The Power of Time Horizon How to Master Your Money (with Lewis Howes) Pt.2 June ‘22 Ep 525

In this insightful conversation, Alex Hormozi, a seasoned entrepreneur and author of "100 Million Dollar Offers," delves into the transformative power of mastering time to create wealth, highlighting the significance of time horizon in distinguishing varying levels of financial success. He emphasizes that money essentially represents condensed time, suggesting that those who master their time invariably master their wealth. Alex also explores the shift from scarcity to a growth mindset and how intentions rooted in service and impact lead to building businesses differently, often resulting in greater success and sustainability. Furthermore, he touches upon the personal aspect of success, sharing intimate details of his marriage to Layla, underscoring respect as a foundational element over love for a lasting relationship. The discussion also ventures into sales techniques, the importance of decision-making in sales success, and the nuances of acquiring businesses, with Alex offering his expertise on when and how to invest in companies for optimal growth.

• Speaker A expresses a desire to cherish the current moment, recognizing its fleeting nature.
• The idea of trading future possessions to reclaim youth highlights the importance of appreciating the present.

"I would trade everything that I have when I'm 40 to be 32. And so it's just like reminding myself."

The quote emphasizes the speaker's sense of nostalgia and the value they place on their current age and moment in life, suggesting a yearning to hold onto the present.

• The podcast's focus is on customer acquisition, increasing customer value, and retention.
• The hosts share their experiences, including failures and lessons learned in business.

"Welcome to the game where we talk about how to get more customers, how to make more per customer, and how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons we have learned along the way. I hope you enjoy and subscribe."

This quote serves as an introduction to the podcast's theme, outlining its purpose and inviting listeners to engage with content centered on business growth strategies.

• Speaker A discusses the change in mindset from scarcity to growth and service.
• The concept of time horizon is introduced as a key differentiator in wealth accumulation.

"So I think the biggest thing that changes is time horizon."

Speaker A believes that when an entrepreneur's intention shifts from immediate needs to a broader vision, it fundamentally alters their approach to business, with a focus on long-term goals.

• Speaker A defines money as a condensed unit of time.
• Mastering time is equated with mastering money, suggesting that wealth is a function of time management.

"And I think the single greatest differentiator between the poor and the middle class, middle class and rich, rich and the truly wealthy is how they see time."

This quote highlights the speaker's belief that the perception of time is a crucial factor distinguishing different economic classes, with a particular emphasis on the importance of time management in wealth creation.

• Speaker A emphasizes the importance of starting a business based on the belief that it should exist, rather than purely for financial gain.
• The idea of serving without immediate expectation of return is discussed as a powerful business strategy.

"If people were able to not ask for twelve months and just serve, dude."

Speaker A suggests that entrepreneurs who focus on service rather than immediate profit can build more successful and meaningful businesses.

• The concept of delayed gratification is linked to success.
• Speaker A discusses the trade-off between local benefit and global benefit, and its impact on long-term success.

"The reason that most people aren't successful, in my opinion, is that they sacrifice global benefit for local benefit."

This quote reflects the speaker's view that prioritizing short-term gains often comes at the expense of long-term success, emphasizing the need for a broader perspective.

• The Marshmallow Test is discussed as a measure of impulse control.
• Speaker A proposes tracking children with longer waiting periods to predict future success.

"But the three things that I think were in common of the ultra successful were inflated sense of self, as in they thought that they deserved big things, they wanted to go after big things."

The speaker identifies three traits common among highly successful individuals: a strong belief in oneself, a sense of never being good enough, and impulse control, suggesting these are critical factors in achieving success.

• Speaker A proposes that one can gauge a person's wealth by the time horizons they speak in.
• Shifting to longer time horizons is seen as a way to gain control over time and money.

"You can know how wealthy someone is based on the time horizons they speak in."

The quote suggests that the scope of one's financial planning and discussion reflects their level of wealth, with longer time horizons indicating greater wealth.

• Speaker A discusses the benefits of marriage for financial success.
• The stability and commitment of marriage are seen as conducive to taking risks and focusing on long-term goals.

"So I think getting married is a great hack for making money."

Speaker A expresses the view that marriage can consolidate efforts and reduce distractions, leading to improved financial outcomes.

• The speakers discuss their personal views on marriage, emphasizing aligned mission and values over chemical attraction.
• They believe that shared experiences and growth in the same direction strengthen a marriage.

"But marrying Layla gave me a lot of the security that I needed to take the big risks and knowing that she had my back."

The quote conveys the speaker's personal experience that marriage provided a sense of security and support, which was beneficial for their risk-taking and entrepreneurial ventures.

• Speaker A attempts to define love in terms of willingness to endure for another.
• The discussion touches on the balance between familiarity and variety in long-term relationships.

"You can measure love by your willingness to sacrifice or endure in order to keep it."

This quote offers a unique perspective on love, suggesting that the depth of one's love can be gauged by the extent of their willingness to make sacrifices for the relationship.

• Speaker A and Speaker B discuss the dynamics of working relationships, especially between couples.
• They emphasize the importance of having separate professional lives to maintain variety and interest.
• Speaker A shares statistics about couples who start businesses together and their lower divorce rates.
• The concept of starting a business is compared to birthing a child, requiring mutual agreement and creation based on choice rather than biology.

"And so that way, when we talk, it's like two business colleagues that are both after the same thing, that both believe in getting there the same way."

This quote explains how Speaker A and their partner maintain a professional relationship that is focused on shared business goals, despite not spending every moment together.

"Couples that start businesses together have a 10% divorce rate if you start and make a dollar in a business together."

Speaker A cites a statistic to illustrate the potential stability of couples who go into business together, likening it to the shared commitment of raising a child.

• Speaker A discusses the nature of arguments and miscommunications in relationships.
• They suggest that when a statement can be interpreted in two ways, choosing the less negative interpretation is beneficial.
• The importance of clarifying misunderstandings and assuming positive intent in communication is highlighted.

"Hey, you said this. Is this what you meant, really? No, I was like, if there's two ways to take it and one way makes you really angry and the other one doesn't, I meant the other way."

This quote shows Speaker A's approach to resolving misunderstandings by giving the benefit of the doubt and clarifying intentions.

• Speaker A shares personal stories about their partner's resilience during challenging times.
• They describe moments of financial struggle and how their partner, Leila, demonstrated unbreakable strength and commitment.
• Speaker A respects Leila first before love, which is a unique aspect of their relationship.

"Leila's just unbreakable."

Speaker A admires their partner's resilience and ability to handle pressure, which is a foundational aspect of their respect for her.

"I respected her first, and I don't think I had that in past relationships."

This quote highlights the importance of respect in Speaker A's relationship, suggesting it is a deeper and more stable foundation than love alone.

• Speaker A believes that respect is crucial for a lasting marriage, more so than love.
• They argue that respect is based on logic and facts, which remain constant even when emotions fluctuate.
• The consistency of respect over time is contrasted with the variability of love.

"Respect doesn't change as much. Consistent, because it's based on facts, it's based on evidence, it's based on I. The story I just told you will not change."

Speaker A emphasizes the enduring nature of respect due to its foundation in unchanging facts and evidence.

• Speaker A discusses the logical reasons for staying together with their partner, including shared business, lifestyle, and interests.
• They compare the time spent together in marriage to the time spent in long-term relationships.
• The idea that shared mission and values contribute to a strong, logical foundation for a marriage is presented.

"We have spent every hour of every day together for six years. And so I feel like in that way, we've had a 50 year marriage."

Speaker A reflects on the intensity of their relationship and its comparison to a long-term marriage based on the amount of time spent together.

• Speaker A anticipates future lessons about patience, defining terms, and appreciating the present moment.
• They stress the importance of understanding and setting clear definitions for goals.
• The concept of trading current success for youth emphasizes the value of enjoying the present.

"The first one that jumped out at me was patience works."

Speaker A predicts that patience will continue to be a valuable lesson in their life, reinforcing the benefits of waiting for better outcomes.

• Speaker A outlines their sales strategy, including clarifying the customer's problem, labeling the problem, and providing an overview of past experiences.
• They introduce the acronym "CLOSER" as a mnemonic for their sales process.
• The strategy focuses on building rapport, selling the vision, and emphasizing logical reasons for a decision.

"And so when emotions fade, Logic remains. Which is why I'm a big fan of Logical selling."

Speaker A explains the importance of providing logical reasons in sales to sustain decisions even after emotions subside.

• Speaker A considers whether they would have been as successful without their partner's support.
• They acknowledge the lessons learned from their partner and the importance of a supportive marriage.
• The discussion reflects on character development and the respect gained from long-term commitments.

"I don't know if I would have learned the lessons that she's taught me."

Speaker A recognizes the unique contributions of their partner to their personal and professional growth.

• Speaker A uses a relatable analogy of brushing teeth to explain the transition from external accountability to internal habit.
• They suggest that initial external prompts can evolve into self-driven habits over time.
• Speaker A aims to replicate this process in the context they are discussing.

"That's an example of external accountability turning into internal habit. And so what we're going to do is we're going to be the initial parent that can tell you brush your teeth, but we're going to be able to transition to getting that internal Combustion engine going by the end of this so that you're brushing your own teeth, right?"

The quote explains how an externally enforced activity, like parents telling a child to brush their teeth, can become an internally motivated habit as the individual grows. This concept is being used as a metaphor for the process they intend to implement.

• Speaker A discusses the strategy of setting high price expectations before revealing the actual cost.
• They argue that this can lead to better sales outcomes compared to minimizing the price.
• The psychology behind this approach is to either match or come in lower than the customer's expectations.

"It's like, well, given x, Y and z, I will tell you this is extremely expensive. And the reason we say that is because it's even better than a price anchor, because extremely expensive for everyone is expensive."

This quote emphasizes the tactic of initially presenting a product or service as very expensive to create a high anchor point in the customer's mind. The actual price revealed afterward is likely to be perceived as more reasonable in comparison.

• Speaker A stresses the importance of selling the desired outcome rather than the program itself.
• They illustrate this with an example from weight loss programs, where the focus is shifted to the amount of weight to be lost rather than the membership.
• This approach aligns the product with the customer's goals, making it more attractive.

"And so what we did was we shifted our selling style in the gyms and the fitness programs to how many pounds they needed to lose."

The quote details a shift in sales strategy, focusing on the specific results customers are looking for (weight loss) instead of the service (gym membership). This is to make the offer more appealing by directly addressing the customer's primary goal.

• Speaker A prefers using neutral or negative questions when closing a sale, as they find it more effective than overly positive ones.
• They reference negotiation expert Chris Voss's concept of no-based questions to promote agreement without resistance.
• The strategy is to make it easy for the customer to agree by setting a low bar for their commitment.

"Fair enough. And then when we get into closing questions, I always prefer neutral or negative questions, because if I said, sounds amazing, a lot of people would be like, what does it sound amazing?"

This quote explains the rationale for using neutral or negative language in closing questions. It suggests that such phrasing reduces the likelihood of pushback from the customer and facilitates agreement.

• Speaker A differentiates between obstacles (pre-price presentation) and objections (post-price presentation).
• They highlight the importance of addressing obstacles early to prevent them from becoming larger objections.
• Speaker A uses an example to demonstrate how to confront common obstacles in sales conversations.

"Objections are what happen after you present price when they disagree with you."

The quote distinguishes between the two types of challenges faced in sales: obstacles are issues raised before the price is presented, while objections occur after the price is revealed.

• Speaker A seeks a unifying truth behind various sales objection frameworks proposed by different experts.
• They draw from Albert Ellis's cognitive behavioral therapy, which identifies three core reasons people upset themselves.
• Speaker A adapts these reasons to sales, proposing that objections are about blaming circumstances, other people, or oneself.

"There has to be a unifying truth here, right? Because everybody has their own buckets, and there's obviously some elements of each of these."

This quote discusses the quest for a fundamental principle that underlies various sales objection models. Speaker A believes that despite different approaches, there is a core truth that can be applied to sales objections.

• Speaker A emphasizes that the goal in sales is to empower the customer to make a decision, not necessarily to make a purchase.
• They believe that by focusing on decision-making, salespeople can give power back to the customer and ultimately achieve better sales results.
• This approach also helps salespeople detach their ego from the outcome of the sale.

"The goal is to get them to decide. If you get someone to decide, then you have already given them power, more power than they've ever had in a very long time, probably."

The quote underscores the importance of facilitating the customer's decision-making process rather than pushing for a sale. Speaker A views the act of deciding as empowering for the customer.

• Speaker A uses the metaphor of peeling back an onion to describe the process of addressing sales objections.
• They outline a strategy for dealing with objections related to circumstances, other people, and self.
• The approach involves questioning and reframing to guide the customer towards taking ownership of their decision.

"So if you're a salesperson or you're selling someone and they blame money or they blame time or they blame the fit of your specific program, understand that you're actually talking to someone two steps away from being in power and so making the decision."

This quote highlights the need for salespeople to recognize that when customers raise objections, they are not yet fully empowered to make a decision. The salesperson's role is to help the customer move closer to a position of power and decision-making.

• Speaker A identifies avoidance as the underlying issue when customers say they need to think about it.
• They advocate for engaging with the customer to clarify their concerns and to help them confront the decision.
• Speaker A uses various techniques to help customers realize that delaying a decision is a form of avoidance.

"You don't need time to make decisions. You need information. I'm the only source of information you got."

This quote suggests that customers often use the need for more time as a way to avoid making a decision. Speaker A believes that providing information is key to overcoming this avoidance and facilitating decision-making.

• Recognize that certain situations should not be given too much power over one's actions.
• Make decisions based on the belief in the product and the desired path to success.
• Understand that people prefer to achieve goals in their own way.

Only let it burn you once, not twice.

This quote emphasizes the importance of learning from past mistakes and not allowing a situation to negatively impact one's decisions repeatedly.

• Sales involve understanding the customer's desired outcome and preferred method to achieve it.
• Confronting the decision directly can lead to a clearer and more decisive sales process.
• Asking the customer to make a series of yes or no decisions can simplify the decision-making process.

And so at the end of the day, do you believe that the product is going to get you to where you want to go the way you want to get there?

This quote highlights the necessity of aligning the product's capabilities with the customer's goals and preferences.

• Explore the customer's fears and objections to understand their hesitations.
• Use targeted questions to dismantle fears and provide clarity and reassurance.

The easiest and best questions in sales, in my opinion, are, what are you afraid of if you sign up? What are you afraid of having happen?

This quote suggests that directly addressing potential fears can help overcome barriers to sales.

• The 'Reason Close' turns objections into reasons to proceed with the purchase.
• The 'Hypothetical Close' helps identify the gap between the customer's ideal solution and the current offer.

The reason close, it's just whatever reason they present with, just say, totally understand. You don't have money. How long do you want that to be an excuse of why you can't do things in your life?

This quote illustrates the 'Reason Close' technique, which reframes objections as motivations to take action.

• Sales is the primary skill needed to reach one's first million dollars.
• Selling higher-value items can lead to easier sales and higher income.
• Different personality types may gravitate towards different sales models.

To reach the first million is you just have to sell something to someone. So it's just sales.

This quote simplifies the path to earning a significant income, emphasizing the importance of sales skills.

• Deciding when to acquire a business depends on whether one seeks a majority or minority stake.
• For majority acquisitions, aim for businesses before their peak with established leadership.
• For minority stakes, look for growing, cash-flow positive businesses with potential for improvement.

So there's what you're trying to buy and then there's the lifecycle of the business.

This quote underscores the importance of understanding the stage of business development when considering an acquisition.

• Acknowledge growth and ego deaths as part of one's personal journey.
• Focus on creating value for others through various mediums, such as books and content.
• Strive to be authentic and prioritize adding value over personal image.

I want to acknowledge you, Alex, for your growth and your ego deaths and the constant journey of dead.

This quote recognizes the ongoing process of personal development and the effort to contribute positively to others.

• Give generously without expecting anything in return.
• Only engage in sustainable practices.
• Decide what matters in life, as nothing inherently does.

Give first and without expectation, and you'll get more than you can imagine in all aspects of life.

This quote encapsulates the philosophy of generosity and its potential to yield unexpected rewards.

• Greatness is defined as the reality surpassing expectations.

What's your definition of greatness when reality exceeds expectations?

This quote offers a succinct definition of greatness as the outcome that goes beyond what was anticipated.