Dan Martell - I’m 45. If I Was 20 Again, Here’s What I’d Do

00:00:00.080 Recording this today, I'm a 45-year-old multi-millionaire,

00:00:03.460 but if I could go back and talk to my 20-year-old self

00:00:05.980 and give him some advice,

00:00:07.200 here are the 60 things I would share.

00:00:09.020 Number one, stop waiting for the right time,

00:00:11.300 just make the time right.

00:00:12.720 Most people, the most important thing they gotta do

00:00:14.900 is just make a decision. 0.99

00:00:16.320 Stop waiting to get ready and just fucking do it. 0.99

00:00:19.220 Number two, broke people buy distractions, 0.99

00:00:21.980 rich people buy time.

00:00:23.220 You have to start investing in things

00:00:25.020 that are gonna save you time.

00:00:26.380 Think about wash and fold laundry or meal prep

00:00:28.660 or using the apps to bring stuff to you

00:00:30.540 so you don't spend your time running a bunch of errands.

00:00:32.640 Number three, your 20s is when you get good.

00:00:35.760 Your 30s is when you get rich

00:00:37.560 and your 40s is when you get wise.

00:00:39.600 I look at my life in 10 year increments.

00:00:42.160 The first 10 was to develop the skill to become valuable.

00:00:45.220 The next 10 was to figure out

00:00:46.540 how to make money with that skill.

00:00:48.180 The last 10 was using that to create my empire.

00:00:50.860 You have to dedicate yourself in decades to one focus.

00:00:54.200 Number four, buy the way you want to be bought from.

00:00:56.980 Most people are so cheap, they get mad when buyers are cheap with them,

00:01:01.560 but they're the ones that put the energy out there.

00:01:03.260 So if you want people to easily buy from you, easily buy from other people.

00:01:06.820 Number five, winners lose more than losers ever will.

00:01:10.640 Most people are scared to fail, but that's only true if you don't get the feedback.

00:01:15.340 If you take a shot on goal and you miss, but you learn how to take a better shot on goal,

00:01:19.360 then that is actually a win.

00:01:20.760 Don't be scared of failure, embrace it.

00:01:22.860 Number six, self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself.

00:01:26.980 If every time you make a commitment to yourself,

00:01:29.340 you let yourself down by not keeping that commitment,

00:01:31.760 then you erode your self-esteem, your self-worth,

00:01:34.580 and you'll never fight for what you think you deserve.

00:01:36.860 Number seven, if it's not a hell yes, it's a hard no.

00:01:40.500 My frame is very simple.

00:01:41.780 I ask myself, if somebody asked me to do the thing

00:01:43.860 they want me to do and it was today, would I say yes?

00:01:46.920 If the answer is no, because I'm busy,

00:01:48.680 then it's probably no.

00:01:50.140 Even the good stuff is a no,

00:01:51.760 because if I don't say no,

00:01:52.960 then I won't have the space to say yes to the great.

00:01:55.960 Number eight, say yes until you can afford to say no.

00:01:59.880 You say yes when you don't have a lot of opportunities,

00:02:02.040 but then if you're good, you get a lot more requests,

00:02:04.460 then you gotta learn to say no

00:02:05.900 when things no longer serve you.

00:02:07.720 Number nine, the best way to predict the future

00:02:10.040 is to attract it.

00:02:11.520 Most people get confused

00:02:12.760 because they think they gotta create success.

00:02:15.080 My philosophy is that I attract success.

00:02:17.360 I pull my future into my present

00:02:19.600 by being very clear on what I wanna achieve

00:02:21.900 and taking action.

00:02:22.860 Number 10, you can't complain about the outcomes

00:02:25.720 you didn't get from the work you didn't do.

00:02:28.260 Stop expecting things to be easy.

00:02:30.480 They're not and they never will be

00:02:32.200 because if you're not doing the work,

00:02:34.000 then you can't get the outcome.

00:02:35.480 Number 11, broke people talk about people.

00:02:38.400 Rich people talk about ideas.

00:02:40.340 Just listen to yourself when you're with your friends.

00:02:42.440 Are you talking about other people

00:02:43.980 or you're talking about possibility?

00:02:45.640 Are you talking about ideas

00:02:46.840 or you're talking about creation

00:02:48.000 or you're focusing on talking about

00:02:49.760 the easiest thing to talk about, 0.99

00:02:51.060 which is shit about other people that aren't even there. 0.99

00:02:53.620 Number 12, don't take criticism 0.99

00:02:55.520 from people you wouldn't take advice from.

00:02:58.080 My philosophy is very simple.

00:02:59.540 I only take advice or criticism

00:03:00.880 from people who are already where I wanna be

00:03:03.080 or have done the thing I wanna do.

00:03:04.880 Number 13, how you do anything is how you do everything.

00:03:08.920 Most people discount the small things,

00:03:11.200 but those small things lead into big things.

00:03:13.320 If you take care of your environment,

00:03:15.120 then the business will be taken care of.

00:03:16.760 If you take care of your space,

00:03:18.340 then your team will be taken care of.

00:03:20.420 focus on doing the small things right

00:03:22.360 to get the big things to come to life.

00:03:24.280 Number 14, the quality of your life

00:03:26.720 is determined by the quality of your habits.

00:03:29.380 So you gotta figure out what are the three to five things

00:03:31.620 that if you do every day will set you up for success.

00:03:35.040 Number 15, the best revenge is massive success.

00:03:39.100 When I was growing up, I was that kid

00:03:40.940 that the other kids in my neighborhood

00:03:42.260 weren't allowed to play with.

00:03:43.680 Now I earned that label and trust me,

00:03:45.640 I didn't always make the best decisions.

00:03:47.400 But when I decided to turn my life around,

00:03:48.980 I didn't focus on proving them wrong.

00:03:51.060 I just focused on becoming undeniable.

00:03:53.540 Number 16, winners focus on winning.

00:03:56.380 Losers focus on winners.

00:03:57.880 If you compare yourself to everybody else, 0.96

00:03:59.960 then you're always looking for why you're not good enough.

00:04:02.160 And the truth is you're only competing against one person

00:04:04.160 and that's you from the past. 1.00

00:04:06.080 Number 17, most people are too afraid of looking stupid 0.99

00:04:09.220 to ever get good at anything. 1.00

00:04:11.100 Think about all the people you see on social media.

00:04:12.920 The reason they're good is because they decided to start.

00:04:16.440 Even though in their head, trust me,

00:04:18.040 because I'm one of them.

00:04:19.080 I thought I have nothing to share. 0.97

00:04:21.040 People are going to think I'm dumb. 0.99

00:04:22.480 This is dumb. 0.99

00:04:23.480 I still decide to do it 1.00

00:04:25.000 because if you think everything makes you look dumb, 0.99

00:04:27.200 you'll never try anything. 0.96

00:04:28.280 Number 18, it's not about having time.

00:04:30.660 It's about making time.

00:04:32.300 The truth is, is nobody creates time.

00:04:34.040 Nobody has extra time.

00:04:34.980 We all have the same amount of time.

00:04:36.120 You either decide to allocate it properly

00:04:38.180 or you don't, you're 100% accountable for that.

00:04:40.620 Number 19, your mind will believe

00:04:42.480 what you repeatedly tell it.

00:04:44.160 Anytime somebody asks me, how you doing, Dan?

00:04:46.280 I always answer the same way, incredible.

00:04:49.340 Incredible, freaking amazing, awesome.

00:04:52.020 Thanks for asking, why?

00:04:53.280 Because you will believe what you repeatedly say

00:04:55.760 so I reprogram my mind using mantras like that

00:04:58.700 and many others to keep myself focused

00:05:00.540 on who I wanna become.

00:05:01.820 Number 20, 80% of your problems would be solved

00:05:04.780 if you just went to bed on time.

00:05:06.760 It's kinda crazy, but this simple life lesson

00:05:09.160 will change everything for you.

00:05:10.640 Set an alarm for when you go to bed and just honor it.

00:05:14.180 Get to sleep.

00:05:15.040 Nothing exciting happens late at night

00:05:17.180 when you can have an early start to your day.

00:05:19.700 Number 21, the problem isn't lack of resources,

00:05:22.780 it's lack of resourcefulness.

00:05:24.720 Most people think, well, I don't have the money

00:05:26.240 to start that or the friend group or the experience.

00:05:28.920 The truth is most people that have won in life,

00:05:31.260 they're just more resourceful.

00:05:32.760 They don't make a list of things

00:05:33.880 that tell them they can't do something.

00:05:35.440 They get good at finding the resources

00:05:36.980 needed to solve the problems.

00:05:38.760 Number 22, learn to be alone without being lonely.

00:05:42.240 One of the most powerful skills and processes

00:05:44.740 I've learned is become the person who needs nothing from anybody. If I can be happy with

00:05:49.480 nothing, then I'm going to be ecstatic with a lot. Number 23, work while they sleep so you can live

00:05:55.200 like they dream. Most people would rather sleep in and snooze on their life, but you're different.

00:06:01.120 You're going to get up early every day, do the hard things and live a life that 99% of people

00:06:05.420 only dream of. Number 24, you teach people how to treat you. If somebody does something that I don't

00:06:10.680 agree with, I say it right away. I don't accept people stepping all over me. Number 25, money is

00:06:16.660 a tool, not the goal. I think of money like a battery. It's an energy source. And we want to

00:06:22.140 use money as a tool to improve our life. You don't want to hoard it. Number 26, if you're always

00:06:27.280 available, you're not valuable. You should be the kind of person that puts themselves out there so

00:06:32.240 everybody knows who you are. You should be easy to find, but hard to get a hold of. That's what

00:06:37.260 makes you valuable. Number 27, you don't attract what you want. You attract what you are. Most

00:06:42.700 people think they got to do more to be successful. I would argue you have to be more. It's not do

00:06:48.380 then become. It's actually become then do. Number 28, no response is a response and a powerful one.

00:06:55.220 You don't have to reply to every email that comes to you. You don't have to answer every phone call

00:06:59.180 and you don't have to reply to every text. Don't feel like you need to explain yourself to everyone.

00:07:03.280 Number 29, you either get better or you get bitter.

00:07:06.840 I remember going to my high school reunion

00:07:08.440 and every time I'd meet somebody,

00:07:10.040 they would say stuff like,

00:07:11.160 hey, remember back in the day we did this or that?

00:07:13.440 And I'm just like, what have you been up to lately?

00:07:16.360 Because it sounds like you've been just living the same life

00:07:18.540 and honestly regressing.

00:07:19.960 Don't be that old guy saying,

00:07:21.660 back in my day, I used to bench 225.

00:07:24.260 Where are you at today?

00:07:25.400 Number 30, time is the most expensive thing you have.

00:07:28.480 So don't waste it scrolling on social media

00:07:31.100 or talking to people that take your energy.

00:07:33.660 Focus your time on things that matter most to you,

00:07:36.340 like your family, your health, your goals.

00:07:38.660 Push your life forward.

00:07:40.180 Number 31, wealth is built with patience

00:07:42.480 and loss with ignorance.

00:07:44.400 The people that have created real wealth,

00:07:46.480 sustainable wealth, they got rich and they still got it,

00:07:49.080 it's because they've kept being curious.

00:07:51.040 They wonder what's going on around them.

00:07:52.780 They don't pretend like they know it all.

00:07:54.680 Don't get cocky as you build your empire.

00:07:56.440 Number 32, the secret to success is consistency,

00:08:00.340 not intensity. I'm not impressed with somebody that can get up and go to the gym for 14 days

00:08:05.260 in a row. I am impressed that somebody can be consistent over six months. Number 33,

00:08:10.280 you're only as strong as your weakest habit. Having a bunch of vices, habits, decisions that

00:08:15.760 you're not proud of, like eating too much, drinking too much, being addicted to your phone.

00:08:19.920 It's kind of like going on a hike with a backpack full of rocks. You can do it. It's just going to

00:08:24.440 be way harder and it'll definitely slow you down in a big way. Number 34, regret will hurt more

00:08:30.020 than failure ever will.

00:08:31.940 I call this regret minimization.

00:08:33.780 When I fast forward to my last day, my last breath,

00:08:36.620 I don't wanna be laying on my deathbed

00:08:38.400 with a bunch of regrets.

00:08:40.120 So every day I minimize my regrets by taking action today.

00:08:44.180 I don't wait, I don't push off, I don't get in the mood,

00:08:46.640 I don't wait for my feelings to feel good, I just do.

00:08:49.480 Number 35, never argue with someone

00:08:52.300 who is committed to misunderstanding you.

00:08:54.540 Truth is, most people aren't gonna get you

00:08:56.320 and it's not your responsibility to have to explain it.

00:08:58.860 it's okay leaving people in the reality that they find themselves with. You want to learn to pick

00:09:03.880 your fights because you don't want to be in a fight with somebody who doesn't want to see you

00:09:06.600 win. Number 36. If you're always the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.

00:09:11.980 It feels good to be the top dog, the smartest person in the room, the person that has all

00:09:15.760 the answers. Problem is the way to be successful is you got to get comfortable being the smallest

00:09:19.620 person in the room. Number 37. Don't let temporary people create permanent wounds. Friends come into

00:09:25.900 your life for either a reason, a season, or a lifetime. If you know the difference, you decide

00:09:31.240 to let those people stay in the past. Number 38, distractions destroy more dreams than lack of

00:09:36.920 resources ever will. Most people don't lack opportunity, they lack focus. Number 39, if you've

00:09:43.360 never contradicted yourself, you're not growing fast enough. What that means is that if you're

00:09:47.740 truly on a growth journey, and you're reading, and you're investing, you're going to develop

00:09:51.620 new points of view, which means that your new beliefs are different than the old ones. So if

00:09:55.760 you keep believing the same thing you used to believe, then are you really growing fast enough?

00:09:59.640 The key in all of this is to be confident about what you believe. That's why I say often wrong,

00:10:03.880 never in doubt. Number 40, get obsessed with the process, not the outcome. Fall in love with the

00:10:10.100 art and the betterment and the person you're becoming as you pursue the goal, not the actual

00:10:15.660 goal itself. If you disconnect from the need of achieving something to be happy, instead be happy

00:10:21.100 in the process of achieving that's a life of fulfillment number 41 winners make adjustments

00:10:26.460 losers make excuses if you want to win you're gonna have to tweak things you're gonna have to

00:10:31.420 learn from whatever happened and move forward the people that try and never try ever again 0.97

00:10:36.140 is because they make excuses for themselves it's never their fault and they don't learn anything

00:10:40.220 don't fall into the trap of explaining yourself out of winning number 42 if you want an extraordinary

00:10:46.140 life stop making ordinary choices the whole point of being extra is that you're doing things that

00:10:52.300 other people wouldn't do if everybody around you is saying that's a good decision you might want

00:10:57.100 to be concerned because for you to be extraordinary you need to be extra number 43 if you hang around

00:11:03.260 with five winners you'll be the six most people are the byproducts of the people they spend the

00:11:08.780 most time with if you do not make a decision to find those other five people and work your way

00:11:14.060 into that friend group,

00:11:15.340 then you're just gonna make it hard on yourself.

00:11:17.000 Number 44, the best investment you'll ever make

00:11:20.140 is in yourself.

00:11:21.320 If you can invest money in becoming better

00:11:23.640 so you can increase the money you make when you do work,

00:11:26.600 that's the best return you'll ever get.

00:11:28.640 Stop investing in stocks initially

00:11:30.340 and start investing in you.

00:11:32.060 Number 45, you don't get paid for time,

00:11:34.780 you get paid for value.

00:11:36.320 If you could take a million dollars

00:11:37.860 and turn it into 10 million in 30 minutes,

00:11:40.480 you would get paid a lot of money,

00:11:41.900 millions of dollars for that magic trick.

00:11:44.060 It's not the amount of time you work,

00:11:45.780 it's the value you create in that time.

00:11:47.700 So focus on increasing your value

00:11:49.480 and disconnect your earning from your hour.

00:11:51.940 Number 46, if you chase two rabbits, you'll catch none.

00:11:55.600 Sequencing equals success.

00:11:57.720 If you want to be successful,

00:11:59.280 you need to know what's the one thing,

00:12:01.200 the one domino that if you go all in

00:12:03.180 will help you get that result.

00:12:04.820 You have to pick one focus and go all in.

00:12:07.220 Number 47, success is never own, it's rented.

00:12:11.060 Every day, you have to pay rent.

00:12:13.040 you got to pay your dues. You got to show up. You got to be consistent. You got to put a smile on

00:12:17.480 and you got to do that over long periods of time. Rent is due every day. You need to stay consistent.

00:12:23.440 Number 48, money follows momentum, not perfection. Money loves movement. Money loves speed. Money

00:12:29.860 loves decisiveness. The key is you have to move fast and fix things as you're building. Number

00:12:34.980 49, if your goals don't scare you, they're too small. I used to think I was thinking big and

00:12:41.080 then I moved to San Francisco. And it went from being a millionaire to being a billionaire. Because

00:12:45.740 if you showed up to a coffee shop talking about your million dollar ideas, people would literally

00:12:50.060 stop talking to you and walk the other way. You have to dream bigger, but even more important,

00:12:54.980 execute harder. Number 50, confidence isn't thinking you're better than others. It's knowing

00:13:00.260 you don't have to compare. Confidence isn't a lack of being humble. It's the certainty that you know

00:13:05.380 you do the things you say that you're going to do because of who you are. That's why you have to

00:13:09.340 learn to run your own race. Number 51, if you can't lead yourself, don't expect others to follow

00:13:14.720 you. Just like in a plane, before you help anybody else, you have to put your mask on. And too often

00:13:19.940 people are ready to give everybody else advice on what's going wrong in their life, but they don't

00:13:23.900 want to look in the mirror and ask themselves, am I being honest about what's going on in my life? 0.76

00:13:27.580 Number 52, good is the freaking enemy of great. The most people that achieve a little bit of

00:13:33.000 success, they stop. Now all of a sudden they've got something to lose. They forgot why they started

00:13:37.920 in the first place.

00:13:38.720 They climbed that mountain of success

00:13:40.340 and set up shop halfway through

00:13:42.100 because things are now good.

00:13:43.560 There's nothing to run away from.

00:13:44.820 There's no pain to avoid.

00:13:46.700 The challenge is, is all great people never settled.

00:13:50.200 And that's what a mediocre life comes from.

00:13:52.000 If you wanna live a great life, never settle.

00:13:54.400 Number 53, you're not overthinking,

00:13:56.960 you're under-executing.

00:13:58.600 All your self-doubt comes from a lack of doing.

00:14:01.560 Just get up and move forward towards your goals.

00:14:03.780 It will erase all self-doubt.

00:14:05.480 Number 54, if you want better answers,

00:14:07.920 ask better questions. The better the question, the better the life. And what's crazy is your

00:14:13.280 questions will dictate your future. Number 55. If you hate Mondays, you're doing life wrong.

00:14:19.380 You have to design a life where you get excited to get out of bed. It's the people, it's the

00:14:24.360 projects, it's the energy, it's you. At the end of the day, what you put out is what you get back.

00:14:29.760 So find work that lights you up. Number 56. Your vibe attracts your tribe. It's so crazy,

00:14:35.340 but your energy, how you feel attracts other people

00:14:38.500 that also vibe and feel that way.

00:14:40.920 So what you need to do is just put out your vibe.

00:14:43.160 If you're a happy person, smile.

00:14:44.460 Somebody asks you how you're doing, say freaking amazing.

00:14:46.420 If you love to work out,

00:14:47.720 tell everybody about your last workout.

00:14:49.560 Like be the person who expresses themselves

00:14:52.200 so that other people that resonate with that

00:14:53.980 will lean in, they'll talk to you.

00:14:55.640 Number 57, you receive what you desire for others.

00:14:58.980 If you want to get in the best shape of your life,

00:15:01.040 desire that for other people.

00:15:02.180 If you wanna be rich, help other people get rich.

00:15:04.460 if you want to be happy, help other people be happy. It's so interesting that what you want

00:15:09.580 for other people is what you'll get back in return. Number 58, your life is the byproduct

00:15:15.260 of your most dominant thoughts, feelings, and actions. If you're not happy with where you're at,

00:15:20.480 then ask yourself, what am I thinking about? How am I feeling about my situation? And what am I

00:15:25.760 doing about it? If you look at those three things, you can change your whole life by just that focus.

00:15:30.920 Number 59, weak people chase pleasure,

00:15:33.900 strong people chase purpose.

00:15:35.740 If you want to live a life of fulfillment,

00:15:38.040 you have to do hard things.

00:15:39.480 You have to continue to expand and to grow.

00:15:41.960 If you keep looking for the easiest path,

00:15:43.960 then you'll never live a life of purpose.

00:15:46.380 Number 60, you don't need more information,

00:15:49.380 you need more execution.

00:15:51.160 Some people are addicted to shelf help. 0.85

00:15:53.280 The truth is, you already know what you need to do.

00:15:55.740 Now it's time to just go do it.

00:15:57.400 So those are the 60 things I would share

00:15:59.340 with my 20-year-old self.

00:16:00.560 If you wanna learn the best businesses

00:16:02.460 you can start in 2025, click the video

00:16:04.780 and I'll see you on the other side.

Dan Martell - April 18, 2025

I’m 45. If I Was 20 Again, Here’s What I’d Do

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