The principal theme of this podcast episode centers on the profound journeys of individuals who have navigated the complexities of personal and professional growth, emphasizing that true accomplishment necessitates an internal foundation of resilience and integrity. We delve into the life and insights of Dan Moore, a seasoned entrepreneur, who shares his path from a car dealership to leading significant ventures in the automotive industry, including the creation and eventual sale of Vista Dash. Throughout our conversation, we explore the importance of learning from failures, the value of reputation and integrity in business, and the delicate balance between professional pursuits and personal life. Dan articulates his belief that success is not merely a destination but a continuous journey marked by the decisions we make and the relationships we cultivate along the way. As we reflect on our own experiences, we aim to inspire listeners to strive for personal improvement and to engage meaningfully with their communities for a brighter future. The dialogue initiated by Adam Marburger presents a profound exploration of the human experience through the lens of entrepreneurship and personal growth. Marburger articulates the mission of the podcast, 'Humans that Build,' which seeks to delve into the intricate journeys of individuals who have not only constructed tangible successes but have also undergone significant internal transformations. Each episode is a celebration of resilience and authenticity, devoid of superficial hype, focusing instead on the genuine efforts of individuals striving to improve themselves and their communities. This particular episode features Dan Moore, a long-time acquaintance of Marburger, who currently enjoys a vacation in Florida while discussing his multifaceted career in the automotive industry. Moore reflects on his evolution from a child aspiring to be an astronaut to a dynamic entrepreneur, emphasizing the lessons learned through adversity and the importance of grit in achieving success.

Takeaways:

• This podcast emphasizes the importance of personal growth and continuous self-improvement.
• Listeners are encouraged to share impactful stories that can inspire change in their communities.
• The conversation reveals the significance of maintaining integrity and reputation in professional endeavors.
• The speakers discuss the balance between work and family life, highlighting the value of presence in relationships.
• The insights shared about entrepreneurial journeys stress the necessity of resilience in overcoming challenges.
• A key takeaway from the episode is that true success is defined by personal fulfillment and meaningful connections.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.amazon.com
• www.youtube.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Vista Dash
• Dealer World
• Cox Automotive
• VIN Solutions
• Dealer Funnel

This is Adam Marburger.

And this is Humans that Build real conversations with real people.

Not just about what they've built in the world, but what had to be built inside them first.

No hype, no shortcuts.

Just humans doing the work.

Humans that build.

Real people.

Real work.

Welcome to another episode of Humans that Build.

This podcast is designed to help individuals become better versions of themselves today than they were yesterday for a more promising tomorrow.

The whole idea is to share stories from individuals making an impact in their communities and, and all over the world.

And today we've got a, a guy that I've known for a long time, somebody who's done a few things, who's still doing a few things, and he's on vacation right now, taking the time to be on this call, so I'm grateful for that.

My brother, Dan Moore.

Welcome to Humans that Build.

Thanks, man.

I'm excited to be here.

You know, it's, I had, I had the opportunity to spend some time with you a few weeks ago in Scottsdale, and I know why you live there.

Like, when I got back to St. Louis, there's no mountains.

We got the arch.

But I, I, I completely get why you live in Scottsdale, man.

It makes total sense to me.

Yeah.

What they say about the desert isn't true, but, I mean, I'm just gonna leave that one in life.

Great mysteries and call it a day.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So tell me.

So you're, you're, you're down in Florida now, right?

Is.

Are you in Orlando now and you're heading to the beach?

Yep.

And down there with the family?

Absolutely.

Well, I mean, Sydney, my oldest, is doing the summer culinary internship here at Disney World, so we had to come down and check it out and support her at the restaurant and.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So what I like to do is I want to take a path down memory lane with you.

So I, you know, I'm, I'm familiar, you know, with your company, Vista Dash, that you sold.

I'm familiar with Dealer World, but let's get before that.

Like, so at what moment in your life was there that kind of like, aha moment or that situation that led you into business?

Like when you were in sixth grade, did you knew you want to be an entrepreneur, like, kind of share with us?

I kind of.

That journey that led you into the world of business?

Well, I wanted to be an astronaut, so I guess this is a different form of a rocket ship, so.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, it's funny, you know, some people kind of have a plan and they see it through and they, they, they get to that point through, through being like my daughter, nine years old, always wanted to be a chef, and she's living that dream.

I, I think it's interesting, I think growing up in a house that my stepdad was in the car business.

So there was an attraction there of the, you know, always wearing the suit, driving the demos.

I mean, it was being a kid.

It's like, oh, that's, that's really cool.

So 19, I got in the car business, started selling cars, and I think that's the baseline of where a lot of things kind of came to be, of learning that grit overcoming objection.

I think it's a great life lesson.

And so many skills were built from being young and being in the car dealership.

And then from there just progression path.

Did some other things outside of auto, then ultimately came back and then really fell in love with the tech and marketing side of things, which has led me to working for several different industries from marketing to Cox Automotive and VIN Solutions, running marketing for the whole Cox VIN Solutions dealerstrack.

Org, and then ultimately joining Brian Pash and building out Vista Dash.

And then now here I am sitting on the board of Dealer Funnel and running Dealer World Marketing Agency.

So there's an interesting road and they all have different little weaves and paths, but it's super fascinating.

And I always say it's just, it's a blessing to be in this industry and there's so much upside into what we do.

Yeah, I was talking, you know, Scott Simons, I was talking with him earlier about how the automotive industry blesses so many people.

And it takes, not that you're average, but it takes average individuals and makes, makes them extraordinary.

I mean, I don't know another industry that resides that you can get into the automotive industry with in some case no high school education, and end up GM store owning a dealership.

And then for guys like you and me that, that are still in automotive, but we've kind of branched out into other industries that serve automotive.

It's just like a full circle.

And it's like everybody knows everybody too.

You know, there's just so many opportunities once you're kind of in it.

You got opportunities for a lifetime, you know, 100%.

Well, as long as you don't burn them.

This is very small for, for, for such a big industry.

It's very small.

And I always tell people it's not who, you know, you got to take that scorecard on who, who you rubbed the wrong way, because that'll ultimately come Back to bite you somewhere.

So, you know, reputation is everything.

Integrity is everything.

And.

And delivering on your word is.

Is the constant in having success in this industry.

But again, I agree.

I think, you know, this industry breeds a lot of successful people because it teaches you so many different life lessons.

And, yes, some people go the college path and some people don't.

And I think this is a great industry that gives you different things because, yeah, would I have dreamed I'd be here.

I would have done this.

No, I mean, heck, this thing gave me the launchpad to do a TED Talk, to write a book.

I mean, there's so many things this industry has connected.

And to your point, we've.

We've.

We're still in it, but we're also doing other things outside of it because, again, it just.

It blossoms so many things that we can take advantage of because we applied ourselves.

Yeah, the TED Talk and the book are on my list.

I want to talk to you a little bit about that, but before we.

Before we go there.

So we talked about.

You brought up college for a minute.

What are your thoughts?

Do you think everyone should go to college?

Do you think everyone out of high school should attempt college?

What are your thoughts on that?

Just curious.

Yeah.

I mean, it's a tough one.

I have three daughters, and we're telling them all to go to college.

I didn't.

So I think, you know, it's an interesting conversation in my own house.

Right.

Well, dad, you didn't go.

Mom did.

Like mom did.

I think there's benefits in everything, depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

And I think that's the path that people have to choose.

And, you know, people have to choose a path that fits where they're who they are and what they're doing.

Was I built for school?

Probably not so much.

I was built to make a lot of mistakes and keep learning.

So trial and error.

Fumble.

And go to your point.

That is kind of that entrepreneurial spirit of, you know, just a constant glutton for, you know, we'll call it failure.

I call it learning lessons.

I call it success.

I think everybody puts a negative around it.

I think there's more positives.

You know, I learned more from the misses than I did the wins, so I'll keep moving forward.

Yeah, I've learned way more from falling on my ass part of my language than I ever have from winning anything.

Right.

You know, it gives you an opportunity to really assess the situation and not make the same mistake twice.

Now, I will say this.

We're Gonna.

I'll talk about your book for a minute.

So do more.

Get more.

I read that book.

I think you released it in 20, 21.

Is that right?

20.

I was like, I think it was 20, 19.

It was right before then.

Goodness gracious, I'm getting old.

I know.

It's been a minute.

I know.

I even saw that myself.

I was like, well, one of my biggest takeaways after reading is I just, I became more self aware.

I was able, after reading that book, kind of look in the mirror and just be real with myself.

The one thing I know about you is you don't hold anything back.

You're not afraid to hurt anybody's feelings.

I know that just because I know you.

But what was your motivation on writing that book Book, if you could just kind of break that down?

What was your thought process even, even writing the book?

First and foremost, it was, it's a little bit of what you call that legacy.

It's something that's left behind that my kids can go, this was my dad.

Because it unpacks that, right?

It, it is.

Someone once a leader once said, hey, this is like your operating manual.

Like, if you want to know the ins and out, read the book.

And I'm like, oh, that's pretty fair.

Because essentially you're just my experiences and how I look at things and, and what's helped me.

I mean, again, you think about being someone that's an introvert.

Not really.

Like, some of these things are not in the norm of doing, getting on stages, speaking.

I'm like, it's taxing from, from an introvert level.

But the goal and the objectives are to do certain things and to reach certain milestones.

Well, those are the things standing in front of you.

So if you're paying attention to yourself and you're saying, I want to climb that next Everest, and this is the mountain that I'm climbing, then you've got to embrace the things that make you uncomfortable and push through them.

So that was the kind of.

The thing of writing the book was just, hey, if it resonated with one person and that one person, it made a change in them.

It helped them get somewhere.

Mission accomplished.

There was no, hey, I'm writing a book to be a New York Times best seller, get rich.

It was, hey, I'm just putting this on paper.

And also another test of being uncomfortable because you just put yourself in a book that everybody can read and you're out there.

There's no pulling it back.

So again, it's, for me, it's always the dance of how.

How can I continue to be uncomfortable?

Yeah.

I remember when I wrote my book, you and Frank Lopes were the only.

You guys were the two I called because I had.

I needed your guys's advice.

I needed, you know, I was.

It was nerve wracking.

I was kind of nervous doing it, you know, even putting your work out there, you know, and I don't know where.

There's something that I want to share that I learned from you and I don't know where I saw this.

I don't know if this was in your TED Talk because I do want to talk about that because I'm just having a brain fart or if you did this in a talk.

But you had everybody close their eyes and think about the last time that you misplaced your phone.

Everybody.

So that was okay.

Thank you.

So this is.

Brooke is.

By the way, I'm.

I have to give you credit.

I stole this from you and I use this sometimes, but I always give you the credit, by the way.

But you close your eyes and just imagine you've misplaced yourself.

How do you feel?

You know, some of you are anxious, some of you are angry, some of you are freaking out.

Then I don't know if you're going to have to help me.

Then the exact verbiage.

When was the last time you felt that way?

Being late to dinner with your wife or missing a baseball game or something like that for your kids.

That hit me here.

Yeah, you always just seen the whole crowd.

I mean, delivering that looking out to hundreds of people and going, close your eyes.

And you know, I want you to close your eyes and take a second think that last time you watched phone and seeing facial and body language of discomfort and all of that.

And then to your point, everybody knows that feeling of panic when they misplace their phone.

I'm like, when's the last time you felt that way about a family member or your wife or your husband or whomever, your kids.

And then you see you.

You see that kind of like, oh, 100%.

Because in life we say things like, oh, I go to, you know, I'm busting my hump because you know, I'm taking care of my family.

Well, ask your family, do you want to see less of me or more of me?

Do you want me to be in the moment with you or do you want me to be distracted because I'm so busy grinding when you really kind of unpack that the reality to some of it is we're humans, we're doing it for ourselves.

It's our own glory, it's our own benefit, our own Everest that we're climbing.

And sometimes we use that.

I'm just trying to provide for my family as the scapegoat of what are you really trying to accomplish?

And are you being honest about it?

But also, can you balance it?

I mean, that is the trick of the trade that I think.

I think the work life balance is a false narrative and I think it's cute.

I think the reality to it is it's just sacrifice.

You are the sacrifice.

You're sacrificing yourself to be relevant in a moment.

Parking this to do to that.

You're getting up early and getting the work done so then you can enjoy your time with the family while you're on vacation.

And then you come back, they go to bed, you're back on again.

Those are the things that are the separators.

But the job's getting done and everybody's getting your attention.

And I think that's the part that is the separator that many people misses.

It's not about you.

It's never been about you.

That's powerful.

That's pretty cheap.

Let me ask you, did you always have a dream of being on a TED Talk?

Like, was that something, Was that like, like a bucket list type deal for you?

And if you don't mind, how the hell did you get the opportunity?

I want to know because I.

That's on my list.

I want to give a TED Talk one day.

So, like, can you walk through that?

What did that look like?

Yeah, I mean, we've all watched him.

I'm like, yeah, that's a great achievement.

And I was like always, you know, fascinating with TED talks.

I mean, heck, Simon Sinek, some of these great speakers that have gone out there and put out some great content and really challenged the premise of what a TED is.

After I had to write in the book, a buddy of mine reached out and made a connection and that led to the ted.

And I was like, well, yeah, I'm down.

And it was cool because that really pressed a piece of.

You know, I've always been a siming Sinek fan, so I love the why aspect because again, it's coming from a place of curiosity.

And I think innately we're not, as we get older, we lose our curiosity.

And I think that that's a fundamental piece that drives so much forward thinking, especially being in business is you've got to ask the questions, you got to be curious.

And so that started Unpacking that whole TED talk and starting to work through it.

And I came up with the whole point of is your yli?

Because I was like, even for me, some of the steps in my life, I'm like, is my why really what I think it is or is it what I'm manifesting it to be?

And it was interesting.

It really.

All the book and this are still self reflections of my own journey and my journey during those moments because it was interesting.

MICHAEL KEATON ACTOR EVERYBODY knows easiest one Beetlejuice, BATMAN but it was interesting.

A lot of people don't talk about the time gap where he took off.

And one of the reasons, the biggest key reason he took off was he's like, I wanted to see my kids grow up.

There's always time on the clock.

But that was the most important thing is being present for my kids.

And that really resonated and, and so that's again a lot of the pieces to the puzzle that led to all the things I've done is just kids have been at the forefront of all the decisionings and all the thought process of where I push and pull.

What's that right time to, you know, pull back and make sure I'm present?

What's that right time to re engage and put back into business.

It's.

You're constantly moving pieces around to.

To get the W's for everybody.

How.

How nerve wracking was it because you speak?

I've seen you speak in person.

You're freaking amazing.

Like, what was that like doing TED Talk?

Were you scared?

What's that?

Were you like, Tell me, just walk me through that before you went out there.

Yeah, I mean I, I would equate it to.

I want to.

I want to say what was it old school?

I felt like Will Ferrell.

I had that out of body experience.

When I got off stage, I'm like, what did I just say?

It's nerve wracking because again, you know, I'm a student of speaking.

I don't think, I think I've ton to learn more and more.

Every time I speak, there's some new thing I pick up on some pausing sequence, practicing enunciation, things of those natures that you just constantly want to perfect the craft, just always a student.

The interesting thing that Ted did round out a lot of things.

Cadence, pacing, timing.

Because again, they won't publish you if you go over time.

So there's people that were at that.

At that Ted that talked to the audience, but they went over and the recording never got published.

What's the time under 20.

Okay.

So you got to be on the button.

I think I was 19 to some change.

Like really trying to be right in that, that swim lane.

The other piece is the red dot you're standing in.

That is your.

That's your.

That's your jail.

There's nuances to not just running back and forth across the stage being a wild animal, how you make eye contact, the discipline of time, concise message.

You know, in our industry of automotive, we have a lot of conferences and 45 minutes to an hour to talk.

Can a human really ingest 45 minute presentation?

Yeah, they're getting like they've checked out at some point in time, regardless of how engaging you think you are.

So the thing with TED really taught me the.

The polish of the beginning, the middle and the end.

Just like writing a book is, you know, open, kind of have your meat in the middle.

So open strong again to your point.

Close your eyes, hit you, make you think.

Got your attention.

Deliver the meat, potatoes and then close with that whole thing, which for me was the.

You've got one ticket right on this ride called life.

What are you going to do with it?

So you really start to understand how you deliver things and then you just play from there.

But yeah, it really challenged every aspect of me in multiple different ways.

When did you start, like in your career?

When did you start becoming fascinated or interested in speaking?

Like when.

What was your start?

Obviously, auto.

I mean, one thing that I learned is conference generated opportunities.

So I see speak to people, speak.

And I'd be like, okay, so this opens the door to big building a business.

You get opportunities, you get visibility.

Like, there's a lot of things that came with it.

And trust me, when I started, I sucked.

I mean, I think my first one was DMSC opened up to a room full of people that had been wine tasting all day and then were wine tasting while I was up on stage.

So I mean, the best I could deliver was, I think, unfortunately it still haunts me to this day is a Cartman impression.

Because at this point in time I was like, there's no W in this.

Like I could sit there and talk about my business and no one cares.

So randomly enough, someone dared me, like I dare you to go up there and do it as Cartman.

So I'm like, I might as well.

Because the key thing is be memorable.

I was, I was so pissed off one year.

I won't say the name of the organization, but they're in Vegas every year.

It was not in ada, they give me some pretty prime spots.

Thank thankful for that.

But this other affiliation, they had me speak on the last day in the afternoon where everybody's leaving at noon, I'm at the 3 o' clock spot.

Like I had like 13 people in the room.

And I literally flew out to Vegas in the morning, landed to go give my talk and went back to the airport to fly home.

So I spent eight hours in the air, 12 people.

But you know what?

It's frustrating.

It can be frustrating.

And that's what I learned early on is, you know, I never, I don't get frustrated anymore.

You.

If I got the last day speaking gig, if it's one person, if it's a hundred people, I'm gonna, I'm the same guy.

And, and I'm gonna walk out there and be like, I had 13 people I didn't have 20 minutes ago.

So I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it worth my while.

And, and I think that that goes a long way because again, it's the mental game.

How you show up is everything, how you respond to everything at the same point in time.

Because of that, even later on, the numbers would increase on closing days because everybody's like, oh, I'm gonna go see him, because he's gonna deliver.

Right?

And that's the name of the game is just always.

It's the Disney mantra, man.

Just, you gotta bring the magic.

You kind of like something.

You kind of, you kind of like Disney, don't you?

I love it because it's, it's a.

If you look at it from the lens of, of how they run as an organization, there is a ton to be gained from what they do.

People pay the freight and that freight keeps going up and people keep paying it.

Why?

Because there's something magic about the experience.

There's something that you get that people are getting that they're not getting anywhere else.

That's why they keep showing up.

You know, I've got an idea that just came to my head, so I wonder if maybe you probably know.

So I'll just bring this up, if this even exists, but Disney should create a business boot camp for entrepreneurs to go in for like a two week.

Training or whatnot and show you the university, baby.

I mean, do they, do they have it for outsiders though, for other entrepreneurs?

100%.

Big organizations like General Motors and so on have all sent people to Disney University.

It's like an in person classroom type deal.

No kidding.

Okay.

Yeah.

So they have the, in the instance, they have leadership A lot of big fortunes send people to the Disney Institute for Leadership and they break down just functions of leadership, how they look at things.

Some of the operational stuff get a little behind the scenes.

But I mean it's phenomenal to watch how things work.

And can you find flaws?

Absolutely.

Not many, but you can also find, I mean everything has.

Every business, every organization has a flaw somewhere.

If you look, it's like it's kind of the thing.

If you want to find a problem, you'll find a problem.

But what you can gain through all of that is just the world.

We're such a convenient society.

I mean, right now we could grab our phone and have food at our doorstep.

Right now we could sit here and order a car and hang up and walk and jump in a car and go anywhere we want to.

If you think about convenience and we think about our friends in the car business selling cars, it's like you've got to get past the fact that you're selling a commodity.

You got to get in the game of experience.

What experience are you creating to draw people into doing business with you?

Everything starts with that experience.

It's no different than when we go to conferences, create experiences through some form of a happy hour at dinner or something.

You create experiences because it creates memories.

Memories create long lasting impressions and relationships that go on forever and ever so that you're always top of mind.

That's the magic of Disney.

They create experiences so they're always top of mind.

Amen.

I going to ask and I think I kind of.

You're very family.

I know you're a very family.

First individual.

You always have been and I love that.

You know, I remember missing things on Saturdays.

I remember getting home late.

And God bless retail motive.

And now guess what?

The industry's got better.

I don't know if you notice, the hours have gotten better.

Dealer groups made it more family, which God bless me, but guess what?

So no 3am Car deals, 2:30 in the morning car deals.

I mean shenanigans, keys on roof, cars on lifts.

I mean that's not foul, that's not fake news, that's reality.

Yeah, it's got so much better.

But the idea in what success and where I'm at in my season for me is success to me.

And I've always said, and it's a lot of People will say, and I want to hear what you, I want to know what success means to you.

But like, to me, it's kind of like just do what I want when I want.

Like, like I just want to do what I want to do whenever I want to do it right.

And my main thing is there's a couple non negotiables.

I like to take my kids to school.

I like to pick my kids up from school.

I enjoy that hour of chaos in that car.

These girls don't always get along, but I love it.

I love being around my kids.

I don't want to miss anything.

And that's the season I'm in.

That's where I'm at right now.

And that's what makes me, I feel I'm successful because I'm still delivering at work and I've got more time with my baby girls because they're growing up so damn fast.

That's what success is for me right now.

I wonder, what does it mean for you?

You know, success is an interesting thing.

I think it's the byproduct of doing a lot of things right.

And, and so like you, I have non negotiables.

One of them, you know, family is, is everything.

So I go to breakfast every week with my dad and I have a non negotiable in my agreement that says like, hey, if I went back to dad, there's no meetings, there's no everybody can wait because there's going to be a day that, that breakfast doesn't happen anymore.

With the girls.

It's a balancing act of showing up, being present.

You know, from their functions.

Whether it's cheer, whether it's cooking, whether it's horseback riding, whatever those things are, it's being there, being present and fighting that urge of the almighty addiction of, of this guy.

I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.

Someone said, what's the, what's your, what's your worst addiction?

I'm like, it's that thing.

I mean, it's the devil and the curse.

It's the greatest utility ever, ever invented.

And at the same point in time, it's the greatest addiction ever handed to any individual.

So fighting that, but again, it is being a husband, being a father, showing up.

And again, I think it's more importantly, the metric that matters the most is not the words, it's the actions.

When the actions are being done and they're being reverted back to you in the sense of thank you or hey, I know you always show up or I can always depend on you.

I can.

When you get that feedback back and, you know, you're hitting the marks, that's when you're hitting the stride of, okay, that's the lane I want to be in.

That's the person that I'm striving to.

To be.

And then work.

You work, throw work in the mixture of those gaps.

And that's how you.

You have the success in the.

In the work.

And especially work, too.

Like, the way I look at it, I agree with what you.

You said.

Like, if you love your work and you do great work and you love your work, is it even work?

I don't.

The word work.

What is it?

It's a lifestyle.

Like, I don't ever.

I'm never gonna not do what I do because I love it more than anything.

I couldn't imagine jiu jitsu, gym or doing real estate.

I couldn't imagine those things.

You know, I would say, I mean, it is all work.

Being in a relationship is work.

Being a father is work.

Being a husband is work, because you have to put effort into it.

And I think.

I think sometimes society's downplayed.

Oh, it's work.

I'm like, why can't we celebrate the work that we do?

Yes, it's hard.

Yes.

There's days where, like, I don't feel like it, but there's a great.

To your point, success.

And I would say reward.

The reward is all that hard work in the way that it pays off.

Seeing your kids blossom and take their own flight and do their own things and create their own paths.

Seeing businesses take off or selling a business or whatever the case may be, whatever those.

Those moments of wins look like for any individual, when you start catching those and you start feeling the.

You're just taking off and you're flying.

That's the reward of doing all.

All the things right.

But it's all work.

And that's.

I think it needs to be that way because that's the separator.

Because if it was easy, everybody would do it.

Yeah.

True statement.

Let me ask you.

So I know a lot of people that are very successful in business.

We run in similar circles, but not a lot of people have successfully exited companies and gone on to other mountains.

So let's talk through Visa Dash for a minute.

So, you know, you, Glenn, built a nice company.

Did you want to sell?

Was that the plan to sell?

And then after sale, then what?

Like, then you ended up at Dealer World.

Just walk me through that and how you ended up at Dealer.

What's going on now.

Yeah.

So when I went from Cox, I was talking to Brian Pash, and at that point it was an ROI bot, and I talked about leaving the corporate ecosystem.

And through that conversation, like, well, hey, let's do this.

You have a knack for it.

You played in analytics.

I'm like, oh, makes sense.

So there came vistadash with Brian and Glenn, and the Pash brothers are fantastic people.

You know, everybody has something to say.

I have nothing but great things to say.

I've worked for them, they're dear friends.

Just went and celebrated my 50th birthday in Italy with them.

I mean, they're just.

They're.

They become family through the growth of Vista that we did sell.

We sold the car wars.

That was acquisition one built from there.

And then my final move with Vista was to dealer built.

So we exited again.

So, yeah, leading two acquisitions.

I think it's growth mode, opportunity, different nuances.

And again, there's still risk involved in all of it because you're trading out different viewpoints on how to run a business, Being told to run a business, what you have control over, what you don't have control over anymore.

Which ultimately left to my departure.

I mean, it's just a disagreement in fundamentals.

And at that point in time, seven and a half years into to this dash, I was like, well, you know, I've looked at a lot of data.

Here's the gaps I see.

So Dealer World became an interesting fit.

Plus just my relationship with Troy and the conversation of how that became to be.

And then ultimately sitting on the board of Dealer Funnel was just that other.

That other piece of, hey, here's another gap in the industry.

So it's, you know, some of the marketing execution and then the lead management side.

Both those pieces kind of checked a box I saw that were gaps in the industry and here we are.

And again, so many lessons learned.

I tell people all the time, you know, exits look great.

They're not always what they're cracked up to be.

But I also look at it like there's people that flip houses.

So they, you know, buy a house, flip it, sell it.

Me and doing some of this has kind of been that same thing.

As you see a house, it has value.

You make a couple tweaks to it, you get it going and, and kind of give it a little refresh and remodel, and then someone knocks on the door because you've done some of the things right.

But the houses, though.

The houses, though, you know, with me, I don't get emotionally attached to the house.

I buy a house.

I got a team in there that's rehabbing it.

I'm there to sign when I buy it, I'm there to sign when I sell it.

But the business that you build becomes your baby.

So, I mean, it's got to be a little more difficult to get rid of your baby, you know?

I mean, am I crazy for saying that, or are you an individual that can just take the emotion completely out of it?

And, and it's just a transaction because I struggle with that.

Well, I mean, if, I mean, if you've known me long enough, you could probably answer that question.

I'm good at car.

Just basically bucketing things and siloing how I need to, to, to reach objectives.

If someone says, you know, hey, someday I'd love to sell this company, and here's the number I'm trying to get to, or here's my, my, you know, aspirations and what I want to accomplish, then, I mean, if you're bringing me in to do a job, then that's what you're telling me.

That, you know, on top of growing the business and doing the other things.

But this is the other thing.

If I climb Everest, I climb Everest.

No emotion.

I got to the top.

Next.

Everest.

I love it.

I love it, I love it.

I mean, and I know not everybody agrees with that, and trust me, I'm, I'm not everybody's cup of tea, and I know that.

But in my own mind, that's how.

I look at, I'm like, you're drinking champagne anyway, bro.

So, I mean, you know, I'm just climbing mountains.

Everest.

It's so funny because I do love that I, I, I forget the name of the book, but it was, it was, you know, crazy adventure seeker who climbed all the mountain, all the big ones.

And, and it was interesting because I got the privilege of seeing him speaking at event, and he just talked about the next Everest.

And I'm like, that just resonated because it's like, are you ever really done?

So have you read that book?

I forget.

It's called the Second Mountain.

Can't think of the bang.

Author.

Yes.

What a.

What, What a. I think it was might have been you that told me to read there.

Danelle.

One of you told me to read that book because I was kind of challenged.

Like, all right.

I had a partial exit in one of my companies.

I'm not in the same role.

I was kind of lost for a couple of months.

And then I read that book, realized there's just another Mountain for me, I'm.

I'm on another mountain now, you know,.

And it's a choice.

Do you.

Some will climb Everest and say, I climbed Everest.

Check done.

Going back down the hill and going home.

Some will be like, what's the next Everest?

Because in life, there's always a taller or something more.

I mean, you can sit in a room and you could be, you know, the most successful person in the room for the first five minutes.

There's always going to be someone that's better.

That's life.

And.

And I love that because that's the fascination for me is like, what's stopping me?

I like the chase.

And I think that's something I just can't get out of.

The DNA is that it's the hunt.

It's that, oh, okay, I see that.

I see what you did over there.

I like that.

That's interesting.

I'm fascinated.

And then.

And then it happens.

Let me go chase it.

And you keep chasing.

I love it.

That's why I love.

Yeah.

So as we're winding this thing down, I'm going to be cognizant of your time here because I know you are on vacation.

So, again, thank you for hanging out.

With me, but my pleasure, man.

The.

What was the best.

Because I want you to share this with the younger generation.

What was the best business advice that you have ever received in your career?

Sorry to put you on the spot.

If you could just think of that for a second.

What was the best business advice?

Who gave it to you?

What was some.

Really?

Yeah.

Profile.

Two parts.

Yeah, two parts.

So when I was younger, my stepdad had a pretty good point.

He used cars.

But then he.

He kind of flipped it over time on me, which was super funny.

Just talking about, sooner or later you'll have a Ferrari, right?

He's just building this whole thing up.

Well, as I went through your job, he's like, so today you're, you know, you're coming up and you're young and you're making.

I think the numbers changed since we started, but for the fair sake of this, I'll say, you know, you're making 15 bucks an hour.

It's like, okay, you're making 15 bucks an Hour.

What get you to 18, chase 18 now, get to 19, get to 20 by the time you get done now you're sitting where you want to be or you Thought you never could be because you were chasing the progression, not just stuck in the moment.

And that one stuck with me.

The other piece, which is probably a little bit more harsh, is someone once said, you can either get fired for doing what they say to do or you can get fired because you did everything right.

Which one do you want to be fired for?

And that one kind of hung on me.

And it's really changed my later career because there's those moments in time where people tell you what to do and you follow it.

And then one day they question like, well, you know, know, not really happy with the outcome.

I'm like, but we just did what you asked.

Not what I was going to do.

I was going to do this.

And then you start thinking, wow, if I'm going to get fired, I'm going to fire myself.

Because I'd rather get fired knowing I went out on my terms or I did this thing than I just, yes, my way out of a job or out of whatever opportunity.

I mean, you can apply it to everything.

But when I was younger, I got that piece when I was more in kind of the corporate side of things, and it really kind of hung on and changed my, my path because it just made me think of, if you see it, do it.

Like, just, just do it.

Because at least you're doing everything on your terms.

You're writing your book, not someone else.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love that.

God, I love that.

So how, before we finalize this conversation, I want to know, how can people a see your TED Talk?

How can people work for people?

Get your book?

How can people find you and connect with you?

Not hard to find.

I think it's easy.

Ted Talk.

It's on YouTube, it's on TedX, book, Amazon, do more, get more, Do M O O R E. Ha ha ha.

Pun on my name.

Get more regular M O R E. And you get a hold of me is easy.

I mean, you can message me on any social platform and you can reach me.

I mean, that's the easiest way.

Plus that if you, if they know you, they know how to get a hold of me.

Everybody watching your show.

So, yeah, it's not hard to get connected.

And again, I'm.

People got questions.

People need help.

You know this.

I'm.

I'm an easy person to get a hold of and give people answer a question or listen or talk through what are the challenges they're facing, especially in their business or whatever it might be.

Because again, you got to pay it forward.

And I think a lot of people have missed that opportunity to take what they've learned and their.

Their opportunities and instill it in others.

Give them that shot.

Yeah.

Well, I'll say this.

You know, for those listening, watching, do more, get more, the book is an easy read.

It's an awesome read, and I highly recommend it.

And is your why a lie?

I will tell you, when you watch that, that TED Talk, it'll change you.

I promise you.

It'll change you.

So, Dan, I. I can't thank you enough, man.

It was awesome seeing you A few weeks ago.

You lit the room up.

You inspired.

Thanks for taking the time.

Being on vacation, jumping over me, it means a lot to me.

So I love you, brother.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

And you and I will be talking sooner than later, I'm sure, so.

Sounds good, brother.

Appreciate you.

Yeah.

For those tuning into humans to build, thank you for your time.

You know, as always, the name of the game is to get a little better today than we were yesterday.

For a more promising tomorrow, let's go out and let's help somebody today.

Humans that build.

Real people, real work.

See you next time.