093: How Bankruptcy taught David Meltzer the Power of Gratitude

Background on Dave Meltzer of Sports 1 Marketing:

Dave Meltzer is the CEO of Sports 1 Marketing, one of the world’s leading sports & entertainment marketing agencies, which he co-founded with Hall of Fame Quarterback Warren Moon.

Prior to Sports 1 Marketing, he was CEO of the world’s first smartphone, the PC-E Phone, and later became CEO of the world’s most notable sports agency, Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment. He is an award-winning humanitarian, an international keynote speaker, best-selling author, Chairman of the Unstoppable Foundation, and is profiled by national publications such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, ESPN, Bloomberg, CNBC, Yahoo, SB Nation and Variety.

David Meltzer has created a platform that uses four overarching principles—gratitude, empathy, accountability, and effective communication—and these principles have allowed him to communicate and mentor everyone from college students to c-suite executives. These four principles in everyday practice allow David to live by his mission to “make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun.”

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[0:55] Dave Meltzer met Warren Moon, who is a hall of fame quarterback, and together they created the Sports 1 Marketing.
[4:13] Before Sports 1 Marketing, Dave was a sports agent with a very hectic, pressurized and busy schedule.
[8:43] Dave went to law school and he wanted to earn more money when he started working. He worked for a company selling legal research online and he became a successful sales rep.
[14:04] In just 9 months, Dave became a millionaire selling legal research online to big and small law firms.
[17:32] At 26 years of age, Dave had bought himself a house by the beach, kept buying real estate, and was doing great at his job.
[19:07] When Dave was 29, he worked with Silicon Valley companies, which exposed him to the hardware, application, and carrier business.
[21:41] In 1999, Dave was hired by Samsung as the CEO of the world’s first smartphone. According to him, he was forced out of the job but he was paid a lot of money to leave.
[23:00] At 33, Dave had just built his dream home, he had bought a golf course, a ski mountain, and had a lot of money, but he felt empty and was completely unhappy with his life.
[26:39] Dave’s wife saved him. She told him that he was no longer inspired and passionate about something, which was the catalyst for Dave to get back on track.
[30:41] One of the reasons why Dave went bankrupt is because he surrounded himself with the wrong people.
[33:49] Dave is a brilliant negotiator. He used to be manipulative and he is very good at selling, but today he is focused more on providing value and great service to people.
[35:24] Dave was very good at sales and negotiations because he became a student of sales and negotiation. He also had a lot of mentors who were experts in sales.
[38:19] Dave used his skills as a litigator in order to make a successful sale. This tactical strategy works for Dave during his negotiations.
[44:00] Focus is very important for Dave. He studied The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer.
[46:51] Dave emphasizes the importance of calendar and schedule, priority list, and sleeping.
[51:00] Dave’s last advice is to practice his 120 value in order to become a good salesman. This means that you should have the mentality and confidence that pertains to giving $100 and asking $20 back in any aspect of your life.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer, The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Warren Moon Signed Jersey
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? REV
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Myself, and what I call “The Zero Effect”

Key Point from the Interview:

“When I graduate law school I’ll be happy, when I get married I’ll be happy, when I buy my first house I’ll be happy, when I make my first million dollars I’ll be happy. That attachment will never make you happy. What makes you happy is the enjoyment of that pursuit of your potential.”