Asking Atlanta Billionaires How They Got Rich!

We got a Ferrari right here.

Excuse me, sir. Is this your Ferrari?

Oh my god. Not one of y'all little Instagram people.

Real quick, man. I I got a channel with 21 million followers. I've interviewed

48 billionaires in the last 5 years. I'm

interviewing Arthur Blank tomorrow.

Could I get 30 seconds with you?

I said you do interviewing Arthur Blank tomorrow.

Yes, sir.

That's what's up. What's up?

What line of business were you in?

I became rich being a business owner.

So, you're an entrepreneur?

Yes, I am.

How long have you been a business owner?

For about 20 something years, but I have to real quick. Over these 20 years, what was the most amount of money you made in a single year?

$5 million.

You said five million real quick. Oh

man. 10 million.

$10 million.

I did pretty good. Our our private jet company was did over 5 billion in sales.

So you ask everybody how much money they make. How much money you making, James?

make. How much money you making, James?

What's the biggest year you've had?

Who am I here with today? My name's

Arthur Blank.

How did you get rich?

Have you ever heard of Home Depot? You

ever been in a Home Depot?

Yes.

That's how I got rich. That was my company.

You made more than 99.9% of business professors ever will. Give me a lesson about business right here that's not taught in school.

Boy asking all the questions.

I'm getting it. This is a master class.

My motto is never take advice from someone that you wouldn't exchange a bank account with.

Arthur, you're 83 years old today. If me

and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be?

I think that's a great question. Well, I

think I'm about to interview the founder of a $300 billion company. Have you ever heard of Home Depot? Yeah, this store right here. Well, today I'm going to be

right here. Well, today I'm going to be interviewing the man behind it, Arthur Blank, who also bought and owns the Atlanta Falcons. But before we do that,

Atlanta Falcons. But before we do that, look, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia right now.

One of the richest cities in America.

Home to over 30,000 millionaires and over 15 billionaires. So, we're going to hit the streets to find out how the wealthy people here actually got rich.

Now, let's get this video on the way.

Excuse me, sir. Question for you. No,

no. How did you get rich?

I'm trying to find my car. Real quick, I got a channel with 21 million followers.

I started in Texas. I've interviewed 48 billionaires in the last 5 years. We're

interviewing a big billionaire tomorrow.

Could I'm good.

Any advice to the younger generation?

Excuse me, sir. Question for you. How

did you get rich?

I'm in a face like this. Do you have to ask?

No. Real quick, man. So, I grew a channel to 21 million followers. I

interview billionaires and billionaires all over the world to help. Can I get one minute with you?

Excuse me, sir. Question for you.

How old were you when you became a millionaire? What? How old were you when

millionaire? What? How old were you when you became a millionaire?

Excuse me, sir. A question for you. How

old were you when you became a millionaire?

Thank you.

Real quick, sir. I have a channel with 21 million followers. I've interviewed

48 billionaires in the last 5 years.

Became a millionaire.

No, real quick, sir. I'm interviewing

Arthur Blink tomorrow. I have a channel with 21 million followers. I go all over the world interviewing successful people to help the younger generation. Could I

get a minute with you?

Sorry. I got to run.

All right, man. Have a good one. Look,

man. As you can see, man, look, we're out here in Buckhead Village, the richest area in all of Atlanta. And the

wealthy people out here do not want to give us the time of day. Look, little do they know, man. I'm going to be even the richest person out here, man. Arthur

Bla. So, if he can do it, then I bet I can get some of these other people to stop and give us a minute of their time.

Let's go see who we can find. We got a Ferrari right here.

Excuse me, sir. Is this your Ferrari?

Oh my god. Not one of y'all little Instagram people.

Real quick, man. I I got a channel with 21 million followers. I've interviewed

48 billionaires in the last 5 years. I'm

interviewing Arthur Blank tomorrow.

Could I get 30 seconds with you?

You said you do it on Arthur Blank.

Yes, sir.

That's what's up. What's up?

What line of business were you in? Uh

serial entrepreneur, man.

What was your main company?

Real estate, 49 luxury town homes, home care agency, all of that.

So, do you think it's important to focus on concentrating on one thing or diversification?

Diversification. Why is that?

Because you never know if somebody's got a hard stop, you might need to put energy in something else into that. Come

back and tour it. And you cultivate everything.

I just maximize profit.

I just bought my first piece of commercial real estate two weeks ago.

Oh, congratulations.

Right in the middle of Ohio State University.

Congratulations.

So, what's the best piece of real estate people should be looking to buy in today's world?

Multif family homes.

Why is that? because you're going to get more money, more bang for your buck.

How old are you now?

I'm 45.

45 years old. Did you have people that doubted you in the business world?

Ah, of course, man. They doubt you every day. I was an NBA sports agent. I did

day. I was an NBA sports agent. I did

that at a high clip. I was doubted at that, too. But I was successful at it.

that, too. But I was successful at it.

What's your name? I don't want to sell anything.

It's fine. It's cool. But let me ask you something. Did you come from a rich

something. Did you come from a rich family growing up?

No, underprivileged for sure.

Yeah. So, what was your turning point to financial freedom? What was that moment

financial freedom? What was that moment early on for you?

I mean, I played basketball, got a scholarship for free, played professional, so I did all that, took my money and jumped into business. So,

what's the lowest point that you had to overcome? adversity. You know, when you

overcome? adversity. You know, when you somewhere trying to start a business, you trying to get out here and hustle and grind and like you said, people doubting you. You got to be strong. It's

doubting you. You got to be strong. It's

a saying. It says, uh, we're not here to play dream drift. We got hard work to doing heavy loads of lift. Shut out the struggle. Face it is God's gift. Be

struggle. Face it is God's gift. Be

strong. Be strong.

That's game right there. So, so you do believe in God though.

Yeah, for sure.

Who was your God?

Jesus Christ.

How did you know Jesus was real? A lot

of people are afraid to say that too.

And I commend you.

When I got saved and baptized, that's when I realized my life changed.

Was there like a low point you were going through where you turned to Christ?

When you underprivileged, man, that's where you turn to. You grow up in a church and you believe in it. But you

made more than 99.9% of business professors ever will. Give me a lesson about business right here that's not taught in school.

Relationships. They don't teach you how to cultivate relationships and maximize those in school. They just teach you the X's and O's. But networking, man. Making

your network your net worth. So they

don't teach you that. You something you got to just pick up on.

But before you had credibility, how did you build relationships with the right people?

Just get in rooms and be a sponge. Be

quiet and soak it up and learn how people move. Check out their mannerisms.

people move. Check out their mannerisms. Pick up a hobby. I golf, so that helped me get a lot of room.

So proximity is power then cuz you got around a lot of rich people. Absolutely.

Absolutely.

What was the most amount of money you made in a single year?

A man. Um 10 million.

$10 million. And how'd you scale from 7 to 8 figures? How'd you go from 1 to 10 million? Tell me that.

million? Tell me that.

My boy asking all the questions.

I'm getting it. This is a master class.

Do I get a percentage of this master class? That's how you

class? That's how you get I'm going tag you. Get millions of views. You got an agent background.

views. You got an agent background.

What's your secret to sales?

I can't tell you that, man. Secret is

being secretive. Essoteric. That's what

it is.

Best negotiation advice. You got a prospective client. They're on the

prospective client. They're on the fence. They're leaning towards a no. How

fence. They're leaning towards a no. How

do you get that no? People want to be led, so they want you to tell them what they do. Remember that. Especially in

they do. Remember that. Especially in

sales.

Did you ever walk away from a lot of money? Were you afraid to walk?

money? Were you afraid to walk?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All money ain't good money.

How do you know it's bad money? How do

you know to avoid those people?

Because your gut tell you. Trust your

gut. If it seem like it's some BS, trust your gut, man. It might be good on paper, but in the long run, it's going to be detriment to your business. So,

you got to learn how to walk away.

45 today. If me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be?

Take a risk, man. Jump off the porch.

What do he say? Get off the boat, Peter.

Walk on water. Take a chance, man. Hey, you got amazing advice. So, I

man. Hey, you got amazing advice. So, I

just got a I'm James. You got great advice, man.

I'm James. You got great advice, man.

Thank you for I connect with all the millionaires and billionaires I interview. Could I get your contact?

interview. Could I get your contact?

Yeah.

Great to meet you, man. Appreciate you.

All right, you guys. So, I walked up to my guy getting out of the Ferrari. He

said, "Not one of these again, man." And

man, he gave us some straight game in that entire interview, man. I can't even remember all the incredible sound bites and advice that he was just giving to us, man. But we got to go get this next

us, man. But we got to go get this next one right now, you guys. Come on. All

right, guys. So, very soon, we're going to be linking up with Arthur Blank, the multi-billionaire who built Home Depot.

But it would not be right if I came to Atlanta and didn't check in with Jesse Sler, who's one of the most iconic entrepreneurs in the entire city. And

look, he built and sold five companies.

Not one, not two, five businesses, including one to Warren Buffett. So,

this is about to be a legendary linkup and an incredible interview. Let's go

see what he has to say. What's going on, my man? How you doing? It's good to see

my man? How you doing? It's good to see you brother.

Can't walk around Atlanta without security.

I know, man.

You can't walk around Atlanta without security.

Hey, hey, my man. We We were letting the the people out here know that you didn't sell just one company. How many

companies did you sell for the people that don't know?

I sold four.

You sold four.

I sold four.

We're out here in Atlanta. We're going

to be interviewing Arthur Blank and some other dope entrepreneurs. But I told them we couldn't come to Atlanta without checking in with you.

Hey, I love that, man. I love what you're doing, man. I'm proud of you.

I'm proud of you, man. You're an

inspiration to me, to my whole team, and and to many, man. So, you do a lot. So,

I got one rule for all the interviews, though. We're no holding back. We're

though. We're no holding back. We're

going to give them the blueprint and the secret to building generational wealth and really making it in today's world.

And because you talk about it's not just financial freedom, but the spiritual freedom and what's inside of us.

I do. I always say if you have a billion dollars and your spirit zero, a billion times zero is zero. But if you have $1 and your spirit's a billion, a dollar times a billion is a billion. Got to

have both.

That's the stuff that they don't teach us though.

It's true, man. I think so many people focus on work, but it's really important also to focus on the spiritual side of your of your life. How you treat your customers? Were you philanthropic? What

customers? Were you philanthropic? What

kind of adventure did you have in your life while you were building your business? And I've been good at that.

business? And I've been good at that.

No holding back. We're gonna give them the blueprint right here on how to make it in today's world. Make that happen.

Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it, my man. Let's go. What was the most

my man. Let's go. What was the most amount of money you made in a single year?

I did pretty good. Our our private jet company did over 5 billion in sales. So,

how much did you exit for?

A lot of money.

Come on, man. That's That's a private thing. I worked hard to keep that

thing. I worked hard to keep that private.

So, how old were you when you became a millionaire?

I became a millionaire at 26.

So, you made it early, man.

How old are you?

23 years old. When I was 23, I was sleeping on my friend's couch and making $16,000 a year.

Are you serious?

And spending 25.

So, what was your turning point to financial freedom, man? How did you know you were going to go out there and build an empire for yourself?

I think it's really important that you believe in the end of your story. If

you're an entrepreneur, you have to believe in the end. If you're single, you have to believe he or she's out there. If you're an entrepreneur, you

there. If you're an entrepreneur, you have to believe that what you're doing is going to work. And I always believed that it was going to click for me. It

took me a lot of failures to get there, but I stuck with it. And you know, everybody here watching your show is one idea, one referral, one meeting away from changing their trajectory of their

life. I met that guy at 26. His name was

life. I met that guy at 26. His name was Bob Sllerman. And he held my hand as a

Bob Sllerman. And he held my hand as a young kid. He said three things. Make

young kid. He said three things. Make

money, have fun, and have fun making money.

Did you ever doubt yourself?

Yes, I still doubt myself. I see all the people you interview and I'm like, why are you interviewing me?

So, how many companies did you have failed before that first one hit?

Oh my god, man. My journey was so insane. I sold chicken, shrimp, and meat

insane. I sold chicken, shrimp, and meat door to door. that failed. I had a music company, record company that failed, t-shirt company that failed, marketing company that failed, record label that went out of business. And then I walked

onto a private jet. I was a guest on a private jet and I was like, "People fly like this. I want to fly like this." And

like this. I want to fly like this." And

my partner and I are like, "Let's start a company so we can fly on private planes." Couple of years later, we were

planes." Couple of years later, we were doing $5 billion in sales.

So, why did you not give up?

When I was growing up, my dad never let me win in anything. We would play checkers as a six, sevenyear-old. He

would beat me every time, no mercy, all the way till I got older. I didn't beat him in checkers till I was 55 years old.

But what he was teaching me was how to deal with disappointment and that nothing would be handed to you. And that

was a really important lesson for me, especially as I became an entrepreneur cuz I had so many ventures that failed before one worked. And my dad taught me to stick with it. So, you know, I could have easily given up after company one

failed, company two failed, but I didn't. Take us back to the most

didn't. Take us back to the most life-changing conversation you ever had.

What's the greatest piece of advice that you received throughout your career?

I think I got it when I was 50 actually from my wife and she said, "Put more on your plate of what it is you love to do with the people you love to do it with."

Now, that might not sound like business advice. It's amazing business advice cuz

advice. It's amazing business advice cuz we focus so much on the financial side of business and we tend to overindex in the energy we put into the financial side, but we tend to sometimes neglect the spiritual side. Like, while you're

building your business, did you live a life of adventure? What kind of culture did you build? Did you keep your friendships from your childhood and in college? And I've been really good at

college? And I've been really good at this side of it. Good entrepreneur,

amazing at at living life cuz it goes like this. I'm 57, man. I'm looking at

like this. I'm 57, man. I'm looking at 70 in the face in 13 years. So, I think I've done a really good job of working really hard but also having a pretty full life.

So, how important is it for an entrepreneur to maintain their health?

At the end of the day, we only have one job and that's stay healthy. If you have a billion dollars and you have a sore throat, every time you swallow, the only think thing you think about is your sore throat. That's just a sore throat.

throat. That's just a sore throat.

There's an old saying, if you have health, you have hope. If you have hope, you have everything. Like, we have one job. Stay healthy. You can't enjoy

job. Stay healthy. You can't enjoy anything if you don't have your health.

Did you have people that doubted you in the business world?

Yes. And that motivated me. I love that.

And I love Oh, did the officer tell there you couldn't conduct interviews here?

No.

Oh, we're just doing it for 2 seconds.

We've been here more than 2 seconds. So,

I need you guys to stop recording. Did

you have permission to do this?

No, but we're just doing 2 seconds, man.

That was 4 minutes ago.

Okay. But we're happy to leave, but what's the problem with it? Part of this problem has Who's in charge of the whole thing, my friend?

Who can we talk?

I'll go with you. So, I'll get All right, you guys. So, look, as you can see, man, we don't take no for an instant, man. We're going to make it

instant, man. We're going to make it happen. That's happened to me one too

happen. That's happened to me one too many times.

Does it happen a lot?

It does all the time.

Yeah.

I mean, like, are you serious? There's

no one here.

Nobody. Exactly. We're cranking We're cranking really good. So, let let me ask you this, right? You sold a company to Warren Buffett. What did you learn from

Warren Buffett. What did you learn from doing business with Warren Buffett? I

think the biggest thing I learned from Warren is that you get rich slowly.

Yeah. I mean, in today's world, you see people and it's all like, "Oh, he got rich overnight." And that happens to

rich overnight." And that happens to some people. It takes time to build a

some people. It takes time to build a brand. It takes 8 10 years to build a

brand. It takes 8 10 years to build a brand in this country for most people.

And it takes a long time to acquire wealth. You will make 20 times more

wealth. You will make 20 times more money in your 40s than you're making now cuz you're going to know more people.

You're going to know what mistakes to avoid. It's going to be a lot easier for

avoid. It's going to be a lot easier for you. And it's going to be a little bumpy

you. And it's going to be a little bumpy between even though it might not seem like it now, it's it could get a little bit bumpy, but you're going to make how much money you make now. You ask

everybody how much money they make. How

much money are you making, James? What's

the biggest year you've had? How did you get rich?

So, my business is going to make well over $10 million this year at 23.

23.

Let's go, man. Congratulations.

So, thank you, man. So, so what you're telling me is that we're going to make 20 times $10 million in the next couple years.

Yes, I believe that. Can I invest in you now?

I don't know if I need to.

You guys are making $10 million a year now.

Over 10 million. So would is it safe to say that your company's probably worth $80 to $100 million now?

It could be. Yeah.

You want to sell 10% of it?

We could set up a call after this.

No, no, no, no. Let's do it right now.

Let's shark tank this right now.

I'll give you my contract. That way you have it, man. So, what is the number one thing that you look for?

Oh, let's go back to that, James.

I'll give you a check for $10 million today. Talk to your partners. You guys

today. Talk to your partners. You guys

give me 10%. I'll even give you an out.

If for some reason it's not working or whatever, you can buy me out at a price that you feel is totally fair in three years. If I don't bring more value to

years. If I don't bring more value to what you guys are doing, and part of being an entrepreneur is figuring out how to get from A to B the fastest. If I

can't help you guys get from A to B faster, I'm out. Think about it.

So, you were just willing to give me a $10 million check. What is the number one thing that you look for in people when you're deciding to invest into them?

Hunger. I'm looking at like you're hungry. I see you out there hustling.

hungry. I see you out there hustling.

The way you approached me, you are the business plan.

So, you don't invest in businesses, you invest in people.

100%.

Tell me your craziest business story. I

was pitching Ziko to Coca-Cola and I knew the that the founder that the the guys at Coke were huge Yankee fans and I was friends with A-Rod and I asked him if he could be at my office at 5:00 and

he was like yeah what do you need? I go

just knock on the door wave to me and leave. So he comes up at 5:00. We're in

leave. So he comes up at 5:00. We're in

a meeting. I go A-Rod I'm in a meeting, man. I'll call you in 10 minutes. Like

man. I'll call you in 10 minutes. Like

cool. He leaves it like the guy's flipped out.

Did you close the deal?

We closed the deal.

We did.

So it's safe to say that credibility kills all bad attitude. It definitely

helps.

Let's talk to that young person real quick. They're starting out. They don't

quick. They're starting out. They don't

have a lot of credibility. How can they build relationships with the right people? You found a billionaire mentor

people? You found a billionaire mentor at 26 years old. How does somebody get in touch with and connect with the right people?

Proximity. You got to put yourself in situations in in the right rooms. I mean, when I was 21 years old and I was sleeping on my friend's couch, I used to go to the Beverly Hills Hotel every day for lunch. And I walked in the first day

for lunch. And I walked in the first day and I'm like, mogul, actor, best athlete, best CEO. I'm like, you don't have to stay at this hotel to go to the restaurant. My friend's like, "No, that

restaurant. My friend's like, "No, that became my office. I went every single day at 21 into the Beverly Hills Hotel and I would watch their mannerisms. I would literally follow someone into the bathroom, you know, and just like, oh my

god, I saw you here." Just starting small talk proximity, man. 57 years old today. If me and you died tomorrow and

today. If me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be?

I think the best quote I ever heard is from Gandhi. Learn like you'll live

from Gandhi. Learn like you'll live forever, live like you'll die tomorrow.

I love that. So, you got to make every day count.

I'm always learning and I live big.

You have amazing advice, sir. Thank you

so much for your time.

Keep doing what you're doing. 10%. 10%.

Think about it.

Guys, that was an incredible interview.

Look, he built and sold four companies, like he said, and made hundreds of millions of dollars. And he flipped the script on me and asked me how much I'm making. I told him, "This year, my

making. I told him, "This year, my company is on track to do over $10 million." 10 million, guys. And I want

million." 10 million, guys. And I want you to understand something. That

doesn't happen by accident. The only

reason I was able to do that is because I had direct access to the people you're watching in these interviews. the

millionaires, the billionaires, the people operating at the highest level. I

learned from them directly and that changed everything. So, here's what I

changed everything. So, here's what I decided to do. This Wednesday, April 22nd, I'm doing something insane for you. I'm opening up my billionaire

you. I'm opening up my billionaire network to you. I'm hosting three live Zoom calls with entrepreneurs who've built and sold companies at the highest level. You are going to get to ask your

level. You are going to get to ask your questions to these entrepreneurs. Now,

who are they? First, we're going to have Clint Phillips, who built and sold his healthcare company for $460 million.

Then Steven Ellsworth, the founder of Poppy, the fastest growing beverage brand in the entire world. He sold it to Pepsi for $2 billion. And lastly, Edward Yuing, a private equity billionaire who

buys and scales companies for a living.

They're going to teach you their secrets to the most valuable skills in business today, like investing, how to market, how to sell, how to scale your business.

But listen carefully. There will be no replays to this event on April 22nd. So,

you must be there live. Now, since the event is less than a week away, I'm going to do something even crazier for you. If you join right now by going down

you. If you join right now by going down to the link in the description of this video, I will give you access to this event for free. That's right. You will

hop on three live Zoom calls with nine figure and billionaire entrepreneurs and get mentored by them for free. All you

have to do is go down, click the link in the description of this video to grab your spot to the three live Zoom calls on April 22nd and I'll see you there and watch what happens to your life when you get mentored by a billionaire. With that

being said, let's go get this next interview. Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am,

interview. Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am,

question for you. How did you get rich?

Who are you? I I interview billionaires all over the world.

Who says I'm rich?

You look like money, man. You look like money. What did you do?

money. What did you do?

Um, I became rich being a business owner.

So, you're an entrepreneur?

Yes, I am.

How long have you been a business owner?

For about 20 something years, but I have to real quick. Over these 20 years, what

real quick. Over these 20 years, what was the most amount of money you made in a single year?

$5 million.

You said five real quick. Can we

interview you for one minute? We have 21 million followers. We We have 21 million

million followers. We We have 21 million followers. It's to help the younger

followers. It's to help the younger generation. It'll be worth it. I promise

generation. It'll be worth it. I promise

you.

Okay. Come on.

Is that okay?

Sure.

Did you go to college?

Yes. I'm a lawyer.

You're a lawyer?

Yes.

Did college help you become a millionaire?

What? college gave me was structure and what college gave me was like I would say business acumen but the hustle is what it it required to be successful. So

no you don't have to go to college but college that's helped me have to you know be able to navigate this this business world.

Did you come from a rich family growing up?

No did not.

So what was your turning point to financial freedom? Did you have a moment

financial freedom? Did you have a moment early on where you were like I want to go out there and build an empire for myself?

Yes. I had a law school. I worked at a law firm and I realized that my income there's a salary cap and no matter how good I was I was only going to make x amount of money. I was like this isn't for me. I'm going to go on my own. I

for me. I'm going to go on my own. I

want to bet on myself.

You learned that you weren't going to get rich working for anybody.

Correct. Correct. I'd rather go have no kind of salary cap versus only get paid x amount of money for a year.

So, do you think everybody's built for entrepreneurship?

No.

Why not?

It's a beast out there. I call it the monkey around your neck. In business,

the monkey with the stress will be around you. And depending on how you can

around you. And depending on how you can handle that stress, you may or may not be able to handle full-time entrepreneurship. Having a side

entrepreneurship. Having a side business, yes. But being in it

business, yes. But being in it full-time, that is a bear all by itself.

You made more than 99.9% of business professors ever will. What's a lesson about business you teach to them that is not taught in school?

Run your business like it's Walmart.

Meaning from the very beginning, I don't care what the bank account says. I don't

care if you have no followers, no customers. Have your corporate

customers. Have your corporate structure, your LLC, your corporation.

Have your business bank account. Market.

So your social media page. I shouldn't

tell that you're doing this at home. It

should look like a real big brand. Your

logo, your colors, your font. Run it

like it's Walmart. Follow the corporate formalities. Walmart don't accept cash

formalities. Walmart don't accept cash app. You shouldn't. You know what I'm

app. You shouldn't. You know what I'm saying? To have it like a real business.

saying? To have it like a real business.

Let me ask you this. This is the million-dollar question right here. Do

people need a lot of money to start a business in today's?

No. No. You can bootstrap it. Start

small. You want to first get what's called proof of concept. Can you go sell your product or service to a stranger?

Does someone want it? Once you get what's working, now go get the funding and 10x what's working. Too many times they get the money and they spend on things that don't really work. And then

now you're in debt. Now the monkey is back on your neck. The stress. Have you

ever heard of someone called Master P?

How old are you?

23. 23.

Have you heard of a guy named Masterp? I

have it.

Okay. He was a rapper from back back in the day and he went from store to store to store, from place to place to place selling a CD out of his trunk and became a millionaire. He bypassed having the

a millionaire. He bypassed having the record label fund him. He funded

himself. You bootstrap it. You own more equity in your business. You actually go to that grid to know who your target audience is, what they want. Now you

know it. Now you go 10x what's already working.

Let me ask you this. How old are you today?

I am knocking on 50.

What's the secret to looking so young and being so vibrant at 50? Has health

been a big priority to you?

Health and selfcare. I believe as a woman you need to always look your best and in business you represent the brand so you got to show up for yourself and you cannot sell a dream looking like a nightmare. So investing in you is key.

nightmare. So investing in you is key.

Say that again.

You cannot sell a dream looking like a nightmare.

Wow. That's incredible right there. So

your appearance is actually a real thing.

Correct. But you have people that doubted you or thought you were crazy going into business for yourself.

Yes. My mother is my number one fan and my biggest dream killer. See some people are going to kill your dream because they don't see it for your for themsel.

But only God gives you the vision, right? So being an attorney and walking

right? So being an attorney and walking away from that to go start a hair salon franchise and sell hair. She's like,

"You're an attorney, but I saw it. I can

make more money selling a product than just being an attorney. Your biggest

dream killers don't see the vision." But

my motto is never take advice from someone that you wouldn't exchange a bank account with. So I love mom, but I don't want that. I don't want that exchange. So I'm going to bet on myself

exchange. So I'm going to bet on myself and see what the vision that God gave me and run with that.

Can I tell you something? What's your

name?

Joy.

Joy. This is Gabe right here. You know

that, right? This is a straight game right here. Now, approaching 50 years

right here. Now, approaching 50 years old, but if me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be?

It's not how you start, it's how you finish in business, in life, you're going to get knocked down. You're going

to have hard time. Get back up. It's how

you end it. If you stay down, you lost.

If you get back up, you can keep on fighting and go get your win. When God

closes the door, he's opening up a bigger blessing, a bigger opportunity down the hall. You have to just keep on going. So, it's not how you start, it's

going. So, it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

You have amazing advice.

Well, thank you.

Thank you so much for your time. I

appreciate that. No problem. I connect

with all the millionaires and billionaires I interview. Could I get your contact?

Of course.

All right, you guys. The time has now come. Atlanta has been insane. But it's

come. Atlanta has been insane. But it's

about time to do what we came out here to do, which is to interview our 40th billionaire ever, Arthur Blank, the founder of Home Depot, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. We're not doing this

Atlanta Falcons. We're not doing this interview anywhere. No, no, no, no, no.

interview anywhere. No, no, no, no, no.

We're doing this somewhere crazy, but I'll let it be a surprise until we get there. So, let's go meet the legend

there. So, let's go meet the legend himself. All right, guys. Look, we just

himself. All right, guys. Look, we just got to our destination. We are at the MercedesBenz Stadium out here in Atlanta, Georgia. Now, you know who

Atlanta, Georgia. Now, you know who built the stadium? Arthur Blank, the guy we're about to interview. Look, he owns the Atlanta Falcons and he bought the team for, I think, over $500 million, but they're now worth over$5 billion.

Now, let's go meet up with the legend himself and go see what he has to say on how he created one of the biggest companies in the entire world. Come on.

This is crazy.

Welcome to our stadium.

Yes. Thank you for having us. So, real

quick, before you head in here, I need you to just tell us the story real quick of how this came about. So I saw him in Buckhead approaching random people and I was like that's the kid that not the kid that's the young man that goes up to

people saying excuse me excuse me excuse me. So I went up to him and said excuse

me. So I went up to him and said excuse me excuse me excuse me and I told him who I worked for and we set it up.

I I appreciate you just have to thank you for uh for helping make this happen.

Let's have a fun day.

Definitely welcome in. So we're going to be here

welcome in. So we're going to be here because Parker's going to be on stage in there. Um so feel free to chill out.

there. Um so feel free to chill out.

Yeah, guys. This is insane. We are currently

guys. This is insane. We are currently right now in the MercedesBenz Stadium.

This is where the Atlanta Falcons played. And this is where we're going to

played. And this is where we're going to be interviewing the owner, Arthur Blank, who started Home Depot and turned it into what is now a $300 billion company, you guys. So, this is about to be a

you guys. So, this is about to be a crazy interview. We're going to be

crazy interview. We're going to be interviewing him any second.

How you doing, Arthur?

James, how are you?

Good. It's great to meet you, sir.

I've seen you on the streets.

Yes, sir.

Beautiful spot.

Yes, sir. It's beautiful. We've done a lot of cool interviews, but not in in a spot like this one where I got to say that blue top look sharp on you, man. It

looks really good. I got one rule for all the interviews. We're going to give the younger generation right here the secrets to becoming successful.

Great.

Who am I here with today?

My name's Arthur Blank.

And how did you get rich?

Have you ever heard of Home Depot? Yes.

You ever been in a Home Depot?

Yes.

That's how I got rich.

What do you mean?

That was my company.

And how much is your company worth today?

Probably $350 billion with a B.

Yeah. With a B.

Did you come from a lot of money growing up?

No, I came from nothing. I mean, mom and dad, brother, we lived in a single one-bedroom apartment. My mother and

one-bedroom apartment. My mother and father slept on a pull out little sofa thing in the foyer. My brother and I shared the bedroom. We had, you know, just one bathroom.

You didn't come from tre a tremendous amount of wealth. How did your upbringing shape the way that you think about money and risk?

Yeah, I think that's a great question.

Well, I think my upbringing was based on a set of values that were instilled in me by, you know, my mother and father.

My mother had an expression, you do the right things for the right reasons and live with the consequences. At 36 years old, you were fired from your job. Did

you have people that doubted you or thought you were crazy when you started Home Depot?

Absolutely. That's a great question, Jim. The first couple of years, people

Jim. The first couple of years, people come into our stores and they would look at, you know, they say, "These guys are nuts. They're crazy. There's too much

nuts. They're crazy. There's too much inventory, too many people on the floor.

Price levels are too low. They can't do enough volume to make all this make sense."

sense." They were telling you you couldn't.

They said we weren't. And so they said, "Just ignore these guys. They're going

to go broke." In September of 81, we're in public. All of our information became

in public. All of our information became open to the, you know, to the world for them to see. And the volumes that we were doing were unbelievable. And people

said this, I can't even believe the amount of revenue we were producing out of these first four stores. And that was all as a response of listening and responding. You know, listening to what

responding. You know, listening to what customers wanted, not debating, not forcing our arguments on them, learning from them, and having the real humility.

I mean, really having true humility and saying the people that we're serving, they truly do know better than we do in terms customer always comes first.

The customer always comes first. I used

to say at Home Depot, I said, "Our ultimate sign of success is when our customers, they were so loyal to everything that was happening inside of a Home Depot store, they would be feel like they were disloyal by shopping someplace else."

someplace else." How old are you now?

I'm 83 years old.

At what age did you become a billionaire?

That's a good question. I don't know.

And you know what? It's good that I don't know because it was never about money to me, per se. It was always about building value, doing the right things for the right reasons.

And becoming a billionaire was only a byproduct of that. is exactly right. It

was only going to be that kind of financial success. Millionaire,

financial success. Millionaire, billionaire was only become a byproduct of that. Commitment to values,

of that. Commitment to values, commitment to behavior, staying the course, having the resilience, listening and responding.

Arthur, you're 83 years old today.

If me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be?

A lot of it depends, Jim, on how you define success. So I think as I've

define success. So I think as I've gotten older, success means not just, you know, financially, it means not just your immediate family, but you know, everybody living in your circle of love,

but you really humanity. When you're

talking about human relationships, you know, the reason I'm doing this interview is because I've watched some of your other ones, which are great, but you develop a trust relationship with who you're talking to. In all these businesses, I think it's so critical

that you develop the trust, whether it be with your associates or whether it be the people that you're serving because once you have that trust level established, people will open up their hearts and their minds and eventually

their wallets to you because they have a trust relationship.

Thank you so much for your time.

You have amazing advice, sir. I connect

with all the millionaires and billionaires I interview. Could I get your contact?

Yeah. Guys, that's a wrap on today's video. I need you guys to stop right

video. I need you guys to stop right now, like and subscribe for amazing content coming every week to the School of Hard Knocks. just interviewed one of the richest men in the entire world, Arthur Blink. But I want to go a step

Arthur Blink. But I want to go a step further. I want to connect you directly

further. I want to connect you directly and give you direct access to my millionaire and billionaire network. Cuz

every week, guys, I host live Zoom calls with the 8, n, and 10igure entrepreneurs that I interview on the school of hard knocks where they mentor you directly on live Zoom calls. So, if you want access right now, go down to the link in the

description in this video to join the school of mentors today. I can't wait to see you on the inside. That being said, see you in the next