Why Shark Tank May Have Done More Damage Than Good - Robert Herjavec's Honest Confession

Key Takeaway

Success isn't about grand gestures or giant leaps—it's about constant forward momentum, one inch at a time. On the days when everything feels impossible, commit to moving just half an inch forward. This mindset of incremental progress, borrowed from the recovery principle of 'one day at a time,' can sustain you through the darkest moments of building something meaningful. The goal isn't to make huge strides every day; it's to never stop moving forward.

Episode Overview

Robert Herjavec shares raw insights on entrepreneurship, revealing how his immigrant upbringing and father's struggles shaped his approach to building billion-dollar businesses. He challenges common misconceptions created by Shark Tank and social media, emphasizing that true success comes from enduring pain for a greater purpose rather than chasing wealth, and warning that AI will fundamentally reshape the business landscape in uncomfortable ways over the next 3-5 years.

Full Transcript

Transcript of Why Shark Tank May Have Done More Damage Than Good - Robert Herjavec's Honest Confession from The Ed Mylett Show. Auto-generated from episode audio; may contain minor errors.

It is very rare, in my opinion, that I've met people who have built great businesses businesses businesses for a bigger paycheck. You're right. You're right. You're right. There's nothing wrong with money, and I love toys, and I love love money, and I love toys, and I love to spend it, but I love creating value, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. not just for customers, but for the people I employ. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. So, that's the downside. Because it seems so accessible, it's made it seem easy for the wrong reason.

The second part of it, I developed this mindset because it was so hard that success wasn't about big steps. Success was 1 in at a time. time. time. Yes. Yes. Yes. So, on the days where it seemed like the world was against me, where where the pain was so great that it was physical, was physical, was physical, as long as I moved an inch. Yeah, but like even a half inch, constant forward momentum. I've been saying that in my mind since I was 23 years old.

Power of One More, and it's about being one more decision away, one step at a time, one day at a time. I got it from my dad. My dad got sober when I was 15, and remember when my dad got sober, I said, "Dad, you're never going to drink again?" And he said, "Eddie, I I can't promise you that, but I can tell you I'm not going to drink for one more day at a time." Oh my god, I love that. It's not what you know, it's who you know.

In order to make money, you need money. I had no money. My mom was a receptionist. My dad was a blue-collar worker sweeping factory floors. I was screwed before I started, and I believed that, and that was my mindset, and I thought, "As long as I'm great at what I Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. do, people will find you." Welcome back to the show, everybody. It's It's odd to introduce this person because all of you know who he is, but some of you are listening on audio and can't see him.

Well, I think that's nice. Well, it's just a fact. I think of a serial entrepreneur. I think of somebody who I'm going to tell you what I see in you from a distance, having we just met. I like the fact that you treat people so kindly when you give real feedback. I think you're like the kind shark. Um the one with real wisdom and poise. There's like an elegance about the way that you communicate. And by the way, that's why he's such a great speaker on stage.

So, if you've seen him on Shark Tank, you've seen him there. He's a tremendous stage speaker, best-selling author, serial entrepreneur. entrepreneur. entrepreneur. But overall, he is somebody that I've admired from a distance for a very long time, and I want to have a different type of conversation today. So, looking to get into the brain of Robert Herjavec. Welcome to the show. Thank you very much. Incredible intro. Uh you're way too kind. It's true. It's true. It's true. Um and you know, people always say to me when they meet me, you're you're the nice one.

You're the tall one. You're the good-looking one. tall one? tall one? tall one? Well, relative to Kevin and Daymond and all this other stuff. Not relative to Mark. Mark. Mark. Right. Right. Right. And I always say it's a very low bar on the show. You know, it's funny. I did the Australian version of Shark Tank. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And in Australia, I'm the mean one. You're the Simon Cowell of the Australian one. Australian one. Australian one. they're so nice there. Well, you know, the one other thing, too, I want to tell you, and I've said this off camera to you, you look great, which we should talk about towards the end today.

Like, I've watched you over the years. You look better than when the show started. So, I want to kind of pick your brain about a little of that, too. But when I got you [clears throat] here, I want to talk mainly about business and Love business. Love business. Love business. I want your mind a little bit around this. You got the cybersecurity background. You've had exits. You've invested in all kinds of different businesses. businesses. businesses. It's no secret we're in this era of real innovation. And it's accelerating now, right?

And so, you have guys that are in the trades now are earning doctors in some cases. And I'm wondering, from a business perspective, if you were to advise somebody where they're deploying time and capital, what are the places you would say you're spinning your wheels there. This is not going to go. And what are the industries or places overall that you go, I think there's a bright future there. there. there. Yeah, so I'm obviously, my background is uh cybersecurity. I've been doing it since I was 21.

Just kind of fell into it. And uh but in the last few years, I've really gotten very deep into AI. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. So, I think we're going through a technological revolution. It'll be the greatest technology revolution in our lifetime. lifetime. lifetime. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And I was there at the beginning of the internet, and I thought in my lifetime that was it. The internet AI will transform everything. transform everything. transform everything. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. So, So, So, and just like anything, just like business, there'll be huge winners Mhm.

Mhm. Mhm. and big losers. And I think it's going to be very uncomfortable for the next 3 to 5 years. Okay. Okay. Okay. The places that I would stay away from Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. are anything that is repetitive, anything that's mundane. What do you mean? Give me an example if you don't mind. Law clerks. Law clerks. Law clerks. Okay. Okay. Okay. You know, the basis of law at a lower So, if you think of a typical law firm, you've got clerks, you've got research analysts, and then you've got the lawyers up top.

Everything up to the actual litigator, the relationship component, component, component, is going to get outsourced by AI. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Case studies, what does it mean? All of that kind of stuff. So, any kind of those administrative type tasks, Okay. Okay. Okay. hugely valuable, hugely valuable, hugely valuable, Yep. Yep. Yep. but the key used to be who can find the best research. That's no longer a competitive advantage. competitive advantage. competitive advantage. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. On the flip side, anything that is mechanical, mechanical, mechanical, plumbers. I'm with you.

You said earlier plumbers are earning doctors. I think you're going to see trades double in income over the next 5 to 10 years. Okay. Okay. Okay. Because number one, so few people want to do them, That's right. That's right. That's right. and it can't be replicated with AI. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um is that a yet? Is that a yet? It can't be replicated with AI. Could you see a day where I have a guy right now that's exiting that I coach. I coach. I coach. And uh he likes to be on the show, so I'll wait to have him on, but he's having a billion-dollar exit from the trades, garage door, plumbing, things like that.

And I asked him, I said, you know, right now that those are safe, do you see a day where there's some sort of robotics doing even that type of work? I'm just curious what you would think about that. about that. about that. No. No, it'll it'll it'll never it'll never happen. I'm and I'm hesitating with the never because I think certain tasks up to the actual work work work Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. can be replicated. The scheduling, the timing, the customer service, but that's not plumbing. The art of plumbing is understanding the infrastructure of a house, house, house, Good point.

Good point. Good point. what's going on, that kind of stuff. Good point. Good point. Good point. And I also think human relationships become more valuable. I agree. I agree. I agree. That the guy or girl who can sit down, talk to people, build a bond, AI's never going to replace that. Boy, I thoroughly agree with that. I just did a whole coaching call on it. I I got I've had most of the Sharks on. Fortunately. Fortunately. Fortunately. they're they're they're I've had Barbara on. I've had Barbara on, and I love Barbara.

Barbara. Barbara. Barbara. Yeah. She kind of flirts. She was just on my plane She flirted with me on the plane. plane. plane. She just flew on my plane this morning from Miami. from Miami. from Miami. Oh, she did? like, how dare you use my plane? plane? plane? I think she's wonderful. I think she No pun intended. I enjoyed our conversation, and I did her show, too. But I've asked them all this, and I've I reached this conclusion. Oh, and this is a hard question. I love Shark Tank.

It's been so good to bring entrepreneurship front and center in the world, right? And it's made it a cool thing to do. It's made it something that uh more and more people are intrigued by. I think it's less mysterious than it used to be. But I wonder your thought, and I asked Damon this, and I don't feel like he answered it completely. Sometimes I think it's done a little damage in this sense, so just stay with me, and I want your feedback on it. Everyone thinks they're an angel investor now.

Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And there's so many people I know that have frankly lost a lot of money. It's also made entrepreneurs that are startups in a big hurry to raise money all the the Prematurely, it seems like to me. And I'm wondering if most people wouldn't be more successful redeploying their capital in their own business or in something they understand and control and not so much angel stuff or VC type investing all the time because so much risk is associated with it and I wonder if everyone understands that from watching the show.

Uh Uh Uh so so so best comment about Shark Tank anybody's ever said to me. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I mean, really really astute of you. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. First of all undeniable what Shark Tank has done for America. America. America. Right. Right. Right. And globally. I mean, the show runs in 54 countries. 54 countries. 54 countries. Wow. Wow. Wow. You know, I'm I'm the George Clooney of Portugal. It's great. It's demystified It's demystified It's demystified being an [clears throat] entrepreneur. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. It's It's taught America the language of business.

I mean, think about it. I I had never met anybody who'd started a business until I was 26 years old. Likewise. Likewise. Likewise. And then I was like you own the business? Like the government Like Like Like wow. wow. wow. All of those things are positives. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. There's two negatives of the show. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And by the way, the positives far outweigh the negatives. But, there are two negatives. And the first one is a general negative general negative general negative with social media.

We have made it we have made the pursuit of wealth seem like that's the goal of business. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And we have made it seem like it's easy. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And so you look at these social influencers. They're flying around in a private jet and they got a Lamborghini and you know, there's all kinds of people that are look at me, I'm successful, I'm on my jet and on my fancy car. fancy car. fancy car. Yes. Yes. Yes. That is not the purpose of business.

Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. It is very rare, in my opinion, that I've met people who have built great businesses businesses businesses for a bigger paycheck. You're right. You're right. You're right. There's nothing wrong with money and I love toys, and I love love money and I love toys, and I love to spend it. But, I love creating value. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not just for customers, but for the people I employ. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. So, that's [clears throat] the downside. Because it seems so accessible, it's made it seem easy for the wrong reason.

reason. reason. I agree. I agree. I agree. The second part of it, as you say, is Like, I just had lunch with somebody yesterday. They wanted me to go into their business with them. And I was thinking of maybe I'll go in as a partner and buy 50% of it. And the guy's telling me about it, and he's like, "You know, we'll get it up to like 10 million ARR, and then we'll raise equity." Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And I'm like, "Why do we need to raise money?" money?" money?" Right.

Right. Right. Right. And he looks at me, and he goes, "Well, "Well, "Well, you know, we could go out and raise 50, 100" 100" 100" Cuz that's what you do. Right. Yes, I think. Why wouldn't we just fund it? Like, why wouldn't we just use the cash flow from the business to fund it? And that is the downside of our show is I think I used to work for Warren Avis. Okay. Okay. Okay. The guy who started Avis Rent A Car. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he was this old, uh, scraggly guy, and I was just a young kid, didn't know anything.

anything. anything. But, he gave me an incredible piece of advice. He said, "Kid, if you ever start a business, a business, a business, your only payback is your equity." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hang on to as much as you can as long as you can. you can. you can. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And on Shark Tank, people are giving up 40%. They're like, "Why would you start a business and give up that much equity?" equity?" equity?" So, I'm I'm I'm with you. But, in the light of having ignorance and not understanding business, there's far greater good than bad.

But, um, and Kevin and I argue about this all the time. time. time. Every business I've sold, I owned 100% of it. of it. of it. There you go. I funded it with credit cards. There you go. The other thing is if you ever watch the show, people come on, and they'll say, "I used my house as collateral." And the shark's like, "Ah, oh my god." And I'm thinking, every business I started I used I think I love that. Exactly. I love that. Right, I do too.

Because if it didn't work, it was my ass on the line. I have no problem with that. that. that. We had the guy on recently. I'm I feel bad that I'm not remembering his name, but he was the president of Tesla for about a decade. And he shocked me on the show saying that they they ran the company for a decade on 3 months operating cash. operating cash. operating cash. And I thought and he his theory with him and Elon was that that kept them lean and mean.

It made them They had to make strategic decisions all the time of where to deploy capital. I'm sure they could go into reserves when they needed to. But the point was it wasn't rich with cash all the time from raising money from people and sort of sometimes it can dilute the value. I think a lot of people don't even know what the term dilution means. You hear someone exited their company for That's the other thing on social media. So-and-so had an exit for $60 million or $100 million.

You don't know how many other investors there were. You don't know what their debt was. You don't know a lot, right? And that's one of the things that concerns me, too. But I love I love the show. I asked Daymond this and Barbara, so I'll ask you. Would you be wealthier be wealthier be wealthier had you not ever invested in any of the shows on Shark Tank and taken that capital and just deployed it in businesses that you controlled completely yourself? completely yourself? completely yourself? Um Um Um at the risk of sounding incredibly arrogant, it's such a small amount of money relative to what I deploy that No.

No. No. you know, no. Not not not really. That doesn't even sound arrogant. But But But I think the primary goal of Shark Tank, if all the sharks are being honest, is and there've been some huge winners. And I've had a couple of big winners. But really, really, really, it's to help entrepreneurs. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Most businesses that come on the show don't need the money. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. They need help. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. You know, when you're starting out and you're zero, 5 million, 10 million, is is is 500,000, 200,000 for Is Is going to change the course?

What you need is guidance. Which way do I go? Money wouldn't have helped me grow my business faster. If I look I mean my last company, I built it to what we were about 400 million from zero. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. With my own money. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Would I have grown it faster if I had an investor? Absolutely not. Would I have grown it faster if I knew what I know now? Absolutely. I hear you. Like if I had you sitting there with me or Mark or somebody along the way, it would [clears throat] be a bigger business.

business. business. See what I thought you were going to say there. By the way, again, just acknowledge I agree that finding There's that Chinese proverb if you want to know the road ahead, ask those coming back. Right? To find somebody It's It's good, right? And to have some sense of direction. But what I thought you were going to say cuz I do think there's a lesson in this day and age. You and I are both feeling the same way about the influencer entrepreneur space. It concerns me about people not understanding how hard it is and how long the hours can be.

And I I I Here's what I think. I I thought you were going to say one of the keys for the show is that they're getting exposure exposure exposure through the show. Undeniable. Undeniable. Undeniable. And and relationship or or connections that you all have. And the lesson in that to me, and I want to ask you about this, is this, is this, is business when I was growing up was more about who you know. And I feel like now in this age, it's almost sometimes sometimes who knows you.

you. you. Right? And so do you would you give someone advice someone advice someone advice that's listening today to be growing their brand online or do you think that's industry specific where someone should be working on growing their brand and notoriety? and notoriety? and notoriety? Gosh, that's such a great question, Ed. Um Um Um So first of all, undeniably that the platform of Shark Tank amplifies your business. Undeniable. Maybe in the first couple of seasons, but now just getting on Shark Tank is a big deal.

So that's undeniable. undeniable. undeniable. It's funny, when I I my own business, there's two sage piece of advice every smart person told me. It's not what you know, it's who you know, and order to make money you need money. I had no money. My mom was a receptionist. My dad was a blue collar worker sweeping worker sweeping worker sweeping factory floors. factory floors. factory floors. It's a great story. I was screwed before I started. And I believe that, and that was my mindset. And I thought as long as I'm great at what I do people will find out.

And I carried that for a while, and then one day I realized no, that's not true. There is no thing as genius in the darkness of a basement. The world is not going to beat a path to your door. your door. your door. You have to tell the world who you are. Now there's a line. I think a lot of social media people go too far. There's a line between branding, marketing, amplification, and arrogance. and arrogance. and arrogance. So I don't think you have to be arrogant about it, but man, you got to market yourself.

So yes the world needs to know who you are and where to find you. Now the flip side of that is that is that is there's such a microeconomy in all these things. If you sell a product you're to a very niche industry it's easier to market to those people, and they can find you. So for what you want to do the world needs to know that's you. That's a great nuance right there. That's really good. Man, I'm really glad we're doing this today actually. This is such a good conversation.

Do you feel that everyone could learn to be an entrepreneur, or do you think some people there's just I feel like if you cut you open, or you cut me open, or you cut most entrepreneurs that have some success That's such a great question. you know, there's something in there. I don't know what it is, if it's a relentlessness, a a hunger. I don't know what that thing is, but I don't know that that that I don't know that everyone has that. What do you think?

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Visit sleepdoctor.com sleepdoctor.com sleepdoctor.com to stop guessing about your sleep and take the first step to waking up rested and ready. and ready. and ready. Everyone has that. Okay. Um a good friend of mine was a priest, and he gave me a great one of my best friends, and he said, when I was going through a really, really rough time, um I actually ended up uh living at the homeless shelter in Seattle Seattle Seattle He served a while. That's a long story. Wow. Wow. Wow. And he was there, and he said to me, "You will never see anything in life as amazing as another human being." Mhm.

Mhm. Mhm. [snorts] [snorts] [snorts] And I really believe that. And I believe if you cut me open, if you cut you open, if you cut everybody here open, everybody has that in them. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. What everybody doesn't have is the willingness to endure the pain that's required to get to those goals. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Everybody wants to be successful. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Very few people are willing to pay the price. price. price. So good. So good. So good. And it's so true. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.

When I was younger, I wanted to be rich. I mean, who does Who doesn't want to be successful? Nobody wakes up purposely and says, "I want my life to suck." Right. Right. Right. That's a defense mechanism. Anybody who says to me, "Oh, you know, I won't want that. I I That's a defense mechanism. But I think eventually you get to a point in your life where the pain of how you're living Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you're either willing to accept Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. and and complain Mhm.

Mhm. Mhm. or endure or endure or endure Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. or you got to change it. I wasn't born an entrepreneur. an entrepreneur. an entrepreneur. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Um I just I just didn't want to live like I was living. Like I just the pain of it was too great. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And so you learn and you you screw up and you're bad at it, Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. but you keep going. So to your point, yeah, it's in every You don't have to be a great athlete.

You know, we talked about Tom Brady before. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm pretty sure Tom Brady was born with a certain physical Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. skill set. skill set. skill set. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I'm sure he worked really hard and was really determined, but to be an entrepreneur, you don't have to have any skill set. You don't have to be able to sing, you don't have to be able to dance, you don't have to have any physical ability. There's fat ones, skinny ones, good-looking ones. I mean, it ranges the entire spectrum.

The commonality commonality commonality is the willingness to endure pain for a greater purpose. greater purpose. greater purpose. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And so if I cut you open, Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. do you have a greater purpose? Are you doing it to make a paycheck? Cuz those things are very superficial. You're right. You're right. You're right. So if you want to make a 100 grand, you're making 50, and then you get to 100 grand, what what do you do then? You you change your goals to make 200?

To make it's it's empty. It's funny. I wonder if this is you now, too. I did it in the beginning. I wanted to be rich, just like you said. But then I found out you better have a greater purpose through the dark times, because the absence of that thing you want is going to endure for a really long time. So there have to be other reasons, right? As I've gotten a little bit older, cuz you just said I don't sing or dance or anything. To some extent, and I really like it this way, my entrepreneurial journey now is almost like my art form.

My form of expression, almost. In other words, I can't sing or dance, but the things that come with being an entrepreneur entrepreneur entrepreneur is sort of become like a form of expression for me. Teaching it, living it, coaching people, mentoring people. Do you Do you Do you I I think I see that in you, though, too. too. too. Same. Like I I find my ability to see the world and the disassociated pieces, and have it come together, I I think of that as an art form now.

Now, do I do I think that, or because I'm not good at anything else I think that? Maybe, but listen, I always say to my wife, who's an incredible artist, I mean, um um um thank thank thank She is, that's right. God God God I had no talent for singing, cuz if I had even a little bit of talent, I'd be super broke, but happy, singing Eagles songs in a bar. And by the way, my son's here today, and I've told him all this time, I'm really I don't have any great talent to fall back on, so I had to learn to really work hard.

I mean, I think I have certain superpowers in terms of my strength or resiliency or those things. I think that's pretty What is your I I was going to What is your greatest superpower? I was going to ask you yours, which is far more interesting than mine. Um I'm curious to see what you're going to say. Well, I Well, I Well, I I got to tell you, I maybe this sounds I hope this sounds in the with the humility that I mean it to sound. I think it's my ability to connect with people and I love people.

Meaning whether that's one-on-one in this sort of environment here or stage being on a stage and speaking or being in a boardroom or back in the day being able to sell. I think it's my ability to connect with people and sincerely believe in them. Like I sometimes my family will tell me one of my great strength is how much I believe in people, see them as they're going to be. And oftentimes they'll tell me, "Yeah, but Dad, that's not who he is right now, you know?" So, I think it's I think that's probably my I don't think I have super high IQ.

I think I have pretty good EQ, though. I would say that is probably is probably is probably very good with people, obviously. I mean, you're you're very engaging. What do you think yours is? Adaptability. Adaptability. Adaptability. 100%. 100%. 100%. I mean, I'm I'm very good, but that You are. You're tremendous with people. That was a skill set I had to learn cuz I was really bad at it. But, the one thing I did have naturally uh just through being beaten down all the time was the ability to get up.

And Damon and I talked about this. I think if you threw me in the middle of a jungle or in an environment I didn't know, I'm highly confident I would survive and figure out the game. So, it's not it's not it's not Adaptability. Adaptability. Adaptability. about about about you do, it's about you know, what's the what's the Muhammad Ali saying? It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how quickly you get up. And the amount of pain and negativity that was thrown at me when I was starting out never never never I mean, affected me.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, never shook me to my core. It never stopped me from getting up the next day. You never quit? You never had this impulse at some point to go, "Hands up, done." done." done." No, never. I've had really crappy days. I've cried. I've been in physical pain cuz I was so scared, scared, scared, but but but it never stopped me. And I developed this mindset because it was so hard that success wasn't about big steps. steps. steps. Success was 1 in at a time.

So on the days where it seemed like the world was against me where where the pain was so great that it was physical. As long as I moved an inch, but like even a half inch, constant forward momentum. I've been saying that in my mind since I was 22 years old. I love you, brother. We're kindred spirits. My book, the last book I wrote is called The Power of One More. And it's about being one more decision away. One step at a time, one day at a time.

I got it from my dad. My dad got sober when I was 15 and remember when my dad got sober, I said, "Dad, you're never going to drink again?" And he said, "Eddie, I I can't promise you that, but I can tell you I'm not going to drink for one more day at a time." time." time." Oh my god, I love that. And when I was going to quit once, I was going to quit once. Like all the evidence said I probably should. And my old man, wise in his sobriety, and my dad never made a ton of money in his life, but he was a confidant and a wise man, and and he said, "You know, just don't quit for one more day." Just wait till tomorrow.

See how you feel tomorrow. feel tomorrow. feel tomorrow. My dad was an alcoholic for many, many years, and I always remembered, and I'm the only kid. And you know, we came here on a boat when I was 8 years old, the whole nine yards. And I always remember my dad could never quit. And the consistency in his inability to quit was grand statements. I'm going to stop forever. I'm never going to do this like every time it was a big gesture. And I think I got ingrained with me when I started out in business it'd be like, "Oh, we're going to do blah." And you learn life is not about grand gestures.

Life is about consistency. It's about all the stuff that people don't see. You know, it's like one day you wake up and you sell a business for 500 million or 10 million or whatever it is and people think "Wow." "Wow." "Wow." What they don't see is the 18 years, the 10 years of every little half inch of steps that took you to get there. It's hard. hard. hard. This is such a good conversation, by the way. Just as a friend I tell you your face really changed when you said that about your dad.

Oh, it was hard, man. Like it was really like I think you know, we talked about purpose. purpose. purpose. And my dad was a complex, tough guy. So was mine. But what I realized somewhere in my 20s cuz I started a business and it wasn't super successful and I started getting um um um envious. envious. envious. Not of others. I started getting envious of why not me. Why is that guy driving a Ferrari and not me? Why is it easier for them to get to 10 million I'm stuck at 2 million.

The why, the envy. And then I just kind of sat back and I realized that realized that realized that my parents my parents my parents had given everything to me to have this opportunity. So when I couldn't do it for me cuz I wasn't focused enough, I said I I got to become successful, whatever that meant then, for them. My dad escaped the communist country at 37 years old with one suitcase, crossed the border to Italy, we came on a boat. He left the country with no money, didn't know anybody, and left his entire world to give me an opportunity.

And there I am bitching about how hard I'm working. It just changed my entire filter. I mean, eventually you have to have Sure. Sure. Sure. deeper goals, but yeah. What an unbelievable answer. You have something that something that something that I love in people, and I I wonder if you're aware that you have it, and then maybe describe it your way. You are a very confident man. However, However, However, you carry a tremendous amount of humility with you. And I think it's one of the secret formulas for first off good people and good friends, good friends, good friends, but also longevity in business.

Let me tell you what I mean. You and I both know very confident people who don't have humility. They usually They usually make a mistake at some point to blow themselves up themselves up themselves up financially or otherwise. Or they just don't have the sort of peace and happiness that I'd see in someone like you. you. you. I wouldn't agree with the first. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I would definitely agree with the second. second. second. Okay. Okay. Okay. And there's a differentiation between success in business and success in life.

That's what I'm referring to. Yeah. I know I know I know and I think this is hard for most people cuz business is not always fair. I know not very nice people who are successful. Financially? Financially? Financially? Yes. Yes. Yes. Right. Right. Right. I know not very nice people who've built big businesses. big businesses. big businesses. So do I. And I wouldn't want to have dinner with them, I wouldn't want to hang out with them, I don't want to associate with them. I respect that one narrow part of what they've done, done, done, Mhm.

Mhm. Mhm. but it's not a successful life. That's what I mean. And what I'm I always wanted to have a successful life. Which means a certain amount of money. I mean, that's just reality in America. the boxes. the boxes. the boxes. Yeah, you got to have a certain amount of money. It It doesn't have to be a billion, but it can be whatever you need. But, if my kids hated me, or my wife didn't love me, or if I was never home, like, why would any of that money matter?

matter? matter? That leads me to believe we do agree. We're just I think you thought I meant just financial success. I did, yeah. Yeah, and I don't I don't You're You had that mentoring when you were young about how much people My mentor when I was young kept repeating to me cuz I need simple concepts. He'd say, "Eddie, people matter, things don't." don't." don't." People matter, things don't. And it's not that having things isn't great. You and I both have a lot of things, and it is cool to have things.

yeah. yeah. yeah. But, I have found that though that's not sustaining joy for me. Sustaining joy for me is the people in that home. Same. It's so funny you say that cuz people that don't know me always think I'm about, you know, the cars cuz I used to race cars, and I love airplane Like, I I I I love to play. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, what I love more than the things Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. is the joy of life. You do. You do. You do. Like, Like, Like, I You know, another thing my priest said, "You can wake up every day and believe everything is a miracle, or you can wake up every day and believe nothing's a miracle." Mhm.

Mhm. Mhm. I am full of joy. You are. You are. You are. I love to play. I love my family. Like, I Like, I just go all the time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, um But, um But, um I think I think I think I wasn't this in my 20s or 30s. I was always full of joy, but I worked really hard to get here. Like, there's no balance for it. Yeah, and that's the question. And so, I think I know what you're going to say, but I really, you know, pause for a second on this one.

Is it worth it? And I know your initial reaction will be definitively yes, and maybe after some thought it will be as well. But, what I mean by is it worth it is you and I are both, you know, we're not 23 anymore. It's a Saturday. We're in Boston today. We both travel a bunch. We're on the road a lot. There's a little scrutiny that comes with being a public person. Your phone blows up every single day just like mine does, right? And And so there's a lot that comes with being an entrepreneur and continuing down that journey all the way.

Continuing to climb the metaphorical ladder of life. Do you ever evaluate, is this worth it at this pace? Cuz you do seem to be very joyful and very happy. But what If someone asked you that, like truly Robert, is this all worth it? Or was there a level where it was definitely worth it to there, but maybe there's diminishing returns beyond a potential point. Gosh, great questions. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um Um Um Yes, it's worth it. And I cannot not think it's worth it because I feel it would be would be would be disrespectful disrespectful disrespectful of me to feel that way.

To God, to the universe. I am so fortunate to be sitting here with you that to say "Oh, it was good until here and all the goodness that came with it, but now it's not good." Like I just I I am so grateful for all of it. Some of it becomes uncomfortable after a certain point. Like I've been on Shark Tank or a version of Shark Tank for 22 years. years. years. My goodness. My goodness. My goodness. And so, sure, I go out to Fenway. 50 people want to take a picture.

If I'm with my kids, is it uncomfortable? Would I want to do that? Not really. Do I do it with joy? Every single time? Yes, I do it with joy every single time. Cuz I don't know what my discomfort discomfort discomfort means to that person. Right? Like it's just important like I'll tell you the other day I did a speech in Phoenix. Mhm. And you know, like you, I'm I'm done with the speech, I'm rushing out, and as I'm leaving, the sound guy is taking my mic off, and he whispers to me, he says, "I'm really sorry, man.

Like, can I get a picture?" And you know, last thing you want to do is take a picture after you've just spoken to 5,000 people, right? like my adrenaline And I'm like, and I almost feel bad. I'm like, "Oh, man, sure." Right? And I take a picture, and the guy's got a tear in his eye. his eye. his eye. And he's like, "Oh, thank you so much. You won't You don't know what this means to my son." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And as I'm like I'm like, "Great, thank you." I'm literally trying to get out the door, and he says, "Yeah, he just had brain surgery." Oh my gosh.

And so I stop, and he shows me a picture, and it's this 10-year-old kid. He's got half his scalp gone. He's in the hospital. So I'm like, "Let's call him." Oh, I love you. So we call him. And you should have seen the look on this kid's face. Like, so What What did it take for me for that little level of discomfort, and what did it mean to him? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so I always think of every situation like that. You know, and I have friends say, "Oh gosh, I wish I didn't have this much money.

I wish I had less." And I'm like, it's it's just the way you've managed your life. God bless you. No, No, No, I'm so glad you're who you are. This is really good for me. No, I'm serious. I'm serious. Yeah, serious. Yeah, serious. Yeah, you know, I've done 900 or something conversations. You and I have met, you know, everybody. I know when I'm in the presence of a really good man. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're a really good man. You're obviously very smart and have had so much success, but you're good.

And your evidence, you know, everyone that's listening or watching, like, good things can happen to good people long term. long term. long term. I do believe that. I to a to a point. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. People misunderstand that statement. I've always tried to be good. I've always tried to lead my life in a from a place of goodness. What I didn't understand is just because you're good you're good you're good doesn't mean you you lose the need to be strong. Just because I'm good doesn't mean that there aren't bad people out there.

And I used to assume if I'm good I don't need to protect myself against the bad. What I've learned in business is dude, just because you're a good human being being being you've got to build up your strengths physically, mentally, business-wise. And you know, when I started my business I was like, oh, you know, he won't compete with me. I've had people steal from my company. I've had employees leave my company, take my entire customer base. I've had people sue me like just like you, I'm sure there's a lot of bad out there.

It never changed who I am, but I've become stronger over the years. years. years. By the way, I just had a conversation with my daughter who's getting into business and I said, I don't like telling you this because I used to not view the world this way. But you do need to protect yourself. You need to be vigilant. And there are a lot of people that are going to try to do harm to you and hurt you and you need to really work on your discernment.

The mistake I made young and I get told my daughters I said and I'm not saying I'm a perfect person cuz Lord knows I am definitely definitely not. But I projected my own value system onto other people all the time. time. time. Same. Same. Same. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just assumed that the world would treat me like the world and the way I'm treating the world. And for a while I went through a phase where like, maybe I'm not mean enough. Maybe I need to change.

And how often do people I mean, probably not to you, but because of Kevin people always say to me, oh, I couldn't be good in business cuz I'm not mean enough. Like Like Like you don't have to be mean. You don't have to be mean. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You have to be firm. strong. strong. strong. Yep. I totally agree with that. I've enjoyed that. May I ask you one more question? This flew by, by the way. It flew by. We ought to do this like once a year together.

It'd be great. We uh we're at a faith conference you and I are speaking at now. I'm just curious, of everything in your life, if you don't mind me asking, what role or reliance have you had in your life on your faith? Has it helped you as an entrepreneur, as a father, as a husband, as a son, or any of it? of it? of it? Yeah, I mean, I um it's been a journey. journey. journey. Same here. Same here. Same here. So, I was an altar boy for many years.

You were, too. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And I think I got to a point because I was forced to do it, Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. [clears throat] [clears throat] [clears throat] that I didn't want to do it. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And then I went through a phase where I became a became a became a convenient Christian. Meaning, Meaning, when I needed God, Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I was a Christian. But when I felt I didn't need him, Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I wasn't a Christian. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. I mean, I was never bad.

I just my faith wavered. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um I think over I think I went through a really really really difficult time, difficult time, difficult time, and I got back to Christ during that. during that. during that. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And I think it felt to me like I had nothing to give, and I had no future and no hope, and he helped me. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. And then, And then, And then, was I going to abandon him Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. when things got better? Wow.

Wow. Wow. And I think it really realigned me, realigned me, realigned me, and brought me back to that foundation that I've always had. So, I have a lot of faith. I mean, I never try to force my faith on others, but I also don't let others undermine my faith. Bro, we're Bro, we're so many similarities. I'm just I can't believe you're an altar boy, really. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just pondering in this town, by the way, I was. Pondering um Pondering um Pondering um a lot of the things you said today.

There's so much depth with you. I I really do hope we do this more than another, you know, more than just today cuz I really enjoyed it. It was a good for me. for me. for me. All right. Appreciate you saying that. Yeah, it really was good for me. You have such a great platform for hope. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I think what I love about your platform is that you give people real guidance and hope. and hope. and hope. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Cuz I think a lot of people try to talk down on business Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. with a with a with a not reality. It's easy and look at this and all all stuff you could get. But I think your platform is all about guidance and hope. And I think anybody can do it. Thank you. I named our place here Hope Island. Island. Island. You did. You did. You did. For that reason. I want to bring hope to the world. I mean, this is like a really synergistic conversation here today, bro.

bro. bro. Would your kids say that you're a um motivating person? motivating person? motivating person? That's a great question. One of them's here. What would you say? Be honest. Definitely yes. Definitely yes. Definitely yes. Definitely. What you He said yes, but why? why? why? Why are you a motivating person? I see how you transform others and how you always carry yourself. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh my gosh. That is That is That is How you motivate is what I want to be like and how you carry yourself and serve others.

serve others. serve others. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Okay. That's success. That's success. That's success. I agreed. I agreed. I agreed. So, So, So, Would your kids say that? My kids are seven. they're little. they're little. they're little. So, So, So, the greatest moment I've had in the last few years, so my son's seven. He's got ADHD. He has a very difficult time with anxiety. anxiety. anxiety. So, I was doing a speech in Vegas and out of the blue, I said, "You're coming with me." Good.

Good. Good. So, he put on a jacket, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. hopped on the plane. We went to Vegas. You know what it's like, everybody wants to meet you and big crowds were hard for him. He had to sit in the crowd with thousands of people, sat there for an hour, and then afterwards, there was like a photo line. It was chaotic, like it always is. Which is really hard for him to stay focused. focused. focused. Sure. Sure. Sure. Through it all, he comes up to me and he puts his hands on me and he says, "Daddy, I'm so proud of you." Oh gosh.

Oh gosh. Oh gosh. I mean, I was like high five, high Oh my hero. It's no better than that. It's no Because I think if you it's it's the consistency of character. Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Right? Right? Right? Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. Your son thinks you're motivating. I think you're motivating. It's not because you're putting on an act, it's the consistency of your character. character. character. Yeah. Thank you. And I think you're motivating. motivating. motivating. So good today. Anything you want to promote? Anywhere you want to send them?

No, visit Australia. It's a great country. country. country. I don't know. Well, at least go follow him on Instagram if you're not. I feel like there's probably a pretty big overlap between our world, so I'm sure most of them do, but please go follow Robert. Thank you for today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's tremendous. All right, everybody. I don't think I have to ask you to share this one. I'm pretty sure this one's going to shared everywhere, so God bless you. Max out your life.