Dan Martell - How To Find Growth Minded Friends

00:00:00.000 Hey there, I'm Darren Martell,

00:00:01.200 serial entrepreneur, investor, and creator of SaaS Academy.

00:00:03.660 And in this episode, I'm gonna share with you

00:00:05.340 how to create a killer community

00:00:08.560 regardless of where you live, your city, right now.

00:00:13.100 There are amazing people all around you.

00:00:15.380 I'm gonna share with you the strategies,

00:00:16.940 tactics, and philosophies, most importantly,

00:00:19.040 the mindset to help you get yourself out of your way,

00:00:22.180 reach out to them, not be scared to do it,

00:00:24.400 and really transform the quality of your life

00:00:26.380 by increasing the quality of your relationship.

00:00:29.260 and be sure to stay at the end.

00:00:30.240 We're gonna tell you how to get access

00:00:31.280 to my Dream 100 framework that talks about the 100 people

00:00:34.560 in any business you start that you wanna identify,

00:00:37.020 the peers, the mentors, and advisors, and how to do that.

00:00:39.800 I'm gonna tell you how to get that at the end.

00:00:41.560 Let's get into it.

00:00:55.460 So recently, I was hosting my SaaS boardroom clients.

00:00:58.420 These are my high-end clients

00:00:59.940 doing about 5 million to 10 million a year in revenue

00:01:02.160 in my hometown, my new hometown of Kelowna, BC.

00:01:05.340 And it was awesome to show them around.

00:01:07.620 We did some private winery tours.

00:01:09.520 We went and visited friends' companies,

00:01:11.540 did some site tours, went mountain biking,

00:01:13.880 really showed them why I made the decision to move here.

00:01:17.460 And the comments that many of my clients made to me was,

00:01:20.600 holy cow, man, like you've been here a little over a year

00:01:23.060 and you've built this incredible network.

00:01:25.260 How did you do it?

00:01:26.300 Like, I don't have this.

00:01:27.260 One of my clients is in New York City

00:01:29.380 and doesn't feel like he has the quality of relationships

00:01:34.380 that he saw amongst my peer group.

00:01:36.260 And because he literally, we went, we'd visit,

00:01:39.100 you know, my friend, he's built a billion dollar company

00:01:41.700 and we went and visited them

00:01:43.500 and talked to their executive team.

00:01:44.740 And then they were the same people

00:01:45.740 that brought us mountain biking.

00:01:46.780 And then we had a house party

00:01:48.340 and the people that showed up at the house party

00:01:49.740 are people that are online that they knew of.

00:01:51.980 And they're like, they live here too.

00:01:53.260 And I'm like, yeah, there's literally in this town,

00:01:55.860 there's bestselling authors.

00:01:57.140 There's billionaires, multiple billionaires

00:01:59.480 playing legacy with their money,

00:02:00.860 building these incredible wineries

00:02:02.460 like Mission Hill we went to visit,

00:02:04.120 Martins Lane, private winery,

00:02:07.380 just so many incredible things.

00:02:09.180 And I share that because it doesn't matter

00:02:11.880 of when I went to San Francisco as a 28 year old,

00:02:14.580 moving back home and having kids 0.96

00:02:16.360 and not knowing any other entrepreneurs

00:02:18.120 other than my brother in my own hometown

00:02:20.140 to making decision moving to Kelowna.

00:02:21.960 One of the things that I love to do

00:02:24.220 is I love to invest in community

00:02:26.100 and build a peer group of people that inspire me

00:02:28.760 and push me to think bigger and make my life more fun.

00:02:32.480 I mean, it's the integrated life.

00:02:33.960 So that's what I wanna share with you

00:02:35.420 is five specific philosophies, mindsets, and beliefs

00:02:39.520 that are gonna help you create a world-class community

00:02:42.080 regardless of where you live.

00:02:43.480 Step number one, it's gonna be hard.

00:02:45.780 Like literally, I'm just starting this off by telling you

00:02:48.380 that if you think you can just bump into people

00:02:51.700 and create a world-class community,

00:02:53.160 it's not gonna be easy.

00:02:54.640 You know, the effort of realizing you'll get out of it

00:02:59.400 what you put into it, that's number one.

00:03:01.020 I want you to start with the belief that it's worth it, okay?

00:03:04.640 Because when you start getting invited

00:03:06.720 on a Saturday morning to go run

00:03:08.360 with three other peer groups

00:03:09.500 that are two or three years ahead of you,

00:03:11.180 in the same industry you're in,

00:03:12.440 I know for a fact, regardless of where you live,

00:03:15.100 there are other software entrepreneurs maybe, if that's you,

00:03:17.800 or other HVAC owners or whatever it is,

00:03:20.060 small business owners that are doing things

00:03:22.960 that you like to do, but you're not there, okay?

00:03:25.780 And if they are doing this, be the person to create it.

00:03:29.500 But I'm telling you, it's gonna be hard.

00:03:30.860 It's gonna take work, but it's absolutely worth it.

00:03:33.540 And that is the first thing I wanna get out of the way,

00:03:36.060 that your proximity to people is powerful, okay?

00:03:40.380 Proximity is powerful.

00:03:41.680 And if you wanna know what the future looks like,

00:03:44.320 show me your five friends.

00:03:45.600 I will literally show you your future

00:03:47.620 by looking at the five people you spend the most time with,

00:03:49.720 and I wanna teach you how to upgrade that,

00:03:51.480 And that's why I created this episode.

00:03:53.200 Number two is make the list.

00:03:54.540 So one of the challenges everybody asks me is like,

00:03:56.640 how do you find these people?

00:03:58.020 Like what was your process of identifying, you know,

00:04:01.000 not only people that are successful,

00:04:03.140 but also share your same values.

00:04:04.640 Cause a lot of people, they struggle with like, 0.93

00:04:06.600 well, I met this guy, but he's a douche.

00:04:08.080 Or I met this person,

00:04:09.580 but they don't feel like doing a whole lot.

00:04:11.040 My whole thing is use the information out there

00:04:15.740 and then try to qualify through back channeling

00:04:17.860 and or their association to other things.

00:04:19.900 For example, making the list could be starting

00:04:22.620 by identifying the top nonprofits in your city

00:04:24.980 and looking at what entrepreneurs sit on the boards

00:04:27.460 of those nonprofits, make that list.

00:04:29.400 Google, you know, top business awards in your city

00:04:33.360 and find out what they are,

00:04:34.640 and then look at the past winners for the past seven years.

00:04:37.320 Seven years is probably a good timeframe,

00:04:38.780 means they're still actively in business.

00:04:41.020 Add that to the list, ask people,

00:04:43.720 hey, who are the top entrepreneurs that you know

00:04:45.520 that are kind, you know, active, part of the community.

00:04:49.940 These are all questions that went like,

00:04:51.820 when I moved back east from San Francisco,

00:04:54.980 I went back to my hometown to have our kids.

00:04:57.840 I asked this question to all my friends,

00:04:59.560 like, who do you know that is a good person

00:05:03.640 that's building a really cool business

00:05:05.880 that you think would be open to connecting

00:05:07.500 with other people just like them?

00:05:08.700 And they, oh, you need to talk to Mark.

00:05:10.020 Oh, you need to talk to Denise. 0.56

00:05:11.160 Oh, you need to talk to Nick.

00:05:12.220 Like they knew immediately, okay?

00:05:14.240 So you ask people, then you get all the list,

00:05:17.860 and then you gotta reach out.

00:05:18.900 But number one is you gotta make the list.

00:05:21.640 Number three is be curious, okay?

00:05:24.460 So be curious is this, is if you have the chance,

00:05:27.640 you talk to them, you reach out to them, email them,

00:05:29.940 ask them to jump on a call, seven minutes,

00:05:31.700 just wanna connect, new to the city.

00:05:33.280 Most people that live in a city that are doing cool stuff

00:05:35.740 are not always typically from the city.

00:05:38.260 So when you get on the phone though,

00:05:40.580 the key is is to ask them questions.

00:05:43.120 Always start with their story.

00:05:44.120 how did you start the business?

00:05:45.260 Now, don't be lazy though.

00:05:46.480 If you could Google business story, name of business

00:05:50.080 and try to find it online, research it

00:05:51.900 and then ask yourself, get ready for questions.

00:05:54.380 Like, hey, I read this article about your business

00:05:56.980 and you mentioned this.

00:05:58.160 Love to learn more about how that came to be.

00:06:00.080 Like be curious, but be specific and don't be lazy.

00:06:03.480 But having that approach,

00:06:05.640 like when I organize founder dinners,

00:06:08.200 founder hikes, mountain bikes, wake surf, Fridays,

00:06:11.280 like there's all these different things that I do

00:06:12.880 that I just invite people to.

00:06:15.160 When I'm spending time with people, I'm incredibly curious.

00:06:18.460 I wanna know, how'd you start your business?

00:06:20.680 How long you been doing it?

00:06:21.680 Who's your co-founders?

00:06:22.980 What's been a challenge?

00:06:23.960 How have you overcome that?

00:06:24.980 What do you see yourself for the future?

00:06:26.920 Write down those questions.

00:06:27.940 Those are all incredible questions

00:06:29.380 to build real rapport and connection with other people.

00:06:32.440 But you gotta be curious and ask lots of questions.

00:06:36.000 Number four is offer to help.

00:06:38.360 One of the most powerful ways

00:06:40.920 that you can give back to somebody

00:06:42.820 that needs nothing from you,

00:06:44.180 because a lot of these people are super successful,

00:06:46.480 is to just offer to help.

00:06:48.060 Maybe you notice that they're working on an event

00:06:51.060 or they've got some thing they just announced,

00:06:53.920 or as you're talking, they mention a challenge

00:06:55.960 and you have a person that you know that can help them,

00:06:58.060 like offer the help.

00:06:59.340 I've offered up my snow removal company,

00:07:03.500 I've offered up my marketing friends,

00:07:05.820 I've offered up introductions to therapists,

00:07:08.820 like you name it, it's like, hey, I've got this person,

00:07:11.460 do you want me to make an introduction?

00:07:12.680 or hey, one of my friends have done this before,

00:07:15.320 do you wanna talk to them?

00:07:16.640 I'm just, or hey, I've done this thing,

00:07:18.620 I've got a playbook for this, do you want me to send it to you?

00:07:21.240 Like, you know, to me at the end of the day,

00:07:24.540 by you going first and showing them

00:07:27.700 that you're willing to help,

00:07:28.780 that's what builds the depth in the relationship.

00:07:31.260 If you're somebody that always comes across as just taking

00:07:34.740 and you're not giving, you're not making deposits,

00:07:37.460 and you're just doing withdrawals from a relationship,

00:07:39.460 people are gonna eventually just not respond.

00:07:41.820 You know, and I have friends of mine in my life

00:07:43.620 that are like that, they never offer to help.

00:07:45.960 They're always asking for stuff.

00:07:47.380 Hey, can you speak at this thing, Dan?

00:07:48.820 Can you do this for me?

00:07:49.740 Hey, you mentioned this thing, can I have this thing?

00:07:51.620 Hey, could you make an introduction to your friend?

00:07:54.100 And I love them, but I mean, at some point,

00:07:56.500 it's like, holy moly, like, I have a lot of stuff

00:08:00.280 I'm working on and I can use your support, you know,

00:08:02.620 but you can't be lazy there either.

00:08:04.480 So you gotta do the work, you gotta listen,

00:08:06.120 you gotta ask a lot of questions,

00:08:07.200 but the follow up to that is to offer to help.

00:08:10.380 Number five is stay connected, okay?

00:08:12.860 And the way to stay connected is to follow up, okay?

00:08:15.920 And it sounds like a lot of work,

00:08:17.000 but I told you, number one, it's gonna be hard.

00:08:18.820 It's gonna take work and you're only gonna get out of it

00:08:20.740 what you put into it.

00:08:22.060 What this means though is,

00:08:23.560 what I do is I like to create a rhythm.

00:08:25.720 Maybe it's once a month for you,

00:08:26.920 maybe it's once every two months.

00:08:28.100 You organize a dinner and you invite people to it.

00:08:30.680 I actually been doing this hike now with my buddy Trent

00:08:34.160 for over a year and a half.

00:08:35.540 We call it the Founders Hike.

00:08:36.880 It's every Tuesday morning.

00:08:38.240 We hike Knox, it's a 45 minute round troop.

00:08:40.380 or round troop, 45 minute round trip loop

00:08:44.980 where we have an opportunity to connect with founders

00:08:48.380 on the way up and other people on the way down.

00:08:50.820 So as I meet people, literally all the time,

00:08:52.740 I met the mayor the other day

00:08:55.160 and I invited him to our founder's hike.

00:08:56.760 And he's like, for sure, I'd love to join.

00:08:58.040 Like, you know, you just need to have a thing.

00:09:00.700 It could be a Wednesday lunch or Friday lunch

00:09:04.400 or whatever it is, and you just do a little bit of effort.

00:09:07.900 It takes a little bit of effort,

00:09:09.680 but then invite them to it and you're the connector you're the person that brought them

00:09:14.120 together something but why would they want to get together don't they already know each other

00:09:17.200 even if they know each other i'm a busy person you're a busy person i guarantee there's folks

00:09:22.320 you haven't seen in a while that if somebody else took the effort to bring you guys together you

00:09:25.800 would thank them hey i haven't seen my best friend in a while thank you for inviting them

00:09:30.060 even if you think they already met them like that's that's crazy like create the space follow

00:09:36.120 up, do the invite. You know, I recently watched this guy, John Brink on TikTok. Okay. Search him

00:09:41.720 up. John, I think it's H Brink. He's a forestry guy. Okay. 81 years old. And I messaged him. Hey,

00:09:49.380 John, I love your content. You are my spirit animal. Thank you for putting out your message.

00:09:53.660 Super cool guy. He replied. Hey, Dan, love to connect. Here's my cell. Call me anytime.

00:09:58.500 I called him. We ended up having an incredible conversation for 25 minutes. So much so that

00:10:04.080 we've now become friends.

00:10:05.340 He sent me the copy of his new book.

00:10:06.940 I actually wrote a little blurb for him.

00:10:09.120 Like, and I'm going to follow up

00:10:11.320 because like he's somebody that inspires me.

00:10:14.920 You know, one of the things he said to me

00:10:16.040 is at 81 years old, when he's 83,

00:10:18.220 he's turning 82 in August this year.

00:10:19.980 At 83, he wants to compete in the Arnold Classic.

00:10:22.320 The oldest person to compete in the bodybuilding in Canada.

00:10:25.180 He wants to be that guy.

00:10:26.100 He wants to write a book every year until he dies.

00:10:28.580 Every year he's going to write a book.

00:10:30.280 I mean, these are the kind of people

00:10:31.620 that if you find and you have the opportunity

00:10:33.220 to get connect with them ask great questions and follow up make like go visit them I mean this is

00:10:40.360 so crazy the amount of people that message me and go like hey dad I would love to get you know 25

00:10:46.480 minutes of your time 30 minutes your time and I'm like I'm I don't have time during my day but if

00:10:50.640 you want to join on the hike feel free fly into Kelowna let's go hike that's an open invite and

00:10:55.620 they bark they were like oh I don't have time I don't wake up that earlier I've got something

00:10:58.940 going on or whatever that's fine i didn't ask for the meeting you asked for it right but if

00:11:03.760 if i ask the meeting for somebody else and they tell me be here at this time i'm going to move

00:11:09.220 mountains to show up i'm not gonna i'm not gonna like it's it's so bananas but some of you guys

00:11:15.520 are doing this and this is why i share this message is you need to follow up be engaged be

00:11:20.760 helpful and really invest in your relationships invest in your community so that you can just

00:11:27.000 creates such a beautiful and just potent lifestyle around you. And I literally don't care where you

00:11:33.680 live. Those people exist in every city. And the cool part is you only need five. You don't need

00:11:38.680 25. You don't need 50. You just need five. You need five incredible people that inspire you,

00:11:44.040 that'll support you, that'll push you to dream bigger, to dramatically change the quality of

00:11:48.100 your life. So quick recap. Number one, it's going to take work. Number two, make the list. Number

00:11:54.620 three, be curious, ask questions. Number four, offer to help. Number five, follow up and stay

00:12:01.220 connected. As I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, I want to share with you one of my

00:12:05.420 favorite frameworks. It's called the Dream 100, and it's literally making a list of 100 people

00:12:10.700 that regardless of what business or industry you're in, if you make this list in three years,

00:12:15.080 if you spend time trying to connect with those people, you will almost certainly guarantee

00:12:20.240 success because you can't be around people that have succeeded and not have that rub off on you

00:12:24.960 okay i talk about the mentors the peers and the advisors that you're going to need to absolutely

00:12:29.460 crush it so click the link below to download that training specifically for you the dream 100 is my

00:12:35.280 gift to you and as per usual i want to challenge you all to live a bigger life and a bigger business

00:12:41.120 i'll see you next monday

Dan Martell - August 29, 2022

How To Find Growth Minded Friends

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