Welcome to the “Making of a DM.” I love my life, even before the mansions, the Rolls Royces and all these crazy toys I have. I want to share with you why this is so important no matter where you're at on this journey of life. So, with that said, let's get started.
Mark: Hey there. it’s your host, Mark Evans DM. Appreciate you guys being here, and again, happy new year. 2021, baby, it's on. A lot of cool stuff happening, no matter what. Last show was that we've got to focus on the ME economy. The only thing that you can control is you. [01:07.4]
Anyway, today, what I want to talk to you about is something very important, something that I’ve been thinking about a lot more lately because I’ve helped thousands of people over the years, many years in business—I'm going on 25 years in June in business, since ’96—and it's something that's stopping a lot of people from feeling good today and it might go against some of the stuff we've been taught, but at the end of the day, for what we're doing is we're chasing something. We're all chasing something, right? We're chasing the next big deal, the next money, the certain number in your bank account, maybe your P&L sheet or whatever, or your net worth sheet or whatever, whatever gets you jazzed up. But one thing I'm seeing a lot more of, and this just happened, this kind of brought the light a little bit more, too, but one of the things I see as a lot of you guys aren't happy today. You're not happy. [02:02.7]
What I mean by happy is I'm really talking about being grateful. You see, we're sitting here, you're listening to my voice, probably on a very cool phone or a contraption that didn't exist a hundred years ago, very simple and convenient, very powerful. You're probably driving in a car, maybe listening in a cool car that you probably never thought you could afford but now you're in it. Maybe you're sitting in a shitty apartment listening to this. Whatever it is, you know the majority of the world doesn't even have shelter. They don't have cell phones and cars and all that shit, what I mean?
So, being grateful. You can see, you can hear, you can talk, you can move, you can be bigger. You could do more and it's something that I was thinking about as, like I said, when I'm journaling about all the shit about where I’m at and where I'm going and how I'm getting there, and what happens is you’ve got to be happy. [03:08.8]
See, I grew up in small town Ohio in a trailer court till I was 10 years old. Actually, when I was I think up to three years old or four years old, my parents lived in a one-bedroom apartment above my grandparents and there were three kids, two adults in a one bedroom apartment. Kind of remember those moments a little bit. Actually I remember one moment very, very clearly because I bit an electrical cord. I think I was three or four. It's one of my first memories and I bit an electrical cord, kind of fried my face, got shocked, whatever. And that might explain a lot, right? But I just remember being thankful. I don't know why. It’s my parents’ reason, right? Their fault, right? Raising me properly. Be grateful for what you have. [03:53.4]
Now, listen, I'm not saying I'm satisfied with everything. I want to grow. I'm very thankful and very grateful, very appreciative, but I know there's more. I know I'm capable of accomplishing more. See, the thing is when I was growing up in the trailer court, I was happy. Now, listen, I had Voit's tennis shoes from Kmart with duct tape on them, true story. I was just thankful that my parents would let us hang out after bedtime on Saturday because they wanted to hang out and play cards and drink a couple beers or whatever, and I was just thankful that I could stay up after nine o'clock at night or whatever our bedtime was back then.
I remember then when we moved into the new house—my parents still live there in Thurston—I remember like, Oh my gosh, this is a big deal. Keep in mind this is a small town, 666 people, very small town, but I was thankful. I never looked at it like, Man, we're so poor. We're losers. And by the way, I never thought… I was just happy and I worked hard on this, by the way. I didn't wake up saying, Oh, God, I'm happy. I’m like, Man, what am I thankful for? What am I grateful for? [05:03.6]
And my parents, they're working hard. They're busting their ass trying to put food on the table. I always respected that and appreciated that because I saw it. They didn't talk about it. I saw it and that's important. But what really happened as well was that I always knew there was more and I could improve me. Me. Me.
I remember my sister used my bathroom and did not flush the toilet, and my dad or mom would be cleaning and they were like, Why didn't you do that? I'm like, It wasn't me, but I'd get in trouble because they thought it was me because it was my bathroom, right? What I realized was that I’ve just got to flush the toilet even if it's not me. Take fucking responsibility, Evans. Even if it's not you, why exhaust the energy?
I remember at my parents' house where they’re still living, when I was living with them obviously until I was 18, I would edge the lawn. Where I come from, no one edges the fucking lawn because that cost money. That takes time, and not only that, there's shitty stuff everywhere. I'm not saying that to be mean. It's just the facts. There are containers out there. There's overgrown grass everywhere. [06:11.4]
People just don't take pride in their shit and I used to think like, Why not? Just because we don't have money, so to speak, doesn't mean we have to look like a bunch of turds on the street. Take pride in your shit. I don't care if you're driving a 1986 Chevy S-10. Clean that fucker out. Make it smell good. Clean the exterior. Take pride in it, knowing that it's only temporary. It’s what I used to have.
I remember coming home from school and I was excited because I wanted to always improve. I’d got white paint. I bought some white paint or my dad did maybe that he had left over from a project, and I painted the foundation all white, made the house look good, made it clean, fresh, made a pop. I'm not getting paid, but I'm getting…I’m moving. I'm improving. And so many people are trying to figure out how to be happy. [07:10.5]
Mark, when I get 5 million, I'm going to be happy. The fuck you are. You're full of shit. You're never going to be happy. By the way, money is not the happy piece that you're chasing. It's the freedom that the money provides. The money provides you the freedom that you're really chasing.
But this show is so important because if you're not happy today, I don't care what you accomplish or how much you do in your life, one, you probably won't even know you did it because you're too damned focused on you not being happy. Get happy now. Be thankful and grateful.
Again, I'm not saying be content or complacent. I'm saying we have to like, as I'm talking to you, I have my hands in so many companies. I have more revenue being created daily than I ever thought was possible in a year, let alone in a day. We're generating cash on cash everywhere, it's insane. But I'm happy if I was broke because I know there's more. I'm going to impact more businesses. I'm going to hire more people. [08:19.7]
As I'm talking to you, I'm sitting here in Parkland, Florida, getting ready. One of my teammates from one of our companies, she's getting married on Friday. I'll be at her wedding. I'm happy to be there. I'm honored to be there. I don't got fucking time to be there. I have to be there, though, because that's what makes me happy. I love working on my companies. I love working with my people. We're all busy, I get it, but it's priorities. It's understanding what makes you happy?
The truth is the reason I'm bringing this show to you is recently Tony Hsieh from Zappos.com, right, he was a trouble guy. He was not happy. He actually talks about this in Delivering Happiness. A great book, by the way, you should read it, Delivering Happiness. He was the creator of Zappos [which] he sold. [09:10.6]
I think when he passed recently, he was worth $500, $600 million with no will, which is wild to me, but he wasn't happy. He was surrounding himself around people with money. He was taking his money and surrounding [himself] with yes people, and if you didn't like his agenda, you got kicked out of the club, if you will, but his agenda was very messed up based on the data that they shared out loud. Hundreds of millions of dollars and not happy. What makes you happy?
This morning, before I’m shooting his podcast show, this is a true story, I went to bed at 12:30 in the morning. I’d typically do it usually at 10:30. I got up at 5:00-ish, went down and watched a documentary of Tiger Woods, which I found very interesting. Kids get up at 7:30. I hang out downstairs with Mark first because he gets up earlier. Then Dria comes down and I'm hanging out lying in bed with them, liying on the couch, I should say, with them, and just laughing and watching whatever Mark watches, I forget what it's called, but whatever he's watching. It's a cartoon and I'm just lying there, so thankful. [10:20.8]
Dude, I could be in a $10 million house or a trailer park, I would be just as happy. I never really understood this. That's why I'm bringing this to you because I look at every situation as an opportunity to learn, to grow from, to be grateful for. The truth is, and again, I’ve been through some real shit as we all have, but what is it teaching you? What are you learning from it? What are you gaining? What insights are you [gaining] like, Wow, I could take that and move that forward in the future? [11:00.0]
I personally am driving to be a better human being every day. I want more money. I want more health. I want more relationships with the right people. I want to be more conscious. I want to leave a bigger legacy and I'm very grateful for where I'm at. But I'm not satisfied because I know there's more.
Sometimes that can be skewed as like, Oh, you're greedy. That's what you think because you don't understand what greed is. I'm not taking advantage of people. I'm not ripping people off. I'm not waking up and saying, I will do anything to get your money. The truth is money is not my motivator. I want a lot of money and I have a decent amount, but I want a lot more. What motivates me is taking my crazy fucking idea and seeing it come to fruition. That's what motivates me, getting proof of concept from idea.
By the way, the only way this shit works is if you make a sale and I’ll make the sales first, just to confirm it works and it's real and it's valuable, and then deliver the product or the service, or whatever you're delivering. That's what motivates me. [12:09.3]
See, as a kid, I was told, “No, Mark, you can't do that. You can't do that.” Watch me, motherfucker. I'm doing it. I don't care what you look like, what you do or where you come from. Whatever you can dream of, if you stick with it and you enjoy the ride, you will get it and beyond. Every day you wake up and you're not lying in bed, and there are flowers around you and people crying, i.e. you're dead, know that you have, this is your moment. Yesterday is the past. Today is now.
And I think back, when it snows because I'm from Ohio, when it snows, I loved helping the elderly people. I would go to the elderly's houses, true story, and I would shovel their snow. I’d shovel their sidewalks and their driveways for them for free. Yup, for free. I might be 12, 13, 14 years old at this time and I'm out there shoveling. I loved it. Listen, my back hurt, my feet hurt. I'm getting worn out. I'm hungry, but I made a commitment to help them. [13:13.8]
While I'm out there shoveling snow. Ms. Blanton, she'd come out and say, “Hey, Mark, get over here. I’ve got something for you.” She'd hand me a roll of quarters, $10 in quarters to do that. I didn't expect it. It was appreciated, by the way. I was rich. $10, small-town hillbilly kid, I'm rich, right? But it made me happy to serve and help. It made me happy to know, dude, that's someone's grandmother and I'm making sure I'm looking out for them, or mother or sister or aunt. And a stranger, if you will, not really because they're neighbors, but kind of a non-family member is making sure they're taken care of with those strings attached. [14:00.0]
I accepted the money. Don't turn down money, by the way. If anybody ever asks or says, Hey, here's the money, don't turn it down because that's the universe. Why would you fuck with the universe? Money flows. It doesn't stop. It's flowing all the time, and if you cut it off, you're cutting it off at other places as well. If someone is willing to give you money, never say no. Grab it and say thank you.
See, when I was a kid, I didn't really have a lot of crazy nice clothes at all. I remember I had a pair of white Guess jeans I think I got from a secondhand store and I'm an I.O.U. shirt. Never forget, it was blue and maroon and green, and I'd wear it every other day, right, which was what we had, and that's back in the day when you pegged your pants and all this silly shit, whatever we used to do. But I remember how thankful and grateful I was that I had this one outfit. I almost wore this thing out. [15:01.6]
But some people had all kinds of clothes and they always seemed like they were mad. They had everything out in my eyes, everything, right? And I'm not judging this. I'm just sharing out loud because I’ve helped many, many, many, many highly successful people financially that are disgruntled. They're upset. They're mad all the time. Things just don't go their way, if you will, and by the way, financially they're growing, but they just don't stop and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They don't say, Wow, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Wow, thank you clients for trusting me with your money and your time. Wow, thank you for participating in something of a dream I had and now it's becoming a reality. [16:00.5]
It reminds me. I actually, at the end of this month in January 2021, I have the majority of the DM Family guys coming down, and the DM Family is a $35,000-a-year mastermind group, guys all over the country, and we're talking about shop. What makes us happy? This is the year of the ox, which is very cool.
Take some time and learn about that, by the way. But as they all come down, this event costs me. It's a $50,000 to $60,000 expenditure for me and I'm happy as hell to do it. Why? Because we're making an impact. We're forging relationships. We're going deeper and connecting at a level that most people don't even know exists. We're sharing resources. We're sharing vulnerability and we're talking about the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between. More importantly, we're focused on solutions. [17:02.8]
See, it's interesting. If you're not grateful for what you have, and again, I don't care if you're in the biggest piece of shit car ever or you're sitting in the bus stop, be thankful that you don't have to walk. Be grateful that you can even walk. I mean, you could literally… I mean, this is what we have to do. And if you're not grateful, what are you doing? Has anybody ever told you about this?
And the truth is most people just talk shit and then the problem is it's getting worse, because everyone has a voice. Why would you listen to someone that doesn't have what you want? If they're talking shit to you, why does it even hold any weight? And that's the thing that I think so many people are trying to determine what life should look like. I did this, so I'm talking to me, but what life should look like if you're rich. [18:02.3]
I think I’ve shared this story before, but I was in a 1986 Chevy C-10. That's a full-size truck, single cab, red truck. I mean, this thing was a…I paid 1,200 bucks for it. I met my dad at Wendy's. I bought it on my own. I put 100 bucks down and they financed me for 12 months for $106 a month or whatever it was, I swear to God, and I pulled up at Wendy's where I call my dad. I’m like, Dad, where are you at? I did something awesome. And I was 18 years old. I bought this truck. This thing is smoking. It's burning oil. I think I was putting two quarts of oil a day into this thing, but I was fucking happy. Why? Because I saw it. I executed and I succeeded. It gave me confidence.
I took that truck, built a company. I was building a company with that truck, right? I was going to job sites in that truck. I was driving cross town in the truck, to bid a job, to do the work, etc. I knew it wasn't forever, but I remember driving that truck. [19:03.2]
I used to smoke Phillies cigars, five packs, the $3.69 and I thought that was expensive. By the way, that was expensive for me back then. That was a lot of money, $4, and I'd get the $4. I'd go buy a pack and I'd light up a Phillies and I would drive around in my mouth. I'm not joking, as I'm talking to you, I'm getting goosebumps because I remember it so much, because I did it every single day, and I would listen to classical music driving to a construction job site because I thought that's what success was. I thought you had to listen to classical music to be rich. I thought you had to smoke cigars to be wealthy. I thought you had to look a certain way to be wealthy.
I can tell you this, folks. By the way, I enjoyed that. I thought it was cool. It was fun. It made me feel good. But the truth is I don't listen to classical music. I still smoke cigars, but my cigars cost way more than $4 for five cigars. I enjoy it differently now. Cigars to me is a meditation piece. I don't necessarily smoke a lot around other people, but when I'm by myself, I’ll smoke a cigar just to kind of relax, meditate, massive gratitude session. Right? [20:18.9]
But as I'm sitting there and I'm doing all of that, what does success look like to you? Because this is what this podcast show is about. First of all, I'm just trying to be super real with you as I always am, but this show is about exposing you to the truth.
As I'm sitting here, I literally just got back from working out, walking, I'm on this thing, and I'm in my clothes still, sweaty, disgusting, recording a podcast to you, because as I was on my walk, I was like, Dude, this is hitting me home. I talked to a buddy of mine, Jeremy. I'm like, Yo, man, this is what I'm thinking. He's like, Yes, yes, that's real and I know it is because I’ve been journaling about it for months. It's that we need to be thankful. We need to be grateful. [21:02.6]
I'm happy. I'm sitting here in my house. I’ve got shit everywhere. I'm sweaty and I'm happy. Dria just threw a phone and broke it five minutes before I got on the podcast show. I'm happy. Thank God we don't have a terminal illness. Thank God I can see. Thank God I can think. Thank God we have another shot at this thing called life today.
I'm not saying everything's pretty. Last week, last Thursday, I believe, I got a call, a text actually, from a person I know. Their child has terminal cancer. It's very soon to the end, and as I'm thinking about it, hopefully I don't cry here, but as I'm thinking about it, dude, this is a young child, 12, 13 years old, has been fighting cancer for half of his life, six years, and I'm worried about a deal that didn't go through. I'm worried about a title that didn't happen. I'm worried about a tax bill that I’ve got that's over the top, but I’ve got it figured out. [22:06.6]
When you really put life into perspective, we really don't need a whole lot and as I think about this young man, I'm so proud to know him. I'll be sharing more about his stuff, but I'm honored. We're working on some really cool things with him. What makes me happy is I had money to be able to do some cool shit for him and his family that they would have never been able to do without money. That makes me happy, by the way.
So, when I say, I'm not saying not to go get a lot of money. I think everyone should want to get more money. It's a good thing. If you're a great person, you could do a lot of great shit with a lot of money. Every day I'm trying to figure out how to give more away, do more. Today, one of my guys, they had a child last night. We sent him a great gift. It's $300, $400. That shit takes money. If you don't have money, I can't gift him. [23:05.7]
I'm not saying I'm shallow saying, Oh, I just want to give a gift to show up. Dude, I genuinely know this is an awesome gift because I received it myself and it made me feel special. My kids still have the gifts. They still use them. These are functional gifts. What makes you happy? Waking up, doing what? Putting a deal together, why? Hanging out with the kids?
Guys, again, listen, I'm at a high level. I'm a business owner, just like you. I get it. I get anxiety talking about shit sometimes with the fam. I'm like, I’ve just got to work. I want to work. I want to work. I want to do more. I want to be more. I want to do more. Let's go. Slowing down can help you speed up what you're trying to accomplish. It all starts with gratitude. [24:01.0]
See, as you realize, as you're building what you're building and, listen, you know what I'm talking about to be true. You might be thinking, This guy is full of shit. Maybe it's the first time you've ever heard me or whatever. You should definitely listen to other things I’ve done here if that's the case, but I can tell you right now, if you're not happy today, you won't be happy when you get rich, you won't be happy when you get wealthy. They don't go together. You have to get happy today now. When? Now. Gratitude. Gratitude.
Listen, I'm not saying, Oh, I'm sitting here in a crappy apartment that I can barely afford already, I'm happy. I'm just saying, be thankful that you're even in that crappy apartment. Be thankful that you even have the mindset to even hear this kind of conversation we're having right now. You're in full charge of this shit. Just know, you, right now, if you're wealthy tomorrow, you're carrying the old you over there. [25:08.7]
You go with wherever you're going. You do. So, if you aren't happy today, you're not happy tomorrow. I don't care how much money you have. I don't care how much money you don't have. Find the light that makes you happy. Don't give two shits about what people think success looks like. I live in Parkland Country Club over here in Parkland and I'm telling you right now, there are people walking around worth, a bunch of people here worth many millions of dollars and they're walking around in their workout shorts and t-shirts and hanging out on the golf course all day, hanging out at the club, having lunch and dinner with their families. [25:53.3]
See, success to me, and again, I'm being for real here, when I was growing up, I thought success looked like Wall Street, the movie. I thought success looked like the movie, the stock market movie where you had to take advantage of people and sell the shit out of them and sell them bad stuff to do bad things to get the money. This is not the case. This is not the case. There are a lot of people that need you. More importantly, you need you. What do you want to look like?
By the way, it's funny. We rent. I’ve chartered a lot of yachts over the years and I was talking with my yacht broker, Katie, and I was like, Katie, what does a yacht buyer look like? Keep in mind, they're buying $50 to $150 million yachts or more, by the way. She says, It's funny you ask. She's like, They're always in slip-on shoes or flip-flops, a pair of linen shorts typically in a t-shirt or a nice shirt, whatever. But the way I always know the real buyers is what they're wearing on their wrist typically. They're not flashy, but the watch that they would have would typically be very incognito, if you will, to the general population, but people are paying attention in that yacht broker world because they know if they're serious or not. [27:16.8]
Again, I’m not saying you can judge a book by the cover always, of course, but what I'm saying is success is different from what we think it looks like. Many millions of dollars of deals are being put together while you're sitting on the toilet, literally texting to close the deal. I'm not saying this to be funny. You know it's true. You sit on the toilet, you're texting people. Do you mean deals and millions of dollars I’ve made and other people I know have made are sitting on the toilet? That makes me happy because my grandparents didn't have that opportunity.
We have an obligation to ourselves and the people that brought us into this world to make the most of it, to not just be like, Oh, I need to do this because so-and-so [does it]. What do they call it? Keeping up with the Joneses. That's all horseshit. I'm trying to keep up with myself. That's hard enough. [28:13.0]
Last week I hired three people, three high-level executive people, hundreds of thousands, actually probably over a million dollars in salary over the next 12 months. I committed to one of them. I have no clue what I'm going to do with them. I know they're an amazing person. I know they're money makers and I know we've had the conversation and I'm like, Dude, I really don't know what we're going to do, but we're going to make a lot of money. I don't know how it looks or what it looks like. You're going to get out of your shitty place that you're at. You're going to grow your business. You're going to grow your family's life. You're going to… I want them to prosper and I'm very clear that I'll make more money, too.
See, I thought money had to be one-sided. If I got rich, you’ve gotten poor or vice versa. See, money, again, it doesn't work. There's enough money for all of us and I'm grateful for that. You're taking you today to tomorrow. The question is, are you happy or not happy? Are you excited or not excited? And if you're not excited, we have to find out what excites you. [29:21.0]
Here are some key points that I think you need to start thinking about. One, what the hell do you want? Right? What do you really want? Like I said, I barely slept last night. I'm working on something massive right now and all this stuff is cycles, so sometimes I'm working on big shifts. Sometimes it's got to settle and kind of stew around. But right now I'm in the massive creation mode of something big. Momentum is on my side. The money is flowing more than it ever has. I'm happy. I'm not satisfied because I know there's more. [29:59.2]
I know that there are people counting on me. I know there's someone right now looking for a job that if they came into our company and helped us grow, they would have a better life. That doesn't say I won't enjoy dinner with my wife, enjoy hanging out with my kids, enjoy hanging out at the pool or whatever. It's a work in progress, constantly evolving. Right? Sometimes I'm hanging out at the pool and I'm not present because I'm thinking about something big or just thinking about a problem I'm trying to solve, so I'm not as present as I should be. But, again, I'm not perfect. I'm not saying any of you… No one is perfect, by the way.
But it brings you back to Tony Hsieh. This guy is worth over a half a bil. He's doing crazy shit, whippets, all this stuff, and genuinely is just not happy, searching for something that's not there. What makes you happy? Is it hanging out back doing…? By the way, maybe it's not the mansions and the Ferraris and all this shit. That's cool. I don't judge it. [31:01.8]
By the way, I like that stuff, so if you judge that, that's on you, not me, by the way. I like it. I can afford it. The biggest thing I don't think people realize is that if I buy a Rolls, that might be 0.002% of my wealth if I pay cash because I pay cash for all my stuff. Right? When I was broke, if someone bought a Rolls, I was like, Oh, my God, they must be so rich, but what I’ve realized is that a lot of people are trying to keep up with the Joneses, leasing them or renting the cars, which is fine if that's what you want to do, but if that makes you happy, go do it. But from my experience, you're typically trying to make someone else happy, you know what I mean?
What makes me happy is not having any car payments. I had a car repoed. It fucked me up. It really did. It will never happen again. I promise you, in my life, it will never happen again. So, there are these moments. By the way, when that happened, I was so grateful that I was still in my apartment. I was in an efficiency apartment with no electric, no gas, true story. Car was getting repoed and I still found a way to turn that negative situation into a positive. [32:07.2]
The positive is this. It's embarrassing to have your car repoed. It's so embarrassing I'm willing to lie and say I’m going to get my car fixed to the neighbor. It's a true story. That's exactly what I did. I'm like, No, Yeah, something's wrong with the motor. They're going to tow it out of here, blah, blah, blah, even though the guy wouldn't let me get anything out of the truck. But I went into the house and I was upset. I was very upset. I wasn't upset at the world. I was upset at me. It was my fault, no one else's. Yeah, I’ve got ripped off here and there and this and that, but I put myself in those.
See, when you start accepting responsibility for everything and you're very grateful for anything, and literally I'm grateful that I can see and talk to you right now. I'm grateful that the sky is blue. I'm grateful that I don't have planes dropping missiles over me as we speak, right? We don't have to worry about that here in the U.S., at least at the time of this recording. But what I'm grateful for is I'm driving. I know there's more. I'm grateful for that. [33:10.0]
See, a lot of people look at this as a bad thing. I'm grateful for what I have and I'm also grateful for what I don't have because I know I'm going to get it. I love the pursuit of the opportunity. I love the pursuit of the next deal. I love the pursuit of deal-making. I am a deal maker, dream maker. This shit does not come easy. It's not something that's like, Oh, wow, this is amazing. It's so easy. I do nothing all day. It stresses me out, but I'm grateful for it because, listen, nothing in your life is happening to you. It's happening for you. You understand that, right?
I’ve got to say it again. Nothing in your life happens to you. It happens for you. We might not know why it's happening today. You might be questioning all kinds of shit that has happened to you in the past, but the truth is it has happened for a reason and we need to harness that reason and use it for better. Right? We need to use it for better good out there in the world. [34:13.6]
Maybe it's a book stewing in you. This is a true story. Back in the day when shit would hit the fan for me and it still does, I always started laughing. I could be right in the middle of a massive lawsuit or whatever. I might start laughing and say, Wow, that's going to be a good chapter in a book one day. I don't know the name of the book. I don't even know if I'm writing the book. I don't even know what it is, but that's my way of dealing with it and being grateful for that moment because there's a lesson inside of the problem.
See, most people that are not happy aren't out actually genuine with themselves. They're out there trying to be someone else they're not. I know I'm a hillbilly kid going bald, probably have a belly I shouldn't have. I'm working on that and I'm just real with myself. I’ve got to be funny because that's about all I’ve got going for me, right? [35:00.7]
I know I'm going to be an amazing dad. I am an amazing dad. I'm working on it. I still want to be better. I want to be a better husband. I want to be a better brother. I want to be a better son, a better son-in-law. I want to be a better human being all around. I want to be a better mentor to my people that follow me that I guide. I want to be a better mentor to you that's listening to my voice. This is my life, my mentorship, it's the least paying thing I do for my time, but it's the most rewarding.
See, I think sometimes we get caught up like, Oh, the ROI, I ain't going to do that. If you absolutely fucking love it, do it. You’d better have cash flow streams to support your lifestyle, though, but if that's what you love to do, you’d better do it because we only get one shot at this thing called life. You’ve got to evolve. You have to edit and change who you are, where you're at and where you're going, but you're consciously making moves every single day, I promise you. [36:05.8]
Follow me. Pay attention to me. What I'm talking about. I'm in the middle of it every day just like you. Yeah, maybe you see a bigger house or a different car. That's pointless. First of all, that's what we see when we're trying on the come up. I don't even drive my car. I drive my toy, my golf cart, you know what I mean? Or my Kubota when I'm in Ohio. The Rolls and the G-Wagons and all these nice cars are just sitting. They made me happy to buy them, more importantly, that I could buy it now. Okay, cool, I want to go. What's next? Right?
But the truth is that we have to get focused on what you are up to and where you're going to, because you're stronger, you're smarter than you've ever thought. I promise you, if you want more out of life, you're going to have to take more shit. It's part of the game. [37:03.1]
By the way, when I say take more shit, I'm not saying… The key, though, is we all take 24/7. The real secret to this is how do you deal with it? If you use it as a weight, it's going to weigh you down. If you use it as fuel, it's going to fuel you. I know everyone talks about haters. I love haters. I don't even see them anymore. If I don't have haters, I'm actually mad. That means I'm not moving forward, because remember haters aren't hating on you. They're hating on themselves because they're not you, and that sucks for them because they're stealing from them, their better self, their unique ability, if you will.
I'm not trying to be Elon Musk. I'm not trying to be Jeff Bezos. I'm not trying to be whoever. I'm trying to be the best motherfucking Mark Evans DM there has ever been, no more, no less. And I hope as you're listening to this, you're getting fired up and I hope you realize that you are capable and you have to do more. You have to become more. You have to become happy today. [38:15.3]
Find the good in everything. Be nice to people. Serve, help, grow and just be the best you can be, knowing tomorrow, you're going to wake up to be better and then the next day you want to be better. Not every day is rainbows and unicorns, but I can tell you that the mentality and the mindset are what I'm talking about. Grab your kids and hug them and kiss them. Tell your spouse you love him even more today than you normally do. Tell yourself, more importantly, that you're the fucking man. You're the best and you're getting better. [38:58.1]
You're at where you're at for a reason. The question is where will you be tomorrow and the next day and so forth? Only you can make the decisions to make the change to get what you really want. I could talk to you until I'm blue in the face and show you that many paths and then you still just don't see it.
See, a lot of times you see an obstacle. I see an opportunity. You get frustrated. I get excited. See, I know people freeze up with obstacles. I know people freeze up with challenges. I know people freeze up with all the shit going on in life, but I don't. I get excited about it. I encourage it because if we solve big problems, we get big results.
See, too many people out here are solving Mickey Mouse problems. Oh, I’ve got to pay the electric bill today, man. Just set it on autopay and get it paid. Go focus on making money. What problems are you solving today? [40:02.8]
Oh, I’m calling motivated sellers. Bullshit. Your problems are way bigger than that. There's someone curled up on a couch right now that can't get out of bed that their parents just passed away in the house and they need help and you're too pussy to call them up and do a cold call. Shame on you. You can help them.
But Mark, you don't understand, I get rejected all the time. You get rejected. I hear not rejection. I hear opportunity to learn on the next call. This is a game and if you're not playing it, for sure, you're in it, are you the hammer or are you the nail?
All I know is that I'm very thankful to be here and talking to you today. I'm grateful for everything that happens, even the bad. I'm not praying that bad shit happens, by the way, but when it happens, it will happen, by the way, it always does. Bad shit is always out there. How I interpret it, more importantly, what I do with that is what will help me become a better me. [41:09.3]
Bad happens to great people all the time. Don't say, I'm a great person. Why is this happening to me? Stop questioning it and start leaning into it. It is what it is. Deal with it. Learn from it. Grow from it. Lean into it. Become something bigger. Share your experience. Share your story. We're all unique. But there are people, there are many people that would line up. Whatever problem you have, they'd line up to take your problems and I really think this is one of the biggest disconnectors.
I’ve been caught in this trap before where I thought I had to look a certain way, talk a certain way, be a certain way to get what I really wanted, and I was getting it, but I didn't even know I was getting it because I was too caught up with what everyone else thought. When I realized that no one gives two shits, truthfully, after about 12 nanoseconds of them talking shit about you or whatever, I became happier. [42:14.2]
I wore a white Kangol before it was cool. I wore pink shirts before it was cool because I liked it. I didn't give a fuck if you said pink was gay or not. I liked it. Even my grandmother made a comment about it. People all around me back, this was pink. This is 19…shit, this had to be ’94, ’96. I was wearing pink all the time. I liked it. Just got to be cool with people going to talk shit. Why? They're just mad that they don't have the balls to do it. They don't have the balls to be them, so it's easier for them to talk about you. [42:59.2]
The more people talk shit about me, it actually fueled me to be more of a meet, be more me because I knew I was becoming who I needed to become, as crazy as that sounds. I drive Rolls-Royces. I don't give a fuck what you care to say about it. I don't care. I take it in the hood. I take it in the risky parts. I'll take it all over town. That's it. I drive it to my parents' house. The car costs more than any house in the town, times probably multiple, many multiples. I'm not going, doing that to show off. I'm doing it because I enjoy driving the fucking Rolls. What you think or what you interpret from that is on you, not me. It has zero weight.
All I'm trying to do is paint the picture that you're an amazing human being. You have amazing opportunities. It's 2021. A lot of people are talking shit about 2020. It was definitely an inconvenience on many levels, but also a massive opportunity to excel in many, many, ultra many levels. [44:00.5]
More money is going to be made from now for the next two or three years than it ever has been made, I promise you. You’re either going to participate in it or you’re going to cry around about it. I recommend participating, step it up and live the better life. You deserve it if you're willing to put forth the work and effort. Become the better you be happy today.
Share with me. Shoot me a message on Instagram @MarkEvansDM. Let me know if this podcast show hit home to you and let me know what you're happy, what you're thankful for. I'll respond, I promise. Follow me on Instagram. Hit me up on Facebook at Mark Evans DM. Make sure to share the show.
I'm here for you guys. I'm rooting for you, thinking about you. Have an amazing day. With that said, make today count. Peace.
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