In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews entrepreneur and author D.J. Dozier (pen name W.H. Dozier III). Dozier shares a pivotal 1987 story where, while watching the World Series, he decided to pursue baseball despite a six‑year gap, illustrating the transformative power of decisive moments—a theme central to his book Decide to Dominate. He outlines his two core expertise areas—strategy and business development—explaining how startups often overlook people, strategic pivots, or relational tweaks that can unlock growth. His top business advice emphasizes radical honesty within oneself and in boardrooms, arguing that truth fuels extraordinary success. Reflecting on personal growth, Dozier advises investing in people before projects, noting past missteps when he focused on ideas over individuals. When asked about happiness, he reframes the question to the purpose of life, asserting that fulfillment of God‑given purpose, aligned with one’s unique talents (TAGs), creates lasting joy. He cites Good to Great (honesty as a catalyst for greatness) and Rich Dad Poor Dad (creating jobs versus working for them) as his most influential reads. Favorite quotes include Thomas Edison’s perspective on failure and Dozier’s own mantra: “Outwork, outsmart, or outlast the competition; achieve all three and dominate.” Finally, he directs listeners to his books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and to his websites decidetodominate.com and djdozer.com for more content and a free chapter.
Chapters
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today, today I have DJ Dozier with us. He is the author of the book titled Decide to Dominate under the pen name of W.H. Dozier III. He is currently an entrepreneur and business strategist assisting startups and small companies with brand development, growth management, and sales strategies. So welcome to the show.
Thank you, Tyler. I'm glad to be here.
Of course. Glad to have you on. So, DJ, the first one I got for you today is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, you know, it's funny because I kid people about my storytelling because I've got so many stories. And, you know, I say to my kids, I'm going to make a great grandfather because I've got so many stories to tell. So it's hard to pick out one. But, you know, if there was one story that I believe that's a valuable message to the world is, you know, 1987. I was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and then had an opportunity to go to the World Series during that season. And I'm sitting there watching the game. And at some point, I believe it was the second or third game that I watched of the series, and I realized that I wanted to play baseball. And so this dream, you know, it hit me. And so what I realized is, you know, following that dream was important. But when I look back at, you know, just the thought of playing baseball, because you have to understand that, you know, for me to think about that was a major thing because I hadn't played baseball since high school, which was, you know, what eventually was about 6 years before that. And so now looking back and looking at that dream, I realize the power of a decision. You know, when we have that power to make a decision, it does something to us. And, you know, what I thought was maybe just an insignificant moment, when I look back now, is very significant because, you know, again, when we come to that point to make a decision, there's something that happens to us. You know, in business world, they call it commit. They want you to make a commitment. And so, you know, the power of the decision, I think that's one of the reasons why, you know, the book title, uh, Deciding to Dominate, is, uh, so powerful.
And then, uh, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, you know, growing up, I, I love to observe and think And so I developed into, you know, what I would call two areas of expertise: strategy as well as business development. You know, most startups and some small companies that are looking to grow forget some of the components that you need in order to grow. Sometimes it's people, sometimes it's, it's its strategy or the relaunching of a different strategy. And so that's the— those are areas that I focus in on. And it's amazing what happens when, you know, you see a company that has a lot of energy, wants to grow significantly, but just needs a couple of tweaks here and there. And sometimes it's just a relationship or two. But it's amazing what happens when they connect with either the right strategy or the right people. Mm-hmm.
And it could tie in, but what's your best piece of overall business advice and not necessarily industry-specific?
Well, you know, the, uh, we all know that with hard work there's something that happens, something positive that happens. So we have to have hard work, but you know, if I had to pick something else beyond that, It would have to be— we have to learn to be honest with ourselves and honest with our situations. Because when you as a business leader, and certainly in your own business, if you allow honesty within your own heart and allow others to be honest with you, then it can certainly produce an extraordinary amount of growth and success, you know, I think not just in your business but in your life.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I don't know if I have enough time for that. Well, I would, uh, I would definitely hone in on, you know, I mean, listen, we all know when we get to that age or we get to a point where we're we think we're out of here. I would imagine that— and I'm not there yet, but I would imagine that folks always look back and they want more time. And there's always something that we can correct. But I think one of the areas for me would be in terms of my investment of time and money. It took me a number of years to learn that when you invest in something, you're not investing in something, you're investing in someone for the most part. And so there are lots of people that I would not have invested in. In other words, I became enamored and focused on the project versus the person. And so by investing in the person, well, by seeing the project and becoming, you know, lured by the project, But bypassing the people or the person really hurt me. And so I would tell myself, you've got to invest. You've got to realize that you're investing in people before the project.
Yeah, man, could not agree more. And then kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
That's obviously a great question. Actually, I think it's almost like a trick question because I think the— I guess the real question I would ask is not what's the key to happiness, but what's the key to life? And if I were saying what's the key to life, or if I were being asked what is the key to life, then I would start off by saying the key to life is the fulfillment of purpose. And because in our fulfillment of purpose, we— there is so much, in my opinion, so much joy and just satisfaction in knowing that you exist for a reason and you are fulfilling that reason. And so, you know, I think that's the starting point. If we focus in on purpose and the fulfillment of purpose, then we will accomplish everything we seek out to accomplish. And we'll find satisfaction in that. And so, you know, if— so if we think about it from that perspective, to a certain degree, then you say, well, who gave me this purpose? And, you know, what tools do I have to fulfill it? So I believe that, number one, that God gave us all purpose. And so that's one of the reasons why what I would call TAGs, our talents, our abilities, our gifts, and our skills. We have these things for a specific reason, for a specific purpose. That being said, you know, it, it brings me to a conclusion. I talk about this in the book, that we're significant. I mean, if, if someone took the time to put something in us, meaning those talents and those abilities that no one else has, or at least not that particular group of, of things, that particular group of tags, then that in and of itself creates this mindset that we are significant. There's a reason why we exist. There's significant reasoning. And so before we accomplish anything, before we set out to do anything, we're already significant. And I think if many of us can recognize that and come to that place, we'll find happiness and way beyond happiness, we'll find fulfillment in life. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that is an amazing answer. So my next one for you is, what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh boy. Well, I've read some great books. I would say, well, it had to be two books. So one of the books would be Good to Great. Good to Great for me was one of those books that said, hey, you're good in terms of a company, being good, but if you want to be great, one of the things you've got to have is you've got to have honesty in your room. You've got to have honesty in your boardroom. You know, I've been in situations where— been in board meetings or been in staff meetings where I would watch and I'd observe the leader or the president, CEO, and I knew this person very well, so I knew their sort of makeup. And I would watch people around the room. No one wanted to express— the absolute truth because it was pushed back on. And I know that even though it was a successful company, that it could have been even— so it was a good company that could have been a great company or a greater company if they would have allowed more honesty in their situation. So "Good to Great" was a great book. That's what I learned from that. The other book I would have to add is "Rich Dad Poor Dad." And what I learned in Rich Dad Poor Dad was amazing. You know, it's real simple. There's a difference between spending your time in life, especially high school and college, to get a job versus creating jobs. And so looking at that difference in terms of a strategy, you're working to get a job or career versus working to create jobs. I mean, what a dynamic between the two. And so those are my two favorite books.
And then what is your favorite quote and why?
Thomas Edison was asked by, I believe, a reporter, you know, how did it feel to fail over 1,200 times? And he responded back to him, from what I understand, with the quote saying that I have not failed over 1,200 times, but actually found over 1,200 times how I cannot invent electricity. And so that quote is based on perception. You know, what you see, you know, that glass half full or half empty. And so, you know, having that perception, his perception kept him on task because, you know, in life we can get discouraged at any point. And so, you know, quote unquote failing over 1,200 times could get anybody discouraged. But because of his perception, this is why I love that quote. And, you know, the other quote that I love is actually one that I came up with for myself, and it involves competition. And the quote is, "To overcome our competition, we either outwork, outsmart, or outlast them." But if for some reason we accomplish all 3 of these strategies simultaneously, we will utterly and decisively dominate our opponents. And so that's how we decide to dominate is, you know, you look at those 3 areas, 3 strategies, and if you can, in most cases, if you can win on one of those strategies, you have a chance to, to be victorious. But if you certainly accomplish all three simultaneously, then of course domination is, is at hand.
Um, well, dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last one I got for you is, where can our audience best find you online?
Well, our books are available at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. I also have a website, uh, decidetodominate.com. Or my name, djdozer.com, to take a look at my bio as well as if, if, if audiences, if the audience is interested in a free chapter, then we'll ask for an email and they'll have an opportunity to read a free chapter.
Perfect. Thanks again for coming on, man.
Thank you. Thanks for the invite.
The podcast you just heard was made using Anchor. Ever thought about making your own podcast? Anchor makes it really easy for anyone to get started. It's a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, and distributing podcasts. Best of all, it's 100% free. Sign up now at anchor.fm/new. That's anchor.fm/new to get started.
