Everything I Learned From Being Around The Top 0.01%

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1:28Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor Podcast. I am your host Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another podcast episode. And if you're free this Thursday, I'm going to be running a free one night workshop on how to build yourself into a high performer. I'm going to teach you the real life tools to stop procrastinating, to take action, and to get the results that you know that you can in this life. If you want to join me, it's absolutely free. You can go to 2026workshop.com. Once again, 2026workshop.com. Today, I'm going to be talking about everything that I learned from being around the top 0.01 % of people in the world.

2:10Because if you operate the way that most people operate, you're going to get the results that most people get. And most people will never get anywhere close to being in the top 0.01 % of earners or of people in the world. And it's not because they're not smart enough. It's not because they don't work hard enough. It's because they're living their life off of the wrong principles. And so I've spent time with people that are in the top 0.01 % and it shocked me that they're not really honestly the smartest people in the world. They're not the most outgoing. They're not the most charismatic. It was just kind of the way that they think and the way that they operate was different than everybody else in society.

2:55They operate on what I broke down into five specific principles. And these principles are not taught in school. Most people don't really have this taught to them by their parents. And it's definitely not taught by society. And so I want to teach you these five principles, because if you can understand these five principles and then implement them into your life, you would actually start making completely different decisions in your life and it would turn the destination of your life into a completely different place, 5, 10, 20 years. And so let me show you what those five principles are. The first one that I have found with the most highest performers in the world is that they are absolutely ruthless with their time.

3:34I mean, when I say ruthless, like I mean ruthless. Like they protect their time way more than they protect money. Like, and when I talk about money, like sure, you know, they have more digits in their bank account, but it doesn't make them a better person. Just so you know, it doesn't mean that they're more honorable or more special or anything like that. So when I looked at it in order to be the top, like 0.01%, you need to be making about$5 million per year. And so when people are at that level, at least 5 million up to, you know, hundreds of millions a year, obviously. But in order to get to that level, you have to get really good at deciding what you're going to do with your time.

4:13Like they don't hop on quick calls. They don't just grab coffee with somebody for no reason. They don't just like go do something and see what happens. Like their time is treated like oxygen. and if something is not aligned with like their highest leverage work or their highest vision for what they're trying to create in their life, then they just say no to it. They protect their time ruthlessly to the point where a majority of them have somebody who is a executive assistant or assistant that is the gatekeeper to that person and to their time as well. And here's the thing that I noticed about, like when you look at it psychologically, they don't feel guilty about protecting the time in any sort of way.

4:57Like most people feel guilty about protecting their time. Like they feel bad for saying no to other people. They feel bad for saying that they don't want to go do something when everybody else is going. Most people feel bad for prioritizing themselves, but like the highest performers in the world understand something that most people do not. Every yes is a no to something bigger. So every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. And so if you're saying yes to just going to grab coffee with some random person who sends you an email, you're saying no to something that could be a much bigger thing to do in your life or your business.

5:36And so they don't like just manage their time. They defend their time. Like they protect their time. And when you start to think of your life differently, you start to think of your time differently, your life will start to shift. And so what I want you to take from this principle is like, look at all of the leaks that you have in your schedule and in your life on a daily and weekly basis. You know, you're going to like the most successful person that I know doesn't have Instagram. He doesn't have Facebook. He's nowhere. You're not going to find him wasting time on the internet, looking at what other people are doing.

6:11Like he is so protective of his time that every moment is just like, he defends every single moment. So I want you to start to think about that when you think about your daily in your weekly, like time throughout the entire week, what are you doing? What are you, where are you wasting time? Where are you wasting time that you could be doing something that is of much higher leverage to you? Like your calendar is your future. If you look at your calendar, what does it say about your future? So that's the first thing, get absolutely ruthless. The second thing is that I have found is that they think in decades and not years, and this is really important for a couple of reasons.

6:46Number one, from a business, from an investment, from a money standpoint, but from a psychological standpoint, it's really big as well. Like this one really hits for me because most people think about like what they're doing and what they want today and what they want this week. Maybe some people think about what they want this month or this year, but most people think about like very, very short term. When you look at the highest performers in the world. They think about where they want to be in 10 years. Like they think about what industries will be running and existing and be dominating the market 10, 20, 30 years down the road.

7:23Like they think so much further ahead than anybody else. They think about relationships, not of like, oh, I'm going to go meet this person for 30 minutes. They think about relationships that they have in their life that are the most important relationships that will compound over decades. And so they don't, when you, when you start to think in decades and not just days, like they don't chase quick wins. Like they're not really the type of person that focuses on like a media gratification. They think about building a life. They think about building a legacy. They think about building an empire.

7:57And another big thing is that they will also, you know, when you really start to think about this, it, it will really start to change the way when you think in decades and not just days, it'll change the way that you think of failure. It'll change the way you think of challenges. You know, when you're thinking in decades, you don't panic about this week. And this is something that's been really big for me, especially in my own business. When you're thinking in decades, you don't spiral over a bad month. Like I've had years ago where I would be like, we have a terrible month, but it's like now if we have a bad month, no big deal.

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11:49When you do that, your psychology gets better because what you could see as a setback right now, you can see is like, it's not a complete failure. You know, when you think in long-term, you can think, okay, well, I messed this up right now and this isn't working the way that I wanted it to, but this is just a redirection, the direction I want to go. When you think in long-term, the best way I can describe is when you think in long-term, it creates emotional stability. So it's not just a great strategy for business. It is, it's not just great jobs for relationships and investments. It is. It's also really, really good to protect your mental health, to think way more long-term than you currently are.

12:29And so they think in decades, and that's the thing that I've really found that makes them different. Okay. That's number two. Number three is that they are really good at saying no. And obviously I spoke about time a minute ago, but like they're good at saying no. And this is an uncomfortable one for a lot of people, especially if you're a people pleaser. Like they say no a lot. They say no to a lot of opportunities. When you start getting to a certain level of influence or wealth, people come out of nowhere and they want to have time with you and they want to show you their business and they want you to invest in their business.

12:57So they say no to a lot of opportunities. They say no to a lot of invites and parties, partnerships, all of those things. Say no to press. They say no to great ideas because they understand that distraction is really, really expensive. So if they're working on something, they have their one thing, anything that's coming away from that one thing is a distraction for them. Sure. Like maybe someone has a great idea, but that great idea is a distraction from the one thing that they're working on. And so I want you to understand, like, they don't say no from a place of like ego, like I'm better than everybody else.

13:29So nobody deserves my time. They're saying no, because it doesn't line up with what they're trying to do in their life. It's not, it might be 90 % there, but it's not a hundred percent there. And so, you know, when you're really crystal, crystal clear on your direction and your life and what you're doing in this world, a no becomes very easy. And so when you're, when you're unclear of what it is that you're doing and what you want in this world, you say yes to everything. I've done that before. You say yes, because you're afraid of missing out or you'd be afraid of my shiny object syndrome. Maybe this is going to be better than what I'm currently doing.

14:01And so I talk about this all the time with you guys, like, and also with my coaching clients as well, is you need a North star in your life. Like I always ask people, what do you want? And people can't answer the damn question clear and concise. Like, what do you want in your life? What's your purpose? Why are you here? What are you building towards? When you have a North Star, it's easy to say yes to something that aligns. And it's easy to say no to something that doesn't fully align. And so as I always say, if it's not a fuck yes, it's a fuck no. And so when it doesn't align, it's a no. Move on.

14:34Don't feel bad. Don't second guess yourself. And so the highest performers in the world, they don't fear on missing out. They fear on getting distracted from their main goals in life. And that's a huge thing I think a lot of people should take from them. So that's number three. The fourth thing is I have found that they're very comfortable being misunderstood. And I love this one because most people want to fit in. Most people want to have everybody like them. They wanna be everybody's cup of tea. But the highest performers in the world know that if you're going to be one of the highest performers in the world, you're going to stand out.

15:11Like you're going to be different. And there's a ancient, like Native American proverb that I heard one time that was the brightest lights get the, get the arrows. And it's like, when you're, you're shining and everybody's seeing you, that gives you the opportunity for people to see and go like, oh my gosh, you're doing such amazing things. But it also makes you more open to people attacking you. And so these people are completely okay with people not getting them. Like they're okay with people talking about them or people judging them or people misinterpreting them in some sort of way. And so they're not like optimizing their life and their actions for other people's approval.

15:47Like they're optimizing for outcome. You know, most people shape themselves and their behavior and what they do around how it's going to be perceived from other people. But like the highest performers in the world, they shape their behavior around whether it moves the needle in their life in the direction that they're trying to go. Because of course they have that North star of where they're trying to go. And so these are two very different things, right? So when you get very clear on what you want, which is what I just spoke about a minute ago with having a North star, you're very clear on who you need to be.

16:26And when you are clear on who you need to be, you start acting like it. And if someone doesn't understand this person that you're becoming, this person that you're building yourself into, this life that you're building, if they don't understand it, you don't mind. Why? Because you understand it. You understand you. Like, you know why you need to be that way and why you need to be the person because you understand where it's going to get you in your life, how it's going to move the needle and how your life is going to be different. Your children's life is going to be different. Your spouse's wife, your family, your business, the people who work in it, everybody.

17:04And so if somebody who wants to judge you or misunderstand you, not really a big deal. You have to be okay with being misunderstood because if you need everyone to understand you, you'll never like move boldly in this world. You'll never make any bold moves. Like you have to get past this fear of being misunderstood or judged. You know, if you need everyone to approve you, you'll never take real risks in this life. And so the top people in the world have trained themselves to tolerate this, like this social friction. Some people won't get you. Some people won't agree with you. It's very human to shun the outcasts that happens all the time.

17:43But in order to do something amazing in this world, you kind of have to be an outcast because you have to do something different what everybody else's. So that's number four and number five. And I love this one is they don't need to prove that they're rich. Like this is the exact opposite of what most people think that it would be. It's, it's so funny when you see like Instagram people flexing and trying to act so rich and people are YouTube trying to act so rich. The wealthiest people that I've been around, they don't look rich in any sort of way. They don't like have any logos or, you know, they're, they're not just like constant flexing on other people.

18:19They're not trying to say like, look at me. The wealthiest person that I know looks like a normal 65 year old grandpa. That's it. But he's worth over$4 billion. Like I've gone to like, he, he'd prefer people don't know who he is and don't know that he, like people don't know that he exists, right? Like I've gone to San Antonio Spurs games and sat in his floor seats with him. And although he can afford the front row, right in the middle. He has for years and years and years, season tickets, the second row behind the basket. Now you might be like, why would he do that? That's not as good as a seat.

18:59The reason why is because when you watch it on TV, you can't see him. He wants to be as close as he can be, but just outside of the camera view. Why? Because he doesn't want to be seen. He doesn't want people to know he's rich. Like most people with extreme wealth want to blend in. they don't want to show off. They don't want people to know that they have massive amounts. They're not wearing, like I've never seen him wear a fully diamond watch before. I've never seen him pull up in a Lamborghini before because they don't want people to, they don't want to show off because they don't want people to use them.

19:31And so what's really interesting is when you actually have it, you don't need to perform like insecure wealth is very loud, but like secure wealth, very quiet, invisible, you know, not flexing. Most flexing is insecurity in some sort of way. And so they're not showing off at all for seeking any external validation from anybody else. The people at the top don't need validation from strangers. Like their scoreboard is internal. And that's the thing that I found. It's, it's internal. Like they have this internal sense of, it was almost like for, for most people that I know that with extreme wealth is like wealth was a byproduct of them becoming who they wanted to be and building something amazing.

20:14So that's why people are always like, oh, well, you know, if they have so much money, why don't they retire? Why don't they like quit or sell their company? Most of them just are doing what they love to do and they don't want to stop doing it because if they sold their company or whatever it might be, they'd stop doing what they love to do. So it was never really about, for most of them that I have found, it was never really about money. Money was just a byproduct of them like stepping into their greatest self and challenging them and having a business that challenged them and forced them to grow.

20:42It wasn't about like, Hey, I want to flex with people and, you know, be all social and show everybody that I have such extreme wealth. And so being around like the top 0.01 % or whatever that percentage might be, it didn't make me obsessed with money in any sort of way. It made me obsessed with thinking about life differently. It made me obsessed with my time. It made me obsessed with getting more clear in what I want. It made me obsessed with long-term thinking. It made me obsessed with emotional regulation, with privacy, with leverage, with just protecting my time at every point that I possibly could.

21:18And so for you listening to this, you don't need a hundred million dollars to operate like this. Like you can adopt all five of these principles right now into your life. You can protect your time. You can think long-term. You can say no more often. You can stop trying to be understood by everybody and you can stop trying to show off and prove yourself to people. And so wealth is often just a result of action and identity. And identity and action, those are choices. So when you look at that, what I want you to take from this is how can you take those five principles and start adding them into your week this week.

21:51So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please share it on your Instagram stories and tag me in it, Rob Dial Jr. And once again, this Thursday, I'm running a free one night workshop on how to build yourself into a high performer. I'm going to teach you the tools to stop procrastinating, take action and get the results that you want to. If you want to join us, it's absolutely free. It's 2026workshop.com. Once again, 2026workshop.com. And with that, I'm going to leave the same way I leave you every single episode. Make it your mission to make somebody else's day better.

22:21I appreciate you and I hope that you have an amazing day. This episode is brought to you by Extra Credit, TransUnion's financial services podcast. Each episode features subject matter experts who discuss topics that matter most to today's industry leaders. From fraud trends to the state of consumer credit and plenty in between, Extra Credit was created as a way to share unique perspectives, industry happenings, and data-backed insights to help leaders like you adapt to changes in this unpredictable market. Come have a listen at transunion.com slash extracreditpod. That's transunion.com slash extracreditpod.

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