(piano music)
- I think there's a difference between
like a millionaire, a decent life,
versus, like, really wealthy.
That you have a lot more people
going in and out of your life
like you said your butler,
you have your personal assistant.
I'm getting used to it, where the delegation part,
like you said,
a lot of things you actually don't do any more, right?
Where, I can't fix the light bulb,
I don't know how it works.
- I have four personal assistants
and my life is divided up into four categories.
And I have four of those gals that has their own sliver of
and there's some slight overlap amongst three of the four.
They've been at it a long time.
In one case, let's see, 13 years, 12 years, 22 years
and six years.
The six year one hasn't been a long time,
but the other three have been at it a long time
and I've seen their kids, one case born, grow up and leave,
and the other, one case not born,
but certainly grow up and leave
and you see the transitions that they've made,
you can never underestimate how wrong you can be
and so when you find somebody that's really, really good,
you make sure they know they're really, really good
and you compensate 'em like they're really, really good.
And then you've got one less thing to worry about.
But even at that, you can never underestimate
how wrong you can be,
'cause people can disappoint you left, right
and center, they do.
But as long as you know, that you or that I,
that you did virtually everything humanly possible
be firm but fair, but firm, because people appreciate it.
The kids don't lack ingenuity, what they lack is leadership.
And now being a firm leader
is considered politically incorrect.
Showing tough love, they forget the tough part
and they only remember the love part.
- The book you recommend, Tough-Minded Management,
- Correct, by Joe Batten. - Joe, yeah.
Still, a very relevant book,
I think. - It is.
Joe Batten was the mentor of Ross Perot,
a billionaire back in the day.
And he also wrote a great book--
- My Principles, I think?
My Life and My Principles. - Yeah.
- Not many people read it, 'cause it's not a very popular
book, but it's a great book-- - No, no, and he also wrote
a book Tough-Minded Leadership.
- Yeah
- And those are the only two books you need
on management leadership.
But Joe was a super-human and I had the pleasure
of also being in business with him on top of it.
But I mean strong leadership is not looked upon as an asset.
Steinbrenner, who used to own the Yankees
he was a tough, tough guy.
And they won, I think 11 championships
while under his leadership
and the Yankees have only won one since
George Steinbrenner passed away.
I mean, success leaves clues.
If successful, if the super-successful people don't hang--
- Chill. - Don't chill,
don't go to Super Bowls and all those things.
And they're hard asses, okay,
but only 98% of the high performers in the world
aren't alpha males.
2% are alpha males, 98% are regular people.
Because, for example Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Warren Buffet,
all share one attribute: they're introverts.
- This side continuum, right?
- Correct.
So, you don't have to be an alpha male.
And back in the day, 100 years ago,
and doing research for one of my talks,
they had obviously alpha males,
but they didn't call 'em alpha males.
They called them oak trees.
- Oak trees.
- Oak trees!
Because that was considered the straightest
thing in the forest and it didn't break down.
And so they were called oak trees.
But when I tell people about
Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet all being introverts,
because most people are introverts,
most people are pleasers.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- [Commentator] The most epic event of this century.
The Oscar for high-ticket closers,
Closers in Black, 2019.
The 50 Billion Dollar Man,
Dan Peña.
King of high-ticket sales,
Dan Lok.
Get your ticket today.
- You've been raised to please people,
instead of being, to please yourself.
I tell the kids, here's something here
that you've haven't heard growing up.
I want you to be more selfish, to fulfill your dreams.
And for those people getting in the way of your dreams,
don't be more selfish to them,
just extract them from your life.
- Mmm.
- It's a lot easier.
And my first wife, or my current wife for many years
were here to tell you, they'd say,
we worship the ground Dan walks on,
but nobody loves Dan more than Dan.
- Mmm.
- My love for my husband is transitory
compared to his love for himself.
- Mmm.
- Nobody fucking loves me more than me.
- Mmm.
- And that's how you be the best husband,
the best student, the best father, the best brother,
the best grandchild, the best citizen in my judgment,
is love of yourself.
Of course, that's self esteem, that's self confidence
and compared to what he sounded like,
and looked like 15 years ago,
there's no comparison.
- Mmm.
- Zero.
And now, look at him, he's got a following,
the rivals, anybody on the planet.
You and the Dalai Lama, I guess, you know?
(laughing)
- I think I'm closer to your end of the continuum.
- Yeah, yeah yeah.
By the way, do you know anybody that was invited
to the Dalai's 80th birthday?
- No.
- Oh, I wasn't.
Some of my mentees where at the Dalai's.
- Wow.
- Okay, that's the top of the pecking order social calendar.
And they brought me back his closing speech,
where they're asking for money, but anyway,
he's, put the close on 'em, and at the end
he says, meditation is great.
Love of humanity is great.
Prayer is great.
But taking action, action, action is the best of all.
- Mmm, very nice.
- If he had said, taking fucking action,
I would have liked that a little better.
- Yeah, yes.
- But apparently the Dalai doesn't use those words
at least in public.
But he's always got his hand out for money.
- Yes.
- He's always selling.
- He's closing!
- Yeah.
- He's closing, he's raising money, for sure.
- And he's a high-ticket closer.
(laughter)
'Cause you give the Dalai 10, 20, 50 million.
- (laughs) Yes.
Closes big ticket deals.
Speaking of leadership,
we're talking about growth,
from the company were, you know,
go from zero to 1 million, one to 10, 10 to 100,
100 to a billion.
In terms of structure and leadership,
or even compensation, how do you structure that?
What needs to change?
- First of all, for those of you that have started
a business and you go from zero to 100 000
in revenue, that's geometric growth.
- Yeah.
- That's quantum.
And then a million five, a hundred million,
as dangers alluded to.
- Yeah.
- I structure commensurate,
they get paid commensurate with the growth.
If you were the company,
you come in as the the head of marketing, head of sales,
and the company is already doing 5 million
and you take it to 50 million,
you should be compensated at some incremental value
from that five to 50 million.
- Mmm.
- And I believe in compensation not at the end of the year
because you may have had a great first quarter
and you don't get paid for it till the last quarter
you forget why you're getting paid.
So I like to give those kind of compensations.
- Like at the quarter?
- Yeah, every quarter.
And if it's direct sales, when I used to be in direct sales
I didn't come in and say, did we make any sales today?
How many fucking sales did we make today?
- Mmm.
- I used to pay 'em cash daily.
- Mmm.
- I used to pin $500 bills, $100 bills on the ceiling, okay?
- Mmm.
- And the guy that made the first sale of the day
could jump up and he could take a 500 or 100.
- Mmm.
- He couldn't use a stool or anything, he had to jump.
- Yeah, just jump.
- Okay, so I didn't care a damn which one he got,
but it became a feeding frenzy in the sales room.
Now when I was doing it they called 'em boiler rooms
- Yeah, boiler rooms.
- 'Cause now it's called sanders, et cetera.
- They're called sanders, yeah.
- But that works.
And then, twice a year, take the sales team,
the marketing team out for a big do.
Once a year, take them for a big weekend
where they can bring their wives or significant others.
I used to give Rolex watches
to not only the guy but his significant other,
two Rolex watches for anybody
that made me $1 million.
- Mmm.
- Now, my accounts, what about tax, no fuck taxes!
You put $1 million on the books for me,
I bought you and your old lady or your significant other
a fucking Rolex watch.
- Mmm.
- Okay, okay?
And sales just went through the fucking roof.
Now people can do $1 million in business
without leaving their computer.