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Brad Hart Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Business Podcast
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Introducing Brad Hart
Brad Hart is my guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast interview.
He is a battle hardened investor, seasoned trader, adviser to top brands and mentor to world class performers.
His mission is to serve one million people, helping them create freedom and abundance by building assets, reclaiming their true resources, and creating a life they love to live.
Now i’ll be honest that was straight from his website, so how battle hardened is he?
How many seasons has his young body gone through to get to this point of success in his life?
Well, after a childhood filled with scarcity and hardship in many areas, he’s taken that pain and turned it into a deep desire to help nurture people.
Brad Hart has hustled, connected with the right people, and no doubt been knocked down and got up a few times to break free from that scarcity mindset and walk straight into a life of abundance with what seems a few missteps on the way.
How The Dots Joined Up For Brad
Leaving the University of Binghampton with a BA in Biology, he spent the first part of his career as an Emergency Medical Technician before after just one year deciding that a change was needed.
He then worked as a Real Estate Agent in New York for another two years, until the entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he started on the road to where he is today by founding Hartwood Capital.
This also only lasted one year and he found himself working once more for someone else as the VP of sales at Open Drives in Santa Monica.
And as we see time and time again, these perceived false starts were in fact giving him the skills to really make his mark, and were needed as much as the ongoing success.
Now he is 100% self employed and on a mission to change lives across the globe.
So with a world of wannabe entrepreneurs fighting through the scarcity mindset, is this the number one challenge that he faces in his business?
And what was it, that finally hit home and made him realise what he should be doing in his life?
Well let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Brad Hart.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Brad Hart such as:
Brad shares a terrible story of how his father suffered a truck accident as a young child and how it changed the direction of his life. But in many ways he wouldn’t be where he is today without it.
Why it is so important to expand your vision to encompass more people in your life, by doing so you gain more than you could possibly know. Very wise words indeed.
How Steve Jobs, Elon Musk created their own reality by creating their own rules. Something we can all do if we are only willing to accept the decisions to create are all in our own hands.
and lastly….
Why the world needs to realise that there are so many opportunities around us, that we don’t need to worry about competing with others. Do you think. Do it well, and provide the greatest value you can to your customers.
How To Connect With Brad Hart
Return To The Top Of Brad Hart
If you enjoyed this episode with Brad Hart, then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Heidi Krupp-Lisiten, Nick Ruiz, Sarah Caltieri or the amazing Sam Bearfoot
Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.
Audio Transcription Of Brad Hart Interview
Intro [0:00]
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 [0:25]
yes hello a good morning to everybody and welcome to a join up dots it’s a very rainy day here is the 27th of July we should be based by Baten basking sunshine, but we’re not we’re running from door to door with umbrellas. That’s not how summer should be. But I’m sure where my guest is today. He’s probably in his property standing there in a man Kini. That’s what like a web is going to be glorious. So we’re going to find out if that’s the case. And it’s a delight to actually have him on the show because he is a he’s a battle hardened investor, seasoned trader, advisor, top brands and mentor to a world class performers. His mission is to serve 1 million people helping them create freedom and abundance by building assets, reclaiming their true resources, and creating a life they love. Now, I’ll be honest, that was straight from his website. So how battle hardened is he how many seasons has these young body gone through to get to this point of success in his life? Well, after a childhood filled with scarcity and hardship in many areas, he’s taken that pain and turned it into a deep desire to help nurture people, his household connected with the right people, and no doubt be knocked down and got up a few times to break free from the scarcity mindset and walk straight into a life of abundance with what seems a few missteps on the way, now leaving the University of being Hampton with a BA in biology. He spent the first part of his career as an emergency medical technician before after just one year deciding that a change was needed. He been worked as a real estate agent in New York for another two years, until the entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. And he started on the road to where he is today by founding hardware capital. This also only lasted one year, and he found himself working once more for someone else as the VP of sales at open drives in Santa Monica. And as we see time and time again, please proceed. four stars are in fact giving him the skills to really make his mark and when needed as much as the ongoing success. Now he’s 100% self employed and on a mission to change lives across the globe. So we have a world of wannabe entrepreneurs fighting through the scarcity mindset. Is this the number one challenge that he faces in his business? And what was it that finally hit home and made him realize what he should be doing in his life? Well, let’s find out as we bring on to the show to start join up dots with the one and only Mr. Brad Hart. Good morning, Brad. How are you sir?
Brad Hart [2:45]
I’m so well thank you and I’m sorry to report that we have a beautiful sunny day here in San Diego, California. So apologies to the rain there and England. But yeah, we’re enjoying it. We love the weather here and I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I’ve been all over the world this is my favorite place.
David Ralph [3:00]
Yeah, but it’s not as good as a rainy United Kingdom is it where wherever ladies cling to you for protection from the weather.
Brad Hart [3:09]
We got a few of our own as well. But we have a good time. I love run and jump in the ocean every day. I can’t imagine living anywhere else to be honest. And I love I love the UK. I love the people there I love visiting the food. I could take it or leave it however but
David Ralph [3:23]
so So where was childhood for you? You didn’t live in Santa San Diego. You’ve got the sunshine. You got the Californian vibe. Was that always the case?
Brad Hart [3:32]
That wasn’t the case. You know David I grew up in long islands. My father was a truck driver. And my mom worked in delis and you know made breakfast sandwiches and the like. And when I was about two years old, my dad got into a truck accident where he was coming down the hill and the load shift in the back of the cab and came through the back of the cab and pinned him to the steering wheel and ruptured a disc in his spine. And he couldn’t walk for about six months, he was crawling around on a mechanic’s creeper, you know, one of those you used to get under a car just to get around. And then he finally had one surgery to get him so he could walk again. But he was never not in pain again. And throughout my entire childhood, this became a recurring theme, you know if self medication of checking out of, you know, kind of mailing it in, and then my mom had to leave to work and they split up and she, you know, got together my stepdad who now they’re married. So it was a really rough time in my childhood. And growing up on Long Island. You know, it’s funny, people don’t really think of it as a place where there’d be a lot of violence or gangs or drugs. But there were actually some really solid, you know, skinhead and crazy gangs that would just go through the neighborhoods causing trouble and beating people up. And I had the misfortune to have to deal with that growing up. It was a little scary, honestly. But, you know, we made it work. And, you know, we made our social security and disability checks and my dad was receiving stretch and you know, he would put TV dinners and soda in the fridge or we’d make do we kept a roof over our heads. But it was certainly a challenging time growing up, but it made me appreciate it everything I have today.
David Ralph [5:01]
Well, when you look back at that time, Long Island I’ve driven around Long Island. I’m a big Billy Joel fan. And that’s the sort of that the home of Billy Joe. And when it’s a very sort of industrial and also a marine environment. There’s a lot of fishermen in that kind of area. They’re doing their trades, was not never going to be part of your life. Did you not fancy getting on a boat and sailing off into the into the sunset? You know,
Brad Hart [5:28]
it’s funny, when I was a kid, my dad’s first cousin. So my second cousin had a boat, he had a little Boston Weller, and sometimes you take us out and that was some of the happiest moments of my child is when we get to go out in the boat. You know, I would kind of see, you know, like when I went to private school later on, my dad would see some of the wealth that was there. You know, you had like the EastEnders and people like that. And, you know, boats, I remember having a really fond affinity for the ocean and boats from young age. I still love taking the ferry from Connecticut, I’m actually gonna take it a couple weeks, we’re going to camp Maverick up in Connecticut that Yannick silver runs the vault enterprises by great people going to be there. But, you know, in general, like, you know, boats in the ocean, were always a source of pleasure for me until about a year ago, I started getting seasick, which is crazy. I think as you get older, your inner ear changes. So now I have to be very careful about what boats were whether I can handle the choppy seas, otherwise, I’m in for hours and hours of misery. I was like, You should come on a cruise. I’m like, Nope, I’m good. Thanks.
David Ralph [6:20]
So So when when you look at your sort of life now, it seems a truth to me that anybody who gets out there and starts changing it dramatically, you would say always going to be money, oh, they want a better lifestyle. But it’s not. there’s a there’s a freedom and certainly with entrepreneurial life, there’s a freedom of choice. There’s a freedom of location is a freedom of everything. Are you somebody that likes but ability to change direction when you want because it seems to me just from speaking to you and doing my research, but you are somebody that likes that that flexibility of time.
Brad Hart [6:55]
Yeah, and David growing up where I grew up, like, there was no possibility to travel. My dad didn’t get on a plane until I was 17 years old. And we wouldn’t visit my uncle, like he wasn’t a traveler, my mom was too busy working to support us. So like, the idea of travel to me was completely foreign. So I prioritized it in my 20s, you know, especially and I really love that that need for variety, right? We all have these, these six human needs that we all espouse to, but you know, the way we value them is totally different. And they’re by shapes the outcome that we we get in our lives. Yeah, so I really valued variety, you know, from from that age, and I ended up visiting, you know, 23 countries and 43 states and making multiple trips around the world, throughout my 20s. And that was something that I really went after, you know, to the detriment of some other things, to be perfectly honest. But I wouldn’t trade those experiences and how they made me grow for the life of me. So yeah, to answer your question, like, you know, getting out into see the world and having that sense of variety was really important. But I think the caveat to that is that no matter where you go in life, you know, physically, there you are, right. So until you start working on yourself, really doubling down your own personal growth and development, your own skills, and your own ability to lead and create a vision and manage and, you know, help other people to get into what you’re doing, and opening it up. And you’ll never really create anything, and I failed a lot before I really got those lessons. Well, your
David Ralph [8:19]
story is one of those ones, where from my side of the fence, I look at it and I think I can already see your big dot, it’s quite obvious to me, but you’re somebody that cares about people is quite obvious to me, you’re somebody that wants people to flourish and be healthy and live great lives. And, you know, and and to inspire people. And it comes down to your decision to go into the emergency medical technician, it seems to me that nurturing caring side might have been put into the wrong situation. But it’s always been there with with you, would that be true?
Brad Hart [8:52]
Yeah, that’s accurate. I mean, so you know, the best job I could get when I was 18 years old was as a bartender. And that wasn’t quite an not even, you know, I was making good money, but I just felt like I needed to give back and be more involved in the community. And what I always really wanted to do is be a doctor, I want to be Dr. Hart, the cardiologist, I had the corny joke based on significance. But that was my real aim. And that’s why I went and got a biology degree. And in preparation for that, I felt it look really good on my resume to, you know, continue to serve in that capacity. So I did paid I did volunteer. And the funny thing is that when you’re 18, they’ll let you be an EMT, just like they’ll let you serve drinks, but you have to be 21 to consume the drinks, you have to be 21 to drive the ambulance, right? Because of insurance reasons and because of legality. So you know, for those three years or so, when I was an EMT, and I was a bartender, I was serving, but I wasn’t able to to not serve, right. Does that make sense? So like, every single person that came on to my ambulance, my boss would call him a bus. Everybody that came on the bus was my responsibility. There wasn’t a time where I could say, No, I’m going to let you handle this one and drive. Right, and the more seasoned tax and paramedics, they could help if we were stabilizing a patient. But while we were in transit, that was it was on me. And I’m very proud to say and grateful to say, you know, guided, if you will, that that nobody that ever got on my ambulance passed away. Everybody that that I managed to care for made us the hospital. And I can’t tell you what happened after that we were always so busy running around. But, you know, for those two, three years, when I was working as an EMT, you know, I have so much respect, it made me grow so much as a person. And the very first night I remember training and thinking like, Oh, this is not going to be a big deal. I can completely dissociate from this because it’s how I used to deal with traumas I used to block it out. And the very first night, I had to do a an overnight shift in a emergency hospital. It was a trauma level one trauma centers, Stony Brook, in Long Island, which is on the North Shore, great hospital. And the very first call on the very first night, we get a helicopter that comes in and lands on the chopper on the pad. And it was this girl who whose boyfriend had wrapped her around a telephone pole on his Mercedes, you know. And when she came in, and they said her name out loud, my heart sunk, because I couldn’t recognize her. But if somebody went to high school with and she was all banged up, we didn’t know if she was going to live. And I just remember being there. And I didn’t know what to do. Like, medically, I had no training, this is literally my first night on the job. So all I could do was just be there for her when she was crying and screaming and yelling, just hold her hand say is going to be okay. And it was tear up, I tell the story because it’s just it was such a change in my life at that moment. And that I could be there for that person, not knowing what to do with just being there a friendly face and a time of struggle. And thankfully, she made a full recovery. And about six months later she was she came back to school and she she ran right up to me and gave her a big hug. She says You’re my angel at night, I don’t think I would have made it without you. And that was the moment I knew Wow. You can really make an effect in people’s lives. You know, you can really change the outcome. Stop because you need to have all the answers like I had always been so in my head David is because I really love with my heart and I moment and I managed to change and affected and are an outcome that I am Who knows what would have happened otherwise? Oh, sorry.
David Ralph [12:16]
I could hear the emotion. Yeah, I could hear the emotion in your voice when you you were speaking about but now you’re putting yourself into a situation where you’re trying to help people every day, a million people? Does that not sort of take something out of you each time that energy that you have to put into actually helping somebody? Does it not scrape away at your soul? Or does it sort of allow you to flourish?
Brad Hart [12:42]
It’s It’s funny, you mentioned that? And I know it’s a pointed question, but I’ll answer it anyways. Because it’s it just goes to show you know, like there’s, there’s different needs, there’s needs to the personality which you all must meet, but there’s needs to the spirit as well. And the funny paradox about life is when you focus on your own needs and what you need, you only get what you need. If that right, you may even fail at that. But when you expand your vision to encompass encompass more people, not only do you get your own needs met, but your sense of fulfillment is even more. So I’ll share two examples. So when you know, my LinkedIn, I think you looked at, you know, actually didn’t fail at the hedge fund, I was actually more successful than I could have possibly imagined. We had a month that were my partners, and I made $1,040,000 in May of 2013 profit. And you know, what ended up happening in the course of that is that I made all this money, but I was so burned out and so disconnected. And doing this hedge fund out of a sense of needing to make money. And that’s what I felt like was going to make me win at that point. Because, you know, up until that point, I hadn’t really gotten that what I was here to do, yet I was still living in my head and not in my heart, which is my name. So it’s funny, I should really pay attention to that Hmm. And leading people. So when you when you say to me, you know, is it is draining, it’s draining to do something that you don’t love because it might make you money, you can fail at the things that you don’t love. So why not take a chance on the things that you do love and what lights me up more than anything David and I have a lot of research that I’ve done over the years to figure out why this is and what lights people up differently than me for different reasons. And I have a lot of empathy for that. And I understand that. But for me it’s people it’s always been people it always will be people and from a very young age, I had a lot of pain around relationships and people and now you know as a grown adult I can go anywhere in the world and meet people and and be taken in I mean it would just took 50 people to Hong Kong and China to learn about product sourcing we just took 50 people to Tony Robbins up w every chance I get to interact with people it lights me up and every time I’m closed off or thinking about myself or by myself or traveling by myself, I you know that that sense of I’m not living my purpose or being in service to people starts creeping in. So I’ll just share one more thing because I think the listeners at home might appreciate this the first time female self made billionaire woman and Sara Blakely. I had the opportunity to meet her about God about six months ago now. We’re down Atlanta at Spanx headquarters. She invented Spanx, which is, you know, the women listening in the audience will absolutely know it’s Banks’s. I didn’t however, and the reason I learned about it was because we were going to visit and we’re going to meet her. And I heard her name, but I didn’t know anything about what she did not my you know, not her demographic. But my assistant Savannah, she when she’s booking the flight, she’s like, Oh my god, you’re going to be Sara Blakely. Oh, yeah. What did you tell me? I love her. She’s amazing. You have to tell her. She’s like freaking out. I’m like, Whoa, Who is this woman? So I did my research. And you know, she’s a wonderful woman doing amazing things. And yes, her brand has made her a billionaire. But in addition, she’s helping mentor entrepreneurs. She’s helping grow people’s companies in the Atlanta area and beyond. Her husband, Jesse Hetzler, who have very fond of as well is doing some amazing things in the world. He founded Zico, coconut water use in the entertainment industry. Anyway, so long story short, I get to meet Sarah. And one of the things that she says, which really hit me between the eyes, two things actually was one was, you know, female entrepreneurs are the most underutilized resource in the world right now. I’m gonna do everything I can to support them and make sure they grow. And I’m like, that’s awesome. You’re totally right. You know, for men, it is, you know, still a patriarchy, right. So men, for men, it’s a lot easier to kind of break into business and entrepreneurship, and there’s not as much of a glass ceiling, I’m not saying that it will never be equal. I’m just saying it’s not equal. Now we’re working towards it. And then additionally, she said, something that I think is really pertinent to this conversation, she said, when you’re only focused on you and your needs, you’re only going to get what you need, right? So if if your vision is to, to, you know, provide for yourself, you’re gonna make like 75 grand a year, right? If it’s you and your family, maybe it’s like 150, 200, 200
grand a year, if it’s you and your family, and now your community or your tribe, maybe you get up to like 500 grand a year. But if you really want to make millions and billions, you have to have a vision that’s so large, that encompasses the hundreds of thousands of employees around the world, or customers or millions of customers that will ultimately be a part of this vision, right? We all love to tell the story of the Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates or the Elon Musk as if it’s one guy that made all that happen. Sure they set the vision, they were willing to take the risk and step into the gap as a leader. But there are hundreds of thousands of millions of people that went into creating that vision and then millions of customers around the world that made it a reality. So in working in tandem, it’s all about the people. So for me, like that lights me up, because I get an opportunity to grow and contribute. And the more you grow, right, the more you have to give and the more you choose to give it the more you grow. It’s this virtuous cycle as opposed to just focusing on your needs for certainty or variety or significance, which is a black hole that you can never fill. That’s why so many, you know, rock stars and musicians are hanging themselves ultimately. And it’s horrible to say that I love these people like Chris Cornell is a hero of mine. I was crying when he died. But they had everything but they they had their they’re aiming at the wrong targets. And I did it to myself, I get it. You know, it’s only until you reach that massive level success you realize you’re missing the point all along. So you know like Tony Robbins says success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. And that’s what I that’s the message I want to leave with people. And if people are your jam that lights you up, go all in on that because the money will follow.
David Ralph [18:13]
No, I ok brides. So how do you create a vision that you know is going to be right for you? It’s a white saying those words totally buy into them. But as you spoke about you created the investment, the hedge fund company made a lot of money wasn’t quite your thing. How do you know now that this is your thing? And how do you know the direction of the vision? This is kind of a loaded question for the listeners because I’m sure there’s so many people out there thinking I want to do something big. I want to do something bold, audacious. I want to impact people’s lives. How do you do it?
Brad Hart [18:46]
Yeah, that’s a great question David and I’d like to give a really, I’d like to serve and the answer. And what I believe for me was that I had to fail and have enough pain to really understand and value of things that were important in my life. Oh, I’ll tell a story real quick because I think it’s it’s useful. I was at another Tony Robbins conference. I go to a lot of them. I love Tony and I love the community around him. I think he’s one of the best in the world right now. He’s a national treasure. And if you haven’t seen him, please go see him. I had his book on the shelf for years and so many successful hundred millionaire plus people were telling me you got to go to Tony Robbins and look Yeah, yeah, just go. I’ll pay your damn ticket if you don’t think it’s a good if it’s a good fit. Anyway. So I’m at a Tony Robbins conference. It’s wealth, life and wealth mastery, Marco Island, Florida, Marco islands, a beautiful place, you’ve never been to beautiful island, there’s sunshine there sands. Everything’s going really well. And you know, we’re having this kind of this, this event and this guy Scotty is facilitating, you know, so sometimes Tony takes a day off because his voice is shot. So Scott, he’s up there, he’s telling a story about how, you know, sometimes when life thinks you’re off course, it’ll give you a little feathers, just a little tap on the shoulder a little hands, just Hey, hey, pay attention. This you’re not quite on track right now. And you can ignore the feathers David but one day life’s gonna get a little more, it’s going to turn up the volume, right, it’s gonna, it’s going to increase the volume of the message. And then one day, you’re gonna be walking along, you’re gonna walk gay with a brick, oh, my God, I got hit with a brick, and you can ignore the bricks too. But one day, you’re gonna be walking across street forget to look both ways. And life’s gonna hit you with a Mack truck, bam, Mack truck. So feathers, bricks and trucks. And at the time, I was living in my head a lot. And I hadn’t quite gotten the lesson that I really needed to be in my heart and lead from there. So I’m heading back to my Airbnb, we’re standing house a couple blocks away, and they had these little beach cruiser bikes, right. And I took it back and forth to the conference, so I don’t have to worry about parking. Anyway, so I’m riding along, it’s a beautiful sunny day, the birds are chirping, and you know, everything’s going great. And for whatever reason, or no reason at all, I start getting in my head about something playing those old records over and over again, the things we tell ourselves, right, and my state starts to drop, and my emotions start to kick in the negative thoughts for no reason. And I think I make eye contact with I’m crossing the street with the drivers about to make a right hand turn. And then I start to go out in the traffic, and he starts to make the right hand turn, and he knocks me off my bike and crushes the bike, and knocks, you know, and all these people are screaming. And it was really scary. And I almost died. Thankfully, you know, nothing too serious happened. I scuffed up my knees. But when I, you know got a sense of the situation, I looked at the truck that just hit me, it was entirely filled with paving stones, or bricks. So I literally got hit by a truck full of bricks. So I go back into the conference. And I’m getting patched up by the medic. And he’s really sweet guy. And, you know, Scotty walks by and he says, What the heck happened to you? I said, you know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this trucks unboxing He’s like, Oh, yeah, it’s a great metaphor, Mike, no metaphor, Scotty, there’s actual trucks and bricks hit and people out there. So that was the moment when I learned unequivocally that I need to live in my heart and stop, stop using my head for anything other than just a tool. You know, it’s not it’s it’s one piece. But if you if every every problem is a nail, and every tool is a hammer, well, you’re only going to get one result, right. But life is a very place, you got to be able to flex and flow and, and use all the tools at your disposal, including living in your heart. So you know, when when you’re trying to set a vision to bring it back, I think it’s really important to understand that your pain is going to point you in the right direction. And when you stop getting as much pain from life and you start getting really positive feedback that helps you grow. And you start getting you know, these positive feedback loops of growth and contribution, the more you grow, the more you give, the more you give, the more you grow, all that starts happening, you know, you’re moving in the right direction. And when you start here, feeling the feathers and maybe get hit with a brick or two or maybe a hit with a truck full of bricks, whatever happens to you, it’s time to course correct until you find the thing that you were made to do. And I don’t believe that you’re pre determined, I believe that we have co creation abilities as creators. And we also have free will. And we have to balance those two, those freedom and that responsibility to create the thing that we’re here to create. That’s what I believe.
David Ralph [22:57]
powerful stuff, as are the words I’m going to now here’s Rocky
Rocky Balboa [23:02]
You, me and nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit. And keep moving forward. How much you can take it keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.
Brad Hart [23:16]
Gotta love Rocky.
David Ralph [23:18]
He’s the man you were saying on your website that you are battle hardened. Now, do you feel that because you look like somebody that’s literally going to be skipping around beaches and just being happy? Do you? Do you feel like there’s a certain amount of weight on your shoulder from life? You know,
Brad Hart [23:34]
I lost a lot of people over the years and I continue to be taught some pretty hard lessons. And yes, I’m a young man. I’ll be 32 and a couple weeks. But you know David I don’t think it’s the amount of years that you lived I really think it’s the lessons and what you’ve done with them. You know what I’ve started several multiple businesses that have been very successful. But I’ve also failed about about a dozen you know, the last people my best friend in college died from alcohol, my dad died from alcohol. My best friend Justin, Adventures of Justin, if you want to see some beautiful adventure photos, this guy was a real living legend, US 35 and recently just went missing. And he was never found. And the person who is suspected of foul play in the in the situation hung himself in police custody. And a few days later, you know, I like just all these wonderful people in my life that have come in and come out for various reasons. You know, I’m just grateful that I have the opportunity to continue to move forward. And I don’t know how long that opportunity is going to last. I don’t know how long that window is, but I’m going to live the crap out of life. While I while I’m here to live it. So, you know, age I think is irrelevant. I know 15 year old kids that are making millions of dollars. I’m mentoring a girl right now Savannah, or might have mentioned earlier, who when I was when she was 18, she’d already started a successful business in high school. And now she’s gonna, you know, well on our way and trajectory to creating something incredible. I mean, she’s better networker than I am. And I’ve been at it much longer. So you know your age, guys, if you’re listening at home, don’t ever get hung up on that. That’s just a number. It’s when you decide. And when you get clear on your outcome, your vision, you know, what your why is, and then how it starts to show up. And there’s so much mentorship and so many opportunities to grow and learn, provided you’re living in a contribute of state people want to help you, right? Life supports life. Sorry, life supports that which supports life. And as long as you’re supporting life and those around you, I think you can continue to grow and expands and get more leverage than you ever thought. And when you look at it from like, Oh, you know, if I do this, I do that I’m going to get this, I get that. That’s the wrong way to look at it. And to use the join up dots analogy, like I couldn’t connect the dots looking forward. I still can’t, nobody can nobody can see the future. But when you look back, it’s the things that you do because it feels right in the moment. And you know, it’s the best and highest good. You’re always asking yourself the question like why am I here right now to affect this situation? What’s my best and highest good right now? If you just keep asking yourself those questions, when you look back, and you join up all these dots, you’re going to see that your life is a masterpiece, because you created magic, and every moment. And the only time you have to act is right now. So whether you’re listening to this, and you’re 12 or 28, or 32, like me, or you know, you’re 85 whatever it is, it’s never too late to shift your whole life around. And I have dozens of examples. I mean, you know, Kentucky Fried Chicken, like I was at when he started Colonel Sanders. I mean, look at lady Madonna. You know, she runs ultra marathons, and she’s in her 80s. I mean, there’s so many people out there there. You know, no matter what the age they’re getting after in life, and doesn’t have to look like what it looks like. For me. It’s enough to look like what it looks like for David jobs to start a podcast, you have to do any of that stuff. But you got to find the thing that you’re here to do, and light lights you up. And in doing so, and and giving that gift, you’re going to make the whole world shine brighter. And you’re going to get everything you want in life. Have
David Ralph [26:58]
you found that now? Right? Is this your thing? Is this your legacy work? Or do you think this is just another dots towards something?
Brad Hart [27:06]
Yeah, and I can’t answer that question, because I can’t see the future David now. And honestly, I’m grateful that I can’t because I wouldn’t want to know the ending. Right. But I think unequivocably Yes, you know, the things we’re working on with blockchain right now. And some of the projects that I’m working on which aren’t public, yet, have the opportunity to create a world where scarcity in the sense of food, energy, water and shelter may no longer exist. I know it’s a hyperbolic statement. It might sound crazy. But if you talk to some of the people that are really cutting edge on this stuff, like the Peter Diamandis is of the world that Ray Kurzweil, who’s you know, chief engineer at Google, Peter founded the X Prize and Singularity University along with Ray, if you talk to Richard Branson, who I’m very blessed to have spent a couple days with, if you talk to the people who are really moving and shaking what they’re seeing, you’ll start to see a future that might be better than we think. And I want to have a hand in creating that from an economic person. Because economics David it’s really just the collective opinions of, you know, granted very smart people of what’s been happening in human decision making for the last 510, 1500 years. But human decision making is predicated on what humans were making decisions upon the times of the day, right, the day of the times that that have passed and are continuing to change, we’re not moving linearly into the future, I’m not taking 30 steps forward, and then 30 steps away, we’re taking 30 exponential steps and going around the world five times. And every doubling allows another doubling. We have super computers in our pockets that didn’t exist 10 years ago, if you told me 100 years ago that I could look inside you that cutting you up, and you’d say it was crazy, but now he’s x rays and PET scans and CT scans every day. So what will we know that we don’t know now, tomorrow, what new miracle will show up tomorrow. And I believe that the technology and the abilities there. Now, it’s just the time to upgrade our beliefs about what’s possible. And that’s my legacy. I think
David Ralph [28:58]
everything is possible. But I can also say, although I can’t predict the future, if somebody tells me in 10 years time, I’m not doing this podcast, I’d be astonished, I really would be astonished, I can’t see, it will spin off into so many different things. There’s so many different opportunities coming my way. But actually, this, I don’t feel there’s any reason to step away. It is is that how, you know, the true life comes to you, when you actually think to yourself, this is me, it isn’t a job. It isn’t a hobby, it’s me.
Brad Hart [29:31]
Yeah. And I appreciate that sentiment as well David because I feel the same way about make more marbles. Like, that’s my mission, and it’s not going to make me rich, and that’s not the point. it’ll pay the bills. Sure, I help a lot of people and they pay me well. But you know, the things that we can create from that message or that mindset are innumerable right. And, you know, I don’t believe that purpose last your whole life, I think it’s you know, you have a purpose, that’s a reason, a season or a lifetime, just like people that come into your life, right? There’s, you know, getting hung up on the thing is silly, right? If you don’t know what your purpose is, your purpose is to find your purpose, when your purpose is satisfied, it’s time to find a new purpose. And that’s okay. You know, I borrowed that from a guy named David data. And it’s really true, you know, like, your purpose might to be present might be to be present for somebody in this moment, right now, it might be to listen, this podcast right now, it might be to take care of your kids, it might be to, you know, be really good to your to your spouse and meet their needs, at a high level, it might be to, you know, donate or give your time to a local community organization. You know, purpose doesn’t have to be this grandiose, change the world thing. It’s more like a North Star, right? Like that type of purpose is like a North Star, so that you can begin to train your particular activating system, the part of your brain that notices opportunities, so that when it shows up, and you see that it can move you forward towards that goal, you step into that, because these opportunities are all around us. And then finally, you know, with regard to to mission and vision, you know, guys just get clear that taking action. And envisioning are like most of the steps of the puzzle, you know, like, that’s really it, and then the house starts to show up, provided you you have a certain set of beliefs that that it will show up, that you can step into it, you can change it, you must change it, you can change it now. And when you can do that. And you could take action consistently, you’ll start to gain the confidence, right? Because you’ll start to see results. And some of the results will be positive results you like, Oh my god, I want to keep this up. So you’ll start to gain the confidence, because now you have evidence that you can actually affect change in the world. And that’s a beautiful state to come from was like I’ve done this stuff before. I wasn’t anything special. In fact, I was a dumb, dumb kid when I did a lot of this stuff. And now as an adult with a little more clarity and understanding and better connections and better resources at my disposal. What can I create next? Right, that’s what’s really beautiful. So yeah, David, I think join up dots is a great, great show, and I hope you do it forever. But even then, you know, that’s just a platform that’s just a launchpad for maybe your huge massive contribution that you might make. Right? So I want to just maybe challenge everybody listening to think about, okay, what’s the thing I do to make life work? And that that’s a purpose. Sure. And that’s valid? What’s the thing that I could really contribute uniquely, that life is pointing me towards? That might be you know, the thing and never say, never settle for just mediocrity. Never settle for all I’ve got life figured out. And that’s it. Because then you’re just giving up on all the possible magic that could come from from stepping into a new thing. And exciting thing. And it doesn’t mean you have to give up what you have. But you might have to make some room for it.
David Ralph [32:34]
Yeah, no, absolutely. So So let’s talk about make more marbles. Because he came up in conversation, but we haven’t talked about it at all, but this is your, your big platform. So what does it provide to the world? Why are you so excited? And why should our listeners be beating down your door to get in?
Brad Hart [32:51]
I appreciate you asking, you know, make more marbles as a community predicated on the idea, you know, when I was a hedge fund manager, you know, in the marketplace, there are winners and losers, right? It’s not where value is created. It’s where values is decided upon and traded, right. And in every transaction and every trade and real estate similar, there’s only so much room right so in order for me to win David you have to lose or vice versa. And I just kind of got burned out on that because it was very disconnected is very dehumanizing. To me, it took people out of the equation, I’ve learned a lot about the wealth creation cycle and why that’s an important part of it. Now, but looking back, you know, I think I was really hurt by that. So when I started to wind down the the fund, what I realized was, you know, hey, I don’t want to be a marble taker, we can just make more marbles. Right? There’s plenty of marbles. Let’s just make more right, this infinite sandbox of creation, add he make it into glass twists, there’s a marble right? So this is the kind of the metaphor that I came up with. And we’ve got all kinds of cool stuff coming like the Hungry Hippos video. And we’ll get into that. But, you know, basically, we want to, we want to spread that message. So we can always make more. And that if you really, look, there’s plenty of resources around. And scarcity only exists in certain situations in the modern world, we don’t have a lot of scarcity, except for what we perceive and perception of scarcity. You know, when it’s not, in fact, real causes people to do some pretty horrible things, you know, wars, rape, murder, genocide, you name it, theft, all of it. It’s, it’s pretty horrible. So if we can get people to shift out of a scarcity mindset, where they’re surviving and have to take things from each other, and into an abundance mindset, where they’re creating and generating, you know, the reason I love entrepreneurs, I support entrepreneurs. And that’s how we, what we do we have messaging, masterminding mentorship, we have all kinds of programs, trips, events all over the world. That’s what we do, we mentor and help shape the world’s future leaders. Because, you know, I can, I can tell you a thing, or I can show you a thing, and a leader doesn’t create more followers, a leader creates more leaders. And that’s what I’m looking to do is really be a catalyst for people who may or may not otherwise have stepped into this, this role in life where they’re creating more than than consume, and they’re creating they consume, which is why I love entrepreneurs. That’s what they do. And they just did a little bit more of that, right? Just create a little more than you consume, and create before you consume the world would change overnight, drastically.
David Ralph [35:10]
And and so well, what did I get? I understand the concept of it. But what did they get the listeners who joined up with you?
Brad Hart [35:18]
Yeah, so listeners, I mean, I only want to work with a certain number of people on this, I got to be perfectly honest, I got plenty of different projects. But if there’s somebody out there that is really working to create the future, we’ve got the connections, we’ve got the resources, we’ve got the opportunities, we’ve got the people, we got the systems, we’re able to very clearly diagnose and show people what they can do. And we’re working on you know, more kind of lower entry products and things to help you with productivity and teamwork and wealth dynamics, like Roger James Hamilton does, you know, just to get really clear on what the value is that you provide. So you can stay in your lane, you can make more money, you can save more time, and then getting a team around you to build and grow to the next level. But in reality, like, I really feel like I can, can only do so much with the right people, and I’m not looking to save everybody, I like to eventually affect a million people. But that requires a lot of leverage, cuz I’m still one guy with 24 hours in the day. So you know, I think the best thing they could do would be sign up for the email list. We publish content daily, and you can go to make more marbles calm right now you can check us out. And you could sign it up 15,000 people read our stuff every day, which is great. I’m grateful for that. I want to get up to 100,000 eventually a million like I talked about, but you know, just the little tweaks, right? I’m not worried. I’m not worried about them wondering, Oh, am I going to get this and then the other thing, like, I know, they will get what they need. And I know that my team and I have become a vessel to provide it. And it’s just been thousands of messages coming in from all over the world and every different part of your life. Like, you know, we made this alcohol video, just something that Frank and I or my sales team threw together one day just talking about our experience quitting alcohol, for example. And over 1000, people reached out and went to become the number one YouTube video on the topic, just stuff like that, because I’m not trying to anything from anybody. I’m trying to give them what they need so that they can thrive. And you know, when people say oh, what can I get? I think it’s the wrong frickin question. Ask is what can you give, that life can give back to you? So if you’re already asking that question, what can I get? I think you’re already starting from a place of disservice to yourself and others. It’s when we decide what are we going to contribute? That all our needs start to be met? Some
David Ralph [37:26]
make more marbles? Is it everything you want? At the moment? Is it one of those things because in the entrepreneur world, you spend more time thinking about what could be, I could be producing more bass, I can be producing more of that. But it is, you know, your baby, you’ve only got so much time as you say, do you beat yourself up? But you’re not producing enough? Because I know I struggle with that fault that I should be doing this. I should be doing that.
Brad Hart [37:51]
Yeah, that’s a great question David and, you know, for me, I just focus on giving something every day, right, I start my day with some sort of contribution. Like if you guys follow me on Facebook, and I’ll be happy to have you do that. It’s just fb.me slash Brad Hart, br A d, h, ar T, I publish there every day. And then I have a team that disseminates that content to the website to the email list to YouTube to you know, other areas of Facebook, different groups and things like that. And it’s not because I’m so great. Most of what I’m learning is just rehash from, you know, the greatest mentors and teachers I’ve invested in myself over $600,000 to learn, right, it’s, and yeah, we can, you know, a lot of people get attracted because they hear my story, or they, they hear about some of the results that we’re getting with different businesses and entrepreneurs or I talk about my experiences with crypto or new technologies, you know, we got a SAS company, we do Amazon, all kinds of cool stuff happening. But they stay and they read the emails, and they read the content, because they always get a little nugget, right, and these little shifts at the right time, I think really make the difference for people. And yeah, we can help them make more money, close more sales, get more leads, we can help them, you know, increase their their teamwork aspect, we can help them and increase the systems that they have in their business and make more time for themselves. We can do all of that. But I think what they really get, and what I’m really excited to give is a new perspective, a more abundant perspective on life, that life doesn’t have to be so freaking hard if we work together versus compete with each other all the time. And that’s really the message I want to leave is that we can win more through cooperation than we ever could through competition. And I’m not saying competition is not real. I’m not saying that’s not valid. It does, you know, show you who the best is. But I don’t want to be on the top of the mountain and be standing there alone. Right? I don’t think he wants you either at the end of the day, and you haven’t been to the top of that mountain? Well, you’ll know one day what that feels like,
David Ralph [39:39]
Oh, absolutely. Well, we’re going to play the words of the late Steve Jobs. He said this back in 2005. And these are the kind of words I wish I was clever enough to say he said him first. Here we go.
Steve Jobs [39:51]
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 [40:25]
So do those words make all the difference when you look at your own life, Mr Brad Hart?
Brad Hart [40:29]
Yeah, I mean, if you you know, humans are driven by story, and metaphor. And it’s really true. But the the key bit to that is that you have to make a metaphor and a story and a meaning that’s empowering, right? We all make up stories about why our lives are the way they are. And what Steve is done there is given us a little bit of a window into his expertise, which was creating a new reality. And, you know, we always talk about like Bill Clinton and Steve Jobs and people like that they had this reality distortion field, like the rules don’t lot of them because they don’t, because they see the world the way it is. And they’re dissatisfied, because they know it could be better. They know they could create a better product, they know they can lead in a better way. They know they could unite people under a common cause. And they don’t settle until they do it. And they don’t listen to anybody who says they can’t. So absolutely, yeah, I agree 100% with what Steve says, and that’s a great quote. And I know that it’s inspired you certainly to do this podcast, because otherwise the metaphor wouldn’t have resonated.
David Ralph [41:28]
Yeah, it was amazing. When I first got given it, it was just one of those pieces. And I didn’t really grasp it as much. I just thought it was a really good speech. It was it just stayed with me. Stay with me. Because at its essence, I think we all know it’s true. You’ve got to get out there, you gotta try things, you gotta swing, you’re gonna miss, you’re gonna fall over, you’re going to get back out. But as long as you keep on going, and that is the key thing on Facebook today, somebody posted, you know, what would you tell your kids, if you could just give them a bit of advice into words? And I said, keep going. And I think that really is how our live Sybil.
Brad Hart [42:00]
Yeah, I like that. And I want to add Peter Dinklage, the actor on Game of Thrones. He had a really great commencement speech as well recently, where he said that when you give yourself permission to fail, you’ll be ready. So don’t wait to be ready. Just give yourself permission to fail, and you will be ready. And that’s so true. I mean, you can’t really fail. Unless you say I’m a failure, as soon as you decide that game over, right? But if you say, Well, I can’t fail, I can only win or learn. And learning is, you know, getting better on the way to winning. Cool. Well, there’s a better reframe, right, it’s a better story. It’s more empowering metaphor, to move forward. And if you can find the seed of learning and every failure or every perceived failure, then what can really stop you and if you can be grateful for your painful lessons. I mean, what can really stop you in this world besides death, obviously, and we’re all going there. So, you know, I just say, get after it. That would be what I would tell my kids.
David Ralph [42:56]
And when you look back at your own life, what would you classes your big moment, that moment that really challenged you to move in the direction that you are now?
Brad Hart [43:07]
Yeah, I think my dad passing away. So on my LinkedIn profile, I don’t talk about this. But you know, when my my transition from real estate into finance was actually predicated by the loss of my father, you know, he finally succumbed to alcoholism and passed away on Mother’s Day, I was on the train out to visit my mom and I got the call from the police that found him, and he died alone, by himself, drunk, hit his head bled out. And that was that it was a horrific scene David and it’s, it’s hard for you to even talk about it. I just remember him being wheeled out, you know, we obviously rushed over, I can remember being wheeled out by the corner and just thinking, Man, like, I had so many emotions come up, that I can’t even begin to describe. But I just remember thinking clearly and like having a clear message, like, I’m not going to waste the life I’ve been given. I’m going to do everything I possibly can make it a masterpiece. And I didn’t even know what that looked like at the time. And I just was frickin clear. Like, that was it like, he’s 61. You know, that means I’ve have, you know, maybe another 40 years at the at the earliest. If, if nothing bad happens, right? And I’m going to live the crap out of them. And that was the moment really when it kicked into high gear. And at that time, it was like, Oh, go start a hedge fund. And that kind of came together and the way it came together, you know, get into finance. So I thought my was my best and highest calling. But it’s funny, like you ended up the dots, it kind of was but it kind of wasn’t right in that way it wasn’t. But now I get to work with all these really wonderful people who are changing the game of blockchain and economics, and and creating things that had never existed before. And I needed that, that credibility, I needed that track record, I needed those. Those lessons, I needed to have the the background that I now have, in order to get there. So even if the headphone wasn’t the thing, it was part of the ultimate thing. And maybe if we look back on this podcast, and 20 years, we’ll see that we have shifted things. And things are different. And we have you know help to eliminate fraud in the in the marketplace, we have helped to change the way that individuals transact, we have helped put more power into the individuals hands and economic decisions, and protect their wealth and new ways using technology. So you know, that’s these are trillion dollar problem so we can solve. And if it weren’t for that detour, that were there wasn’t a detour, I wouldn’t be where I am today talking to you. So I’m grateful for all of it.
David Ralph [45:27]
So you should be and we are grateful to have you on the show. And we’re grateful to hear your advice to your younger self, because this is the part of the show when we’re going to send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young Brad Hart, what age would you choose him? What advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out, because I’m going to play the music. And when it fades, you’re up. This is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [45:56]
Here we go
David Ralph [45:58]
with the best.
Brad Hart [46:14]
Hi, Brad, it’s your older self, a little bit older now a little bit wiser, and have had a lot of learning. And I want to share with you a message today. You’re eight years old and recess just came out and you went out to the playground but you don’t have any friends. You’re not playing kickball, you’re on the swings, soothing yourself with repetitive motion, again, as you do for about half an hour a day before you have to go back into school and get picked on and bullied again, as you have been for the last three years. So I totally understand that feel where you’re at. And I get it. And I’m sorry. However, in this moment, you made a wish you had a desire, a cause set in motion, if you will. That one day,
you would have friends everywhere you went.
And you didn’t know how big the world was. And you didn’t really know how you get there. But now as a 32 year old man, I can say unequivocally That’s the truth. Anywhere you go in the world, you have friends, you have people that will take you in. There are tools to connect with people that you never even could have dreamed right then right now. But I want you to know that that’s coming. And in the meantime, I want you to never give up hope. Never for an instant. Know that you’re loved. I know that you’re guided, I know that you’re here to make a real difference. And I love you. And thank you.
David Ralph [47:31]
Right, what is the number one best way that our audience can connect with you sir.
Brad Hart [47:36]
Hit me up on Facebook, I’m not hard to find Brad heart on Facebook h AR t it’s facebook.com slash Brad heart. And you can go ahead and check me out on make more marbles. We’re redoing the website right now. So it’ll be all brand new and fresh. We got a podcast coming out soon couple books this year. We’re trying to put out more messaging than ever before this year and grow our audience exponentially. So if this message or anything I’ve said is resonant with you, please do send me a note. I love to read them or read them all.
David Ralph [48:02]
Thank you. And I do recommend Brad’s posts on Facebook as it there’s a lot of other crap on Facebook, to be honest, but I follow bread. And I don’t post myself very often. But what he does is spot on. And it’s very, very insightful. So connect with it may be great stuff for you. Now, thank you so much for spending time with us today, Brad Hart joining up those dots. And as we always say, Please come back again when you’ve got 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. Brad Hart. Thank you
Brad Hart [48:34]
so much. Thank you, David. And I appreciate everybody for listening. Thank you,
David Ralph [48:40]
Mr. Brad Hart, speaking openly speaking from the heart and you could hear that in the emotion that he showed through that conversation. And if you want to connect with anyone as I was saying just previously, he’s a great one to connect with on Facebook because he doesn’t just do fast he really does thought provoking comments and insights to help you build your business. If you want to start go over to check out make more marbles start listening to the podcast when it’s out and and be there be there with him as he looks to inspire millions across the world to do their own thing. Thank you so much for listening. As always to anybody who has given that is to join up dots I totally appreciate it. And we’ll be back. Soon
Outro [49:25]
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.