How to deal with tough times

About this video

Martell shares five beliefs he uses to stay motivated through tough times, against his own history: rehab at 17, a failed first company, a second company (NB Hosts) that failed after he put a lot of money in, finally getting a business coach and reading business books at 24, nearly going bankrupt halfway through a company that was later acquired, and setbacks again with Flowtown at 28. Belief one, ‘worse is best’: your worst day is somebody else’s dream day — millions would love to have your problems, your country, your access to education, internet, food, and water. Belief two, ‘seed of opportunity’: from Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, every adversity contains a seed of opportunity; he didn’t fail, he learned, and the hardships of his teens are why he is driven today — your job is to water that seed. Belief three, ’no pressure, no diamonds,’ credited to his friend Jason Gainor: friction and pushback are the pressure that forms the diamond, whether it’s a client firing you or a key team member quitting. Belief four, ‘do what others won’t’: he wakes at 5:00 AM daily with no external obligation because doing what others won’t is how you live a life others can’t — a family principle he teaches his sons Max and Noah under ‘we do hard things.’ Belief five, ‘call it a challenge,’ from a Rich Roll book passage where a training partner doing Ironmans with one arm replied to negativity with ‘it’s why they call it a challenge’ — difficulty is the point, not a surprise. He closes by offering his free Future Living training on using a vision of your future to motivate present action.

Key takeaways

• Belief 1 — ‘Worse is best’: your worst day is somebody else’s dream day, so reframe setbacks against how fortunate your baseline already is.
• Belief 2 — ‘Seed of opportunity’: following Napoleon Hill, every adversity plants a seed of opportunity; you didn’t fail, you learned, and your job is to water the seed.
• Belief 3 — ‘No pressure, no diamonds’: friction and pushback are the necessary pressure that produces success, not a sign to stop.
• Belief 4 — ‘Do what others won’t’: voluntarily doing hard things nobody requires of you (like his 5:00 AM wake-ups) is what buys a life others can’t have.
• Belief 5 — ‘Call it a challenge’: when something feels hard, remind yourself that’s why it’s called a challenge — it is supposed to be hard.

Episode details: published February 24, 2020 · 14:11 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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