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What if you could get more of what you want in life? But not through pushing, forcing, or pressure.
You can.
When it comes to money, time, and energy, no one’s gonna turn away more.
And Kate Northrup, Bestselling Author of Money: A Love Story and Do Less and host of Plenty, is here to help you expand your capacity to receive all of the best.
As a Money Empowerment OG who’s been at it for nearly 2 decades, Kate’s the abundance-oriented best friend you may not even know you’ve always needed.
Pull up a chair every week with top thought leaders, luminaries, and adventurers to learn how to have more abundance with ease.
Like, do you see Tony? No. I'm on stage because he's not there. That's the whole point. So even changing the frame of I want other people to produce the thing.
Dan Martell::I will plug in if I'm absolutely needed. Other than that, I'm okay letting go.
Kate Northrup::Hi. This episode really surprised me, and I'm gonna tell you why. So Dan Martell is a best selling author of Buy Back Your Time, which is a wonderful book. He's very tall, very fit, and very bro y. He went to jail at the age of 17 and then to rehab and decided to turn his life around when he learned how to code and went on to build and sell three different software companies.
Kate Northrup::And now with Martell Ventures, he has a portfolio of companies that makes over a $100,000,000 in revenue revenue, and he has also, invested in over 60 different companies. Companies. Now I'll tell you why this episode surprised me. So Dan was sort of barking up my tree to get off the podcast, and he rolled up with an entire posse, like, seven people deep, including a cameraman and, you know, all these are people. And what I didn't he's just like, he's a he's a lot, and we talk about that on the episode.
Kate Northrup::And we talk about the fact that he has gotten over or perhaps never really cared what people think of him at first because he's playing the long game. And I was really honest with him about what I thought when I first met him. But in this episode, we really got under the surface. Dan cried three times. We talked about God.
Kate Northrup::We talked about love. We talked about what really matters. So not only will you learn how to buy back your time in this episode, you'll learn how to know when it's time to let go of an employee. You learn so many other things, but most importantly, we go really deep right to the core of what really matters. So enjoy this episode with Dan Martell.
Kate Northrup::Welcome to Plenty. I'm your host, Kate Northrup, and together we are going on a journey to help you have an incredible relationship with money, time, and energy, and to have abundance on every possible level. Every week, we're gonna dive in with experts and insights to help you unlock a life of plenty. Let's go fill our cups.
[voiceover]::Please note that the opinions and perspectives of the guest on the Plenty podcast are not necessarily reflective of the opinions and perspectives of Kate Northrup or anyone who works within the Kate Northrup brand.
Dan Martell::Hey. Welcome. Thank you.
Kate Northrup::Thanks for coming to Miami.
Dan Martell::I appreciate it.
Kate Northrup::Not in my studio, but real close.
Dan Martell::Real close.
Kate Northrup::Real close. Okay. So I wanna start off with we're I'm sure we're gonna wind around more for details of your story that you're gonna share, will be great. But given where you came from, which we'll get into, and where you are now, I really wanna know, like, you have a hunger that is apparent energetically. I don't know you well, but in our interactions, there's like a it's like an oomph.
Kate Northrup::It's like a fire. And I'm curious because so many people who have created the level of abundance that you have created, who could totally just be chilling, playing golf, only skiing, you know, all whatever. I don't know that you're a golfer, but mountain biking, skiing, you know, wake surfing, whatever, all the things. And I know that a long time ago, you had an off ramp, and you've had every moment of every day is an off ramp. Right?
Kate Northrup::Mhmm. But you feel you seem quite compelled to work and create and collaborate. And I'm just curious, what's under there driving you?
Dan Martell::You said the word, which is create. See, I think where I've gotten to that makes it not hard. Because I I still remember the days where the work felt like work. And I talked to entrepreneurs every day that like, you you can feel it in their bones when they're in it. They're like, it's hard.
Dan Martell::They're doing the thing. They don't know if it's right. They're confused. They they second guess them. And I remember going through all of that.
Dan Martell::So when you use the word work to describe it, it's like, it's it's hard. I just got to a place where I honor the fact that I'm here to create. And that I have I have faith and I believe in a creator and He created me in His image and He gave me my skills and He said, do something with them. And I think what people feel is my work ethic is a byproduct of my gratitude. And when I say that, I get a little emotional because like, I still I can't believe I get to do what I do every day.
Dan Martell::I can't believe this is my life. I can't believe that people wanna live. Honestly, like I love I just love everything about what it's gotten to and at the same token, I honor it and I know I'm capable of more. It's not from a place of lack or not enoughness and I've been there. I know the difference.
Dan Martell::It's a desire to serve. Yeah. And that's that's what it is.
Kate Northrup::Because if you know what's possible, sharing that with others really is the move. I mean, not for everyone, but it seems like it's really the move for you.
Dan Martell::Because I'm a I'm a byproduct of other people sharing. Like I am first and foremost a customer, a client, a consumer. Like I'm I'm I'm the kid that read the books that looked up to the people on the TVs. Today it would be the YouTube's, the socials Right. That just wondered what what if, what if not even what if.
Dan Martell::I didn't even have that aspiration. It's I wonder what it's like or that's cool. Or like, you know, learning about these people, studying their biographies, reading the books. I'm just I know I know those people are watching me and I just don't wanna dishonor that. Like I don't want I don't take it's not even I don't take it for granted.
Dan Martell::I wanna honor that relationship that they gave me that. Like yesterday, gave a talk 1,400 people in Kansas City. And somebody asked me, they go, how do you what do you think about before you go on stage? And I'm looking at the TV that's showing me the audience and the stage. And I I literally start tapping the people.
Dan Martell::I said, I am so grateful for those people. And I got sixty minutes with those people. And I just I'm not gonna miss the opportunity to just show up in my Like whatever I can do to just serve them. Because I've been in that audience and I want the best from the person. You know what I mean?
Dan Martell::So that's why I do what I do and that's that's why it there's no I'll never not have that.
Kate Northrup::Was that true as your driver in the early days? No. What drove you at first?
Dan Martell::I think well, I don't think. I know what it was. It was it was every person that didn't believe in me, this wild anger of f you, watch me. Mhmm. Like, full on.
Dan Martell::I remember growing up, my buddy, there's three brothers, Dan, Mike, and Mark. And their mom refused to let me in their yard. So you gotta understand, if I wanted to go see them, I had to stand on the sidewalk and figure out some way to get their attention. K? Now you say, well, you can call.
Dan Martell::Guess what? If I called, she hung up on me. It's not healthy, but I'll tell you for several years, it was a f u
Kate Northrup::To her.
Dan Martell::Oh, a 100%.
Kate Northrup::Like, I'll show you who I can be.
Dan Martell::Guess whose house I drove by when I got my first McLaren. Do you know how dumb that is? Like, it's so dumb. Like, she doesn't even remember me. I'm like a distant memory, and and it's it's actually quite fascinating to think about how much headspace people can take up that then don't even remember, like
Kate Northrup::Well, in heart space too. Right? Because when we're holding those kinds of resentments, I was talking about this on a call yesterday because, you know, my work is around money. But these money, I find to be largely energetic and, you know, it's always there. You just have to unblock.
Kate Northrup::And one of the biggest blocks we can have is holding resentments and blocking the flow. So we were talking about unclogging the pipes through forgiveness. And I'm curious for you, you you know, you had this list of people that maybe you were aware of, not aware of, that you were holding resentments about. And it was like, your drive was a big f u. Yeah.
Kate Northrup::What did you do over time and when did you become aware that that was not gonna be the game anymore?
Dan Martell::What a question. That's a great question. I would love to say there was the I would say probably one of the most pivotal moments. If I had to pick like one massive unlock, me and my brother decided to get in business together. He he he wants to start a home building company.
Dan Martell::I I was the money guy, Pierre. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm the money guy. He's the doer.
Dan Martell::He goes and does this thing. And it was cool because we started doing like planning session. Anyways, we're we're doing like a quarterly offset. I mean, we're 20 we don't even know what we're doing. Yeah.
Dan Martell::We're just hanging out in a hotel room, drawing stuff on sticky notes and stuff. But we bought these books and the book was the Millionaire Mindset by T Harv.
Kate Northrup::First one of the first mega conference thing
Dan Martell::I went So there's a thing. If you get the book, you get two tickets. Right. So we look at each other, we gotta go to this event. Totally.
Dan Martell::So we fly to Toronto. And I would say that event was the first time I was exposed to the kind of literature that helped me understand how my money beliefs were stopping me from the abundance. That was like, you know, three days nonstop exercises processing. And, you know, being there with my brother was really great because we actually decide we'll sit separate. But every night when we get back to the hotel room, we'll compare notes.
Dan Martell::You know, grew up in the same family, so it's really great to kind of process some of the what did you take away from this? And Yeah. Those and at the end of the three days, which I look back at as one of the most important decisions and not even that I make is technically my brother made it that I supported. Because again, I had the financial resources. He decided to join the three year mastermind.
Dan Martell::Wow. $36,000. We're 20 I'm 26. He's 20 Like we didn't like I credit card, he he ran to the back of the room and and that essentially put us on a path where and it was super fun. For the next few years, we would meet up because I ended up moving to San Francisco and we would just meet up in different cities to do different seminars.
Dan Martell::And that was probably the the biggest shift where it got over the I was doing this from a dark energy point of view. That kind of like and it's a powerful energy source, kinda like diesel. It's got torque. It it just it just burns dirty. So there's a so I'm as I'm building, I remember that company I was building at the time.
Dan Martell::Like the shrapnel, the emotional shrapnel as a byproduct of creating. I almost decided after I sold that company, I almost didn't do another one. Yeah. Because if that was how it had to feel, I don't wanna do that again. I don't wanna to create those that kind of wake of frustration with me.
Dan Martell::And, that was like going through that process is what taught me good news. There's a different way to do it. Not only is it easier, lighter, it's 10 times more powerful. Mhmm. That was in my late twenties, '28, '29.
Dan Martell::Yeah.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. Saturn return.
Dan Martell::I don't know if you're an astrology guy. Not as much as I probably should be.
Kate Northrup::But my listeners are. So they know what that's talking about. Many of them. So over the years, so, like, '28, '29, you're in that, like, oh, there's a different way. Over the years, what kind of I know now you're you're a Christian guy, like you've really connected with God, which is so beautiful.
Kate Northrup::Was that true in your upbringing? Was that part of your upbringing?
Dan Martell::No. We grew up Catholic, but the way they call it is CNE Catholic. What does that mean? Christmas, New Year's, and Easter. Totally.
Dan Martell::I've heard that sound. Was like, that was us.
Kate Northrup::Okay. So we're coming back to that. And then I'm curious, what are some of the healing modalities or things that you've invested in over the years to unravel some of those patterns and change your fuel from darkness to more sustainable sources?
Dan Martell::All of them.
Kate Northrup::K. What are your favorites?
Dan Martell::Oh, good question. What are my favorites? Let me let me let me think about what which ones are the most transformational. Perfect. Because like prior, I was always I mean, it's funny.
Dan Martell::I would do nothing because I didn't wanna do the wrong thing. That's funny.
Kate Northrup::Like You would do nothing in terms of healing stuff?
Dan Martell::No. What if I pick the wrong therapist and they mess me up?
Kate Northrup::That's so interesting.
Dan Martell::Oh,
Kate Northrup::yeah. Know, I bet you that's incredibly common.
Dan Martell::I didn't realize till I started sharing. They're like, oh, thank goodness. I thought the same thing. Because like, it's they wanna do the work, but what if I pick the wrong one? Oh my god.
Dan Martell::Like, I I was so scared because I grew up in therapy.
Kate Northrup::Okay.
Dan Martell::And then now I wanna do this like new kind of work, but who do I trust?
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::So it took me a while to build a peer group of folks that I trusted to then get referrals to to choose. But I would say, you know, a lot of it is I I've always done well in environments. So retreats and seminars Mhmm. For me guided a 100%. And the funny part is is I'm not even it's not even the specific person type of seminar.
Dan Martell::It's the creating the space for me to reflect and to go through a process. One of my favorites guy named Philip McKernan, not really well known, but very incredible. I saw I I got to know him as a speaker at different events and, you know, he was there when I shared my personal story for the first time on stage and it it just cracked me wide open. And and he comes up to me at the hotel. He's such a funny cat.
Dan Martell::He goes, I saw what you did today. And I got I broke down in front of him. I said, I don't know how I don't even know what that was. He goes, I know. And I said, well, how do I do that?
Dan Martell::Like, do I do that again? Like, I don't know. And he goes, he goes, I'm excited. And he goes, but let me tell you, I'm not even excited for you. Honestly, I don't give a shit about you.
Dan Martell::I'm excited about the people you're gonna serve with that message. So how do I how do I figure this out? He goes, I know what you need to do and where you gotta go. I just don't think you're willing to do it. Tell me.
Dan Martell::Even joking. He knew exactly what button to push by. Yeah. He's like, I know this kind of guy, the mister competitive. He won't do it.
Dan Martell::But no joke. He goes, you gotta come to Peru. It's in two weeks. K. And I'm sitting there.
Dan Martell::I'm a busy I don't have open space in my calendar to just go to Peru for ten days. And let alone, it takes a day and a half to get there. We're talking two full weeks. Yeah. I got little babies, you know, responsibilities and talked to my wife Renee.
Dan Martell::And she goes, I think you gotta go. Philip knew what he was doing. He he run he ran a program where the first three days was us volunteering at orphanages and not just a normal orphanage. The first one were young women that were caught up in the kind of sex slave trafficking. The other one was the children that were born with disabilities that people left on the side of the road.
Dan Martell::And I mean, it out By the third day, I'm like, why are we doing this? Like my heart is broken. The third day we went to kind of the bad kids, which I grew up, that was kind of my story, the troubled youth. And I played soccer with these kids and I'm competitive. And when we get on the bus, he he looks at me and he goes, hey, Martell, who's that guy that was out on the soccer field?
Dan Martell::I said, what do mean? Who's who the heck's the guy trying to kick the ball to hit the guy the kid in that take their head off and like chirping and joking and like, who's that funny guy making up jokes on the field? And I was like, because I like that guy. Because that business person that you try to I like that guy. So that was three days of that.
Dan Martell::Then we go three days hiking through the mountain. Literally, he gives us a question in the morning. We hike through the mountains, try to meditate. Now this is how dumb I am.
Kate Northrup::Try and meditate.
Dan Martell::Try and meditate on the question, reflect on the question. I don't read the PDF attachment because I don't do a good job in my inbox. That tells you the clothes and stuff we're supposed to bring.
Kate Northrup::So literally never read those sorts of instructions.
Dan Martell::I'm in a tent. It's raining. I'm drowning, and I'm freezing to death
Kate Northrup::on the side. When I tell you Wait. Wait. Wait.
Dan Martell::I put on all of the clothes I brought, that was none of the stuff I shoulda had. I had four pairs of jeans on.
Kate Northrup::Oh, jeez.
Dan Martell::16 pairs of socks. Yeah. Didn't have a two because that would have been a good idea. Americans, that means hat. Yes.
Dan Martell::A hat or a winter hat, a beanie beanie. Luckily, rest of the group were kind enough to lend me some of their extra stuff and I did better. And then the last three days, so it was nine days. The last three days was on a retreat to reflect. And and it was that that was a decade ago ish and was the moment I realised that I knew what I was here to do.
Dan Martell::And it's to work with At Risk Youth and use my story to support them and that that's okay. And and that's what I do. I mean, last time I was in Miami, I went and visited Dade County and, Broward County. Miami Dade and yeah, Broward County. And I just that's just
Kate Northrup::And where specifically are you visiting when you're visiting those
Dan Martell::The juvenile detention centers.
Kate Northrup::And they'll let you go do that? Yeah. Like that's something you can volunteer, go
Dan Martell::No.
Kate Northrup::Talk to kids? Like how does this work?
Dan Martell::You need a person. You need reputation. They don't Yeah. Because obviously
Kate Northrup::they're letting you because you're
Dan Martell::Not back around. I've shared the story. Author and you're Yeah. Oh, no. Yeah.
Dan Martell::But and and yeah. They they they
Kate Northrup::trust the
Dan Martell::like roll up and do that. Unfortunately not.
Kate Northrup::It it makes sense, obviously.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Even women like We need the one and like, they usually don't even let women in.
Kate Northrup::I see.
Dan Martell::Because I only speak to the boys. Right. And yeah. And there's no cameras or nothing. Like, nobody No.
Dan Martell::No. No. It's just me me, myself.
Kate Northrup::Okay. So I've I've two questions. Number one, what's the version of that story that you'd like to tell today?
Dan Martell::What a great question. You're good. Okay. What what version? I'll just I'll just, you know Yeah.
Dan Martell::The runner show is between me and God. Yeah. My heart. I can say this. I think a lot of people have difficulty in their family.
Dan Martell::And I had my flavor of that in my home with my parents. And I think as young adults, as a teenager, I struggled to find who like, who has who's Dan? I didn't have an older brother. I had two younger brothers, older sister. And I think I found men at that point when I got in, you know, I got unfortunately some bad decisions, got in trouble with the law and then drugs.
Dan Martell::And I found people that were twice my age, honestly, that were doing things that I admired as a young person because of just like the situation I found myself that and I just got taught stuff. And and one part of me appreciates them being willing to like take me under their wing, but there was nothing like what people would consider positive.
Kate Northrup::Right. So you were getting taught the wrong things but there was mentorship.
Dan Martell::A 100%. And leadership.
Kate Northrup::Yes. And maybe to not a place you
Dan Martell::No. Jeez. No. Needed to be going. No.
Kate Northrup::No. But in retrospect, obviously.
Dan Martell::Yeah. And what happened is my life spiraled absolutely out of control to a place where I didn't feel like I deserved to breathe the air I was taking. And out of desperation, I stole a car and I had a gun in a duffel bag. And I told myself if the cops stop me, I'm just gonna pull the gun and let them take my life. I'd I just I got to that place and an exit off the highway turned into a high speed chase.
Dan Martell::And as I'm getting make trying to make my way, I know how it's gonna end. And I end up, crashing into a house and I go for the gun. And I remember hearing the cops roll up and they run up, they literally the door opens and they just like pull me out of the car. And as I was going for the gun, it got stuck. And and it's funny looking back today because I didn't I didn't have faith.
Dan Martell::I can still remember how much I didn't believe. It was almost like, it was like a it was like a it it was it was it's like cement. Like, I can remember how empty, dark, non believing cold my thoughts were and grasping of like, I I I I'm sitting there in this jail cell in a place called Sussex, New Brunswick. I'm 15 or 16. And I'm I'm like, hey, God, if if what do you want?
Dan Martell::What are we doing? What are we doing? Help me. You help me now. I'll I'll And I and I was it was the most inauthentic request for help out of desperation from a place of fear that honestly, he didn't show up.
Dan Martell::He didn't say I didn't hear a voice. I didn't believe after that get I got sentenced almost two years. I did six months in an adult facility. Then I got released to rehab center, did eleven months. You think life's starting to turn around.
Dan Martell::I'm I'm getting sober and I didn't believe for probably another fifteen years. And when I look back today, it's wild that I thought he wasn't there. It's wild that I think he wasn't there.
Kate Northrup::How much of that paradigm, that cement box that you can still feel? Because anytime any of us have been in a place of desperation, it gets distant, but there's a thread. Like, we can remember how awful it felt. How much of that do you think and of course, this is completely subjective. We don't have data on this.
Kate Northrup::How much do you think was, you know, trauma from upbringing versus the environment you were in versus actual, like, chemicals in your body from drugs and alcohol. Just curious, like, your own perspective on that.
Dan Martell::I've gotta knowing what I know now. Right? Being sober and and and, you know, there's a whole story about how I started drinking again, but I quit thirteen years ago when my wife told me she was pregnant. And to see that evolution, the mind, the chemicals in the mind is it's it's it's the foundation. It's kind of like recently I was just talking with the team and my dad's there and we're talking about glasses.
Dan Martell::And he was joking how when he grew up, they didn't have an optometrist in their little town. And so when he was in college and only at 20 years old, he found out he couldn't see. And then he got glasses and he was laughing about going outside and looking around and going like, oh, is this how this is how you see the world? Yeah. That's the problem when you're when you have a drug addiction or your brain chemicals off is you don't even know that the rest of the world doesn't live like that.
Dan Martell::Oh, yeah. So like knowing what I know now and how I wake up and how I feel, I say this all the time. I wish I could bring people into my mind. I wish I could show you how it could be. Cause if you knew, you would you would work really hard to get away from that place.
Kate Northrup::No. There are simultaneous realities happening. I remember just a couple days ago, so I have over time struggled with anxiety and it can just, not for years has it been an issue, but there have been days where I just, I remember sitting on the subway and looking at everybody and being like, how does anybody, how is anyone doing this? How is anybody waking up and getting on the subway and even making it through the next five minutes? Yeah.
Kate Northrup::Because you look at the world through that lens of there's no other reality that's ever possible. And then you do all the things you've done. You invest in the workshops. You show up at the things incrementally. Right?
Kate Northrup::You connect with God. You stop drinking. You fall in love. You have you know, all of these different things that happen in our lives. And then I can't even believe that that ever was a thought.
Kate Northrup::But the other day, I was feeling really anxious. And I I watched a woman walk down the street and I was in this, like, my anxious spin for a minute. Now I know how to find my way out pretty darn quickly. But it doesn't for me, it's not ever completely gone. It's just like dormant.
Kate Northrup::And then I'll have like, and then dormant. And I was looking at her and I had that same feeling of like, I could tell in her reflection, like, she's in it. And I could feel shoulder to shoulder for a minute. And there's also something to that from shared humanity for being in service because when we're so far away from people's experience, like when we're I I have, you know, people in my life, I'm sure you do too, people I've met, where there's such a profound disconnection from, like, how it can be hard sometimes that it's very bypassy. Like it's very spiritually bypassy, and I have trouble connecting in that place.
Kate Northrup::And what I'm witnessing in you is you're really in your heart. Mhmm. And you're really present to like the feelings now and from the past. And I wanna know, is that something you have invested in reconnecting or is that just how you are?
Dan Martell::I'll stop saying this because I don't want you are so good. That is such a great question. I didn't know I was this way. I've the fun part for me is I again, twenty eight years of building companies and, you know, first time I went to rehab and all the sudden, I'm 45 now. So I like I got some space.
Dan Martell::Yeah. The heart part has always been there. It's it's a 100% my superpower. I've learned that that's what it is. When you when you build an audience, the audience will tell you what it is, as you know.
Dan Martell::And I think when I go back to like, how did I develop it? Because once I understood, there's a lot of things I do that I think your audience actually might might appreciate. I several times a day, anytime I'm dealing with conflict, ask myself, what would love do? I'm a man. I'm I'm I'm alpha.
Dan Martell::I I go into the paint. I'm like very bicep you know what I mean? Like, I'm that guy. And I understand motions up, IQ down. Mhmm.
Dan Martell::What would love do? Mhmm. I and I
Kate Northrup::Beautiful question.
Dan Martell::Do that a lot. Another question, which is my primary question that drives my day to day, anytime I feel any conflict is I ask myself, how can I appreciate even more God's grace and guidance in this moment? That question, I call it it gets me to eight k. It used to be four k, now it's eight k. That question makes everything brighter.
Dan Martell::Mhmm. How can I appreciate even more God's grace and guidance? This is so cool. I mean, I use questions to redirect my focus because I know what I focus on expands. There's a part of me that, on the present side, there's a there's a rhythm of my existence that I know if I follow, I can be with people and I I honor that.
Dan Martell::You know, the book that most people know me for the Buy Back Your Time book creates a place where because I have learned to let go, that I don't have open loops. There's no worrying. I'm here.
Kate Northrup::I don't have open loops.
Dan Martell::I don't. My team probably does. I They
Kate Northrup::have a plenty.
Dan Martell::They do. I'm I'm here with Kate.
Kate Northrup::This show is plenty. They have plenty of open loops and you have plenty of presence.
Dan Martell::And that and that is a once I understood that, that was a big upgrade on the ability to kind of lead with the heart. The other thing I think just like points of view, I play such a long game on life that I'm also willing to be a 100% who I am because I think early I wouldn't show. That's why when Philip said to me, he goes, who was that guy? I never joked in business. I never I never played.
Dan Martell::I was zero play. Dan was Oh. 100%. Interesting. Oh, for a long time
Kate Northrup::because you thought you had to be serious.
Dan Martell::If you if I in in the big and this is so wild. I was worried if I wasn't serious, you wouldn't be serious, then you wouldn't do the thing. Then I'd fire you, then you'd be mad at me because I flipped up. And what I've learned since then is people like to work with, especially talented people that can do anything and do their own thing or work for anybody else. They're only working with you if they enjoy it.
Kate Northrup::Right.
Dan Martell::It turns It's be It's gotta be fun. And and I would, you know, I've spent a lot of time allowing myself to have more and more and more fun. And I think I have quite a bit of fun now. So I love that. I would say that getting out of my head and allowing myself to just be me and leading with the heart.
Dan Martell::And and because I play such a long game, I'm willing to be misunderstood the first few interactions. Because I know eventually, like even like haters and comments, I just love it. I'm like, you're just a confused fan. You'll get it.
Kate Northrup::Willing to be misunderstood
Dan Martell::Long periods
Kate Northrup::of for the first few interactions, which really flies in the face of the common wisdom, quote unquote, that first impressions are last impressions.
Dan Martell::They're fake impressions.
Kate Northrup::Can you give me an example of someone who didn't like you at first or possibly had a misinterpretation of an interaction that in the long game ended up being a key relationship in your life?
Dan Martell::Yeah. You know, it happens so often. People are like, when I first saw your stuff, I I I feel like that is the norm now.
Kate Northrup::This is
Dan Martell::Yep. Yeah. Because I'm too
Kate Northrup::People are really trying to make a good first impression. I love that you're not.
Dan Martell::I'm not because it's not real. Yeah. It's kind of like, I know I'm too much for some people. I'm okay being that because I don't wanna be less. And I know that over time, you'll realize I'm not that one dimension.
Dan Martell::Like, you know what I mean?
Kate Northrup::Yes. I do.
Dan Martell::Like, I walk around with camera guys recording me all the time now. It is unusual. It's super
Kate Northrup::And I met you with your camera crew. Yep. And I was like, what is even happening right now?
Dan Martell::I totally
Kate Northrup::get Who is this person? And then I sat with you at that dinner. I was the only woman and I was like, I do not know what's happening right now. And it was an impression. I was like, okay.
Kate Northrup::Alright. See who this
Dan Martell::person just is. Trust. If if they stay around, Peyton, they don't unsubscribe, block them, screw that guy, never talk to them again. I'm just I know I know it's the intention I have. Like, I think that's the thing is I'd rather you like me for who I am than like a version of me I'm not.
Dan Martell::Mhmm. I think that's just where I've gotten to in my life. And like even my business coaches, these are very successful, the top of the top people. And I don't wanna come into that meeting acting a way that I'm not to try to not like, if I wanna say, I'm gonna say it. And and I and if that's different than the way you do it, then that's what it is.
Dan Martell::But I think life's funner when you realise I don't need any one person to accept me. Like, that's the the I've gotten to that place where I don't need there's no one person in the world's gonna decide my ceiling, where I achieve. Nope. I'm willing to go, why?
Kate Northrup::I mean, that person is you.
Dan Martell::There we go. There is one. There's one. And I think it just allows me to just feel a lot more free. Yeah.
Dan Martell::I don't wanna be inside my head. That's that's honestly what it was. I was inside my head. I was at every interaction. Was like, did I say the right thing?
Kate Northrup::That's thing.
Dan Martell::What should I do? Should I do this now? It's like, how about I just breathe and just be me and that's fun and light and easy. And and guess what? The people and and again, the the feedback comes in.
Dan Martell::Dan, what I love about you is you're real. Mhmm. Thanks. I'd rather you say that than what I like about you is this and me go, that's not really That was unfortunate. Was a mess.
Dan Martell::You think I'm this way and now I gotta play into that. A lot of the influencers online, unfortunately, they do that. Yeah. I gotta be this way. That's not who they are with their friends.
Dan Martell::And then all of a sudden, they feel a prisoner to this world they've created where now the anxiety for sure comes in because like people think I'm this way, So now I gotta like hide myself.
Kate Northrup::Talk about an energy suck. I mean, your, you know, your book, Buy Back Your Time, of course, is about time. But really time is about energy. And so when we are faking it on any level, even if it's unconscious, it is a massive friction creator. And it sucks our life force in a huge way.
Kate Northrup::So just being who you are the same way in all categories for the most part is a really great way
Dan Martell::What do you to manage your energy. I'm curious. What do you tell people that are scared of showing up?
Kate Northrup::Well, I also, as I mentioned, am really connected to God. The universe, life, or whatever you wanna call it. And a couple of years ago, I was in a scenario in which my mom was getting canceled publicly in a big way. She got de platformed. It was a huge mess.
Kate Northrup::And people were wanting to hold me accountable for that. And coming just barking up my tree constantly in all the channels, whether it's personal friends, social media, email, all the things. And I started off trying to defend myself, explain the differences between her and my perspective. I was, like, trying to twist myself into a freaking pretzel. And then one day I was like, wait a second.
Kate Northrup::People are going to forever think whatever they're gonna think about me. And at the end of the day, only God knows what's in my heart. Only God knows the truth, and it is between me and God, the end. So I am done trying to tell anyone anything, trying to explain anything to anyone. It doesn't even matter.
Kate Northrup::It's all a freaking hologram anyway. And so my recommendation is always deepen your connection with source. I also use the word source a lot with a capital s. Deepen your connection with source because that is the purest connection you will ever have. And when we're acting from our connection with source, there's just not the friction.
Kate Northrup::There's just not the static. You're not second guessing. You're just there. And then you don't really have to worry about it. And everyone is looking for that.
Kate Northrup::Everyone is turning towards the light, even if they think it's coming from drugs or alcohol. Like, we're all looking for more life force. We just are often looking in the wrong places. And so that's what I say. Yeah.
Kate Northrup::Okay.
Dan Martell::Good.
Kate Northrup::Coming back, I wanna know where was it on your journey and what happened when you became became a man of faith? Was it over time? Was there a big moment? How'd that happen?
Dan Martell::I think there was, you know, there was so it's the there's it's it's phasic. Mhmm. Like, I know like it's fun to tell the story and the moment happened and then I saw the light. Like, I get that and people want that version so they can they see themselves as me. I get that.
Kate Northrup::It's good for a keynote.
Dan Martell::I can't. I but again, I'm gonna go to my heart and God's going, don't do that, Dan. I would say one of the first meaningful moments was hanging out with my buddy and he's a Christian and he's always has been and he's a beautiful one and he and he never it's not like there's a way. He's just he just talks and he was recommending another person. And I think one of them was Ed Mylett had somebody on his podcast and he sent me the the episode and I'm listening to it.
Dan Martell::And something occurred to me. It was like a whisper. All the people you admire are Christians. And I started checking and I woke up and I realized all the people I admire were people of faith. Some of them said it, some of them never told anybody.
Dan Martell::And I was like and I remember, so I I my buddy Brad who I hang out with every Friday, we go snow biking. It's like snowmobile, but a dirt bike. And I remember so this is like months before he tells me about the pod then I I listened to it and it's it's with a guy named Erwin Mcmale McManus. Erwin. And how crazy.
Dan Martell::This is as crazy. I listened to this podcast and he just has a way of explaining things I've never heard before. And I go into his work and I I talk to other people and everyone my mentor. Oh, really? Oh, didn't know that.
Dan Martell::Oh, yeah. Big part of my life. Somebody else, big part of my life. Big part of my life. Oh, I wouldn't be where I'm at without it.
Dan Martell::Anyways, so I remember one day, it's so crazy. This guy, Dan messaged me on Instagram and says, hey, I'm working with this guy, Erwin McManus on a project and I brought your name up and he asked me if I could connect you too. Okay. Yeah. I would love that.
Dan Martell::And I'm sitting, I remember where I was. I'm sitting in the parking lot. I'm about to have this call with him and I don't know about anything. Like, I'm so skeptical. I'm like, what about the Bible?
Dan Martell::And I wrote down all these questions and I get on with him and I think, if I'm gonna get a call with him, I'm gonna give him the hard hitting questions. And I was like, is it I I hope I don't offend you or insult you or frustrate you, but I I have questions if it's okay. He's just like, of course. To learn later when he at his, church, he literally leaves 40% of the room open for atheists. Because he's like, why would I preach to a bunch of believers?
Dan Martell::Like, I actually wanna have conversation with people and I'm sitting there, I'm asking them all these questions. And he just he had this beautiful answer. He said, you'll always have more questions than answers. And I'm a left brain analytical software programmer. So that was like, what?
Dan Martell::I don't like that at all. And he goes, it just is what it is. And I would encourage you to just study, study Jesus. That's what he said. Just mind you gave me a bunch of books and he said, just go go study.
Dan Martell::And that was like the beginning of the journey of just and again, as I went down that path, am I oh, it's so crazy. Friends of mine that I've known for seven years, I find out they used to be pastors in their previous lives.
Kate Northrup::So interesting.
Dan Martell::Fascinating to me.
Kate Northrup::Are some of these people of different faiths that you admire? Right? Like, of the people that I have when I've gotten under the surface, I've you know, they are like deeply into Jewish mysticism or deeply into these different faiths. So I'm just curious
Dan Martell::It's kinda
Kate Northrup::Does that is there ever like overlap with
Dan Martell::different I will tell you where I'm at now is I have relationship with God. Right. And when you say universe, source, lifespan Yeah. I'm going to law. Like, I'm I'm there.
Dan Martell::Yeah. I'm with I'm like, hey, I'm not religious.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. I'm sane. I was not I mean, I was raised in a family where we, like, did a little Christmas, but mostly we're, like, we celebrated the the summer solstice. My mom, you know, raised us.
Dan Martell::Yeah. My belief in tree divas.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. I mean, kinds
Dan Martell::of things. Yeah. I'm again, I'm not there. That's what was saying. Do you believe in astrology?
Dan Martell::Not yet. I'm I'm open Right. To And that's why, like, even even with with quantum physics or quantum mechanic like, just the idea of the law of attraction or like creation. Interesting. Yeah.
Dan Martell::Energy. You know, some people I ask Ed, I interviewed Ed Mylett because he's, you know, a Christian and then he also believes in this. And he said, well, I believe that God created everything and I believe in that. So God created that and that's just how it is. And so so my favourite thing is to ask people about their God and listen.
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::I I I'm just the one thing I can say is love is always present at the centre of it in its beauty and lightness. That is there. The union, the oneness, the connection, all of it. And when you said hologram, you know, I used to say none of this is real. And my wife Renee says, stop saying that.
Dan Martell::You sound crazy. And I said, okay. Well, now it's an illusion. Hologram's good.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. I mean, none of this is real and we're all gonna die.
Dan Martell::The proof of that is just for me to audit my thoughts and go, well, what I thought before wasn't the truth. Yeah. And I know what I believe today will be as I evolve. If you don't contradict yourself, are you really growing?
Kate Northrup::Yeah. How's that? That's a good question.
Dan Martell::A lot of people don't consider that because because I I guess if you're on a journey of reflection all the time and journaling and you're like, oh, this is weird. I can't believe I used to think that. I couldn't believe I used to have that anxiety. I can't believe I was that angry. I can't believe I did stuff to prove my buddy's mom wrong.
Dan Martell::Like, that's crazy.
Kate Northrup::It is wild. Our our potential for evolution is infinite. And I'm curious, you know, in our I haven't literally asked you any questions about your book, but I do wanna know, given our infinite capacity for evolution, like with something like your DRIP matrix where you're looking at, okay, this the spectrum of this task in terms of time, how much does it take, in terms of energy, how much does it take? And and, you know, folks, please get this book. It's it's excellent.
Dan Martell::Thank you.
Kate Northrup::Very practical. And I think for people at any level, you know, because I'm a very well established entrepreneur and there are many things in here that I can tweak and implement. So, but the matrix really shows you how to get yourself into the production productivity or production? Production. Production quadrant, whereas things are lighting you up and things are making you money.
Kate Northrup::We're getting results. Yeah. Right?
Dan Martell::I'm not the four hour work week guy. I'm a guy that wants to help people create I call it an empire. But an empire from my definition is different. It's a life of unlimited creation you never have to retire from.
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::I want that for everybody. I I gotta start with the beginning because most people just don't even know how to let go. They don't even know what to give other people. I mean, in the the drip matrix, you know, I talk about the delegate in the in the first place is like an, you know, admin, a virtual assistant. And it's people think, well, I got one of them.
Dan Martell::It's like, but you didn't give them all of it, you know. So like, I don't know. To me, it starts with an audit of your time to ask yourself, what are the things I'm doing that suck my energy? Because people can always identify what they don't want. They have a hard time asking for what they do want.
Dan Martell::So if you look at what they don't want, that's why So if if somebody wants help with this, find me on Instagram, l l Martell. Message me, e a. I'll send them my internal Google doc. Executive I think it's 42 pages. I've cleaned it up because I can't put you in my personal credit card stuff in there.
Kate Northrup::Ideally not.
Dan Martell::No. And I'm hoping Anne, my assistant took all that stuff out.
Kate Northrup::Handbags on dance.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Just find me and message me executive assistant or EA. I'll send you the Google doc directly. Great. And it'll give you the audit.
Dan Martell::Because what my bet is is there's things that you won't let go that you know you don't want, like that you know you should, that I think that's where the work is. So that
Kate Northrup::That is where the work is. And it comes back to the same conversation we're having, which is faith. Because if we are acting out of fear, fundamentally, we have disconnected from source, disconnected from love. And it's like, no no no. My connection to safety is being the one in charge of my inbox.
Dan Martell::It's false. It's not real.
Kate Northrup::Right. So letting go is that same It's I passive surrender.
Dan Martell::Always think in the world, I go, the world will show me where I'm not free. Oh, there it is. There it is. So that's why I love to give people that 42 page document. Because in there, they'll be like,
Kate Northrup::oh, I would that never DM.
Dan Martell::Yeah. They're like, I would never let that go. Right? And I'm like, okay.
Kate Northrup::But then we can get curious.
Dan Martell::That's the whole point.
Kate Northrup::What is the fear? What is actually the fear? Because when we can actually get underneath and really say, like, okay. So knee jerk reaction is, no. Don't.
Kate Northrup::No. What's actually the fear? So for example, our director of ops message messages me the other day, and she's like, is there a reason why you won't let Elena who I have sort of given my scheduling?
Dan Martell::Sorta kinda. Sorta kinda. Only in these limited examples.
Kate Northrup::Why she has to confirm with you? Actually, I'm gonna just ask you this question as, like, because I have you here. So help me. Okay. So here's the deal.
Kate Northrup::I am scared that things will end up on my calendar that I don't wanna do. Okay. Because I really only wanna do what I wanna do.
Dan Martell::Okay? You wanna protect your energy.
Kate Northrup::I really wanna protect my energy. I really wanna protect my time. My favorite days are the days when I have, like, nothing scheduled or one thing that I'm really excited about. I do great with wide open time. And so what ends up happening is Elena schedules the things, but she has to confirm with me unless I've preslotted, like, these are available slots that are for podcasts or this day I'm doing this, so go at it or whatever.
Kate Northrup::And so so our DOL was like, is there a reason you're not letting her just, like, do this without confirming with you because it seems like it's an extra whatever? And I was like, yeah. Because I don't all of the fears I just shared. So I'm probably like other people. What would you tell me what to do.
Dan Martell::And and I appreciate the, the openness to have the conversation. The the truth is, if you wanna create more, you have to learn to change your approach. So like the the I know who I am today, can't be who I need to become to achieve. The lightness and the connection to source, that stays strong. The idiosyncrasies, the weird beliefs that those gotta evolve, twist around, be challenged and dissipate to become the person who can easily create outcomes.
Dan Martell::So when you say you're holding on, well, then there must be some kind of outcome you wanna achieve that also requires structure. Mhmm. Because you can't like, I want a best selling book. Great. We both know what it takes to do that.
Dan Martell::Yeah. And it's not let me do what I wanna do. It's
Kate Northrup::No. But it's interesting that you say that because one of the things I'm working on is my next bestseller and I require Perfect. Lots of open chunks of time. So I don't want like an Instagram live stuck in the middle there, which obviously I guess just requires me blocking the time. I mean, that's fair.
Dan Martell::So this is where I'll get to. So I always address the being first before the tactic. So understanding and at the end of the day, the the understanding is I I need to give up that control, but I gotta also create the rails.
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::So so my life is here's a template, the perfect week I call it.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. And that's in here. That's a chapter.
Dan Martell::100%. And it because it's without it, it doesn't work. Totally. And and then some really tactical stuffs not in the book that I'll give you because it's Thank it really makes sense is, first off, every week I've got an opportunity for me to sit down, review the week, and give feedback to my assistant. Great.
Dan Martell::So worst case, that happens one week.
Kate Northrup::Is that like Monday morning?
Dan Martell::Or when do She you do schedules it. See how I did that?
Kate Northrup::So it's just whenever it happens.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Because it's not a high priority thing. Yeah. So so it has to happen. Yeah.
Dan Martell::It doesn't need to be reoccurring because I don't like reoccurring meetings because people use reoccurring meetings to have meetings that they don't need to have.
Kate Northrup::It's the worst. I have meetings when don't like meetings.
Dan Martell::Perfect. So now
Kate Northrup::you're fact, seeing I never wanna be on them.
Dan Martell::No. But but now you're starting to see how I think about my time. So a lot of people say, oh, one on ones are every Monday at this time. It's like, okay. Or they have to happen and it's in between.
Dan Martell::Let's say there's a gap between I have a meeting here and a meeting here, just put it there. That way it doesn't feel wasteful. It doesn't feel like it's out of the blue and it's out of context. So I call it train, don't tell. I don't tell people the report to me what to do.
Dan Martell::I train them because that's the coaching. It's what we do with clients. It's it's we talk to them about the principles, not the activity because the principle scale. You can never create a SOP with enough checklist to take advantage of all the crazy situation that could ever come up. You have to lead with principles.
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::So what we have is principles for priority. So like, let's say I text her and I say, hey, I wanna meet with Kate. I go priority one. She knows a priority one is cancel somebody else to make it happen for Kate as soon as possible.
Kate Northrup::So you have a language.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Priority
Kate Northrup::one, two, three, four, five. Yeah. Have four. Hopefully, don't thank you. I'm like, where does that end?
Kate Northrup::Because you can't
Dan Martell::have Stops at 4. 4. And and it's just simple. One is cancel something else to make it
Kate Northrup::And you two communicate via text?
Dan Martell::Yeah. I only communicate via text with her. Yeah. She uses Slack for a lot of stuff so that there's awareness across different teams.
Kate Northrup::And But you're not in your Slack?
Dan Martell::No. No. I mean, I'm in there, but I don't nobody Not actually. My rule is, nobody can expect a to do from me. Okay.
Dan Martell::If you need something done by me, it has to go through my checking Don't message me on Slack saying, Dan, I need this from never happening. Not happening. Right. I just, that's the I'm talent.
Kate Northrup::Now we're in the minutiae because I love this.
Dan Martell::Let's go.
Kate Northrup::So you are only communicating with Anne or there are other people who are reporting to you? Like how many people?
Dan Martell::No. At my level. So I I run over, you know, we'd over 100,000,000 a year in revenue Yeah. Across the portfolio of companies. I have CEOs that run the companies.
Dan Martell::I would say Anne's my only direct report. I'm the talent in my companies. So it's kinda wild because I have a media company that I'm the person Yeah. That we produce media for. And if we do an event, the relationship is is if I'm a speaker at my own event.
Dan Martell::Right.
Kate Northrup::Totally. I get that.
Dan Martell::So my assistant's not doing anything other than when do you need Dan?
Kate Northrup::Right.
Dan Martell::Nine to 10:30? Perfect. Dan, you're on stage nine to 10:30. Yeah. The rest of my day is mine.
Dan Martell::Right. Like, it's wild when my friends come to I invite a friend to speak at my event and they're like, hey, man. Just go to the hotel. Where you at? I'm like, I'm in another city.
Dan Martell::And then they're like, I'm on stage. Are you here? No. I'm only speaking this afternoon. Right.
Dan Martell::It's your own event. Oh, I know. I have an m I have an emcee.
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::Like, speak at Tony Robbins event. Yeah. And people are like, do you see Tony? No. I'm on stage because he's not there.
Dan Martell::Right. That's the whole point. So even changing the frame of I want other people to produce the thing. I will plug in if I'm absolutely needed. Other than that, I'm okay letting go.
Dan Martell::And that is the that's what the with somebody like an executive that's why it's impossible for your EA to know every scenario of how Kate's feeling. Once a week, they'll do something that you're like, oh, didn't like that. I write it down. So I have a Google doc of everybody in my life. So like, who's am I?
Dan Martell::I got my wife in my life, my house manager in my life, I got Anne on there, I got my head of creative director, I got my legal team, I got my you know what mean? And anytime I have something where I'm like, oh You just put it I write it there.
Kate Northrup::Great.
Dan Martell::Next time I'm on a call, guess what's the first agenda on the meeting? What? What's on your list?
Kate Northrup::Right.
Dan Martell::Literally, they ask this is the cool part.
Kate Northrup::What's on your list?
Dan Martell::They ask me.
Kate Northrup::I love this.
Dan Martell::Change it'll change a So
Kate Northrup::much I have an agenda for, my husband. But now officially, I will begin it with And he rather from me. Than like because what I do is I sort of like address it ad hoc or whatever.
Dan Martell::No. And they don't want it
Kate Northrup::ad has trained me. God bless Mike. He has he's like he's like, babe, I love you. However, when we're in the middle of bedtime,
Dan Martell::which begins Not the time to pull up your windows.
Kate Northrup::The time. Or like, hey, we're having a nice morning over coffee. Like, can you not and so he has trained me to a agenda ties myself. We we do a weekly meeting
Dan Martell::for that. No. We Renee and I literally have a weekly meeting. For
Kate Northrup::logistics or just this It's
Dan Martell::all of it. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's I ask her how have I been as a husband for you in the last And she'll tell me and I say thank you.
Kate Northrup::Do you put all the things? Because we have a separate money meeting and then we have a separate scheduling logistics meeting and then we have a separate date night. So all three of these things are separate.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Yeah. Date night's Thursdays. We do, I think I'd have to ask Anne, but I think it's every Tuesday is a Martell meeting, family meeting.
Kate Northrup::Uh-huh.
Dan Martell::And that's where we check-in with each other, we review our goals. We I mean, one of my favorite questions is what's important for you this week?
Kate Northrup::Yeah.
Dan Martell::How can I support what's important for you? So great. And the one thing I will say, it's the funniest thing, 100% has to happen. I don't care if there's another meeting, we didn't get to it. What are we doing this weekend?
Dan Martell::Schedule the weekend. Yeah. We gotta schedule the weekend. Like that's on the agenda, but if we get going and we got we do it over lunch and we have a meal, we always like, okay, what are we doing this weekend?
Kate Northrup::Do you bring your kids ever into the family meeting?
Dan Martell::No. We do a like a dinner meeting with the kids.
Kate Northrup::Okay.
Dan Martell::Not to a family meeting. Eleven and twelve.
Kate Northrup::Okay. Yeah. Mine are six and nine. So I'm like, I'm not sure quite when to bring them into the logistics.
Dan Martell::Yeah. Some people do the family meeting with the kids. We're we're, you know, because we're doing finance, like a state Yeah.
Kate Northrup::No. No. No. I mean, it's not appropriate.
Dan Martell::For an eye. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, babes, my love language touch. I'm just saying.
Dan Martell::Yeah. I think what what I've learned and this is where I used to not be that. I used to be the guy that came in, saw things, bro. I call it, seagull management, where you like fly in, sloop down shit on everybody and then fly out. Now what I do is I I I and the other thing is I'll prioritise because like there's only so much correction somebody can hear.
Dan Martell::And like, you you gotta know that as a as a person, as a team, you gotta go like, I'm not gonna go over the five. I'm gonna pick the most important two. And you know what? Next week, if those other ones are still important, I'll bring them up. If not, I'm gonna call it a day.
Dan Martell::My rule is 80% done by somebody else is a 100% freaking awesome. And I'm just so grateful to have people in my life support me that I'm okay. And it mistakes happen like they just do and they're unfortunate and it is It always sucks, but at the same time, it's a hologram. Like, let's I I literally sometimes my team, they're just like, and I'm like, we are not curing cancer.
Kate Northrup::No. I always say to my team, there is no such thing as an online marketing emergency. Like, you know, I was raised in a my parents are both doctors. Like, there were real emergencies that they were dealing with. I am not.
Kate Northrup::No. Now, there has to be accountability, there has to be repair, but it's not like, we don't need to have an
Dan Martell::anxiety attack. I don't want yeah. I don't want I don't I want I don't want somebody emotionally, having to suffer, if that makes sense, because of
Kate Northrup::Okay. That being said, how do you know having now hired a bajillion of people. Right? Managed a lot of people. Obviously, right now, you know, in your current framework, you're not, like, dealing with tons of stuff.
Kate Northrup::But how do you know the difference between, like, okay, humans make mistakes, and we're all gonna make mistakes. I mean, I make mistakes every single day. Right? And when it's time
Dan Martell::Underperformance.
Kate Northrup::To part ways
Dan Martell::Yeah.
Kate Northrup::With an employee.
Dan Martell::My framework is always, is it a process problem or a people problem? And it's funny because it took me a while to figure it out. My first company was like Wild West and drunken sailor hiring strategy, like just wild. You know, they suck. I hired them.
Dan Martell::They're supposed to know this. They can't do their job. You're gone. Somebody new or man, I really like this guy. I'll put up with them.
Dan Martell::Three years later, he's cost me more than he's made like by I've done it all. I the the the sequence is always if somebody made a mistake, I actually had a sales guy make a $100,000 mistake a few years ago. Like real money gone out. Bummer. He felt bad, but he called me up, felt horrible about it, you know, beating himself.
Dan Martell::I remember listening to him just boom. I said, are you done? He's like, what what do you mean? I said, did you learn the lesson? He said, yes.
Dan Martell::I said, good. I said, here's the thing. I know there's no process for what you did. That's my prob that's my fault. Okay.
Dan Martell::So we're gonna we're gonna add to the process that this gets checked and it's a copy paste of the blueprint so you can't make the mistake ever again. And then I train. So my first thing is did I do I have a checklist? Do you have a process? Did I train them?
Dan Martell::Because it's not enough. A lot of people have an SOP, you didn't follow it. It's like you never slow it down. It's like the alarm in the office the other day went off and they're like, there's an SOP, you should have done. No.
Dan Martell::Train every like, let's all stand in front of the ad. Well, also what would love do? Yeah.
Kate Northrup::Right? Like, love would spend a little extra
Dan Martell::be like, hey, let's go do this.
Kate Northrup::Oh my god. Don't ever try
Dan Martell::to train me on an alarm system. No. I was like, I'm gonna never be here to set it or disarm it. So we're gonna call that a day. And then and then it's if I've done that and the mistake keeps happening, then I then I probably have a people problem.
Dan Martell::Okay. And the thing that I the frame I use in transition, I don't fire people. Yeah. I transition them. And I can love them from another team.
Dan Martell::Like, even if they made a mistake, even if they're
Kate Northrup::a little bit ambitious. Team on a company that you don't own.
Dan Martell::I actually, yeah, I should. In my early days from the dark energy, I would refer people I fire to my competitor.
Kate Northrup::That is a total asshole.
Dan Martell::I know. It made me giggle when I did it, and eventually I said, that's not good energy. I gotta stop doing that. Yeah. Was like, you should apply there.
Dan Martell::So bad. So it's bad.
Kate Northrup::It's true. Okay. So you transition people.
Dan Martell::I just transition people on and off the team, and I'm clear about it. I I'm you know, I think people buy your standards, not your presence. So I have very clear standards and I try I take the emotion out of it. Right? Like when it's time to move on, usually the person knows and it's kinda I I think you can't always get it right.
Dan Martell::And and again, you do things a thousand times. It's just a law of large numbers. Not everybody's gonna be happy about it. But I'm just I also honour the fact that everybody will find the place if they're on if they continue looking where they're just gonna be absolutely lit up. It's the right place.
Dan Martell::And if it's not with me, I'm actually quite selfish. Keeping them, not doing it because it would be painful. Because that's what it is. Most people keep people on their team because if I let them go, it's gonna be more pain for me. And I gotta hire somebody and I gotta train them.
Dan Martell::But yet you're also now taking advantage of them because they're never gonna thrive here. They're gonna they're gonna probably be anxiety prone every day when they come to work worrying that they're gonna make another mistake because they're in over their head. And yourself is very selfish. I just don't do that.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. I love that.
Dan Martell::Yeah. So so usually, I'd say 99% of time it's a process problem and then sometimes a people problem.
Kate Northrup::Yeah. It's really good wisdom. Thank you. This has been so much fun. I could ask you a million more things, so you know, maybe you'll
Dan Martell::come back. Anytime.
Kate Northrup::But my last thing that I wanna ask you is what as a man who you are obviously constantly tinkering, working on expansion, you know, whether it's personally in your marriage, whatever, like in your businesses, what are you personally chewing on right now that's your growth edge?
Dan Martell::Oh, Alright. So it's quite fascinating because I've done a lot of things in my life. I feel super blessed. Again, to most people's standards, they feel like, you know, you've made it And whatever it is or made, it's kind of fascinating. And then, you know, I started working with my coach and he says to me in the first call, not even first call, I'm in the meeting.
Dan Martell::I tell him where I'm at, what I've done, sold these companies, here's my situation, here's what I got to work with. And he looks at me and he goes, if you're not a billionaire in five years, I'll never talk to you ever again. And I was like, okay, I didn't personally have that desire. Why do you say that? And he goes and again, right.
Dan Martell::Is it true or not? I don't know. Does he say this to everybody? I don't know. He goes, you're too smart to not be.
Dan Martell::And if you don't, it's because you didn't live in your potential. Now I take that back and I'm sitting there and I'm like, that sounds like work. But what's funny is that I used to think that back in the day. I used to think that about where I'd be today. And I teach people every day that the bigger it gets, the easier it gets because they have more resources.
Dan Martell::So it's not true. And I watch myself do the same thing I used to do now. So I fought through it and I kept asking myself, k, what would need to be true? What would need And I looked at like the thing and I click, click, click, click, and I put it all together. The reason I say that is because in subsequent meetings when I'm talking to him and we're debating the greats and what it takes, we come to the real not even we, he explained to me.
Dan Martell::He tells me.
Kate Northrup::Thank you for your honesty.
Dan Martell::Yep. That the difference maker is literally the ability to think bigger. And in all ways, like, you know, and like and when I say that, it's funny because some people and I was that kid, 28, sold my company. I'm really successful. I was in my town.
Dan Martell::150,000 people won the awards, literally won the war for an entrepreneur of Canada. And I was proud of my but that was my that was the thinking that was the bigness of my thinking was the city. And then it was the country. And then maybe North America. Then even, you know, like even in the internet and then it occurred to me that when we allow ourselves to expand our thinking, then we live into the container.
Dan Martell::So what's fascinating to me is the idea of our container is a reflection of our self worth, of our belief of our self worth. Not true, but just our environment. What you what you I mean, it's a difference in like, do you live in a box on the side of the street or do you live in a beautiful mansion? What do you allow yourself? Do you even give yourself the ability to dream that that is or potentially could be?
Dan Martell::And I know I work with people, they have the financial resources to do it. They don't do it because they don't feel whatever. So I just I'm just fascinated by the concept of and this is what I distill it down to. Okay? I call it the rule of 300.
Dan Martell::It's a 100% clarity, a 100% belief, a 100% of the time. So when I think of like, let's say Elon Musk, whatever you think of him, everybody else, the bigness of their thinking is their city, maybe their country. He's not even thinking of this little blue dot in the galaxy. He's thinking galaxy. What?
Dan Martell::It's wild. Wild.
Kate Northrup::It's wild. And I just wanna say, because I can hear the little in the minds
Dan Martell::Must be easy for you.
Kate Northrup::Listeners and many things. One of them is they're having a feeling about even aspiring to be a billionaire. So I wanna say for anyone who's having that feeling, fine. Think whatever you want about toxic capitalism, blah blah blah. Like, fine.
Kate Northrup::However, I'm gonna invite you to listen underneath for what's the invitation for you about expansion regardless of what you this is activating for you about your money stuff. Because what's true is that when we play a bigger game, when we think bigger, we are creating opportunity and flow for everyone in our sphere, and in some cases, everyone in the galaxy. So I just wanna say that. And then I also wanna say, because I know it called pinged all your things, which is I you know, great. Our self worth is not the same thing as our inherent worth.
Kate Northrup::Right? So when Dan is saying, you know, the size of your container is equatable to your self worth that is not the same thing as your inherent worth, which is infinite, inevitable, and can never be changed is just because we are Just is. Absolute made in the image of God. So I wanna say that. And then we're playing this human game.
Kate Northrup::And so what you're talking about, I think, is playing that infinite game that you spoke of, the Simon Sinek, concept, where we are playing the game of how much life force can we allow to flow through our bodies, through our lives, through our containers. And that's really about abundance, and that's really about love. So I love that you're chewing on that. That's really fun. Thank you for bringing that.
Dan Martell::Cool.
Kate Northrup::So amazing. Thank you for being here. Where should people go to find you, connect? You already said about Yeah. Dan Martell.
Dan Martell::2l'smartell.com is my website. Instagram.
Kate Northrup::Wait. What was your website?
Dan Martell::Dan Martell.
Kate Northrup::Oh, I don't know why I thought you oh, 2l's. The Martell. That's the two l's.
Dan Martell::Got it. I always add that there. Dotcom. Instagram is my favorite. And then YouTube is where I teach.
Dan Martell::We're almost at a million subs. Great. It's crazy.
Kate Northrup::Great. And your YouTube is Dan Martell? Yeah. Okay. Great.
Dan Martell::I'm Dan Martell and I'll
Kate Northrup::post And get yourself a copy. Buy Back Your Time.
Dan Martell::Buy Back Your Time. Really On Amazon. I think right now, it's the number one book in productivity entrepreneur. It's bananas. It's crazy.
Dan Martell::It's doing really well.
Kate Northrup::Amazing.
Dan Martell::Thank you.
Kate Northrup::Thank you. If you're seriously committed to healing your relationship with money, the place to start is my book, Money, A Love Story. It's available in print, it's available digitally, but it is also available on audio in a completely updated and revised edition. So no matter what your book consumption preference is, this is the place with exercises, healing strategies, and repatterning strategies to get started healing your relationship with money. Money, a love story is available wherever books are sold.
Kate Northrup::Go get yourself a copy.