, you know, like, literally in the middle of a talk, he'll. He'll do a energy reset. Yeah, well, as a speaker, I remember I went up there and I was, okay, I'm going to do these different things, and I've got. I'm going to talk to the. There's the online people, and I'm going to just.

Oh, God.

Yeah, there's a lot. Yeah, I'm going to. Luckily, it's so cool how the way the world works. I had been doing so much training online Covid that that part was like, supernatural for me. I understood how to ask a question, leaving the comments, get everybody in the audience to kind of do their thing. So. And I prepped. I had to. I was the only speaker with a digital whiteboard because I know when I draw, I draw them in, right? And I prepped it. I even got the night before I showed up and I did them again. Preparation is 90 of it, for sure. Just like, prepare like that one fascinates when I work with people that don't even, like, like, you knew this was happening today? Did you just. I'm just gonna freestyle it. It's like, you're not that good, right? Yeah. You should really practice. It was smart. So funny, because I'm doing my talk and I'm starting my first story and teaching, and all of a sudden the audio video guy goes like. He just hits the button. And I'm like, yeah. I started dancing. I'm like, how long is this gonna go on for? And then I remember, you know, the whole, like, hey.

Oh, that's right.

Yeah. Luckily my brain, like, because I'd been to like four or five events. Yeah, I started doing that, and I could tell that the guy. Yeah. I was like. And yeah, yeah. So I Mean that I was more nervous about, like, just either going too long and screwing up their schedule, going too short and screwing up their sk. Because, I mean, this is the thing. He. Tony runs a very tight ship. And, like, there's, like, speakers. Donald Miller spoke before me. I mean, it was. It was crazy. And I remember. So I was super nervous. And every time I got nervous, I was in a green room. I'd just be like, pour into people. Pour into people. It's not about you, Dan. Stop this. Like, I would just, like, just sit there and a lot of breath work. I do a lot of breath work. What's cool is anybody can go watch this. I. I think we might be the only people to have recorded and videoed the whole thing. So say I'm a videographer. Was there.

Yeah.

And I said, we're going for permission, not forget or not. We're going for forgiveness, not permission. If they tell us to stop or not, we'll do it. Somehow he snuck his way on stage.

Really?

Oh, it was awesome. I'm. I'm on the top of the stairs, and Scott's on the stage, and he' like, you know, our next speaker. And they created a sizzle reel for me that I'd never seen. And I'm sitting in the background. I'm like, looking at. I'm like, oh, I look. That makes me look way too cool. Like, now I'm even more nervous. And Scott's like, everybody give it a turretel. And I run in and Sam's on the stairs, and he just kind of like, bumps into the stage and then kind of walks to the back of the corner.

Yeah.

And I'm on stage, I'm talking to everybody, and I see him there, and he's just like, like. Like the best cheerleader in the world. And that helped a hundred percent because I was like, well, two parts. I was like my comfort blanket. And we're getting the footage.

Yeah, but that was a risk.

Oh, it's such a risk. Like, they told us when we signed the speaker agreement, like, it's very clear. Do not anything. You're not allowed to post about this. Like, and I get it, because, like, anybody's been doing that. Tony's level. He has to protect his brand.

Right.

And after it all went down, they were so happy. They said, absolutely, we're okay with it. But you. If. If people want. And I have, like, a vlog of it, you'll see me come off stage. And I was just trying to be cordial and nice and gracious and also I just was like. I was literally just trying not to mess it up.

Yeah.

I did my thing. I hit my time. I did it.

Yes.

Just get out of there. You know what I mean? Like, there's only one place to go from here.

Totally.

And we're, like, walking through, and it's just this big freaking place Tony built, and the staff and, like, wow, thank you. And I'm like, oh, it's good. Good. We get into Uber. I was like, all doors closed. All doors closed. The doors are closed. And Anne's there and Sam's there, and the driver's like, doesn't know what's going on. And. And then all. Yes, the doors are closed and I freak out. Oh, I freak out.

Yeah.

Did that just happen? What the. Let's go eat sushi. Like, I was, like, earned. Yes. It was so funny. I was so hyped up. The driver got excited for me, and he didn't even know what was happening. He's like, yeah, you did it. What did you do? And I'm like, man, I can't even explain it. He's like, yeah, you did. And he. He said the weirdest thing. He goes, now you go hunt in the woods. That's like, what? Go get the tigers.

Kill something.

He literally was like, let's go. I'm, like, dying.

I want to use that just for.

The rest of my life.

Now, my girlfriends, when they do something.

I'm gonna be like, go hunt in the woods. Go hunt in the woods right now. Because he was just like, your energy is that ferocious.

Yes. That is the best story. And honestly, that is the measure. I can literally. You made me nervous just even thinking about getting that opportunity and what happens after.

Yeah, well, that was huge.

I did experience some of those feelings, for sure.

Yeah. But, I mean, that's a big audience.

Yeah. That one. That one made me level up. That would make me do things to prepare that I Like, I've never done.

The, like, the network marketing stages. Those are huge.

Those are so fun, though.

But I want to do those because everybody wants to be there, right?

Like, totally.

Just. They're just, like, big. I don't know.

I. I'm like, we know people.

Yeah, that's on my goals list.

Okay, great.

100.

Let's do that.

Yeah. Because I. I just. Yeah.

I'm like, how are you not there already?

Somebody needs to reach out and I'll say, yeah, great.

This is wonderful. Yeah, got it.

But, yeah, it's kind of, you know, you just reminded me of this and telling the story is like sometimes the more nervous. It's almost like the further you go down, the more nervous you are, the higher you can go. Like I would have never felt like that if I didn't go through that.

Yeah.

So there's kind of a beautiful thing about life is that I think, you know, in many ways people have gone through the most, had the most to give. So when we're in feels so hard and dark and a challenge. But I was reading a book yesterday and one of the scents and I don't even think they meant to put it in there, but I think it's a bar. They said in life there's either lessons or blessings.

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Like, that's so true. And sometimes there's a blessing in the lesson. And. And it was just a sense. And I was just like lessons or blessings. Like that's to me again, all the stuff I went through was the reason I am who I am today. I really like who I am today.

Yeah.

I would not change a single day, period. Full stop. It forged me into who I am.

I developed a belief early on that was the bigger, like the thing that's happening, the catastrophe or the thing or the problem or the challenge that that comes. The bigger my life purposes. So like the big things come. I'm like, this is because my purpose is so big. I have to get through this to teach how to get through it.

Wow.

And that has helped me like, it helps me look forward to challenges, don't get me wrong. But now I'm like, oh, this is here so I can become the person who can then like teach this. So now challenges are like, oh, skills, skill set, new skill set, new skill set, an opportunity. Because I used to just, I used to like run from them, like cower, be like, why is this happening? And that that is not a belief. That's gonna, you know, I love that.

So you're saying the bigger the challenge I'm presented with means my life purpose is bigger? Because I wouldn't be facing this if that wasn't right. Because what I want to do is going to require me to learn this lesson to prepare me for that.

Look at your. Look at how you started out out, like, you have such a big life call on you because you can reach so many more people. Because that story is so understood among so many people, and it wipes out excuses for everybody else. And if you didn't have that, you couldn't wipe out excuses.

No.

And you're like the no excuse guy.

I guess so. You know, it's funny, when I. After I did the. The Iron Man, a lot of people, close friends and family members, said, hey, Dan, why don't you just chill out? You know what I mean? Like, why do you have to do this race? You know, maybe this is my favorite one. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe God's trying to tell you something. And I said, yeah, he's trying to tell me to go to do it. And it's funny because a lot of people, there's this. I wish I could tell who said this, but he said, sometimes we're given those challenges to get ready to receive the things we've been asking for. Like, I just believe that every time I face an adversary, you know, Tony teaches this. I got it from him. He said, you know, to your point, he. He. When he has a big issues and he's. Dude, his business was all in person seminars and covet happens. Yeah, okay. And he literally has programmed his mind to go, ooh, were the adversaries worthy? I've got a worthy opponent. This is nice. Finally, I'm like, whoa, that's some next level. Yeah. I don't know if I, like, run.

Into it, but I can't wait to say, finally.

Yeah, finally somebody worth fighting, you know? But. But it's kind of a cool concept to think about. Like, what if everything you're going through right now, what if every setback, every challenge, every emotion, all of it is getting you ready to receive the thing you've been asking for? And I just. I hold that belief. I know it's a truth for me. You know, even with money, when people say, I want to be a millionaire, I said, no, you don't, because you're not a millionaire yet. Jim Rohn used to talk about this. He said, you better hope nobody go gives you a million dollars, because if they did, you'd lose it. Right. Said, go earn a million dollars so you become a millionaire. And those are two different things. Is that cool? I love that idea. Yeah. He said, you should go learn how to make a million dollars, and if you don't want the money, give it to charity.

Right?

But go become the person who could.

Do it, can do it.

Right? And I'm like, oh, so this, everything. The challenge is just getting me ready to receive the thing I've been asking for.

Wow.

So let's go.

Dan, your book is like, top in the world right now. It's number four right now. And it's just, it's gonna go, you know, number one. Number four. Number one.

I just want New York Times. Times. I didn't get it the first round. It got released a year and a few months ago.

Why do you think your book is the top in the world? Why do you think it's staying there?

Well, I mean, for sure, the people that are supporting it, like, you know, we just talked about Rory Vaden.

Yeah.

Just there's so many people that I think there's something about when they read it, they just were like, oh, this is a practitioner. Like, I'm, I'm a builder, I'm an operator. I'm not a marketer, I'm not an Internet guru or any of that. I build companies, I buy companies. I love, I love problems, I love systems. And what's funny is people go like, where did you learn how to do this? As a software developer, all I did for 15 years was talk to customers about what they needed and then built it into an architecture. So I didn't know at the time when I was writing code and designing database systems and front end interfaces, that that was getting me ready to teach the principles that applied to my life in business. But that's why the book's full of, like, these models, like the buyback loop. And I think that's what's unique about it, is that every chapter, I kind of know where I want people to end up. I want them to build a business they don't grow to hate. I was very good goal. That was. I was just like, I have too many friends that are so freaking powerful and creative and artistic and beautiful that give up not because they couldn't. The market was there, the customer demand was there. It's because they built the business in the wrong way. And what I discovered through massive pain, my third company took a lot out of me was what ended up in that book. And the. What I learned allowed me to build the empire. Built so far like it's, it's bananas. The, the, the opportunities and the income and all that crazy stuff. But I think that's what people gravitate towards. They're like, I'm willing to do the work, but I'm clearly missing something. And it all starts with the way we value our time.

Yeah. Your book was Suggested to me so many times, like, because I always. I. People know that I love to read and they're like, have you read this one? Have you read this one yet? And I was like, okay, I'm gonna read. It was so, so good, the stuff in there. Like, you actually have to just like listen to a chapter and pause and be like, okay, I need to integrate this. Because there's so much info to optimize your life that even if you just take one thing from your book, your life is gonna change.

Change. So, yeah, it was, it was a labor of love. Most people know this because I've never shared it, but when I wrote the book, I wrote down 30 people's names. Yeah, it was 30 people. My wife was on there, my wife was on there, my brother was on there, my best friends were on. Like, I wrote down their names and then clients and then friends and then people on the Internet that I've never met. But I knew I could help. Yeah, literally, I put, put 30 names. And as I was writing the book.

I hope my name was on there. This girl needs help.

But it was just this question of just like, like, did I address that person? Because, like, in thinking about what argument they would give me back. That's why the 5 time assassins is in there. Because like, that's all about vices and bad habits. And if I don't address that, I can teach you how to get your time back, but then you're just going to self sabotage and implode on yourself.

So totally.

So each one of the chapters addressed a concern. And I used a lot of the stories I heard from people and I just, that's, that's why the book is what it is. It was just like a labor of love. When I, when I sit down, I had a writing partner put Paul. And every time I sat down with him, we'd pray. That was a really cool thing we did. He'd do it because I'm not good at it. So he'd pray and then I would just like look at the list. And when he was asking me questions and stuff, I just made sure that we were. It's almost like the idea with that objection and that objection and this person's weird belief around that.

What a great way to start.

It was just like I, I like right now I'm working on my next book. I have the list of people because I don't, I can't write again. I can't do it if I don't know who I'm doing it for.

Right Grabbing content that you've learned in the past, that you're like, I think this might work.

No. And it's just not. It's just I. I need to have a clear here. If it only ever served those 30 people. This is the CR. And this is why I knew I had something. I didn't know it would become what it's become when it came out. You know, we get the. The five copies from the publisher. You know, that's all I had, five. I mean, guys. You guys are stingy. Like, can you not send me a box or something? Anyway, so it gave me five. And my wife grabs one of them.

Them.

And for 14 days, she sat in the chair in our bedroom every night, and she read my book. Like, I don't expect people to read my book. I just never did. I. I mean, I'd love for you to read it, but I know I don't read everybody's books. Like, people send me their books all the time. And I'm like, I don't need to read it right now. And it was so funny because she would be sitting there and I'm laying in bed, and then she would go, hey, Dan, I know what my buyback rate is now, so now I gotta hire somebody. And then I go, next chapter. She's like, cool. And it was every night, she'd be like, yeah, I got it. Okay, I gotta get an assistant. What do I get her to do? Chapter three? So she's like, every night she'd be like, I'm in. What's the next thing? Because that unlocked it. And I think that one, I'm, like, the most proud of it. We work so hard on the sequencing of the book, like, what chapters go in what order.

Yeah.

That I think we did a really good job on the pacing, the length of it. It's. It's long, but not too long.

Yeah.

And it gives you, like, a very clear roadmap.

Yeah. It's a book people should read yearly.

I use it all the time.

Yeah. Like a reference book.

Yeah. Everybody I hire has to read it just because.

Keep it on your desk. It's a reference book.

Yeah. The replacement ladder is probably chapter five. It's, like, one of the most important. Even Rory, yesterday at his event, he goes, hey, tell everybody about that replacement ladder. Because it's just like a clear. Am I doing these things? Things.

Yeah. You guys go grab the book. It's incredible. We'll do a book giveaway. So, you guys, what we're gonna do is if you tag Dan.

Dan what's your Dan Martel 2000 Martel on Instagram. Are we on Instagram?

Yep. We're gonna do Instagram.

Dan. Yeah. Martel2ls.

Your Instagram is amazing, by the way.

Thank you.

So good.

It's all Sam.

Yes. Way to go, Sam. So what we're gonna do is if you share your biggest takeaway from the this podcast on Instagram, tag Dan. Tag myself. I'm going to send you a book. The first 10 people to do that, we're going to send you a copy of Dan's book. So thank you so much for being on the show today.

It's an honor.

I'm not going to, I'm not going to lie. This was one of my favorites. You guys definitely go check out the book. It's going to change your life. And we've got some bonus content with Dan.

Yes, we do.

We're going to teach the 131 rule. What is that? Just give us a little cliffhanger.

It'll change your whole business experience by starting to get other people to actually lead and come to you with solutions, not problems.

I need this. You need this. Go down to the show notes to get the bonus content right away. And you guys, thank you again. Until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone.

We're like, oh, this is a practitioner. Like I'm, I'm a builder, I'm an operator, I'm not a marketer, I'm not an Internet guru or any of that. I build companies, I buy companies. I love, I love problems, I love systems. And what's funny is people go like, where did you learn how to do this? As a software developer, all I did for 15 years was talk to customers about what they needed and then built it into an architecture. So I didn't know at the time when I was writing code and designing database systems and front end interfaces that that was getting me ready to teach the principles that applied to my life in business. But that's why the book's full of like these models, like the buyback loop. And I think that's what's unique about it is that every chapter I kind of know where I want people to end up. I want them to build a business they don't grow to hate. Date I was very clear, good goal. That was. I was just like, I have too many friends that are so freaking powerful and creative and artistic and beautiful that give up not because they couldn't. The market was there, the customer demand was there. It's because they built the business in the wrong Way. And what I discovered through massive pain, my third company took a lot out of me was what ended up in that book. And the, what I learned allowed me to build the empire. Built so far. Like it's, it's bananas. The, the, the opportunities and the income and all that crazy stuff, but I think that's what people gravitate towards. They're like, I'm willing to do the work, but I'm clearly missing something. And it all starts with the way we value our time.

Yeah. Your book was suggested to me so many times. Like, because I always, I. People know that I love to read and they're like, have you read this one? Have you read this one yet? And I was like, okay, I'm gonna read it. So, so good. The stuff in there, like, you actually have to just like listen to a chapter and pause and be like, like, okay, I need to integrate this. Because there's so much info to optimize your life that even if you just take one thing from your book, your life is going to change.

So, yeah, it was, it was a labor of love. Most people know this because I've never shared it, but when I wrote the book, I wrote down 30 people's names. Yeah, it was 30 people. My wife was on there, my brother was on there, my best friends were on. Like, I wrote down their names and then clients. Clients and then friends and then people on the Internet that I've never met. But I knew I could help. Yeah, literally, I put, put 30 names. And as I was writing the book.

Oh, my name was on there. This girl needs help.

But it was just this question of, just like, did I address that person? Because, like, in thinking about what argument they would give me back. That's why the 5 time assassins is in there. Because like, that's all about vices.

Yeah.

Bad habits. And if I don't address that, I can teach you how to get your time back, but then you're just going to self sabotage and implode on yourself. So. So each one of the chapters addressed a concern and I used a lot of the stories I heard from people and I just, that's, that's why the book is what it is. It was just like a labor of love. When I, when I sit down, I had a writing partner, Paul. And every time I sat down with him, we'd pray. That was a really cool thing we did. He'd do it because I'm not good at it. So he'd pray and then I would just like look at the list. And when he was asking me questions and stuff. I just made sure that we were. It's almost like the idea with that objection and that objection and this person's weird belief around that.

What a great way to start.

It was just like, I. I like. Right now I'm working on my next book. I have the list of people, because I don't. I can't write again. I can't do it if I don't know who I'm doing it for.

Right.

Because it ain't for me.

Grabbing content that you've learned in the past that, yeah, I think this might work.

No. And it's just not. It's just I. I need to have a clear here. If it only ever served those 30 people. This is the CR. And this is why I knew I had something. I didn't know it would become what it's become when it came out. You know, we get the five copies from the publisher. You know, that's all I had, five. I mean, guys. You guys are stingy. Like, can you not send me a box or something? Anyway, so they gave me five, and my wife grabs one of them. And for 14 days, she sat in the chair in our bedroom every night and she read my book. Like, I don't expect people to read my book. I just never did. I mean, I'd love for you to read it, but I know I don't read everybody's books. Like, people send me the books all the time. And I'm like, I don't need to read it right now. And it was so funny because she would be sitting there and I'm laying in bed, and then she would go, hey, Dan, I know what my buyback rate is now, so now I gotta hire somebody. And then I go, next chapter. She's like, cool. And it was every night she'd be like, yeah, I got it. Okay, I gotta get an assistant. Saying, what do I get her to do? Chapter three? So she's like, every night she'd be like, I'm in. What's the next thing? Because that unlocked it. And I think that one I'm the most proud of. We work so hard on the sequencing of the book. Like, what chapters go in what order, that I think we did a really good job on the pacing, the.