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Welcome to Joy of Building, where we go beyond building products & businesses to building lives that deeply transform both ourselves and those around us. Through powerful stories, actionable strategies, and personal insights, we explore how to overcome limiting beliefs and create a life aligned with your true passions. Whether you’re at a crossroads or ready for a breakthrough, join us to unlock your full potential and live with purpose and joy. Tune in, embrace change, and take that bold leap toward the life you've always wanted!
Hello everyone. Welcome to the 2nd ever episode of the joy of building podcast. I'm your host, Andrew. And today I'm here with the, the one and only Danny Miranda, who is the host of the Danny Miranda show and where he's, I think as of this morning has published 4 14 pockets episodes. Congratulations, Danny, and have included guests like Alec Hormozi, Brian Johnson, and just a whole line of a really amazing individuals.
He's also the creator behind the art of interviewing course, where he teaches you how to lead world class interviews. But to me, he's actually so much more than that. He's someone who has inspired me on this podcast journey, especially because of how he talks about you know, the art of the craft and the intention behind it, even to eat those around pouring love and and compassion into these these podcasts. And I'm just Really excited to have you here today. Thank you for being here, Danny.
My pleasure and very well summed up my intentionality behind the show and what I'm doing. So I really appreciate
it. Yeah, no problem. So I was actually brainstorming, yesterday about high want to start off this podcast. And in that space of inspiration, I decided to actually write something. So I want to read something to you and I have a question follow-up that.
So, when I think about the joy of building podcast, I think about this imagery of a kid building a sandcastle. Imagine being in this kid's shoe. You arrive at the beach and see this giant field of sand, and think to yourself, I'm gonna build the coolest sand castle ever today. You may or may not have the tools like a shovel or a bucket, but you know that you have All that all you really need are your hands, the raw materials like sand and water, your imagination, and some hard work. You get to building, you encounter some unforeseen obstacles like another kid knocking down 1 of your towers, or the gust of wind, the ruining this other structure you had planned.
And ultimately, when the ocean tide rises, all of it is washed away. If you realize that you don't even have a day's work to show for it. But as you look at the setting sun, you realize that you've been having so much fun and feel solely feeling so joyful that you lost track of time. At the same time, you notice a transformation within you. You can't seem to put a finger on it, but you know that you feel more confident, more fulfilled, and excited about what life has to offer.
You start thinking about the next sandcastle you want to build, or even maybe start dreaming about building a real castle one day. And for me, the kid had experienced the joy of building and has changed him for the better. So, Danny, What was the 1st time you experienced that feeling? What was the 1st sandcastle you ever built?
So when I was 6 years old, I saw my parents reading the New York times, And I say to my friend in kindergarten or 1st grade, I say, I saw my parents reading the New York times. Why don't we create something that can take that over the New York times? And so I had a newsletter called the sunny times. And I would talk about the latest in sports, in weather, in politics, current events, and I would sell it for $5 a pop to the neighbors. And it was in this this place of Building this newsletter, which I think I only did it for, like, 3 or 4 issues, but it's very much the ethos.
The sunny times is very much the ethos of what I'm building today with the podcast. And that was really the first time in my life where what I was building and who I was was in alignment with the person that I wanted to be.
Wow. That's that's amazing. When you were, when you decided to, to replace what your parents were like, the New York times are reading. What was it in motion that it was like, Hey, I want to create some deck and was it because they were smiling? You're like, well, I want to make them smile too.
Or they're so engaged that you're like, wow, I want to create something that draw that same level of curiosity and, and, and, focus. Like what, what was the emotion that going on through your head when you decided to do that newsletter?
I don't know. I don't know what the emotion was, but I know that it came from a place of, oh, that person did something.
Wow.
I could do it too. And just because that's a company or just because, like, all of it, it didn't it never felt too big. Like, oh, that's that's unattainable. I figured if they built it, I could build it too. Like, there's no reason why they can't.
They were able to capture my parents' attention. Why wasn't I able to build something to capture my parents' attention to? And not that I needed to build anything to capture my parents' attention. They gave me a lot of attention, but that to me was a sign of, like, oh, someone created something. You can create it too, and you can You can build it in your own way that can work.
So I knew that at a really early age, and that is proof foundational to what I've been doing today with the podcast.
Wow. How, how old were you? Like when was the first time you, you let's say the first issue of that newsletter? I was 6.
Wow.
6 years old. So that was even wow. That's incredible. So wait. That was even way before you started writing your your your, You know, blog is a dirty year.
Like, you had that spark idea way before.
Yeah. It that's why when you just go that far back and you realize like, Oh, maybe this was just imprinted in my soul. Like maybe this was imprinted in my beat. I there's no there's no way I could have ever Like, thought about that or, like like, intellectualize my way to that conclusion of creating a newsletter, creating media To show people how to be happier like that just in me, in me at a deep level. And so I think what I encourage People to do if they're listening and they don't know what they're building or what they wanna be building or what the joy of building is for them.
It's like, what's the first thing you built? Right. What was the first thing you lost track of time there? There are seeds of inspiration there for you to find if you don't know. So, yeah,
that's incredible because like technically starting from 6 year old, you already knew something around like a media or a content. You don't know what kind of medium it's going to show or what medium is going to pop up technologically wise. So you had a feeling that you wanted to to just write or produce or create this content and get engaged others. That's that's incredible. Did you Did you ever experience anything that challenge that feeling of like either confidence or abundance that you can make something or have somebody shut it down that you feel like you lost it even temporarily?
For sure. So I was 13 years old and I, I write this time management blog on, it was command your time.com. And I'd written the blog for about 3 months, and a woman wrote a blog post saying, there's no way That this kid is a kid. There's this these posts are too good. This is too well written, and I don't believe it.
And if it is a kid, he shouldn't be on the Internet. There's no reason for this 13 year old kid in 2009 To be on the Internet, he should be playing with his friends outside. Wow.
And
I was like, you know what? She's right. And I bought into her story of reality More than my own. And of course, something like that can't go away. Like that joy of building that that excitement of Creating a website and connecting with people online and creating media that can can only go that can only be suppressed for so long before it bubbles up again.
So which is when I 15, I started a Knicks blog.
Yeah.
But to me, the I I understood where she was correct, and I was hurt by her her comments. But I also felt deep in my heart, I wanna be a normal kid in some way. So yeah, I don't think of it. I don't hold that new resentment towards her, and I don't think it's I I might do the same thing today because if you know the game you're supposed to play, you can extend the time horizons. Right.
I I was in no rush to have an amazing blog or have best selling books or there's no rush. I know I'm playing a long game here. There's no reason to to try to get it all done by 23.
Like Yeah.
We we got a lot of time on this floating rock in space. God willing. Knock on wood. Right? So That that's kind of how I frame and how I think about that suppression of the joy of building.
Got it. And it's also funny in retrospect, That was also, kind of a validation to where, where she said like, there's no way this because we're gonna 13 year old. That means you're at a level where someone could have believed that this is coming from a, a 13 year old's mind. Right? That's wow.
And How were you able to? Because of a lot of people that I experience of doubt, of fear would be enough to kind of shut that down for a long time. You, you, like you mentioned, it always kind of it's always in in us. It's always there, but sometimes it's hard to tap back into it. Right?
You need like a stimulus to remind you. How were you able to get back right on the horse at 15 and almost in a new arena where I I know where you eventually even got to like interview, a lot of these NBA players.
Yeah. I, I remember looking at my email when I was 15 years old and being like, how come no one's emailing me? Yeah. And I was like, Oh, wait, cause I haven't put out anything to be emailed about. And I remember starting that next blog almost as a way to connect with other people and to get people, Talking to me and interested in what I was building.
And, I knew that LeBron James was deciding On where he wanted to play basketball. This was his big free agency back in 2010, and I said, the Knicks are a contender. If he chooses the Knicks, that's gonna be a good sign, And that's gonna increase the value of my blog. So I started the blog in June of 2010. End up running it for a year and a half or 2 years, but it was pivotal.
It was pivotal running that blog in like and and so the to answer your question, though, I don't I didn't feel any fear. I didn't feel any insecurity. I even when I go to interview the NBA players, I was like, I belong to be here. Like, I put my blog stats out And I asked the the PR department, and I said, like, hey, can I come to media day to interview NBA players? And they said, what are your stats?
How many people are coming to your blog? And I sent it to them and they were like, yeah, you're good to go. I show up to media day and they're like, Who are you? I'm like, I'm Nick's vision that this is the this is my this is my blog, and I've been doing this, and I've been building this. And And they're like, are you sure you're here with anyone else?
I was like, yeah, my mom drove me, but she's in the car and, And, you know, the players would say the same thing too. Like, why aren't you in school? I'm like I'm building my dream here. I'm supposed to be here. This is like To me, it was unusual to everyone else except myself.
I knew that this was part of my destiny. I knew this was part of my calling. I knew I was in the right room. And why Why did I feel confidence to do that, to be there? Because I knew that I'd done the work to get to that point.
Mhmm. I was blogging every day. I saw other blogs. I saw they were putting out the same amount or less work than I was. So why shouldn't I get involved?
Why shouldn't I be there? Of course, I should. There was 0 insecurities, 0 doubt about any of it, and maybe part of that is stemming back to being 6. Maybe part of that is stemming back to being 13 And getting the validation, but I don't know. I I just I never struggled with confidence.
I just always knew this was my calling.
Were you always confident as a kid? Like even when it comes to like, I'd earn school either in, I don't know if you practice any sports, Like, was that confidence always kind of there or is something that you felt like you had to like work on or develop, or you had to learn. For
for sports, it wasn't as much there because I could see the facts.
Right.
I could see that, like, I am not as strong as fast as some other people. Right. For school, it wasn't there as well because I didn't inherently care about it. When I'm going to interview NBA players, and they're telling me that I need to get this degree so I can get another degree so I can maybe get a degree after that so then I could interview NBA players. I'm like, listen.
I I skipped the game. Like, I'm doing what you want me to do because I get this degree, and then I can do the thing. I'm doing the thing today. So, like, clearly, the degree doesn't mean as much as you think it does for me. So but I didn't have confidence in I didn't have confidence in, in sports, but I had confidence in media and creating media because I knew 1, it was about connecting with people, and 2, something in my control.
If I do the work, I can get the result. And so, yeah, I mean, that's that's the confidence journey. I think we all have confidence different levels for different things. But to me, it's like 1, the your belief in the thing in some sense has to come before You actually can achieve the thing, but in another sense, you build the proof for your confidence by doing the work. And I know that I had built the proof for the confidence, through the work that I was doing, particularly in media.
I love that. Yeah. A It makes a lot of sense to me now, where you start talking about your journey at 6, right? We're even those Each of those issues of that newsletter were like, were, were those reps that you felt like you done. And I can see that confidence wasn't coming from, from like a cocky place, like, Hey, like I got this or like, like just feeling like you have the entitlement, but feeling like you have value or you have a perspective to offer.
And I just, I love that. So for listeners who don't know about this big vision you have. What does the number 19,763 mean to
you? That is the amount of people in Madison square garden that can hold The seating capacity for that place. And so to tying it all together and well done on your part doing that in your 2nd podcast appearance ever or 2nd hosting, that that's very well done. Thank you. The the reason why I so that's Madison square garden and the I would like to sell out Madison square garden for a live podcast.
That's the significance of the number. And that's how many tickets I need to sell to get to that point. And I would go on the train To watch Knicks games when I'm 15 years old, 16 years old, and before that. And I I would be like, that to me seems like That's incredible. People are going to a stadium to watch you and your gifts.
And there's so many, there's 20,000 people here watching that. To me, that was incredible. And so, but I've never felt like I found my thing, even with writing, even with Like all these ventures, I never felt like like this is what I wanna devote my life to. There have been periods of time where I've been deep into writing, and I've really appreciated that. But I I've never felt like a sense of calling a sense of purpose to that level as I did when I discovered the podcast.
So then I discovered the podcast and it's covered interviewing people. And to me, this was like, Oh my God, this is it. And I knew immediately, like within Two episodes. I'm like, oh my God. I just want to do this nonstop.
I can't stop doing this. This is this is life. This is living. I, when looking back on it, I realized for me, writing was too much in a silo, it was too much 1 on 1 with myself. And I was I needed more.
I needed people to connect with, to learn from, to, to ask questions to. And so I start realizing, wow, podcasting is my thing. Wow. This is incredible. I love interviewing people.
So on December 4th, 2020, Gary Vaynerchuk decides he's going to come on the podcast. And to me, this was a sign from God. This was a sign from the universe. I'm supposed to be doing this. This is the right thing.
This is episode 39, and Gary Vee's coming on. My hero. Wow. This is incredible. I gotta keep going.
This is This is wild because my initial intention with the podcast was let me do it a 100 times and then let me see what happens from there. So episode 39, Gary V comes on and I'm like, wow, this is incredible. December 8th, 4 days after he agreed to come on I'm in my basement. I'm working out. I'm like, what what is the craziest manifestation that I can imagine right now of this journey?
And to me at the time, it was selling out Madison Square Garden. I said to myself, if I could sell out Madison Square Garden, That would be so wild. That'd be so crazy. I couldn't even imagine what would unfold if I can get all the energy that I'm feeling right now from people reaching out And convincing Gary to come on the podcast. What, what if we could put that all in 1 room?
What's the biggest room that I can imagine that's in alignment with my own heart? Madison square garden. And hence that is where we came up with the the vision and the intention to do so.
Yeah. I love that. I wanted to also share that. Well, I live in Brooklyn, New York and I was in I met town the other day prepping for this interview, thinking about you and obviously walking by Madison Square Garden. I remember channeling some of that energy.
We're just challenging, contributing to that manifestation because Well, a lot of your fans know that it's just about a matter of time, but it's still just so incredible to see someone kind of going after it, and just being part of that journey. And every time I'm thinking about aiming too low, I think about that massive score garden goal that you set for yourself, which I really appreciate.
Yeah, man. I appreciate you adding to the manifestation. And What I've realized is that life is 1 is is really important. That one you believe. Like, you believe in yourself.
You believe in what you're doing. You believe in your actions, your thoughts, and your words, and making those in alignment. The first is making sure that you believe. Once you believe which I really fully believe on December 4th, after Gary Vaynerchuk agreed to come on After he gave me some of his belief in me, I was like, I believe, and he believes in me. That's enough for me to fully believe.
That's important for you to believe, but then life becomes about convincing other people to believe. And they can only believe to the extent that you do. I really believe in my podcast. I believe in my course. I believe in everything I do on a day to day basis.
Mhmm. That's going to help someone else say, That guy really believes in what he's doing. Why? What's going on? How does he believe so much?
He keeps tweeting about this course. He must really enjoy it. He must really believe in it.
He's
really tweeting about this podcast. He must really believe in it. And so what I'm transferring to other people is my belief in myself, and I hope That that gives them belief in themselves. Because if you believe in me, you actually believe in yourself. You actually believe in yourself to accomplish the incredible vision, the dream, To to put in the work day after day after day.
But I hope at the core of it is like you believe in you, and I'm showing you that you can because Maybe you see me, but really believe in me.
Say more about that feeling of belief. Like you mentioned earlier about how almost in, like, the 1st few episodes, you already had this feeling kind of deep down of like, you mentioned before, like destiny about like, hey. This is something I'm really good at. This is what I'm meant to do. This is something that I it brings me joy.
Right? And you also have talked about how you connect that with the feeling you get when you meditate. Right? But for for listeners who maybe harder for them to, grasp that feeling or even try to discount it as an early novelty effect of them. How do you describe more about that feeling and how that connects to this, this, this trust and this, This belief that you just mentioned.
To me, it's like a download from God. Like, that's the best way I could describe it. It's just like something that feels so right and part of your being that You couldn't be paid money not to do. You couldn't pay me any amount of money for me to not to meditate anymore. You couldn't pay me any amount of money for me not to Write ever again or for to tweet ever again or to podcast ever again.
And so you couldn't pay me $1,000,000,000 to never speak to another human being Ever again. Right? Like, just think about that. If someone paid you $1,000,000,000, but you couldn't speak to anyone, like, Would you take that? And I think the answer for 99.999 9% of human beings.
The answer is they would not take that deal. What does that mean? That means that speaking to other beings and connecting with other people is worth more than $1,000,000,000. Think about that. And so I guess all of that flashed in my eyes and my heart and my soul when I'm doing these interviews in the first time.
And when I'm really feeling like, wow, this is. This is my thing. Right? Like I could feel that I was getting better. I did 20 in the 1st 30 days, and I was like, I'm getting better at this.
I'm enjoying this. I'm learning about other people. I'm helping people listening. Like, there were so many different facets. It was they were win win wins.
It was a win for me. It was a win for the guest oftentimes, and it was a win for the person listening. And I'm like, this is the greatest thing ever. I'm I'm allowing all parties to win. What can I do more that allows all parties to win?
Right? Like, and it just gets you thinking a different frame of mind. I mean, a lot of times people think about, like a job, and they're like, yeah, but it doesn't align with my values, but it's good pay. And I'm like, alright. So that's a win for you in one aspect of yourself, and a loss for you in another aspect of yourself.
What if everything you did was win win win? And that's how I'm operating. That's how I'm feeling. That's the energy that I'm bringing into the world, And it it's it's remarkable. It's alignment.
It's beautiful, and and it is attractive to other human beings who then wanna buy into your vision of reality.
Any listener who have heard your podcasts can me included consensus, just incredible scope of like optimism and positivity. Right. And To me, that alignment makes sense. That alignment, relates to How you're able to be so resilient? Right?
Do you ever have days that you even visit a day or 2 or a week or 2 that you have doubts or that you have you feel those shadow parts of yourselves that are coming from when you were younger or from other voices like that lady that That kind of dimmed that light even just for a little bit.
I would say the answer to this is Not recently, but I'd be but there was probably a whole year of time when I didn't believe. So let me take you the breakdown of the year over year With the podcast. 1st year of the podcast, I really believed. I was like, this is what I'm meant to do. This is my purpose.
This is my calling. Oh my god. I'm so grateful I found it. This is incredible. 2nd year, I did a 150 episodes.
This is not working. Like not that many people are listening. Not that many people care or believe themselves that this is working. And I'm like, am I doing something wrong? So I put out a 100 episodes over the 2nd year, and I didn't really believe I and, you know, I didn't believe because I took a job Working in the NFT world as a podcaster, but it wasn't it wasn't like really inherent to my being, and I didn't know that.
And, you know, that's part of life. You test. You explore. And I I have zero regrets about doing that, but I didn't fully believe. I have regrets about not fully believing Because I let other people's perspectives and ideas trump my own, even though I knew in my heart of hearts That this was the right thing for me to do.
And at one point I became so depressed from doing this NFT job that I didn't do a podcast for a month because that led me to just be like, Oh my God is, what am I doing? This is so, and so That happened. And then what happened in the 3rd year was I was like, okay, I got knocked down by this And I still want to do this, and this is still filling me with joy. And I love the process of prepping for an interview and doing an interview and posting the interview. Okay.
This is my thing. I'm going to devote myself to this. And then I did the 3rd year. And as I'm doing the 3rd year, the belief Rises because this belief in the 3rd year and now we're entering the 4th year and starting the 4th year. The belief in the 3rd year is about other people seeing it.
Other people noticing your talent, other people noticing your gifts, other people reflecting your belief Back to you, which makes you stronger. So I believed a lot in the 1st year. I believed a lot less in the 2nd year. And I believe even more than I did in the 1st year, in the 3rd year, and beyond because I know that belief is based on Not only my own perspective of the world, but other people's as well. Does that make sense?
Kind of, but I want to drill in on that a little bit more, which is, You know, the, when you were talking about it, I think actually a little bit about, I think about like meditation and even fitness, right? Where, you talk a lot about a 100 reps, right? Doing a 100 reps and after a 100 reps, the cool thing about that is usually you, you should see some results. Right? Especially when it comes to fitness, you're able to look in the mirror and see the progress.
You might not have 6 packs yet. You may not have that exact shape you wanna be like, Yeah. I'm looking I'm looking good, you know? And look for meditation, even some like podcast, and we did your first 100 or 150 episodes. You don't really get a lot of those visual clues of validation.
Right? It's not your mental you get a 6 packs in your head. And in this case, your podcast, it sounds like you weren't getting some signals. You're like, damn, I'm I'm experiencing the compounding. Right?
Mhmm. So for you, this 3rd year, was it because you start to see early traces of compounding that makes you believe? But it sounded like it wasn't Any, like, metrics that made you believe more? It was something internal. So what was what was that that really made you trust in that process or, and, and hear and able to celebrate the wins and see that bigger picture.
For me, it was the reflection of other people. It was other people Telling me that I wasn't crazy for believing that I was good at this, believing that I could get something out of people for people to say time and time again, I've never shared that part of my story. I've never, or I feel like this was different in some way, or, wow, you did a really great job with this. And hearing that over and over and over again in the interviews in the real 3rd year made me say there there's something here, you know, there really is something here. And so it wasn't so much internal.
It was the the 3rd year was the external was matching the internal, And that made me feel less crazy. And, that made me feel like there's really something here. And I I got validation from that in the 2nd year as well. But for some reason, I just did not believe in the 2nd year that I really could do it. Wow.
Was there any particular comment or testimonial or like something, your interview he said to you that really, I don't know, spoke to your heart that you were able to hear it for the first time.
I mean, when Leila Hormozi said to me In August or September. I don't I can't remember exactly when I interviewed her. She said, you know, afterwards, brief comment, like, you're really an amazing interviewer. I to me, that Was like, I did not expect that, and I know her bar for excellence is so high that it really stood out. But I've I've I hear that comment a lot and I'm very grateful for it, but, that to me, that one for some reason just really stood out.
Oh, wow. I also find it very inspiring about the way Like the process you do behind your podcasting. You know, there's, there's that clip where you collected, where a lot of people, Tell you that you have great interviewing skills. And I always think about you as our Sean Evans or our darn well, which I know that are early, early inspirations, for you. And actually has motivated me to be like, okay, for my podcast guests, I want to be, I was thinking that level of research because I know it matters.
I know it shows respect and also listen to, we'll get a better experience. But did you always knew you wanted to be the person who can ask these questions that that brings this, Just just have this kind of interaction that people would be like, wow, this person cares. What inspired.
Yeah. I remember listening to Tim Ferris and, and always feeling like whenever he would do that, it would give a little wink To me, the listener. I feel like when he was pulling up, you know, I read this New York times profile on you in 2008. And this is what I thought. I felt like in that moment, he was just giving me a little wink as listener.
Oh, wow. Like Tim really cares about this, and he cares about this so much that the other person Is going to be more engaged and wow. I can't believe Tim did that. Like Tim went to that lane. How did he Find that all these questions are going on in my mind as I'm listening.
And so it was him as an inspiration to to even say, like, as I was doing research, I think a lot of people know me. Like my mom has said, it's funny. You say that, like every time you bring it up and I'm like, Yeah. Cause Tim Ferris does. Tim Ferris says, you know, as I was doing research, I uncovered this and it always stood out and I always appreciated it.
And it, it filled me with so much joy as the listener. When I heard Tim give that experience to someone else that I just wanted to recreate it for myself.
Yeah. I think I experienced that watching way before I was interested in podcast at all, just watching the hot ones. Right. Watching Sean Evans asked this question, and you notice this Almost interesting like behavioral thing where, well, 1 there's the, the walls are immediately let down for that fraction of a second. And it's because like, what?
Where'd you get that? Right. Especially seeing like, I don't know, really maybe bigger stoic dudes who like Just, you can see that glee in their eyes. You're just like, woah, like feeling like a kid again. And that's the feeling I see when, when you ask these questions as well, and I absolutely love it.
Yeah. I I mean, it gets to a more human perspective. And it gets to like w hen someone feels seen and someone feels appreciated, you get a different side to them than what is typically shown in interviews. And you could see someone's complexion change, and you could see their whole body move differently. And that to me is so cool.
And to be able to give that gift Of presence, of experience, of being able to see somebody. It's like, that's a high. I I compare it often to a stand up comedian Telling a joke at a comedy club because I get the same high from seeing somebody feel connected to a previous version of themselves that they forgot about and connected to me in that moment. To me, that's like, oh my God. I could do that nonstop every day.
And I do as many days as I can. M hmm. Just give people that experience of knowing themselves a little deeper because it's I I just love it so much.
Mhmm. You know, you've been on a ton of these, receiving end of these interviews. And you're also someone who does a lot of reflection, both through things like journaling and meditating. So I can assume you ask yourself a lot of questions, right? To try to Try to, transport yourself to these different headspace or dimensions.
You know, one thing I'm curious about what's something or what's a question that you always wish that either you haven't had asked yourself or that you wish somebody asked you?
I would say 1 question that comes up again and again in my own mind Yeah. Is How do you win even if you lose? And what I mean by that is that I started the podcast understanding that I could lose. Lose meaning no one could watch, no one could care, no one could could value it at all. But would that still be a win for me?
And the answer is yes. I knew that when I was training for I'm training for this marathon right now. It's like, Will I win even if I lose? Meaning like if if it it goes wrong in some way or I go Where I I'm super slow or, like, will that still be a win? Mhmm.
And the answer is, yeah, because I'll become a different person by virtue of the training that I'm gonna be doing. And so I think it's worth asking people you in general and everyone in general. Like how do you win even if you lose? If you can think about that, if you can sit on that, it starts allowing you to play more infinite games and it starts allowing you to play games that are more in alignment with Who the person you wanna be regardless because I think a lot of times people or at least I have in the past of, like, I'm going to start this business If it is successful. If but how do if you start the business that even if you lost, you would still gain something from it That would overcome the loss.
Like, let's say you really wanna get into fishing. Right? And and it's like, okay. I'm gonna start a business about fishing because I'm gonna learn more about fishing, And I'm excited about that process, and I'm gonna connect with other people who love fishing. And you start the business around fishing because you wanna connect with other fishers and you wanna learn more about it.
And if you make money from it or not, that's bonus to me. Like you can't lose in that scenario. But what I've done in the past historically is I want to make a bunch of money, so I'm going to start a company on this or that because I think, and those things have never stayed. So to me, the things that I've stayed and the the question that's really important for me when I'm deciding what to do with my life is how do I win even if I lose?
How do you win even when you lose? When you say that
If you lose.
Yeah. If you lose.
Yeah. Because it's not a guarantee that you will lose. In fact, you're probably more likely to win if you Consider that question. If you could lose, how could it still be a win? But, yeah, that that to me is a game changing question and has played pivotal and and helping me feel so alive.
It sounds easier than, than actually practicing it. Right. Cause I, I think about like for example, In my daily meditation, sometimes I'll practice this idea of non attachment. Right. And you talked about even how the masculine square garden, it's a, It's a goal, right?
It's a, it's a, you were manifesting it, but you also are not attached to it. Right? So In that example, you just described where let's say this podcast is this new giant, just a giant sandcastle you built. Right. And the ocean can still wash it away.
How do you, How does someone who, who, you know, for better or for worse, do focus on outcomes and it helps motivate them? How do they comprehend this idea of still feeling like you're winning? Right. Because you, you lost an entire sandcastle. It's gone.
It's it's, the money's gone. The, the, the, yeah. Like how do you, how do you sit with that?
I know that the experiences that I've had are enough That even if the sandcastle isn't there, even if you can't see the podcast, even if all the files got deleted, God forbid from every place. Yeah. The person I am is different. Yeah. The person I am is more curious, inquisitive, interested in life, interested in other people, better at asking questions, More able to connect with human beings of all walks of life.
It's like that is true regardless of if the podcast feed is out there, Regardless of if if the there's 0 listeners tomorrow on the show, and that is true In my being. So to me, I mean, it's There's not really much to, like, attach myself to the external game of it because I know I've I've won with the internal. And I know That is is exuding from my being whether I want it to or not. It's just there.
Yeah. That's just so powerful, man. I mean, I can even imagine again, I don't want to assume, but I can imagine a listener hearing this. Like, I don't believe Danny, you know, like file was deleted, but you know, I believe you, cause I'm looking at your eyes, I'm looking at how, what you're putting forth and you, you, you also deeply believe everything you just said, right?
Yes.
And that's just such a Powerful and definitely powerful reminder for me. Yeah.
Yeah. And and I think related to this point is like, How much does your profession how does your profession impact the way you look at the world? Mhmm. And I think that's another question that is Is worth asking ourselves. Mhmm.
And I
I have a friend who's a doctor, and he's like and I asked him, like, how do you think being Being in med school for the past 6 years has impacted how you view the world. And he's like, honestly, it's made me more aware of the risks Of of dying. It's made me more and in another sense, he's like, it's made me more compassionate to to die to people who are on the brink of life. And it's just like We often ask people like, what's your dream job? But we don't often ask people, what is the outcome that your dream job is going to leave you with as a human being every day.
Like, a lawyer, for example, might look at the world, like, more argumentatively than a podcaster who will look at the world as, like, yes, and Or asking questions. And that's a very similar idea, like very similar professions. A lawyer and a podcaster are both dealing with ideas and dealing with, how the world is presented. And one might typically make more money than the other, but it's like 1 might be more have more joy because they're not arguing with another. So it's like There are subtle tweaks that can change the way you approach life and can change the way You interact with the day to day, even if you have the same skill set.
I think Hearing you say that. I mean, when you first talk about podcasting and why you did that, that's the part that really struck a core in me because I don't think I've ever, ever heard anyone who said this, this profession of doing podcasting and active podcasting was increasing the love, right? That the empathy, the compassion, this process of giving, connecting, and receiving is is exactly bumping that up and becoming a person that has higher levels of that.
On that point, just look at Joe Rogan on episode a 100 versus today.
Yeah.
And he will say, I'm operating with more love, compassion for more perspectives on human beings Today than I was back then. It's a natural progression of somebody who gains more perspectives is to have more kindness and compassion because they've seen more perspectives. The person who traveled all their lives is going to have more kindness to more different ways of living than the person who stays in their hometown, generally speaking. And the reason why is because they've seen more so that they they can hold more ideas in their head at the same time without losing their mind. And podcasting is a way to travel to each individual place because every person you interview or talk to or interact with is another country you're going to, is another place you're going to, which increases your consciousness as a human being.
People take note. This is important. Really think about this.
I love that. I love that call to action too. On the topic of podcast guests. I know you, you tweet about Deion Sanders a lot. Well, I know as someone who doesn't grow up with football, doesn't really know the young centers.
Tell me and the listeners, what inspires you most about the answer? Who is he and why is he One of your dream potential dream guests on your podcast.
I would say right now he is the dream guest, like the number one of 1. And the reason for that is because he he helped me understand my own purpose on this floating rock in space a little bit better. And he helped give me the words and the understanding for what is possible. He really believes. He believes in his abilities.
He believes in his ability to motivate and inspire other people. He believes in his football program, and he believes, like, in his being. And because of his belief, he shows up at 4:45. I think he wakes up and he's In his office, cleaning up at 5 AM or 5:30. And he's he's like, he believes.
And so What inspires me so much about him, 1, is his ability to communicate effectively. 2, is he's an amazing leader of young men. He serves as a role model and inspiration. He doesn't curse, which has me rethinking my own cursing that I've done. And I'm like, Why why do I need to curse what's going on there?
And and he's also just like he's in it for the right reasons. It's about way more than football. And what I what I've thought about I thought about this in the shower today. I was like, you know, it doesn't matter what you do. Like, for a long time, I thought, like, I can't go into sports or Basketball journalism because, like, that is not that's not deep enough for me.
I can't be a personal trainer because that's not enough ideas. What I've learned from Dion is how I was wrong about those 2 things. Dion is playing football, but he's making it about way more than football. And he's making about love. He's making about work ethic.
He's making about sacrifice. He's making about really believing in who you can be. And guess what? I've realized this about podcasting. This isn't about podcasting.
This is about way more than podcasts. This is about connecting with other human beings. It's about going deep. This is about understanding people. This is about elevating your own consciousness.
And this is this is about believing in yourself To be the best person you possibly can be. So Dion's given me all of that, and Dion continues to give me all that. And I watch his speeches. I watch everything. I wanna create a media company that's just Deion Sanders every day, and there's no media company that acts like this.
And if I was 15 years old, I would create it. I wish I wasn't putting out 3 podcasts a week because I would build that. And so if someone is listening to this And wants to help me create Deon Sanders media company. Send me a message at hey, Danny Miranda on Twitter because I've got, like, 10 bull I've, Dude, you wanna see something? Yeah.
I've I've never shared before about the
Please do.
Okay. One sec. So I got this idea for Deion Sanders Media Company, And this is a whiteboard of questions I was asking myself as I was going through the process. I've never shared this, But I I was going through brainstorming this when I got this crazy idea of, like, there should be a daily company of Deon Sanders material. I was like, what what's the total addressable market?
I was collecting and subscribers on all these channels. I was like, how many subscribers would need to be profitable? What's the organic growth? Can we do a YouTube channel with daily videos? I was like, will this take the focus away from my podcast?
Will I get sick of this? Could I get opportunities beef because of this, like interviewing Dion? What will I learn even if I fail? How do I determine what success looks like? What if he's not he doesn't like this?
Can I commit to this for 3 years? To be a great man, study a great man? These are things that I'm thinking about
That's
on this board. That's amazing. And I knew there was a reason why I didn't erase this. Like, this was, like, a week ago. And and the reason why is because, like, I get these ideas.
I get this inspiration. You can't Being focused is sometimes about turning away a good idea or even turning away a great idea because you're you know that what you're working on is your calling, is your pursuit, is the thing that you've committed to. And so the podcast for me is what I've committed to. And I slept on that idea for a couple of nights and realized I couldn't do that to the way that I wanted to do it. But that doesn't mean that it won't exist in some capacity if I'd like.
So I think we're so lucky to get a peek at your mind in a sense that, like, I know recently you made that public ask, right. Asking Dion Sander to be your podcast guests. And I know you had Like, very clear. Ask. You had the thumbnail ready, but because you're Danny, you, you had more levels in already.
Right? You were doing that. You're You're visualizing the media company, and, that's just amazing. And and it's just very inspirational, and I love how And I can imagine just how how powerful you felt because of the belief they talk about doing that meant that you were able to soak it in in every like cell and fiber of your body, like believed in it and wanted to make it happen and, and feeling that alignment and just being patient enough to then, put it out there and knowing that like it's going to come to not, but I'm going to make it happen. Okay.
I think I think what a lot of people don't realize is that even if it doesn't work, it works when you document the journey in some way. And even when you like reach out, like, let's say you have a dream guest. Yeah. You reach out once this year and then you reach out another time next year. And then another time, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years.
On the 11th year, the person's like, yeah, I'm down to come on. That that 11, 10 years of reaching out Tells the story that is so much more powerful than what what would have happened if they just agreed on the 1st go around. So I'm making Deion Sanders my dream guest and telling the world that this is what I inspired. This is who I wanna be around, and this is who I wanna interview. But It means so much more if it happens after a year.
It means so much more if it happens after 3. They're like, it all builds the story. So I think a lot of times people are scared to fail, and so they don't put themselves out there. But the truth is when you put yourself out there, you build the story and all the failures turn into rewards and successes at the end of the day.
Yeah. I, I actually felt that when I asked you to be on my guest, I mean, for full confession, when, for listeners who don't know, I was part of a fellowship of learning, how to launch a podcast. Right. And I had, I had the name ready, joy of building.
I had
my 1st guest and, You're a part of a fireside chat for us to learn a little bit about your journey. And, you know, during that conversation, I actually knew about your name because I saw it in a fire. So I was like, oh, I heard his name or faction ever listened to any of this guy's episode. Who is this guy? Right.
You came in, you know, with, with just your energy. I was already like, wow. Well, first of all, Like I love be able to talk to someone that I later found out that they married you a lot because I realized that I can sense in the way they, they, they Put themselves at, there's like, there's a combination of not just passion, but a calmness, but also like a like, that deep compassion that that we talk about. But during that fireside chat, you were just talking about joy. You said joy, that keyword joy.
I feel like at least, like 12 times. And I was like, it feels like a whisper from the universe. It's a whisper. And then I was like, well, You know, he, he's a bigger pocket podcaster than I am. Let me just make the ask.
Right. And that process without you saying yes, I already felt that shift in me. And that's, that's what, when I hear you say like, just planning for it and putting that ask is a really such a transformative process that you can, what do you get a yes and no is already worth it.
Yeah. I thank you for sharing that, all that, that example, because that helps build the story For the person listening and for yourself listening 10 years from now.
Yeah. You
know, we forget. So I forget so many little details About how things unfold. I forgot about that already, and it's been, what, 2 weeks? Yeah. I forgot that was the thing that pushed you over the edge.
And That is so cool. And that speaks to building the story and putting the story out there, not being uncomfortable with it. And then I'll share also the thing that popped out to me, which was that like from doing the podcast I've realized that You know? Yes. Like by the numbers, by the metrics, I have a bigger podcast than you, but you are equivalent as a human being.
Right. And I think that's something that gets lost in a world of social media and followers and all. It's like, this is a human being. Like let's just treat each other as human beings and be, and be amazed and remarked that this person has the, the excitement to go into the arena. And I think when I started the podcast, it was more like looking up at the people on the stage and be like, oh, I'd love to be on the stage interviewing those amazing people.
And now I just see like Those people on the stage are just, like, my friends or just people, like, I can look at eye to eye and not because I've ascended, But because I've brought them down from the stage.
Yeah.
And I think, yeah, that's what came to mind when you were talking about that. And I think Doing something that pushes you over your edge, that makes you feel nervous or makes like, that brings the people on stage closer down to reality and closer to eye level.
Yeah, absolutely. And that's actually such a, I realized also that's such a muscle to practice, right? This, this reminder that they're just we're were equivalent human beings that I don't need to put them on a pedestal. I don't know any Revere them in my head. And those numbers do add those color that, that influence that psychology, right?
Yeah. That muscle is so important. And, such a powerful reminder for, for me and any anyone who's listening to this. I also hope whoever's listening to this, have any connections to Deon Sanders. And hear that this is not just a number one fan, but it's someone who who not just deeply believes it, but also can probably be the best person for that job.
Right? And you have the track record. You have the reps to prove it. So Again, another manifesting manifestation that I can't wait for it to see it being fulfilled.
I appreciate that endorsement, And maybe we will take that endorsement, and we'll take the the Twitter video and clip it and tweet it, you know, to Dionna just to add to the story Because it's all just adding to the story of life, of the magical creation that we've been given here on this floating rock in space. Like, let's make it a good story. And that's what the podcast is an attempt to document the stories of the people I admire, as well as the stories of human beings, because to me, that builds my own story.
Absolutely. You know, you saying that reminds me of, cause I know you're a big fan of Rick Rubin And, so in his book, the creative act, he has this quote that says, most creators think of themselves as a conductor of the orchestra. But if we zoom out of our small view of reality, we function more as an instrumentalist in a much larger symphony the universe is orchestrating. So in that perspective, if you feel like your your podcast where you feel you're just one of those instrument or one of those instrumentalists, What do you think for you is that orchestra that you're part of? Or what is the, what do you feel like is the music that you're playing?
I think the music that I'm playing or the orchestra I'm a part of is about Getting the most out of the other person. Almost acting as the mirror. So like if If the music is playing, I almost view myself as the mirror that is there so that People can hear the music more clearly of, like, oh, I really liked Rick Rubin. But now on Danny's show, I hear him a little more clearly. I hear his ideas, you know, and Rick Rubin has not come on the podcast yet, but he's a dream guest for the podcast.
And it's like, If I can show people the music that that person, the guest is saying, and then show them my filter Or my mirror of that person, then perhaps the person in the audience can hear That that music from the guest a little more clearly. That's how I view my role on this floating rock in space so far. And that's how I think about what I'm doing. And so I don't know what, what would you call that? Like the thing that, that helps The music play a little maybe like the the sound design or something like that, like the acoustics of the room.
I don't know.
But yeah,
that's how I think of
it. I, I don't know. Cause I, it's funny you mentioned that because, I actually my my 6 year old moment of writing was actually, like, I would say the year before pandemic. So that's 2019 where I decided I was, I'm a big music fan. I always thought I would wanted to work in music.
My mom's a piano teacher and I always knew that I can hear some music that other people can't like parts of the depth or the, or qualities of music. And I just decided to write a newsletter to kind of like describe that abstract feeling. I just curate like a list of 25 songs. But it's a long way of answering you were. Yeah.
It's so hard to pinpoint saying like, Hey, hear the music. Just, I, I hear it. If that's what you want to do right here, feel the depth of human emotions and compassion and most important love that I feel. So you can see this bigger picture and see this beauty in life that I, that, that you feel on a daily basis.
Yeah, that's really well said, and that's what I'm attempting to do. And at the best, that's what the podcast is.
Yeah. I love that. And, Yeah. I love, I I'm so excited to hear more of that music. I just have 1 remaining question for you.
I always like to leave I wanna leave the listeners with an actionable thing. What is what is one challenge You wanna leave the listener to do that. That's something they can do today to become just a better version of themselves.
I would say love more. Figure out where you can insert a little bit of love into your day, and so For me, I I read you this permission slip that my friend gave me that I'm gonna read now, which hopefully you can pass on to somebody at some point in your day, which is This is a permission slip to keep in your wallet or purse or on your podcast table. Use it anytime and every time you forget that you're a walking, talking, Heart beating miracle of existence. Use it as a reminder that you need no one's permission to be the absolute best version of yourself, And on the days you're not that you need no one's approval to love yourself just the way you are. You only get this life once.
Live every second of it In as much freedom and gratefulness as you can. You, miracle, you. You got this.
Amazing.
Leave that feeling with someone. That's my challenge to you.
It's amazing. What a, what a way to, What a powerful thing to leave for for me and for listeners. Well, on that note, Danny, I am so grateful to have you on this podcast. I feel more energized talking to you. I feel more full of love and I just, I appreciate your, your energy and your presence today.
And thank you so much.
Thank you, man. I really appreciate the kind words and your thoughtfulness and care for this interview. So I really appreciate that as well.