Dan Martell

There's a reason your team stops talking when you enter the room.

The corporate world is drowning in toxic leadership.

Bosses who mistake fear for respect. 
Managers who confuse control with competence. 
“Leaders“ who destroy morale and call it accountability.

The world doesn't need more bosses. It needs more actual leaders.

And here's the uncomfortable truth: your team is watching to see which one you are.

They watch everything. How you handle stress. How you treat mistakes. Whether you practice what you preach.

They don't follow your words. They follow your example.

If you demand excellence but deliver mediocrity...
If you preach accountability but dodge responsibility...
If you talk “growth mindset“ but resist feedback...

You're not leading. You're performing.

Real leaders demonstrate:
• Consistency between words and actions
• Vulnerability when they don't have answers
• Ownership of failures, sharing of victories

Fake leaders demonstrate:
• “Do as I say, not as I do“ mentality
• Blame-shifting when things go wrong
• Expecting standards they don't meet

Your team doesn't need you to be perfect.
They need you to be real.

Ask yourself: Would I follow someone who acts the way I act?

If the answer is no, your team probably feels the same way.

Leadership isn't a position.
It's a standard you hold yourself to first.

Be the leader you wish you had.

-DM

Want to know if someone's ready to lead?

Don't look at their performance. Look at their team's.

The best predictor of leadership isn't how good someone is at their job. It's whether they make everyone around them better at theirs.

Do people ask them for help? Do they share knowledge freely? Do they celebrate other people's wins? Do they take blame when things go wrong?

That's leadership. Everything else is management.

Most companies promote their best individual contributors and wonder why they fail as managers.

It's because you promoted them for being great at the job, not for making others great at the job.

Stop promoting for past performance. Start promoting for future impact.

-DM

Everything you want is just 30 minutes away.

The fitness. The creativity. The connection. The progress.

It's all right there. Waiting.

Not for someday. For today.

You've been telling yourself you'll start when things slow down.
When you have more time.
When it feels right.

But the truth is... it'll never feel right. And you already have the time.

30 minutes. That's it.

That's the distance between who you are and who you're becoming.

The better version of you isn't months away. It's one decision away.

Make the call. Start the workout. Ask the girl. Have the conversation.

Just give it 30 minutes.

You're so much closer than you think.

-DM

If you've ever thought "I could build that if I just had a team"...

You now have a team.

It just doesn't require payroll, management, or meetings.

This is the unlock. The excuse of "I don't have the resources" has evaporated.

You have access to tools that give you capabilities that used to require hiring 10 people.

The gap between idea and execution has never been smaller.

What are you waiting for?

-DM

On my flight the other day, I heard an elderly woman who was boarding ask the staff if they accepted cash on the flight.

Anyone who travels knows they only accept cards...

But something pulled at me to say something.

So as she passed by, I quietly asked if she’d allow me to cover anything she needed.

It was 12 (noon) and a two hour flight... I figured she was probably hungry.

She couldn’t believe my offer.

She asked me why I would do that?

I just told her that she looked like someone who would do the same if our roles were reversed. 😉

She smiled and said, “100% I would.”

After a few seconds, she graciously accepted and I let the stewardess know that I’d cover whatever she ordered.

Towards the end of the flight, a stewardess handed me this note. ❤️

Now, I’m not sharing this to brag...

I’m sharing this because I believe every once in a while we get asked - inside our hearts - to serve.

Many of us rationalize that voice... dismiss it... and move on.

But what if you didn’t?

What if you leaned in and did what you could to help?

It’s been years that I’ve been listening with my heart wide open.

I don’t question it anymore... and I give without expectations.

I just assume there's a higher reason.

Who knew what she was dealing with in her life. What she’d experienced.

Maybe it was her first time flying?

All I knew is that if it was my grandmother, I would hope someone would take care of her.

It just felt right.

So next time you hear that voice...

Or something pulls on your heart...

Just know that you are being guided.

And if you’re in an incredible & fortunate place to help... that you should do something.

No matter how small.

You never know the ripple effect it might have in this crazy world we live in.

Insanely grateful,

- DM.

Every legend looked “average” first.

455 uploads. 300 rejections. 9,000 missed shots.

Keep swinging until consistency makes you dangerous.

Your job isn’t to be perfect, it’s to keep going.

The work compounds. The world catches up.

So, why not you?

-DM

Never underestimate a person who practices self-education in their free time.

I've built multiple companies alongside both Ivy League graduates and high school dropouts.

The correlation between success and formal education?
Almost zero.

The correlation between success and self-education?
Nearly perfect.

The standouts were rarely the ones with perfect resumes.
They were often the ones who never stopped evolving.
The ones whos refuse to stay the same.

The world rewards credentials, but it runs on competence.

The degree on your wall might tell where you've been.
But what you do at 9pm on a Sunday tells the world where you're going.

-DM

Trained employees solve problems. Untrained employees become problems.

Trained employees make your life easier. Untrained employees make everything harder.

Trained employees attract other good people. Untrained employees drive good people away.

The companies struggling to hire right now are the same ones that never invested in the people they had.

The companies with waiting lists of applicants are the ones known for developing talent.

Your reputation as a leader isn't built on who you kept. It's built on who you developed.

Stop hoarding people like assets and start developing them like investments.

Some will leave. Most will stay. All will remember how you treated them.

-DM

People don't quit jobs where they're learning and growing.

They quit jobs where they've stopped.

You can have the best salary, the best perks, the best title.

If someone isn't developing, they're leaving. Just a matter of time.

Your team will either grow with you or outgrow you.

Train them so well they could thrive anywhere. Treat them so well they don't want to go anywhere.

It's the only retention strategy that actually works.

-DM

Turned 46 today.

I woke up this morning and realized something: I'm twice the age I was when I decided to bet everything on myself.

23 yo Dan was broke, angry, and convinced the world owed him something.

46 yo Dan knows the world doesn't owe you anything.

But it will give you everything if you're willing to work for it and give it away when you get it.

Here's what's shifted for me this year:

I used to measure success by what I built. Now I measure it by who I helped build.

I used to think freedom meant not having to work. Now I know freedom is loving the work so much you'd do it for free.

I used to believe I needed to have all the answers. Now I know the best thing I can do is ask better questions.

The truth is, I'm not done. Not even close.

There's more to build. More people to help. More impact to make.

And the best part is I finally feel like I know what I'm building toward.

Not another exit. Not another company. Not another milestone.

But a legacy. Something that outlasts me. Something that matters beyond the money. A movement.

To everyone who's been part of this journey - THANK YOU 🩵

Here's to another year of building what matters.

-DM

agree?

Your idea isn't the problem.
Your timing isn't the problem.
Your market isn't the problem.

The only real failure is letting the hard days convince you to give up on the great days ahead.

Stay in the game.

-DM

--

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There are two paths in business.

Path 1: Get really good at what you do. Work harder. Optimize your time. Build expertise. Trade that expertise for income.

Ceiling: $500K-$1M. Maybe $2M if you're exceptional.

Path 2: Build leverage. Create systems that scale without you. Build assets that compound. Multiply through others.

Ceiling: Doesn't exist.

Most people spend their entire career on Path 1. Then wonder why they're stuck.

It's not because they're not good enough. It's because they're playing the wrong game.

Code, content, capital, collaboration - these are the only things that scale infinitely.

Everything else caps out.

That's how empires are built now.
Not by trading time for money.
But by trading leverage for freedom.

Most still play the old game better.

But those who win play a different game entirely.

-DM

If you quit now, you lose more than the goal.

You lose the proof that you can do hard things.

You lose the story of the comeback.

You lose the version of yourself that makes it through.

The tired goes away. The failures become lessons. The stress becomes strength.

But if you quit? That stays forever.

Future you is counting on current you to not give up when it gets hard.

Don't rob yourself of that person.

Rooting for you 👊
-DM

I've bought 35+ companies in last 5 years.

The pattern is obvious once you see it: Some businesses print money. Others barely survive.

The difference comes down to one metric: how much each customer is worth over time.

Whether you're building to sell or building to keep, here's how to make your customers worth more:


Step #1: Know what your customers are actually worth

Most people think in "monthly revenue." Winners think in "lifetime value."

Formula: LTV = Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan

Bad business:
• Customer pays $100
• Buys once
• LTV = $100

Great business:
• Customer pays $100
• Buys monthly for 3 years
• LTV = $3,600

36x difference. Same price point. Same customer. Different business model.


Step #2: Calculate your LTV:CAC ratio

This tells you if you're building something profitable or just treading water.

LTV:CAC = Lifetime Value ÷ Customer Acquisition Cost

The breakdown:
• Less than 3:1 → Burning money
• 3:1 to 5:1 → Healthy
• 5:1+ → Printing money

If you spend $100 to get a customer worth $300, you're barely profitable.
If you spend $100 to get a customer worth $800, you're building an asset.


Step #3: Keep customers longer

If customers stay 2x longer, LTV doubles. Simple math.

• Nail onboarding: They bought based on a promise. Deliver that promise in the first 7 days.

• Increase stickiness: Integrate into their workflow. Example: Dropbox becomes sticky because your files live there.

• Monitor usage proactively: If someone hasn't logged in for 14 days, reach out before they cancel.

Real example: Client of mine tracked their customers on LinkedIn. When someone changed jobs, they reached out to both the old team AND the new company. Retained both.


Step #4: Get customers buying more often

• Usage-based pricing: Basic tier = 5 visits/week. Premium = 10 visits/week.

• Add complementary products: What do customers buy before/after using you? Sell that.

• Shift to subscriptions: $5,000 one-time project = $5K LTV. $500/month for 3 years = $18K LTV.


Step #5: Increase what they spend

Implementation fees: Charge for onboarding/setup (standard in B2B)

Upsells at purchase: "Customers who bought X also need Y"

Premium tiers: Basic/Pro/Enterprise. Same product, different support levels.


Step #6: Pick ONE lever and execute for 90 days

You just learned three ways to increase LTV:
1. Keep customers longer
2. Get them buying more often
3. Increase spend per purchase

Don't try all three at once. Pick the one with highest return for least effort. Execute. Measure. Move to the next.

That's how you build a business worth buying. Or better yet, a business worth keeping.

-DM

P.S. Want to know what your business is actually worth? I built a valuation calculator that shows you exactly how investors would value your company based on these metrics. Comment "VALUE" and I'll send you the calculator plus the breakdown of what makes businesses sell for premiums. My gift to you 👊

What would you add to the list?

Most companies operate on a simple principle: Only pay more when forced to.

Someone threatens to leave? Counteroffer.

Someone actually leaves? Hire their replacement for more.

New hire demands market rate? Fine.

But proactively paying people what they're worth? Never crosses their mind.

Then they wonder why everyone's always halfway out the door.

Here's the thing: Your team knows exactly what they're worth. They're on LinkedIn. They see the job posts. They talk to recruiters.

The only question is whether you're going to acknowledge it before or after they have another offer.

One builds loyalty. The other builds resentment.

-DM

Most people are building skills for jobs that won't exist in 5 years.

They're ignoring the AI wave. Hoping it passes. Thinking their role is "too complex" to automate.

They're wrong.

I spend my time analyzing cutting-edge AI companies and market trends. Watching which roles disappear and which ones become more valuable.

Here's what I'm seeing:

The jobs that survive aren't the ones doing the work. They're the ones directing it, protecting it, or building the tools that do it.

AI can execute. It can't decide what's worth executing.

AI can create. It can't determine taste or vision.

AI can automate. It can't build the systems that make automation secure and scalable.

The 6 jobs in this post are the ones that will not only survive - they'll thrive.

All six figures. All learnable. All positioned at the intersection of human judgment and AI capability.

You don't need med school. You don't need rocket science. You need to understand where the world is going and position yourself accordingly.

Most people won't do this. They'll wait until it's too late. Until their skills are obsolete and they're competing for scraps.

You're not most people.

The future isn't coming. It's here. These are the roles that will pay you extremely well to help build it.

Swipe through. Pick one. Start learning.

-DM

2 Million on YouTube.

My kids will grow up watching these videos.

That thought has been sitting with me since we crossed 1M.

One day, they'll click through this archive and see their dad teaching millions of people how to build businesses, lead teams, and bet on themselves.

And here's what I want them to see:

Not that I built something big. That I built something that mattered.

That every video was in service of something bigger than views.
That every lesson came from real scars, not theory.
That I chose impact over income, movement over metrics.

Because this isn't about me leaving a legacy for my kids.

It's about us creating a legacy for every kid who needs to see that ordinary people can build extraordinary things.

Every entrepreneur in their garage who thinks they're alone.
Every founder betting their last dollar on themselves.
Every person who's been told to "get a real job" but knows they're meant for more.

2 million people who are now living proof.

And we’re not done.

I’m not interested in just change lives - we'll change what's considered possible.

That's the world I want the next generation to inherit.

That's the movement I want you to lead with me.

Thank you for helping build something worth leaving behind.

Onwards.

-DM

Everyone wants to be rich. Most people just lie about it.

They say things like "money isn't everything" while secretly resenting everyone who has it.

Here's the thing: The guilt you feel about wanting wealth didn't come from you. It was installed.

By broke people who needed you to stay broke with them.
By a culture that romanticizes struggle
By a system that calls ambition greed.

But you know what's actually greedy?

Having the ability to solve problems and choosing not to because you're afraid of what people will think.

You're a creator. You solve problems. That's who you are.

And every time you hold back because making money feels wrong, you're robbing people of the solution they need.

So stop asking if you're allowed to want wealth. Start asking who you can help.

Wake up tomorrow and decide to serve a thousand people.
Then ten thousand.
Then a million.

Pour everything you have into making their lives better.

Do that. Show up. Build. Serve.

Karma will take care of the rest.

-DM

The person you're jealous of isn't your competition.

They're just further along a path you're both on. They started earlier, failed faster and kept going longer.

You vs. you is the only scoreboard that counts.

Win there. Everything else handles itself.

-DM

I was seconds away from the biggest mistake of my life.

Look at this photograph.

Techcrunch 50, 2009. San Francisco.

I showed up with nothing but a laptop and an idea called Flowtown.

Within minutes, I knew I didn't belong there.

People around me casually talked about their millions in funding, their exits, their poached Google executives.

And there I was - a nobody.

My hand was on the exit door, ready to leave. Ready to go back to playing small.

I almost walked out. Almost.

Instead, I turned around and forced myself to stay.

That decision ended up being the catalyst that changed my life forever.

And it wasn't the panels or the workshops that did it.

It was standing shoulder to shoulder with founders who operated at a level I couldn't yet comprehend.

I watched how they thought. How they spoke. How they carried themselves.

One moment, I was hiding in the corner, questioning my existence...

The next, I was shaking hands with Drew Houston from Dropbox.

That made me realized that these people weren't special.
They weren't any smarter.

They just played a bigger game. They thought on a different scale.

That was my lightbulb moment.

I walked out of that event with my entire perception rewired.

I knew deep in my bones that I could take Flowtown to heights I'd never even dared to imagine before.

And that's exactly what happened.

In the years that followed, I:

- Secured $1M in funding from a top-tier Silicon Valley VC firm...
- Built my dream team...
- Exited to Demandforce in 2012 for more zeros that I knew to do with.

All because I didn't walk out that door.

This is why I'm obsessed with who you surround yourself with.

The right room changes everything.

The right community expands what you believe is possible.

The right peers pull you up faster than you could ever push yourself.

It doesn't matter where you are today.
What matters is where you put yourself tomorrow.

This is why I wake up excited to build communities for founders. It's a big reason as to why I started Martell Ventures.

Because I've seen what happens when someone steps into a room they don't belong in (yet).

When you deliberately surround yourself with people playing bigger games, you become someone who plays bigger games.

One day, you look around and realize:
You've become what once intimidated you.

And nothing beats that feeling.

To your success,
-DM

I know it's hard. Watching people celebrate wins while you're still grinding in silence. Seeing someone get the recognition you've been working toward.

But bitterness doesn't speed up your timeline. It just makes the wait miserable.

Here's what I've learned: The people who make it aren't the ones who resent everyone ahead of them. They're the ones who study them. Learn from them. Celebrate them.

Because your turn is coming. And when it does, you'll want people clapping for you too.

Support costs you nothing. And it says more about you than it does about them.

Keep building. Keep clapping. Your moment is closer than you think.

-DM

Every entrepreneur has an invisible number.

The revenue level where everything starts falling apart. 
The team size where your leadership breaks down.
The pressure point where you self-sabotage.

Most people call it a plateau. It's actually a ceiling built by your own psychology.

I've seen brilliant founders with perfect strategies crash at the same level repeatedly.

Not because of market conditions or competition.

Because they hit their internal limit for what they believe they can handle.

$20K months feel comfortable. $100K months feel terrifying. 
2 employees feel manageable. 6 feel overwhelming.

The problem isn't your business skills.

Your mindset simply can't support the weight of your ambitions.

And that’s exactly what my "5 Daily Non-Negotiables" were designed to fix.

Not only your tactics. But your capacity to handle MORE.

Most entrepreneurs will keep hitting the same ceiling forever.

A few will realize the ceiling is internal and do something about it.

If you're ready to expand your capacity instead of just your strategy...

I've got a handful of spots open to work with entrepreneurs who are looking to shatter their invisible number.

If that’s you, message me "COACH" and I’ll send you all the details.

-DM

I'm looking for a handful of entrepreneurs who know they’re meant for more.

If you’re feeling frustrated, it’s because you’ve been operating at 100% capacity…

Laptop open at midnight, burning your eyes. Skipping the Saturday hang out to finish client work.

…giving it everything you’ve got, but only seeing 60% results.

From coaching thousands of founders, let me tell you...

It’s not because you're lazy. And it's not because you don't know what to do.

It's about who you need to become to do it.

The entrepreneurs winning at the highest levels aren't just better at business.

They've mastered something most never touch: their internal operating system.

While others optimize funnels, they optimize their psychology.

While others chase strategies, they upgrade their identity.

While others react to circumstances, they move toward their vision.

This is why I created the "5 Daily Non-Negotiables". A system that’s helped all my private clients rebuild from the inside out.

When you become the 10.0 version of yourself, everything else becomes easier.

If you're ready to start getting results that match your effort...

Message me "COACH" and I'll reach out to see if it's a fit.

-DM

A few weeks ago I told my team that AI needs to do 92% of their work or they'll get left behind.

Here’s how we're doing it (and why):

Step 1: Get ChatGPT Plus/Pro


Step 2: Create your master prompt

• Tell AI: "I'm [your role] at [company type]. Create a master prompt for me. Ask me every question you need to give me the most context possible."
• Spend 30-45 minutes answering everything it asks
• Save the output as a PDF
• Upload this to every new chat so AI knows your full context


Step 3: Build system prompts
Master prompts tell AI who you are. System prompts tell AI HOW to work.

Here's the process:
• Ask AI to create any output (email, ad, report)
• Keep refining until it's perfect (3-6 iterations)
• Then ask: "Write the system prompt that would have generated this output"
• Save that prompt - it's now your intellectual property

Now you have the exact formula to get that quality every time.


Step 4: Use project folders 
Think of these like rooms in your office with all context on the walls.

• Create a project for each major area of your life/business
• Upload your master prompt + all relevant documents
• Every conversation builds on previous context
• Share folders with your team for instant knowledge transfer

I use this for investment decisions, business strategy, even family planning.


Step 5: Set your custom instructions
This makes AI remember how you like outputs formatted.

Go to Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions:
• Tell it your communication style (short, bullet points, no fluff)
• Remove AI language like "delve" and "moreover" 
• Set your default tone and format preferences

Never repeat formatting requests again.


Step 6: Turn everything into custom GPTs
These are your AI employees that do specific tasks consistently.

• Take your best system prompts
• Create custom GPTs for each repeatable task
• Share them with your team
• Update once, everyone gets the improvement

I have custom GPTs for: emails, content creation, financial analysis, hiring, strategy docs.


Step 7: Refine and improve
Use AI to teach you AI.

• Ask it to create your master prompt
• Ask it to write your system prompts 
• Ask it to suggest custom instructions
• Ask it to help you build better prompts

Here's what 92% actually looks like:

- Content: AI does research, outlines, first drafts. You edit and add your voice.
- Operations: AI creates SOPs, analyzes processes, suggests improvements. You decide.
- Finance: AI analyzes reports, creates models, finds insights. You make decisions.
- Strategy: AI processes information, suggests options. You choose direction.

The 8% that stays human: Vision, taste, final decisions, and emotional intelligence.

My team went from thinking AI was "kind of helpful" to saying it's their most valuable employee.

It could be yours too.

-DM

P.S. If you want my complete prompting template and the 7 system prompts that save me 15+ hours per week, MESSAGE ME the word "AI" and I'll send it over. My gift to you 👊

I love watching founders win.

My buddy Vive (founder at Revio) just hit $1M ARR as our first Martell Ventures portfolio company.

He did it in 10 months 🤯

This is what I built this for. Not the returns. Watching great founders accelerate.

And I want to do it 10 more times this year.

AI founders building for small business - if you've got customers and momentum:

Drop your AI startup in the comments with:

• Your company name
• Your one-line pitch
• The problem you're solving
• What sets you apart from every other AI company
• Your current traction

I'll personally review every comment with my team.

The ones with real potential? We'll reach out to discuss partnership opportunities with Martell Ventures

Plus, I'll be connecting the most promising companies directly with investors and strategic partners in my network.

Your next funding round or partnership could start right here in these comments.

Tag an AI founder who deserves visibility.
Share with builders who need to be seen.

The floor is yours.

-DM

P.S. I'm pinning this post for maximum exposure to my investor network - this is your chance to get in front of serious players in the AI space.

You can beat 99% of your competition by:

1. Finishing what you start
2. Obsessing over problems, not solutions
3. Learning the basics before the shortcuts
4. Executing while others plan
5. Charging what you're actually worth
6. Doing what you said you'd do
7. Helping others without keeping score
8. Building relationships before you need them
9. Making things right when you mess up
10. Taking responsibility without being asked

It's not complicated.
It's not fancy.
It's not even innovative.

It's about doing the unsexy work, at scale, every single day.

-DM

The money ladder most don't understand:


$100k tests your skills
$1M tests your ability to trust
$10M tests your systems
$100M tests your vision
$1B tests your legacy

Each level operates on different laws.
Most fail because they use level 1 thinking for level 3 problems.

-DM

I just got back from a 3-week trip to Europe.

Didn't check my emails. Didn't hop on team calls. Fully disconnected.

Martell Media? Had its best month ever.

Most entrepreneurs think this is impossible.

They believe the business NEEDS them to succeed.

But after building and running a few 8-figure companies, I learned it's often the opposite.

You see, should actually be performing better WITHOUT you.

That's when you know you've built something real.

How? Systems that multiply your genius instead of depending on it.

That's exactly what Taki Moore and I are teaching at Media Empire Australia this December.

It's a 2-day private event where we open up our entire playbook:

- The exact systems that let Martell Media thrive without me
- How to clone your decision-making so your team can operate like you (if not better)
- The media and sales engine that put revenue growth on autopilot
- Why most businesses plateau at $3M (and how you can break through)

I only have spots for 15 people. Last one sold out in a day.

Message me "EMPIRE" for the details.

-DM

Your team has a secret group chat. And you're not in it.

Right now, they're talking about you.

The decision you made yesterday.
The way you handled that meeting.
How they really feel about working for you.

Every poorly run company has one. A back channel where people say what they can't say to your face.

"Did you see how he called out Sarah in front of everyone?"
"Another Saturday email. Does he think we don't have lives?"
"She takes credit for everything we do."
"He's been here 10 minutes and already telling me what to do."

These aren't isolated complaints. They're symptoms of the same disease: You're a boss, not a leader.

And the difference shows up in moments you don't even think about.

You punish mistakes instead of teaching from them. So people hide problems until they explode.

You criticize in public instead of correcting in private. So everyone learns to stay quiet and stay safe.

You value hierarchy instead of competence. So the best ideas die in silence.

Every one of these choices feels right in the moment. And every one of them gets screenshot and sent to the group chat.

But here's the thing: You can change what goes in it.

Not by shutting it down. By becoming the kind of leader people defend instead of complain about.

Step up.

-DM

Protect your people or lose your people. It's that simple.

Real leadership shows up when the pressure builds and everyone's looking for someone to blame.

Here's how great leaders actually protect their teams:

From Office Drama
Bad leaders: "You need to navigate the politics if you want to get ahead here."
Good leaders: "Focus on your work. I'll handle the politics and drama."

From Busy Work
Bad leaders: "Corporate wants these reports, so you need to fill them out."
Good leaders: "This is pointless busy work. I'll handle it so you can focus on what matters."

From Micromanagement
Bad leaders: Pass down every controlling demand from above.
Good leaders: "My boss wants daily check-ins, but I trust you. I'll handle the reporting."

From Pointless Meetings
Bad leaders: "Everyone needs to attend the all-hands, no exceptions."
Good leaders: "This meeting doesn't apply to you. Keep working, I'll brief you on anything important."

From Burnout
Bad leaders: "Everyone's working late, why aren't you?"
Good leaders: "If you're working nights and weekends regularly, we have a process problem I need to solve."

From Blame Culture
Bad leaders: "Why did this happen? Someone screwed up."
Good leaders: "This happened. Here's how we fix it and prevent it next time."

The best leaders I know aren't popular with their bosses. They're popular with their teams.

Because they choose their people over their politics.

What kind of leader are you?

-DM

Nothing destroys a high-performance culture faster than protecting low performers.

Your best employees see it, feel it, and eventually leave because of it...

Great team members don't just care about how they're treated.
They watch how you handle everyone else.

When standards aren't consistently upheld:
• Your top people question their extra effort
• The bar for "good enough" drops lower
• Trust in leadership quietly goes away

Every time you avoid a tough conversation with a poor performer,
you're having an unspoken one with your best performers.

You can talk about excellence all day.
But your actions are the only words your team really hears.

The quality of your team isn't set by your top performers.
It's set by what you're willing to accept from your weakest ones.

Build an environment where excellence is both expected and rewarded.
The rest fixes itself.

-DM

These visuals will change the way you think.

Sometimes the most powerful insights are the simplest ones.

Which one hits different for you?

-DM

The fastest way to kill your career? Working for the wrong person.

Doesn't matter how good the company is. How impressive the title. How competitive the salary.

If your boss isn't making you better, you're getting worse.

A bad boss makes you question if you're good enough.

A good boss makes you realize how much further you can go.

One makes you desperate to leave. The other makes you dangerous to lose.

If you have a great leader right now, stay longer than you planned.

If you don't, leave faster than you think you should.

Choose the person who makes you better, not the title that "looks" better.

-DM

Hey. Stop scrolling for a second.

You've hit a checkpoint. No hashtags. No algorithm magic. You're seeing this because you need to hear it:

You're doing well. Really well.

I'm not saying this for views or validation. I mean it.

You're navigating a world designed to distract you.

This very platform is built by people who've hired the best minds just to keep you scrolling, comparing, doubting.

Every perfect post. Every filtered life. Every overnight success story. All engineered to make you feel like you're falling behind.

But here you are...

Still searching for something real in the noise. Still caring enough to work on yourself while everyone else is just working on their image.

That tells me everything I need to know about you.

You're not falling behind.
You're just not playing their game.
And that's exactly why you're going to win.

I truly believe that as long as you keep that good heart beating, as long as you stay true to what matters, things will align.

Maybe not on your timeline. Maybe not the way you pictured. But they will.

Just keep going. Keep growing. Keep that heart good.

You’ll be okay.

Now get back to what matters.

Just wanted to remind you why you started 👊

-DM

They say the loneliest man has the most friends.

I found that to be true.

The smaller I made my circle, the bigger my life got.

-DM

Nobody ever quit a job because the snacks weren't good enough.

A recent PayFit survey discovered 46% of employees would turn down a 15% raise to keep their workplace flexibility.

Read that again.

Nearly half of all professionals would choose freedom over more money.

Yet companies keep spending millions on office perks while ignoring what truly matters:

1. Respect
2. Flexibility
3. Empathetic Leadership
4. Meaning and Purpose
5. Trust and Transparency

The truth is... most "culture building" activities are just expensive distractions from the real issues.

So next time you approve that office upgrade budget, ask yourself: would your best people trade it all for more agency and less bureaucracy?

Because your competition is betting they will. And the data says they're right.

-DM

At some point, you stop chasing impressive and start chasing meaningful.

The shift is quiet. Nobody announces it.

You just wake up one day and realize the things you were working toward don't matter as much as the things you already have.

The people who know you.
The work that fills you.
The peace you feel when nothing's happening.

That's the wealth most people miss because they're too busy looking ahead.

-DM

Most entrepreneurs are trapped.

But they don't realize it’s because the prison is invisible.

They think: "If I just work harder, hire better, optimize more..."

Meanwhile they're working 60-hour weeks.
Still the bottleneck.
Still stressed.
Still one bad quarter from panic.

Here's what I learned building and selling 3 companies:

The prison isn't your business.

It's your identity.

You're trapped being the version of yourself that GOT you here.

But that version can't take you there.

Look, you're not lazy. You're not broken.
You're just running outdated software.

The skills that got you to $100k kill you at $1M.

And those same skills won't even get you close to $10M.

Most entrepreneurs keep grinding, hoping something changes.

Elite entrepreneurs change themselves first.

They don't optimize their business.
They upgrade their operating system.

While most focus on marketing funnels and hiring plans...

The top 1% focus on identity shifts, decision-making frameworks, and daily habits.

I spent the last 7 years refining this approach.

The result is what I now call "The 5 Daily Non-Negotiables."

Five daily practices that I give all my private coaching clients that fundamentally change how you show up, how you make decisions, how you execute...

And ultimately... how you win.

If you're an entrepreneur ready to break out of the invisible prison.

MESSAGE me "COACH" and I'll reach out with the details to see if it's a fit.

-DM

One of my most useful beliefs: "If someone can do it, so can I."

Not because I'm special. Because they're not.

The person you think is ahead of you is not smarter than you...

They just got out of their own way sooner than you did.

This is your daily reminder: The only thing between where you are and where you want to be is you.

Not your circumstances. Not your resources. Not your timing. You.

But here's the good news: If you're the problem, you're also the solution.

You can stop overthinking. Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Stop letting fear decide for you.

You already have everything you need. You just need to get out of your own way.

-DM

One of my most useful beliefs:

Every gap between where you are and where you want to be is a skill you haven't built.

If someone else figured it out, then you can too.

-DM

Your team doesn't need a babysitter. They need a leader.

If you don't trust your team to manage their own time, you either hired the wrong people or you're the wrong leader.

Most likely both.

You can't tell if someone is doing good work, so you measure what you can see: butts in seats, hours logged, bathroom breaks.

The result?

Your A-players quit first because they have options and working for you is exhausting.
Your B-players become C-players because you've trained them to wait for instructions.
Your C-players love it because now they can blame you when nothing gets done.

Here's what trust-based leadership looks like:

"I need this project finished by Friday. How you do it is up to you."
"Your quarterly goals are clear. Show me what you accomplished."
"You have a doctor's appointment? Handle your work and go."

Clear expectations. Total autonomy. Real accountability.

No timesheets. No status meetings about status meetings. No asking permission to live your life.

Just adults doing the work they were hired to do.

You hired them for a reason.. so let them reason.

-DM

My brother gave me everything he had...

The day I became a millionaire was the emptiest day of my life.

The alarm didn't go off that day because I didn't set one.

For the first time in years, there was nowhere I had to be.

No urgent Slack messages waiting. No "hey, quick call?" texts. Just silence.

I checked my phone. The wire transfer had cleared. Seven figures sitting there like it belonged to someone else.

I stared at the number, waiting to feel something. Anything.

My co-founder had texted: "Dude... we're done."

I didn't reply. What was I supposed to say? That the moment we'd worked toward for four years felt more like an ending than a beginning?

Ironically, I used to beg for quiet. Now it felt like attending my own funeral.

I walked to the bathroom and caught my reflection. Same wrinkled t-shirt I'd been wearing for two days. Same dark circles.

I whispered to the guy staring back: "This is it? This is what we built for?"

And that's when the memories started flooding back.

My co-founder and I in my basement, surviving on pizza and pure stubbornness.

"You in?" I'd ask him every time we hit another wall.

"Always" he'd reply. Even when we both knew we were one month away from bankruptcy.

Those late nights writing terrible code, believing we were building something that mattered. We didn't sleep much. But god... we believed.

I stood there waiting for it to feel like I thought it would.

Like winning. Like freedom. Like the finish line we'd been running toward.

Instead, all I could think about was what I'd traded to get here.

Everyone asks what the company sold for. What the multiple was. What I was going to do next.

But no one had asked what it cost.

The missed birthdays. The relationships that didn't survive. The version of myself I left behind somewhere in year two.

I always thought joy would come with the exit. That walking away with life-changing money would feel like winning.

But I was wrong.

Sitting there, I realized that the joy already happened.

It was in the middle of it all.

In the build.
In the "one more push".
And the people that pushed with me.

Which is why I'm writing this for you today.

If you too are in the basement right now...
Or stacking the late nights....
Or going through the "one month from bankruptcy" phase...

Please don't wish it away.

The exit is just a receipt for work already done. The real part is happening right now.

In the work.
In the people beside you.
In the belief that you're making something that matters.

That's the part you'll miss.

Not the wire transfer. Not the number in your account. That.

So enjoy the journey.

Because one day you'll get everything you're working toward.

And you too will realize that the best part wasn't the destination.

But the process of getting there and people you got there with.

Rooting for you,

-DM

Micromanagers are insecure.

They schedule check-ins because they're worried they'll lose control.
They'll ask for updates because they need to feel involved.
They'll require approvals because they're scared someone will make a mistake.

None of that is about helping the team. It's about managing their own anxiety.

And their team knows it.

Here's what real leadership looks like: "What's blocking you? What do you need? Put me to work."

Not "What's your progress?" Not "Can you walk me through your approach?" Not "Let me just stay involved."

Your job as leader is to remove everything stopping the work.

Get them resources. Unblock processes. Handle the admin bullshit. Clear the path.

Then step back and let your people do what they were hired to do.

Your designer doesn't need you questioning their creative choices.
They need you getting feedback faster.

Your engineer doesn't need you in their sprint planning.
They need you unblocking the API access they've been waiting on.

Your salesperson doesn't need another strategy session.
They need you handling contracts so they can get back to selling.

Talented people don't need oversight. They need autonomy.

If you hired well, trust them. If you didn't hire well, that's a different problem.

But micromanaging good people is the easiest way to you lose them.

Stop managing your team's work. Start clearing the path for it.

-DM

Here's a kid with enough guts to walk up to a stranger and pitch his business idea. Smart enough to know his strengths. Humble enough to admit what he doesn't know...

And nobody has ever told him he's awesome. That's wild to me.

Truth is... I see myself in that kid.

Growing up in foster care, bouncing between homes, nobody believing in me. I remember what it felt like to think I wasn't worth much.

That's why I had to tell him...

That's why I made him sit in my car and said "whatever you want to do, you can do it."

Because somewhere there's a 12-year old version of me who needed to hear that and never did.

We're so quick to tell kids what they can't do. 
Too young. Not experienced enough. Be realistic.

But we're terrible at telling them what they can do.

I don't know if these kids will become millionaires. But I know they'll remember this moment.

And that to me is worth more than any business advice I could've given him.

-DM

If it was easy, everybody would be rich.

-DM