Clint Arthur Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Clint Arthur
Clint Arthur is today’s guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching Podcast.
He is a man who for over a decade chased the Hollywood Dream.
Hustling like mad as a writer to get that breakthrough that would make everything possible in his life
However he hit a crisis point on New Year’s Eve of The Millennium when he became terrified that 5+ years of driving a taxi to survive would be irreversible career suicide.
He quit writing, dove into an intense transformational period of self-help and personal development work, and focused on making money for the next 8 years, becoming fat and happy.
Obese, actually.
As the economy collapsed in 2008, Clint was at a men’s self-help meeting when the shaman pointed at Clint across the yellow and orange crackling flames of the camp-fire and said, “You don’t know it yet, but you’re already dead.”
Well that is one of those comments that you can either take two ways.
One….”What the hell is this man talking about, its quite obvious that I’m not dead!”
Or two………what our guest today did.
How The Dots Joined Up For Clint
He took it as inspiration to change his life like never before and in 2009, he made sure that he was going to live as if it was going to be his last year on earth
He lost 40-lbs, built a factory which allowed his business to thrive during The Great Recession and beyond, wrote his first bestseller and revived his crumbling marriage.
But rest assured this is not a story about a man who simply got lucky.
This is a story about a man who took courageous decisions, and consistent action which led to a remarkable life.
So does he see the turn round as simply a change in mindset, or is it much more than that?
And does he look back and think, if only I started earlier, or did he need to go through the rough times, to get to the true waiting path?
Well let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Clint Arthur.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Clint Arthur such as:
Why becoming a celebrity can fill out your bank account, buy you nice cars, but can never fill up a hole in your heart.
How he recalls the moment that he burnt all his own writings and screenplays, and took control of his life, burning all his bridges in the process.
How the first question he was presented with on the Today Show, lead to him finding the title of his second book. You never know when inspiration will occur.
Why it is so important to ensure that you look the way that people expect you look when you are performing the role.
And lastly……..
How he can now see his big dot as the moment that he stopped smoking marijuana, and he has never looked back since he tool the decision to quit.
Clint Arthur Books
How To Connect With Clint Arthur
Return To The Top Of Clint Arthur
If you enjoyed this episode with Clint Arthur why not check out other inspirational chat with Tom Ziglar, Travis Steffen JV Crum III and the amazing Noah Kagan
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Audio Transcription For Clint Arthur Interview
David Ralph [0:00]
Today’s show is brought to you by podcasters mastery.com, the premier online community teaching you to podcast like a pro. Check us out now at podcasters mastery.com.
Intro [0:12]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling join up dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK David Ralph
David Ralph [0:37]
Yes, hello, everybody. And welcome to another episode of join up dots Episode 351. And if you can hear a slight noise in the background, this is when technology becomes amazing. My gentleman who’s on the show today is actually strolling around wherever he is in America at the moment, and we’re connecting directly from the United Kingdom. So it emphasizes that with technology, you really can do anything and you can set up any platform but your heart desires. Now today’s guest is a man who for over a decade chase the Hollywood dream hustling like mad as a writer to get that breakthrough that would make everything possible in his life. However, he hit a crisis point on new year’s eve of the millennium, when he became terrified that five years of driving a taxi to survive would be irreversible career suicide, so he quit writing dove into an intense transformational period of self help and personal development work and focused on making money but the next eight years becoming fat and happy a base actually, as he says, Now as the economy collapsed in 2008. He was an immense self help meeting when the shaman pointed at him across the yellow and orange crackling flames of the campfire and said, You don’t know I don’t even know if it’s eSports. But this is a shamans voice. You don’t know it yet. But you’re already dead. Well, that is one of those comments that you can either take two ways one, what the hell is this man talking about is quite obvious. I’m not dead or two what our guest today did, he took it as an inspiration to change his life like never before. And in 2009, he made sure that he was going to live as if it was going to be his last year on Earth. Yes, he lost 40 pounds built a factory which allowed his business to thrive during the Great Recession and beyond and wrote his first bestseller and revived his crumbling marriage. But rest assured This is not a story about a man who simply got lucky. This is a story about a man who took courageous decisions and consistent action which led to a remarkable life. So does he see the turnaround is simply a changing mindset? Or is it much more than that? And does he look back and think if I only started earlier? Or do you need to go through the rough times to get to the true waiting path? Well, let’s find out as we bring on to the show to start joining up thoughts with the one and only Mr. Clint Arthur. How are you Clint?
Clint Arthur [2:51]
I am having a beautiful night walking under almost full moon in Hollywood, California. And I am fantastic and really happy to be with you on this awesome show.
David Ralph [3:00]
You know clean you’re not gonna make any friends by saying those kind of things. So
Clint Arthur [3:06]
thank you for I want to thank you for really seeing the true the truth of the whole shopping experience. Because how did you know that it was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the shaman on the other side of the campfire?
David Ralph [3:18]
That would be if you want to come with me if you want to live
Clint Arthur [3:26]
that was that was the best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation of a shamen I’ve ever heard in my life. That was really awesome.
David Ralph [3:32]
So so you Your life is one of those ones that when I’ve been researching it, you kind of think to yourself, and I suppose it’s the key question. So I’m going to start with it because it’s in the introduction. But do you kind of wish that you started earlier, you’ve got so much momentum in your life now and things are going great for you. And more often than not, you sound like you’re loving it. So do you look now and go yes, I could have started earlier, or I had to get to that time. But boy, it all made sense.
Clint Arthur [3:59]
I don’t know. I mean, I spent so many years banging my head against a brick wall of the Hollywood dream. And, you know, I was I was a kid who got everything. I mean, I was a wrestling champion in high school. I went to the top High School in America. I got into my first choice college, which was the Wharton Business School, the world’s most famous undergraduate business education as an early decision candidate, so I only applied to one college, I got into the best fraternity, I you know, I dated the girls that I wanted to date. I mean, I was the star of the school plays. I wasn’t used to losing. And yet when I tried to play the real big game, I spent more than a decade being told no being told you suck, being told you’re you’re not no good. And not being able to make things happen, which was really the most painful part of it all. Not being able to make it happen to the point where I lost confidence in myself and my ability to make stuff happen in my life. So I you know, I was that really necessary? I often wonder, was that some kind of a guiding hand from the big man in the sky, preventing me from a burning out on drugs or alcohol or not being able to handle the pressure? You know, why did it happen to me? I don’t know. All I know is it definitely allowed me to become a self made man. Because by the time I mean, a new year’s eve of the millennium, were you partying with family and friends. Were you getting y2k money out of the ATM. I was driving a taxi that night. And, you know, I had fraternity brothers from my fraternity at the Wharton Business School. I was their pledge master. They were a year younger than me I was their pledge master in the fraternity. And at that point, they were already a director at Goldman Sachs Corporation on Wall Street making millions. And there I was trading New Year’s eve of the millennium for $513. And then that night when it was all over, I went back to this little tiny boat that I was living on in Marina Del Rey, that was the cheapest way to survive $282 a month, all in including parking. And the only problem was that there was no electricity, no running water, no toilet facilities on the boat and I climbed into my bunk, wearing all my heavy clothes on to the heavy down comforter because it was freezing in the middle of the winter. And I started reading my favorite book, which was Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. Have you ever read that book?
David Ralph [6:58]
No, I’m seeing the film though.
Clint Arthur [7:00]
Okay, big. A studio feature film from a major motion picture studio in Hollywood did the adaptation of this book. He won the Pulitzer Prize for that book. And as I’m laying there in my bunk reading, by the light of my flashlight, I got distracted by my breath because it was condensing in the night air. And I and I started thinking, How did this happen to me, I was supposed to be a great writer, like Frank McCourt, the author of this book, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, who was my creative writing teacher in high school. I told you, I went to a great high school. And, you know, he inspired not just me, but everyone who was in his creative writing class to become writers. And so many of us became writers. And I was supposed to be a great writer like him. And then after that, I graduated from Wharton with a 4.0 GPA in entrepreneurial management. And I was inspired by Donald Trump. Another great writer, number one New York Times bestselling author of multiple books. And then I saw Spike Lee’s movie. She’s got to have it. Did you see that movie?
David Ralph [7:59]
vaguely did it doesn’t have Jennifer Aniston. And it does it.
Clint Arthur [8:02]
No, it does not have Jennifer Aniston. It’s about this woman. No, lo Lola darling or Noah darling. And she’s, like, you know, has a voracious sexual appetite. And she’s got these three different guys that she’s playing along. And one of them is played by Spike Lee. And he wrote the movie he produced, directed, owned the movie and became a movie star from the movie. And I thought to myself, that’s really what I want to do. And that’s what really was the impetus for me to want to become a movie star.
David Ralph [8:35]
That’s fantastic, isn’t it? Can I can I just jump in there? Because at your lowest point, well, maybe it wasn’t your lowest point. Maybe you’ve been lower than that. But you were still able to see the dreams, you could see the possibilities. You could see the wine not to me aspect. What is that sort of a fundamental character that you have?
Clint Arthur [8:54]
Well, I,
you know, there were, there was a couple of more things that that push me in this direction, I have to say, my mother and my grandmother always encouraged me. They were always, you know, believing in me. And that that was very instrumental. You know, especially my grandmother. And my mother believed that I could do anything. And maybe that’s why, up to that point, I did pretty much accomplish anything. But then there was one more thing that happened. That was really amazing. I went to visit my parents in New York City at the apartment where I grew up on the 18th floor. And it’s in midtown Manhattan on 23rd Street and Second Avenue, and my parents getting a huge fight. And my dad storms out of the room. And I turned to my mom, and I said, you know, the way he resents you, have you been cheating on him? And she didn’t say anything. And that’s when my mind started racing. And I, I was as surprised. as anybody went out of my mouth came the following words, Is he my real father, I never even considered that on a conscious level, up to that point. And she didn’t say anything then for like a second and a half. And that night, I found out that I had never met my real father, that I was being raised by someone who was not my biological father. And you know, he was great to me. He was, you know, he was my dad. However, that’s when I decided that’s when things switched for me that I switched my aspirations from just being a screenwriter to wanting to be the movie star like Spike Lee, why really go go for it all. It switched. Because, in retrospect, I can see now, from the vantage point of being of 49 plus year old man, that what I was really trying to do, was hoping in my subconscious mind that if I could get famous enough that maybe my father would see me, and that he would come and find me and love me. I see that because, because ultimately, my quest to become famous took me into every single TV studio in America. And all the way from Biloxi, Mississippi, to New York City and 30 Rockefeller Center and state and Studio One A of the today show, when I did my 57 TV appearance on New Year’s Eve, of 2013.
And
looking back on this whole thing, I can tell you that, you know, getting celebrity becoming a celebrity and becoming famous, it will fill your bank account, it will buy you nice cars, it will buy you a mansion. But it will never be able to fill up a hole in your heart like the one that I was trying to fill up. Now. Luckily for me, I’ve had great mentors throughout my life. People like Brendan Bouchard, number one New York Times bestselling author of The Millionaire Messenger, or Dan can. The Millionaire maker who is basically the mentor to every internet marketing, millionaire, there is who’s making an impact, or even Joe Polish people, Joe polish, who believes in paying it forward before you ask for yourself. And these people have really influenced me to want to, number one, share my message, so that I could be an inspiration to others, because I’ve been able to triumph in the face of adversity. And some of the times when I felt closest to filling up that hole in my heart had been the times when I have been sharing my message in a big way. Like when I was on the Today Show, or other big shows that I’ve done. And then other times, which have been equally as as sweet for me have been the times when my friends who many if not most of them, these days have come out of my training program, because I believe and it seems to be true that celebrities hang out with other celebrities. And a lot of my friends today are celebrities who are on TV news and talk show interviews the way I teach them how to do in my training programs. And when I see them on big shows, like my good friend who I had dinner with tonight, Sandy was story when she was on the Today Show, when she was on Fox, Los Angeles when she’s on, you know, she’s just did her 44th TV appearance in a year and a half. And every time I see her on TV, it just makes me feel awesome. Because she is making a difference in her life and in the life of her kids, or my client and friend Kelly Hill, who who, you know, tonight, I watched her 24th TV appearance, which was this, which was earlier this week. And she transformed from a Suzy homemaker into a glamorous celebrity in the last two weeks since I gave her some coaching. And that was so fulfilling for me. And you know, what I have learned is that, you know, maybe maybe people are not all necessarily looking for their father the way I am. Although I have read in Forbes magazine that as much as 30% of the population does not really know who their real father is. But if you’re looking to find customers, or clients, or serve patients, or humanity, then TV and celebrity is a very, very viable way to make that happen. And, and I’ve been fortunate enough to evolve into the world’s top media trainer and TV coach. And it has been an amazing, an amazing emergence. Because if you had told me on new year’s eve of the millennium, when I was crying my eyes out on the in the bunk of my little boat, freezing and shivering. You know, thinking what am I going to do to get myself out of this? If you had told me that I’d be doing things that are I’m doing today and, you know, meeting people and being interviewed by Brooke Shields or anderson cooper or, you know, all the different people that I’ve met.
I would say Wow, I can’t wait to see how that happens. I I can’t wait to see how that
David Ralph [15:16]
that evolves? Well, that’s a key point. Isn’t it clean? Because, you know, you mentioned like Brendan Bouchard. And I remember reading an article with him when he was saying how he used to lay on his bed with all these articles in front of him literally making it up as he goes along. And there’s a starting point isn’t there, your net bunk bed, you are where you are now. And for the listeners out there. The key thing for them is how to take action, how to start how to actually do that first thing. So can you remember when he was on that bed? Obviously, you must have kicked your legs off and said, right, I’m going to start doing something. What was the first thing you did? Because it’s been a stretch, isn’t it?
Clint Arthur [15:57]
The first thing I did was I swore note to myself that I was going to stop writing. And I burned all the screenplays and books I had written. It’s not like I had only written a couple. I mean, no one has tried harder to become a movie star and a filmmaker than me. And I wrote 30 screenplays 30 and I wrote 11 books, I had a book published by Penguin, USA 1995. And yet, by the year 2000, I was still driving a taxi. And it was their big book of the summer. And so nobody tried harder to make it happen. I said if this is what it is like to be a writer, it just ain’t worth it. And Will any of them good? Well,
David Ralph [16:35]
when you look back on them now, do you think oh, I shouldn’t have been that one?
Clint Arthur [16:39]
Yeah, a lot of them were good. A lot of them were good. And a lot of the books were amazing. Seriously, but, you know, I had to decide, you know, I and that was the second time I quit writing. I quit writing when I was much younger, because it was so hard to get somebody to read your writing. But what I’ve learned is that there’s two, two parts of it, there’s writing, and then there’s marketing the writing and getting people to buy it. And those are two different functions. And, you know, as Robert Kiyosaki says, You can be the best writer in the world, but he’s the best selling writer in the world. And that’s a whole whole different place to occupy in the world’s mind’s eye.
David Ralph [17:20]
So was it was was it like the taking action making that bump? or however you burnt? it? Was it you really saying, Look, I’ve done this, this is this is years of work, but I’m ready for the next stage. And I’m going for it was it was it?
Clint Arthur [17:34]
As simple as that. Okay, this the action was symbolic, you know, there’s a great, there is a great painting from the Civil War, where the bridges are being burned behind the troops. Have you seen that one? Yes, I have. Yeah. I mean, that is an awesome thing. But for me, it took more than that. Because taking the symbolism is great. Taking symbolism is your life is really great. But then, taking action on top of that is really what did it and so I threw myself into a super intense period of personal transformation. The first class I took was called personal transformation. It was a class called transformation. I got it through the learning annex. Like, you know, I, back in those days, there was something called the learning annex. It was like a self help continuing education program in the US, and you could take classes there. And I signed up with a mentor there. His name was Paul Roth. And he helped me a lot. He really, really did. He really, I took several classes with him re learning how to talk. You know, one of the classes I took that was so great was called conversation design a class and how to speak in a way that’s more effective for business. And then I took Tony Robbins I walked on fire with Tony Robbins, and that gave me a whole huge boost.
David Ralph [18:57]
So can did you get your money today movies, because these things aren’t cheap. And going from Yes,
Clint Arthur [19:02]
you’re right. You’re right. For the learning annex. Remember, I had published a book with penguin USA, and I was teaching this little class based on the book and as a teacher for the learning annex. And it’s not like I would make a lot of money I’d make sometimes 50 or $100, for teaching, you know, six people in a class at but as a teacher, I got to take as many classes I wanted for free. So that was really good. Tony Robbins, it was amazing. I remember the first thing I did with Tony Robbins was I bought personal power to the tape set, I couldn’t afford the CDs, I bought the tapes using the end of my last credit card. And like the last hundred $59 I had on the credit card. And I went through that tape set twice, in six months. And in a period of six months, my life had transformed so much from doing that work that I was able to pay $600 to go to see Tony Robbins live at an event. And as a off the momentum of that. I then was able to take another seminar called the sterling men’s weekend. And that’s really where things amplified for me. So I would say those three classes life transformation, Tony Robbins unleash the power within, and the sterling men’s weekend. All of those happened for me within six months. And I really wanted to change man, I wanted to change my life. And I wanted to become more than what I was showing up. And I knew that if I could transform how I was showing up inside that that would translate to showing up differently outside. And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. I got out of taxi driving, I got into the gourmet food industry, I met a beautiful woman. And I remember my dad said to me, he was still alive at the time. This is the father who raised me. I remember he said to me, to she know that you were a taxi driver as little as two months ago. I said no. And he goes, well Don’t tell her because she was she was a Hollywood executive making a lot of money. And, you know, I was just starting to make money. And, you know, she, she I was lucky. She believed in me more than I even believed in myself. And one of the things I heard at the sterling men’s weekend was you know what, there’s two reasons for a man to get married. Two reasons for a man to be in a in a monogamous relationship with a woman. The first one is because he wants kids, I didn’t want that I already had a daughter at that time. My daughter was five years old in the year 2000. And so I didn’t want any more kids, I was already driving a cab to pay child support. But the other thing was that I learned from the sterling man’s weekend that if if a woman loves a man, it makes a man feel like he’s better than he actually is, which is a competitive advantage that sports teams paid sports psychologist millions of dollars to try to develop that feeling in the players. And so the love of a of a good woman can make a man into a better man. And I wanted that. And so I got into this relationship. First, I got into a relationship with one woman who turned out to be a mess. And then I met this other woman who today I’ve been married to for over 11 years. And she’s been amazing for me and very helpful in in helping me to believe in myself. She believed in me more than I believed in myself in those days. And she’s really helped me to, to achieve a lot of what I’ve been able to
David Ralph [22:38]
accomplish. Well, let’s play some words now. But take us to the next stage of the conversation. But once we played these, I will discuss them. But I’m very interested about the seminar and whether those free courses where you finding content, or you surrounding yourself with like minded individuals where the power was for you. But this is Jim Carrey,
Jim Carrey [22:59]
my father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [23:26]
Now, the question always comes out of that now is when you took the chance when you started going for it. Did you know that you’re going to love it? Or was it just something that you thought you was going to be good at?
Clint Arthur [23:39]
Well, you have to remember that I you know, I took the chance and went for it and gambled my whole Wharton Business School Education away from for for more than a decade pursuing something that I loved, and came up with nothing and came up with, you know, a child who did not live with her father, right? I have five year old daughter on new year’s eve of the millennium, who, you know, wasn’t living with her dad. So there was a big price that was paid, not only by me, but by by my daughter. Because I went I went for the passion and fail. However, you know, it was only after the showman at the campfire in 2008 pointed through the yellow and orange crackling flames and said, this is really what he sounded like, I’ll give you the but he really sounded like he didn’t sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he sounded like that. You don’t know it yet. But you’re already dead. That’s what
David Ralph [24:42]
he says. He says my angry Clint Eastwood.
Clint Arthur [24:44]
Well, he’s a guy who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. And, you know, constantly smoking marijuana for the pain. And that’s the way he sounded. And he had, you know, black, he’s a white man, you know, Caucasian man, but his skin and her black in many places from his disease, and his fingers were all crooked like hooks.
David Ralph [25:11]
And what made you believe? Or take his words, because, quite simply, if somebody who looks and sounds, and he’s doing drugs comes into my life, I may think twice about taking his advice.
Clint Arthur [25:24]
Because this man was somebody that I had known for several years, who had been instrumental in, in changing men’s lives right before my eyes. I knew he’s wise shaman, man. And I didn’t know what he was talking about. But I could not stop thinking about it. I could not stop thinking I’d wake up in the middle of the night, mumbling out of sound sleep, I’m already dead. I’m already dead. What does he mean? For months, this would go on, I could not stop thinking about it. Because somehow I knew that he was right. And it came to be New Year’s Day of 2009. And I woke up poured myself a mimosa together pen in a pad of paper write down my list of goals for the year, like I had grown accustomed to doing when I became successful in business. And that year, I was inspired by the showman and I asked myself the question, if this was going to be the last year of my life, what would I want to accomplish. And I was as surprised as anybody when the first thing I wrote down was I gotta write my book about what they taught me at the Wharton Business School. That helped me to become successful because by this point, my daughter was 14 years old. And she really didn’t care what I had to say about succeed in business or life. But I wanted to write it down because I decided that day that I was going to live as if 2009 was going to be the last year of my life. And I didn’t know if I was jinxing it, or, you know, if I was putting a curse on my own self, or tempting fate or whatever. But I was going to do it. And I brought all the men on the men’s team along on that journey. We all had an amazing experience. And that’s the year that I lost the weight and realized that I had been obese, but got healthy again. I built the factory. I wrote the book, what they teach you at the Wharton Business School, which became my first bestseller. And, you know, at that point, my wife and I work I’m pretty much on the rocks are going to fall apart. But we decided to get into counseling and turned our marriage around. And this year, we celebrate our 12 year out of college. And we’ve been together almost 15 years now. So you know, it was good for all of us. And it was a great thing. But But the thing that was missing, I remember sitting at my desk, looking at the copy of my self published book, what they teach you at the Wharton Business School, sitting on my filing cabinet in the corner of my office and thinking to myself, Wow, I can’t believe that book is just collecting dust like that. I sold eight copies in 2009. And I spoke to I had the good fortune of meeting jack Canfield, one of the most successful authors in the whole world. He published Chicken Soup for the Soul sold 100 million copies. And I said how do you sell this man? Yeah, right. How do you sell books jack? And he said media, you have to go on TV, radio, newspaper magazines, get the word out there however you can. So that’s when I call them a publicist in New York City. And I said, Hey, get me on the Today Show. So I can share that with the world. The lessons that I learned that helped me to be successful from the Wharton Business School. And she laughed at me. She said, Clint, you’re a middle aged guy. Nobody’s ever heard of you got a self published book nobody’s ever bought. You got no TV experience. They’re never going to put you on the Today Show. It’s never going to happen. You got to go on local TV. And so I said, Okay, great. I’m a native New Yorker. Get me on NBC, New York, or Fox, New York, or any show in New York so I can share with my native New Yorkers, all these great lessons that I learned at Wharton. And when she stopped laughing at me the second time, she said, Clint, I think I’ve got you figured out. You’re not really a business author. You’re a comedian, because that’s the second hysterically funny thing. You’ve said to me in 30 seconds. You’re a middle aged guy. Nobody’s ever heard of you got a self published book. Nobody’s ever bought no TV experience. They’re never going to put you on TV and NBC New York or any show in New York City, the number one market in America. Do you still Sunday started? Can you still see this person? I have not seen her since 2010. And and you know, she did say something smart to me. After that. She said you have to start in little shows. And maybe you can work your way up. Which is that, right? So I said, Okay, you can’t do New York City. How about Salt Lake City, Utah? Can you do that? Oh, yeah, we can do that. I can do Utah, or any city outside of the top 10 markets, and it’s only 1500 bucks to put you on any of those shows. And you only pay me if I book you want to show I said okay, let’s see if you can do it. And a couple days later, she emailed me and said, congratulations, you’re booked in Salt Lake City, Utah, just like you want it. And I’m looking at the an email and thinking to myself, are they really going to put me on TV in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’m a middle aged guy nobody’s ever heard of I got a self published book. Nobody’s ever bought no TV experience, why would they put me on there. And they did. And my goal was to go on the show, and be so awesome that I get a call from the today show the very next day. That’s what I really thought. And the reality of it was that I went on this show in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I sucked, and it’s a lucky thing. I wasn’t on the Today Show because I would have sucked even worse, I probably would have peed my pants knowing what I know today. Because after doing 57 shows, my 57th appearance was on the Today Show. And the host of the today show, his name is Willie Geist, he and Brooke Shields interviewed me on that show. And you know what this first question to me was, he goes, so Clint, you have a good idea. You ask yourself a question on New Year’s Eve. What’s that question? And I said, if this was going to be the last year of your life, what would you want to accomplish? Can you believe it? I think that that question is what changed everything. The guy at the, at the campfire, the shaman? He changed everything. by inspiring that question in me. And, you know, I was sitting in my hotel room a couple days later, looking over the skyline in New York City. And I was on hold. I was like, I had to ship some stuff through ups. And I was on hold waiting for the new account setup manager to open up my account with ups. And I thought to myself, What if I have a heart attack right now? on hold waiting for ups to open up my account? how lame and screwed up with that day? And you know,
David Ralph [31:44]
that you had them?
Clint Arthur [31:45]
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, I was wondering, because, you know, at that point, I was like, 47 years of 4748 years old. 48, I think, yeah, 48. And I was, I was I had wondering about my health. And I, and this is the thought that went through my mind. And really, I was okay with it. I thought to myself, if this is the moment, I got to make a difference, I got to share my unique message, I believe that every person is like a snowflake with some sort of a unique way that they can make a real impact on the world. And for me, evidently, my message is the last year of your life, because that has been another one of my books that has become a best seller. And then I have a different version of it, where I added audios and videos to the book. Because the last year of your life, like after I live the last year of my life with my men’s team in 2009. Then I wanted to spread that with the world. And I did a bunch of I started doing TV in 2010. And through the TV and radio publicity and promotions that I was doing, I managed to attract 120 people into my online last year of your life experience. And we would have conference calls every week. And through that I developed the whole experience of living as if you’re going to die for the year. And so for in 2010, I wrote the book in 2011, I added videos and audios to the book. And I was telling somebody about it. And I said, You know when you add the videos and audios to the to some of the chapters, it becomes like the greatest book of all time. And the guy says, Why don’t you just call it the greatest book of all time. So I bought that domain, the greatest book of all time, calm, and I titled The book, the greatest book of all time. And in 2011, I released this book, which at the time, it was the first Kindle book to ever have hot links in it where you click the hot link in the Kindle book and boom, a video or an audio pops open on your iPhone, or, or droid?
David Ralph [33:50]
Well, let me stop you there clean because the fact that you bought a URL like that, which can sound remarkably arrogant, but it’s the the best greatest book of all time. Can you imagine yourself when you was back in that boat as a taxi driver? If somebody said to you, you’re going to own that you would have laughed when you were Where? Where was the connection with the confidence that you allowed yourself to step forward and take that domain name? Because that’s a biggie, isn’t it?
Clint Arthur [34:20]
It definitely was. And, in fact, taking the domain name inspired me to make it even better. I mean, once and this came from another mentor. And you know, one of the other questions they asked me on the Today Show was, what’s the big? What’s the big needle mover? How do you really make a difference? How do you have a plan to climb the hinterlands and really make it happen. And I said, invest in a mentor. And I’m telling you, it’s the mentors that I have invested money and a lot of time and a lot of money with, who have really changed my life. And one of them is another guy named James Malin check, he was on a TV show called secret millionaire on ABC TV in the US. And he was one of the first seminars I went to. And he’s the one who made me understand about celebrity, and about unique positioning. And one of the smartest things he said was we as creators, as authors and speakers, we have a natural tendency to undervalue our own creations and think that they’re not as good as they are. Don’t worry about how good they are. Just put them out there. And you’ll improve them as they go along. And so when, you know, originally, my plan was just to put some videos and some photos in this book, then the guy said, call it the greatest book of all time I did I I just went for it and bought the URL. Did you
David Ralph [35:43]
know when he said that, did you? I can’t call it that?
Clint Arthur [35:47]
No, I didn’t know I didn’t. I seized on the marketing potential of that. And I was immediately inspired by Muhammad Ali, who James Malin check had talked about calling himself the guru greatest, and evolving into the greatest. And when I started to call my book, the greatest book of all time, I then realized I had to take it to a higher level. Yeah. And that’s when I decided to make videos and audios for every single of one of the 52 weeks. And and that’s when the book became so amazing. It was it was improved upon by its own title, which was a lucky happenstance that somebody suggested it that way. And I’m I’m forever grateful to ag Maurice de, who is the person who made that suggestion.
David Ralph [36:34]
back in time if you were a young kid, and we’re going to actually send you back in time at the end of the show. But if I took it back to sort of the the five year old, the eight year old Clint, were you planning on doing something big in your life? Or do you look back and think, wow, this is really me finding my my dots that have led me to this.
Clint Arthur [36:54]
You know, what’s really interesting about that is that my first time that I got cast in a role in a play, I was at summer camp, and I was 10 years old, and they cast me as a clown, I had a song and a solo song in the play. And I was, I was this little clown. And that ignited a little fire in me, I really enjoyed being on the stage and I, I became a performer. But here’s the interesting part. When I was about 14 years old, I wanted to play guitar, like my best friend, Andy, Gawker. And Andy Gawker was already really good at playing guitar, because he’d been playing for a few years. And he made fun of me when I sucked at the guitar when I was 14, after only taking one or two lessons. And I remember thinking to myself, probably watching Yes. Or Neil Young. And I remember thinking to myself, well, I’m never going to be a rock star. It’s already it’s too late for me to become a rock star. I’m too old to learn how to play guitar at 14, you know, and it’s ridiculous. Because I don’t believe you’re ever too old to make something happen. There’s so much time in your life. If you have 10 years to to go after a goal. There’s practically nothing that I believe you can accomplish. And Tony Robbins said that when I took his seminar in 2001, I guess it was, and I, I still believe it to this day more than ever, if you just keep doggedly determined Lee, after a goal, you will be able to accomplish that goal. If you really before it with your heart and soul and give it enough time. I really do believe you can do it.
David Ralph [38:41]
Because it doesn’t surprise me. It’s one of the things I asked because I almost know the answer now, because the tagline on the show is joining up the dots and connecting our past. And that that that moment when you stepped up on that stage as a clown? It’s not a surprise, is it because it actually touches on your core essence what what’s in you. And that’s one of the things where the listeners really have to focus on what they like doing is as youngsters before money become a part of it and responsibility, how it made them feel. So do you think he was always going to be even if you hadn’t achieved what you’ve had? Inside you you wanted to be a presenter or somebody a focus of attention?
Clint Arthur [39:22]
I yeah. I agree with you, when you when you’re looking to see what it is you should really be doing in your life. Look back to what you enjoy doing as a kid. And you’ll find a lot of clues there. Because one of the things that I really love doing as a kid was was presenting and being on the stage and performing. And you know, when I was in junior high school, I went to junior high school, which was eighth grade. And Robert Downey Jr. was in eighth grade with me
David Ralph [39:52]
Whatever happened to man?
Clint Arthur [39:55]
Yeah. And then, right now maybe that’s the path that I avoid it. But then in in seventh grade. In seventh grade, there was a kid in my seventh grade class named Jon Cryer as in Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men. And he in eighth grade, he played Conrad. No, it was in ninth grade, ninth grade, he played Conrad birdie. And I went on to high school in ninth grade. So I was a nobody. But in 10th grade, I played Conrad birdie in high school. So I mean, the people that were around me and and the possibilities, it’s like, I wonder how come them and not me, maybe I would have died. If I had had the same route that Robert Downey Jr. had, maybe would have killed me, I don’t know, I’ll never know, I got the route that I got. It made me who I am. It made me the self made man that I am. And now I know that I don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen in the world that I’m going to figure out a way to survive and thrive with cardless of what happens.
David Ralph [41:01]
Because it’s interesting, I’m looking at a picture of you now on Skype, and you look like a TV anchor your hair looks right, I can imagine you reading the news. And you just look right for it. Did you always look like that? Or have you kind of changed your image. So it looks like what people would expect a TV presenter to look like?
Clint Arthur [41:24]
Oh, I’ve definitely evolved. I mean, you have to learn how to do all this stuff. And there’s a certain look that people have. When I went with Sandy, Missouri to the today show for her appearance, she was on the Today show one week before me. And when we walked up to the you know, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen American TV with the today show. It’s one of those shows where there’s crowds of people outside the windows, all watching what’s going on in the studio. And that’s what it’s really like. And when we walked up to the studio, the guard just opened the gate without me saying a word. He looked at us a new some one of us one of the two of us if not both of us was going on TV. And you know, and I was talking to a friend of mine, who’s a PR guy who was also a person who goes on TV shows, and I was lamenting the fact that and I said to him, man, you know, this girl Sandy, she came to celebrity Launchpad. And it’s only been three months since she graduated from my training program. And she’s already going on the Today Show. And I’ve been doing this for three years. And I’m still not getting on today’s show. And he said to me, Well, Clint, you know, you’re lucky actually because I got clients or prospective clients. And they look at me and they say, Dave, how come? They say, Dave, I know you can get on the Today Show. I know you could get on Regis and Kathie Lee and and all these big shows. But can you get me on? He said I, I I’ve been lucky enough to get on the shows myself. But I haven’t been able to produce the success for my clients yet the way you have. And that’s really better. And then, amazingly, a week later, I get a phone call from today. And there I am. This is all been developed. This has all been learned one expensive mistake at a time. There’s a big there’s a big movement, like people like Brendan Bouchard and jack Canfield and all these quote unquote experts in the experts industry are the disdaining ties like jacket and tie. I wear a jacket and tie every day, I posted a picture on my Facebook the other day of my dog wearing a tie. A Pink Pink neon shiny tie, just like the one that I wear. My wife bought it at 99 cent store and put it on dog in the middle of one of my seminars that I was holding a couple of weeks ago, and I posted on Facebook, I’m so freaking hardcore. Even my dog wears a pink Dion tie. And, and this is all been developed in spite of the fact there’s so much pressure in in the world, for me not to wear a tie not to wear a suit to wear flip flops, and jeans and a Hawaiian shirt to business events, like so many other people do in the world today. And I disagree with all of that. And I think that dressing for success inspires me to work harder, and to expect more of myself and to do better.
David Ralph [44:21]
Painting to yourself or up the power but everybody wants you to play.
Clint Arthur [44:26]
No, you see that’s this is really within me, believe me, Nobody. Nobody wants me to be wearing a jacket and tie. They don’t. But I want to wear a jacket and tie. My dad, you know, the man who raised me he was a very conservative guy. And he used to shop at Paul Stewart in New York City. And he used to wear a jacket and tie or suit and tie to go to work every single day even though for the last 20 years of his career. He was an entrepreneur, he could have done whatever he wanted. But I just had this vision. And then I went to the Wharton Business School and and when I was in when I was in college, I used to wear a jacket and tie or a suit and tie to go to class. So is this authentically me? Yeah, I really think it is. which
David Ralph [45:12]
is playing to where you were going? Wasn’t it? The fact that you was already dressing for the kinds of to present a row? It’s almost like you didn’t know, but you was already on that path?
Clint Arthur [45:23]
Well, I i’ve been greatly shaped by my experiences in life. And the Wharton Business School played a big role in my life. My first best selling book is what they teach you at the Wharton Business School. And one of the things that they teach you with Wharton Business School is to dress for success. I did a study. I you know, when I was a freshman, I didn’t understand the importance of good clothes. But as I got older, I started dressing better and started getting better grades. And I actually did a study when I was a student, I wore a suit and tie or a jacket tied to classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I got all A’s in those classes. And I had other classes on other days that I did not wear a suit and tie or jacket and tie I just wear a polo shirt or an Oxford shirt and khaki pants. And I did not get A’s in those classes. So I realized that something was going on and I was holding myself or achieving on a higher level. And I wanted to achieve more. And that’s why To this day, I wear jackets and ties and suits and ties when nobody else does. You know Brendan Bouchard never wears a tie ever. And jack Canfield doesn’t even wear a tie anymore. None of these people do there’s an anti bias. And you know, I think that’s who I am. I believe that that is the best way to do it. I encourage my students to wear a certain type of tie when they go on TV because it helps them to look like they know what they’re doing. They belong on TV. And it It helps them to be more successful
David Ralph [46:52]
when they see like things like that, because I was speaking to jack Canfield and he said, Yeah, sometimes he’s quite relaxed, but he’s still making show that he shaves every day he doesn’t go out looking at bits or shovel.
Clint Arthur [47:04]
Well, that is not something I do.
I don’t like shaving every day, I like to save like once every three days if I can. However, when I’m leading my celebrity Launchpad, when I’m leading a seminar, and I’m like expected to show up for work, then I have to show up looking clean shaven and presentable. And like a leader, you have to look like what you need to be Yeah, and if I I lead seminars full of leaders, every single person who comes to celebrity launch pad, there’s only 12 people in in the group, when I teach this seminar, and every single one of them is a leader or else they wouldn’t be there, they have to invest a lot of money to be there, it’s $10,000, to come to celebrity Launchpad for a four day workshop. And you know, these are top people who are leaders in their industries. And they come to me and I have to look the part of their leader.
David Ralph [47:54]
Let’s play some words now. And these are the theme of the whole show. And these are the words that Steve Jobs said back into balance and five when he was talking about being able to see your path only by looking back. This is Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs [48:06]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [48:41]
Does it make all the difference? Clint?
Clint Arthur [48:45]
Well, I think about that, and I think about all those years that I spent behind the wheel saying where to sir. And and and you know I was at I was at dinner with my dad in New York City on Park Avenue at a steakhouse called Angelo and Maxis. And here my dad was a an accountant. And he sent his son to Wharton and his best friend walks up to the table. His best friend, coincidentally, I’ll tell you the coincidence later, his best friend walks up to the table and he looks at me and he goes, ah, it’s the warden taxi driver. How you doing today taxi driver. And my dad shrunk down. I mean, it was the most embarrassing moment of my dad’s whole life. And if there’s any moment I could have taken back from from happening, that would be it most likely. Then that guy, my dad, my dad dies. And a couple years after my dad dies, that guy His name is Danny limbo. Danny Limbo goes on. And he becomes a finalist on survivor, Nicaragua.
Danny limbo. He was like 60, something years old that he was a finalist on survivor. It was so freaking funny. But
But, you know, do you? Do you have to trust? Well, I mean, what else are you going to do besides trust, you have to follow? You have to follow what you think is right. I and you know, my wife always talks about my gut says this, my gut says that you have to follow your intuition, you have to do what you believe is right. It’s the only way to live. If you’re second guessing yourself, you’re never going to make the right choices. You can always assume that you’re going to make the wrong choices if you’re second guessing yourself. And the only way to go is to follow your gut. So you know when I was living on the boat when I was feeling like the biggest loser because I was making $500 on new year’s eve of the millennium instead of millions like my fraternity brothers. You never would have been able to you know make the understand that the dots would all line up but
David Ralph [50:49]
and what is your big? My Big Dot? Yeah, the big the moment when you look back and go Yeah, I think that’s really when I started. And you’ve mentioned so many things today, the burning of your work, the shaman that that horrible lady, you laughed at you all those kind of things seem to be quite profound dots. But is there a big one that you look at? And you go Yeah, that’s when Clint started moving.
Clint Arthur [51:17]
The Big Dot was when I stopped smoking marijuana in on December 14, 2009,
and I went to a
raw vegan health camp with my wife to try to lose some weight. And one of the rules was no drinking, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs. And so we were there for two weeks, and I really wanted to lose weight. So I did not smoke marijuana and didn’t drink any alcohol. Now, when we got out, first thing we did was cook ourselves some laptops for dinner and pour a nice bottle of Napa Cabernet. But luckily for me, I did not smoke any more marijuana ever since then. And you know, it’s the funny thing is that six weeks after I stopped smoking marijuana, I was on TV for my first time. And I, you know, I look back at the luck, because it’s not like I went there expecting or wanting to quit smoking. It’s not like I considered myself the biggest pothead in the world. It’s not like I was, you know, Cheech and Chong. I wasn’t.
But
my use of that drug and I and I believe it is an insidious, addictive drug. That creates a lot of paranoia, and self doubt in the people who use it. And I, looking back, I believe that this was the definitive. If I could point to anything that helped me that held me back in my life, it would be that and it was lucky for me that they had that rule, and that I’m a kind of guy who believes in following the prescription when I pay for a prescription I follow it, when I get pills, I take the pills. The pill, they they said was no pills, no drugs. So I did that. And I have not had any marijuana since December 14, 2009. And you know, everything has been steadily upward now, in Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step programs, they call it the rocket ride. Well, I,
I’m starting to see that.
There’s a reason why they call it the rocket ride. My life has rapidly improved since I cared about marijuana out of my life. And then that’s why I stopped drinking on January 1 of 2000. Like the day after I went on the Today Show with with Brooke Shields and Willie guys, that that night was my last drink. And I haven’t had a drink since then. So it’s been almost a year and a half. And, you know,
gaining more and more clarity.
David Ralph [54:03]
Yeah, fascinating. So so it wasn’t a big deal. It was a big part. That’s what we’re frame it as well. This is the part of the show when we’re going to send you back in time. And this is the part that we called a sermon on the mic. When, if you could go back in time and speak to younger Clint, what age would you like to speak to him? What advice would you give? Well, we’re going to find out, because I’m going to play the theme tune. And when it Phaedra, this is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [54:37]
best bit of the show.
Clint Arthur [54:50]
Clint, I am 50 years old this year, just in a couple of months, I didn’t think I’d ever lived this long. And luckily for me, I’ve been able to really turn around the mess that began in my mid 20s. When you lost sight of the most important thing, when you threw away a lot of the celebrity that you had, then what I’m here to tell you today, as a successful businessman, as a successful married man, as a successful father, as a successful man, is that the most important determinant of success
in this planet right now
is celebrity. And how many people think that you are somebody, somebody special, the most important thing, that any person who has aspirations, or wants to have a successful career or wants to accomplish anything great in this world can do for that our lives, is to get on TV, and become as famous and as big a celebrity as you possibly can. Because that opens up opportunities. And it really doesn’t matter what you’re famous for, it really doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters in society today is that you are famous, and on TV hanging out with famous, successful, quote unquote, successful, rich people, in any walk of life in any industry. It doesn’t matter why you’re on TV, you have to be and then you leverage all of that. And make sure that people it doesn’t matter if they see you on TV, just make sure that they know you are on TV, get those videos up on your on your media page, send them out to all of your customers and prospects. All the people that you know, they have to know that you you are somebody special, because that is what is important in our society today, as my great mentor Dan Kennedy says, doing is more important than doing status is way more important than merit. Don’t argue it, don’t try to figure it out why this is so it really doesn’t matter. What matters is is that status is way more important than merit. So go for the status, and then everything else will follow.
David Ralph [57:33]
Clint, How can our audience connect with you sir?
Clint Arthur [57:37]
Clinton arthur.tv www Clint arthur.tv. Clint, like Clint Eastwood, Arthur, like the king TV, like I am looking forward to seeing you on TV. We will have over links on the show notes.
David Ralph [57:54]
Glenn, thank you so much for spending time with us today joining those dots. And please come back again when you have more dots to join up. Because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. Mr. Clint Africa. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening to today’s episode of join up dots brought to you exclusively by podcasters mastery.com. The only resource that shows you how to create a show, build an income and still have time for the life that you love. Check out podcasters mastery com now
Outro [58:29]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you are wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to join up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on join up dots.
