Dan Martell: The $100M Mindset

About this episode

Dan Martell tells Mike how money looked in his house growing up. His family lived in a trailer park for a few years. His dad, a careful saver, set part of every paycheck aside, and his mom carried the rest around in cash. At 20 Dan spent most of his first $16,000 consulting check on a ski trip in Whistler, until his dad asked whether he had saved anything for taxes.

From there they cover the habits Dan built afterward and the beliefs that took longer to change. He put himself on a fixed salary, spent three years in personal development programs with his brother, and later sent his dad screenshots of his accounts, only to learn the worry was his dad’s. Then there is the orange McLaren Dan nearly ordered in gray because he was afraid of being judged, which Mike pushed him to buy.

Key takeaways

• Dan treats money as a battery of stored energy. He uses it for two jobs: improving an experience or solving a problem.
• Hoarding can block you from taking part. Dan sat on millions of travel points until he started flying family and friends with them, and he says that shift felt like abundance.
• Parents pass on money habits. Dan got his saving and systems from his dad and his “spend it” streak from his mom, and both showed up in how he ran companies and made investments.
• Dan says he felt just as insecure after the money arrived as before it, and then he started worrying about losing it.
• Fear of judgment can keep you from enjoying what you have built. Dan calls the push past it the “McLaren mindset,” and he now brings his cars to group homes and schools to start conversations with kids.
• Borrowing from Jim Rohn, Dan says you are paid for the value you create, so working harder on yourself than on your job is the surest way to grow that value.