3 Filters You Need to Find the Right Experts - Todd Dickerson - CFR #541

Welcome back to ClickFunnels Radio. You're gonna find out right now the three filters you need to find the right experts to follow. How do you get a true source of truth? How do you filter through all the garbage that's out there? This is the second in three episodes I had the opportunity of recording with Todd Dickerson. He's our co founder of Click Funnels. You're gonna love what Todd has to talk about right now. So it kind of starts off abruptly only because I was in. We were basically in the recording of one episode, and I split it into three. And you're gonna love it. So apologize for the little jump cut right into this thing. But hang on tight. You're gonna love finding out why Todd is the smartest guy I've ever met. Welcome to ClickFunnels Radio, where we go behind the scenes and uncover the tactics and strategies top entrepreneurs are using to make more sales dominate their markets and how you can get those same results. Here's your host, Dave Woodward. As I kind of fast forward from that, Todd, I remember the first time I met you was actually at an event here in Boise. And I remember we actually were sitting next to each other at dinner and just hearing you talk, it blew my mind that you had so much knowledge about so many different things. And I'm kind of curious. I mean, you're like one of the smartest guys I know when it comes to bitcoin, when it comes to politics. You actually called Covid before COVID actually hit. And so I'm fascinated by how your mind thinks and how you've acquired such a thirst for knowledge and to gain knowledge and a skillset so quick.

Oh, man, that one may be a little bit harder for me to give away the secret. You know, honestly, I have a lot of varied interests, number one. And you know, you mentioned all these things that are very different, but also, to me, they're all very similar because they're all around, like, success and like, you know, Covid, for example. Right. Like, it's not that I was following viruses super close, but I actually follow the right experts that follow viruses really close. Right. And I was not looking at it necessarily from getting sick and dying necessarily as much as I was from the economic impact that was coming. So back in January, I was placing bets on the VIX index and, you know, putting lining up with gold and silver and all the other alternatives, Bitcoin, to be ready for what might be coming. Right. So, you know, I have interest around. Around these things, and when I get interested in something I kind of like dive in deep and I have to like know all the things about it, right? Like I can't just be like, oh yeah, I've heard of this like thing that might be happening. Like I'm like, if it's important enough for me to like know as a thing, I should probably know. Like I should probably be like the expert out of my peer group of on this thing. And I just like kind of dive in deep to actually knowing it and understanding it. So I don't, I don't really have like a secret there other than I think finding reliable experts that you can trust in different areas and like utilizing and leaning on their knowledge. Right? Like Covid. I go back to that. There's a guy, Chris Martinson Peak Prosperity. I'm going to plug him because he was so valuable in like nailing this super, super early. We were at funnel hacking live. I had people hand sanitizing before they would come on stage because I knew Covid was coming and it was like a thing and it was already in the US and blah. Like I knew this thing and nobody was like paying any attention to it whatsoever, right? Like, and I'm like, this thing's coming and like I know it. I knew it because I was following an expert in this topic that I'd seen been right in the past, right. There's an expert on gold and silver, I follow. There's multiple experts on bitcoin, I follow. In cryptocurrencies, I follow. And you find those right experts in the different areas over time. And, and you don't have to file through all the documents everywhere about health or cryptocurrency or all the alternative investments. You take these experts opinions and obviously put it through your own filters. But once you actually filter it, it's less of a fire hose to be able to go through. I listen to both Peter Schiff and Max Keiser. They are polar opposites. One of them is like, gold is the best thing ever and bitcoin is horrible. One of them's like, bitcoin's the best thing ever and gold is like worthless or going to be worth whatever, right? And I take both those guys opinions and I know that they're experts in their area. But you also know that everyone has their own biases, right? So you have to filter it through their biases, their motivations. Whether it's a status bias and motivation that you know, you know they need to be right in order to become higher, elevated in their status or it's a, it's an actual profit motivation. Right. Like, Peter sells gold. Like, obviously he's got a bias to it. Even if it's not conscious, he's got a bias to it. So, you know, that's basically the secret that I have around that I think is that, like, I find experts in those different areas and I lean on them and there's multiple experts, and I don't take their word as gospel by any means. Right. Otherwise, I don't know bitcoin. Right. But I do follow and utilize their knowledge as much as possible. Right. Like, that's kind of the, I guess, secret there.

No.

Well, I'm going to spend a few.

Minutes on this one here because I think it's so critical because people, they're always chasing the next guru and they're always going back and forth. And I've been so impressed. Just you have an ability to actually find that source of truth. I mean, classic example is today we just got notice basically, that we're going to be setting up a company in Puerto Rico. So we're setting up a company in Puerto Rico. I had known nothing about Puerto Rico. I'd heard different things. JLD was moving to Puerto Rico. Brennan was moving to Puerto Rico. Like, oh, yeah, whatever. But then all of a sudden, I'm talking to you, and you literally dive deep. But most importantly, you got the right contacts, you got the right resources, you were able to get the right people. So I'm kind of curious, how do you go about finding and just filtering through to get to the true source of truth? Because, I mean, right now, Todd, as you know, we've got people all over the time who are saying they're the next guru in whatever industry it is. And so I'm just kind of curious. I mean, I can. There are so many topics I love. I mean, I probably take a sidebar. I mean, I love even talking to you about health. I remember we were down at Founders Advisors thing and all the crazy supplements you were taking and why you were taking them, and that's topic for dip. But it goes back to the same point, and that is how do you. How do you filter through everything to find the right experts to follow? And I love. You always get both sides.

Yeah. So I think there's another guy that I love. But basically the idea that most people have is they need to have an open mind. Right. So they can go listen to this guru, have an open mind. That's better than having a closed mind, probably. I'll concede that. But I don't think I Have an open mind. I think I have a critical mind, right? So anything that comes in, I filter through my lenses and I treat with a critical eye. I look for those biases. I look for the other motivations. I look to see if they practice what they preach. Right? Like, I'm actually, like, not just open to. Because this guy said this thing, it must be true, right? Like, I'm willing to hear it out. I'm willing to hear his opinion. I want to hear his backstory. But I don't just accept it as fact. I adopted into my worldview if it passes my critical filters. And over time, I've developed, I guess, an internal worldview or filters or lenses that you. Whatever you want to call it, that allow me to basically quickly filter and decide whether something is something that's BS And I need to throw it out or if I want to save it for later or if I want to adopt it into my current worldview. It's funny you mentioned this, because I actually talked about with a buddy of mine about writing a book about this, about filters, because I feel like there are a lot of filters that you can apply that people just miss a lot of the times that could be super valuable for. For, like, this type of stuff for analyzing where you are and, like, the information coming in. Right.

Well, it's so funny you mentioned. I remember the first time Russell introduced me to you. He's like, dave, you have to meet the smartest guy I've ever met in the world. And I'm like, wow, that's a pretty huge statement to say Russell. He goes, no, you don't understand who this guy is. I'm like. I'm thinking, who are we gonna be talking to? Because, I mean, Russell's got these huge, pretty large circles of influence and has for years. I'm thinking, oh, my gosh, we talking to Tony? Are we talking to. I mean, I've talked to Rick. I've already talked to Kiyosaki. No, no, no. You have to meet the smartest man.

I've ever met in my entire life.

And it was you. And at first I'm like, oh, really? And, Todd, the more time I get to spend with you, the more I have to echo what Russell says. And you literally are the smartest man I've ever met because of that critical mind. No, I'm serious. You just. But it's. I mean, that critical mind has personal. Provided a ton of opportunity for us at ClickFunnels. It saved us from making some stupid mistakes. It saved us from chasing the shiny object syndrome. Again, Russell and I both get excited about stuff, and we'll talk to you. Like, I get excited about that too, Dave.

Russell.

But guys, let me show you. Let me talk about this other side. And so I'm serious.

Yeah, no, we've had that. That's happened a couple times.

Yes, it does. And so I'm just kind of curious if there's anything else you can help people to get that filter or that lens, what they can do to get there. Like you have.

Yeah, I mean, I think, like, I kind of mentioned first there, like, looking at somebody's motivation is a big part, right? Like, yeah, I think it's. Perry Belcher says. Says basically that, you know, there's only one reason that people do things or don't do things, right? It has to do with whether it elevates their status or not. Right. So that's a big thing to factor in on when you're listening to stuff. Another piece is, like, to look at whether or not they practice what they preach. Like, are they teaching you how to make money in real estate? But, like, in reality, they're making the majority of their money selling you an info product. Like, if that's the case, then, you know, maybe you should look at actually where they make their money, which is info products. Like, and, you know, follow the bags of money. That's another one that is that. I forgot who said that now, but it's another good filter that I've adapted over the years, which is basically looking at who's the most successful at a thing. And this does not just apply to money, Right. Could be health. Like, don't go follow and listen to the fat guy. I mean, like, he may be a great person, but if you're trying to get more healthy, go and find the most fit person you can possibly find, maybe someone that used to be in your shape, and follow them. Right? Like, it's the same thing, whether it's health, whether it's relationships, whether it's money, whatever that thing is. You want to find someone that's successful in that and actually adopt, like, what their principles are or consider adopting what their principles are. Right. Then filter it through your. Your own. Your own historical lenses and stuff, Right? And I think, you know, in the. You've mentioned politics slightly, and I won't go too much into it, but in the political world that we live in, too many people have an open mind for their party. They pick a political party and they accept everything that party says as gospel. That is, that is the opposite of What I'm talking about, I'm talking about, I'm an open mind. I'll hear both points, but I'm going to filter it through what I know to be true, and then I'm going to actually decide which pieces to adopt from both sides, Right? Like, and too many people don't. They have an open mind and then they have a closed mind to the other ones, right? So they're like, I'll accept everything this side says and nothing this side says. And that's just wrong. Like, you can't do that. That's not how you're successful and how you get better and how you get smarter. Like, that's not how you're going to, like, become more successful in life by just rejecting everything and not listening to anything that another opinion has to say. So I listen to the guys that say crypto is going to zero and the guys that say it's going to a million dollars a coin in the next three years. I listen to both sides and I adopt different pieces for both of them. And you know what? What you find is a lot of the times there's similarities. They both believe the same core underlying thing, that actually they believe this thing. They agree on that 100%. And then one says, because of this thing, this is happening. The other says, because of this thing, this is. This is happening. So what I want to do is look at that thing and then make my own determination of what comes after that thing.

I love it. Todd, thank you so much. Absolutely love finding the three filters. You need to find the right experts. How do you get those actual true source of truth, and where do you go? So hopefully you guys got a ton of value out of that. Look forward to the next episode. This is going to be Todd's side of the story of how and who actually ended up building clickfunnels. So hold tight. You're going to love this one. Well, I hope you absolutely loved all the value of that podcast. Speaking of value, right now, one of the things we're really trying to do is over deliver. And the thing we've seen that has probably created the greatest opportunity for us to over deliver to all of you, and that is our One Funnel Away Challenge. In fact, you can actually see it@clickfunnelsradio.com OFA Again, clickfunnelsradio.com OFA if you've gone through the One Funnel Away challenge in the past, this is something totally new. We started the one funnel away challenge back, back in 2018, and it is now two and a half years later, we decided to completely redo it. Everything brand new, simplifying the process, making it just as easy as possible for you to get results quick. Just spend 30 minutes every single day and what you're going to get is Russell teaching you exactly what you need to do to get your funnel up and running in the next 30 days. So go to clickfunnelsradio.com OFA. You can get all the details there. Thanks so much and we'll talk to you soon.