If the path to greatness lies in modeling ourselves on others’ success, perhaps this quote from one of the greatest professional athletes of all time is the perfect place to start.
“Some people want it to happen. Some people wish it to happen. Others make it happen” – Michael Jordan
Which category do you find yourself in? Perhaps, you are in the first two categories right now, and that’s okay! We all start somewhere, but it doesn’t mean that’s where we are destined to end up. We all aspire to be in the third category, but this doesn’t just happen overnight. Following your dream takes courage, passion, and discipline to consistently show up every day.
Today, my guest exemplifies this ideal as a living example of turning ideas into a business. He understands that journey on a deep level, which is why I’m genuinely excited to bring back Rob Dyrdek!
“I consider myself a ‘do-or-dier’ — someone that has the fortitude, the work ethic, and the grit to turn all their passions into reality, by seeing it, believing it, planning it, and doing it.” – Rob Dyrdek
I first had Rob on the show back in 2016, where he dropped a wealth of knowledge on us about building his media empire. Today we get to hear more about how his journey’s unfolded!
Who Is Rob Dyrdek?
Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Rob’s overprotective mom was paranoid about him being bullied and enrolled him in sports like karate so that he could defend himself. This developed his athleticism from an early age.
Growing up, Rob looked up to his father, who appeared able to do anything, which instilled that same belief in himself — creating a foundation of success and deep confidence that he could do anything. In his teenage years, though, he had all the ambition and drive but lacked any real focus, so while his goals at that point didn’t come to fruition, it was a very exploratory time for him.
From the age of 11, he became engrossed in the skateboarding community, spending hardly anytime with kids his own age. Constantly surrounded by older entrepreneurs meant he was inadvertently shown the path to entrepreneurship, even though he didn’t fully understand what that meant at the time. It took several years for Rob to understand the difference between a business and an idea and learn how many people with drive, will, and the ability to bring ideas to life don’t necessarily create great companies.
Rob dropped out of high school and became a professional athlete, moving to LA at 16 years old, and attended night school to receive his diploma. At 18 years old, he had spent multiple years around successful business owners, or as he describes it — he was “raised by entrepreneurial wolves.” Starting his own company as soon as he arrived in California felt like the normal and natural thing to do, so he drew from his extensive knowledge gained from the skateboarding industry to bring his vision to life.
This unusual upbringing crafted an ability to understand people’s energy and how to calibrate his own with theirs to create enjoyment in life. He quickly learned the power of building massive brands. Besides building footwear apparel and skate brands, he also launched the world’s first professional skateboarding league and skateboarding channel, ETN. He’s produced multiple hit TV shows, including Rob and Big, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, and Ridiculousness.
Rob has excellent business insights and gives us the key to living a balanced and full life in this exciting episode. Let’s get into it!
Core Traits That Drive Rob Dyrdek’s Success.
Rob describes himself as a “do-or-dier,” but what lies beneath the surface fueling that mindset is key.
“I’m passionately compelled. I don’t have contrived ambition. I’m not being driven by trying to prove something wrong or trying to do anything; I am genuinely and passionately compelled to do all the things that I do. I’m obsessively curious — that’s why I relentlessly learn and completely evolve to shift into different levels of reality based on the knowledge that you have and the ability to set goals and build plans only based on what you believe, and your belief is only based on your knowledge.” – Rob Dyrdek
Being honest and recognizing blind spots eliminate the option of falling into the trap of becoming a “know-it-all.” We can make decisions from our level of knowledge, and that is born out of our experiences.
In addition to honesty and humility, gratitude is undoubtedly an important component of Rob’s success, but there’s an element of realism that needs to come with practicing it. As with any tool at our disposal, it does us no good if we are half-empty, and Rob agreed!
“You can tell yourself the same way that you can put out a vision for whatever you want. But if you don’t believe in the steps or understand what the steps are, you don’t believe that vision. You know what I mean? So many people are over positive without having realistic positivity. Now it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream big, but you better dream in sequence to get there. [First] I’d have to go here. And if I get that, identify what levels you’ve got to reach to get to that [next one]. If your subconscious doesn’t believe it, you’re not going to manifest what you set out [as] your goal — that’s too big to even ultimately achieve.” – Rob Dyrdek
Rob clearly demonstrates a winning formula — finding the next opportunity and applying this same principle. Money provides a certain amount of financial freedom and security but only if you build in the systems from day one.
“Getting [to] a place of thinking that I’m going to get rich doesn’t matter with the system that I’ve created. If I make 100 million or 500 million or 5 billion, the system will never change. It’s scalable with where I go. And for me, it’s why I built a systematic venture system. I call it the ‘Dyrdek machine,’ which is basically my philosophy on how I will build businesses. So that’s my passion.” – Rob Dyrdek
Rob is very aware of the lifestyle that money provides but doesn’t allow himself to be swept up in the allure of success. By understanding the basics and building a solid foundation, he avoids the temptation to live beyond his means with the promise of what future success will bring.
Key traits such as honesty, gratitude, and humility can unlock in pursuit of building a life filled with incredible highlights — something that nobody can take away from you!
