From Guns N' Roses to Rockstar Brand | Craig Duswalt

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Beyond Blind Blaming
Host: Kevin D. St.Clergy (YAP Media)
Episode: From Guns N' Roses to Rockstar Brand | Craig Duswalt
Guest: Craig Duswalt (Personal Branding and Marketing Expert, Keynote Speaker)
Date: January 13, 2026

---

Overview

In this high-energy episode, Kevin D. St.Clergy sits down with Craig Duswalt—former tour manager for Air Supply and Guns N’ Roses turned renowned speaker and personal branding coach. The conversation centers on the hidden mindset blocks that trap high-achievers and how "thinking like a rock star" can break those invisible barriers. Craig shares his unique journey from backstage at sold-out concerts to sold-out business events, divulging actionable strategies for building a stand-out brand rooted in authenticity, risk-taking, and bold decision-making.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Rock & Roll to Personal Branding

• Craig’s Journey: Toured with Air Supply for 8 years, then Guns N’ Roses for 4, before leveraging a marketing degree (“I knew I had marketing in my background. I went to a Tony Robbins seminar...and opened my own ad agency.” — [02:33])
• Transitioned to coaching after integrating “out-of-the-box” lessons from the music world.

2. The Rockstar Branding Philosophy

• Thinking Differently:
  • "I teach entrepreneurs how to become rock stars in their business by doing things just a little bit...well, actually a lot of bit differently than normal entrepreneurs would." ([00:00], [02:33])
  • Pushing clients out of their comfort zone is central: “Everything that I do, I try as a coach to get people outside their comfort zone.” ([00:16], [04:03])
• Signature Events:
  • Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp—designed as high-energy, entertaining, interactive seminars.
  • “It is kind of like going to a rock concert at my events...I always have a rock star—Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Ray Parker Jr., Duff McKagan, Gilby Clarke...” ([07:52])

3. Breaking Free: Mindset and Action

• Calculated Risks & Mindset:

  • “We get one life. That’s it. So why not take some risks...if you believe in your product and you’re passionate about it, you’re going to be successful.” ([00:35], [11:47])
  • Story of “worst case scenario”: viewing setbacks as manageable to embolden risk-taking ([13:53])

• MFD – Make a F*cking Decision:

  • Cited as a transformative principle by both host and guest.
  • “It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and it’s also the hardest thing in the world to do...But make that decision and don’t hem and haw.” ([19:21])
  • Shared viral story of a client whose life changed by adopting MFD ([18:16 – 19:21])

4. The Power of Masterminds & Investing in Yourself

• Importance of Investment:
  • High-priced masterminds keep clients committed:
    “The higher I charge, the more successful they’re going to be and the better my mastermind is going to look.” ([23:26])
• Shared Responsibility:
  • “It’s your responsibility to get more value out of the program. You get what you put in.” ([25:29])
  • Preparation and intent drive results in coaching/mastermind settings.

5. Storytelling, Authenticity, and Brand Integrity

• Stories that Sell:

  • “I toured with Guns N' Roses. Need I say more? I have stories up the ying-yang, but I relate them all to business.” ([26:51])
  • Stories humanize brands and connect with audiences; facts alone aren’t memorable.

• Authenticity:

  • “I don’t play a character on stage and turn into some horrible person offline...I am the same exact guy on my calls as on stage.” ([30:35])
  • Example of Slipknot: Their brand is shocking, but they’re authentic and kind behind the scenes ([32:14–34:54])

• Integrity as a Filter:

  • Craig will exclude inauthentic people from his high-ticket group:
    “If you screw me once we’re done. There’s no three chances.” ([35:11])

• Giving and Contribution:

  • Both mastermind and business reinforce “giving back,” starting or volunteering with charities ([35:19])

6. Decision-Making, Self-Sabotage, and Avoiding "Blind Blaming"

• Solving the Wrong Problem:

  • “People aren’t failing at solving their problems. They’re succeeding at solving the wrong problem perfectly.” ([41:16])
  • Many follow advice misaligned with their needs; underlines the necessity of tailored coaching.

• Never Burn Bridges:

  • Maintaining relationships built decades earlier is now paying dividends in Craig’s renewed music industry ventures ([39:41])

• The Network IS Your Net Worth:

  • Leveraging long-term relationships (Rolodex) for new collaborations ([40:33])

7. Mindset as the Key Investment

• Despite a successful background, Craig admits to years of self-doubt:
  • “I had the lowest self-esteem in the history of the world...I invested in mindset because, for the longest time...I thought, why are people listening to me?” ([46:37])
• It took mindset coaching to internalize his real value and self-belief ([49:29])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Comfort Zones:

  • “Everything that I do, I try as a coach to get people outside their comfort zone...They’ll tweak it and do a little bit crazy stuff.” —Craig Duswalt ([04:03])

• On Risk and Reward:

  • “We get one life. That’s it. Why not take some risks and some chances?...If you’re passionate about it, you’re going to be successful.” —Craig Duswalt ([00:35])

• On Decision-Making:

  • “MFD—Make a fucking decision...The decision can be no just as much as yes, but make that decision and don’t hem and haw.” —Craig Duswalt ([16:18], [19:21])

• On Authenticity:

  • “I am the same exact guy on my calls as on my stage...I don’t play a character.” ([30:35])
  • “[Slipknot] are authentic to their brand...but outside [they’re] staying true to you as a nice person, having integrity as well.” ([32:14–34:54])

• On Problem-Solving:

  • “People aren’t failing at solving their problems. They’re succeeding at solving the wrong problem perfectly.” —Kevin D. St.Clergy ([41:16])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Craig’s Unconventional Path: [02:33 – 04:03]
• Rockstar Bootcamp Energy & Format: [04:40 – 07:52]
• Viral “Make a F*cking Decision” Principle: [15:55 – 19:21]
• Coaching, Masterminds, and Investment Mindset: [22:28 – 24:24]
• Storytelling in Business/Branding: [26:51 – 29:49]
• Authenticity & Industry Anecdotes (Slipknot, Integrity): [30:35 – 35:11]
• Solving the Wrong Problem; Coaching Essential: [41:16 – 43:38]
• Self-Doubt & Mindset Investment: [46:37 – 49:29]

---

Episode Takeaways

• Think differently, act boldly, and stand out by owning your story.
• Push yourself (and your clients) out of their comfort zones—magic lies there.
• Authenticity is the most sustainable branding strategy.
• Decide fast—MFD—because indecision dooms more dreams than failure.
• Your network, cultivated with integrity, is your greatest asset.
• Mindset investment trumps all tactics; inner limits are the real barriers.

---

Resources & Next Steps

• Craig Duswalt:
  • craigduswalt.com
  • rockstarmarketingspeaker.com
  • Next Live Event: Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp, September 19–20, Los Angeles

---

This summary captures the spirit and actionable insights of the conversation—perfect for anyone striving to break free from unseen limits and lead with “rockstar” energy and authenticity.

Transcript

[A]

I teach entrepreneurs how to become rock stars in their business by doing things just a little bit. Well, actually a lot of bit differently than normal entrepreneurs would. Everything that I do, I try as a coach to get people outside their comfort zone.

[B]

Today I'm joined by Craig DeWalt. Craig's a nationally recognized personal brand and marketing expert and keynote speaker. But his journey is anything but traditional. He toured with Guns N Roses and Air Supply before launching his Rockstar personal branding system. It helps entrepreneurs and speakers stand out, build audiences and turn their passions into profitable brands.

[A]

We get one life. You get one life. That's it. So why not take some risks and some chances? Obviously calculated risks. Calculated chances. But if you believe in your product and your seminar, your seminar, your product or service and you're passionate about it, you're going to be successful.

[B]

Foreign. Welcome to Beyond Blind Blaming. This is the place where we explore how easily hidden truths can hold us back, trapping us in cycles of frustration and blame, often without even realizing what's truly stopping us. Each week I'm joined by experts and professionals who share their journey of taking back control of their story and overcoming hidden challenges. And stop blind blaming from dictating their outcomes. The insights you're about to gain will help you see beyond your current limitations and find the courage to seek new perspectives and ultimately live a life that's both purposeful and powerful. So if you're ready to break free from blind blaming and discover what's possible, you'll definitely want to listen to my next guest. I'm your host, Kevin Saint Clergy, and today I'm joined by Craig Does Walt. Craig's a nationally recognized personal brand and marketing expert and keynote speaker, but his journey is anything but traditional. He toured with Guns N Roses and Air Supply before launching his Rockstar personal branding system. It helps entrepreneurs and speakers stand out, build audiences and turn their passions into profitable brands. Craig combines high energy presentation with practical marketing strategies and a deep commitment to authenticity. Through his events and coaching, he empowers people to stop hiding behind fear or playing small and start leading with bold rockstar confidence. Craig, welcome to the show.

[A]

Well, thank you Kevin. Good to be here.

[B]

Well, your background is very unique. I really enjoyed reading about you from touring with Guns n Roses like the the your back wall there to building a business empire around personal branding. What led you from the rock and roll world into coaching and entrepreneurship?

[A]

Well, I toured with Air Supply first for like eight years and then I took a year off and then I toured with Guns N Roses for four years and but I had A marketing major from college, so I knew I had marketing in my background. I went to a Tony Robbins seminar and he convinced me to stop working for other ad agencies. So I opened my own ad agency after touring with those bands. But I learned a ton of stuff like this traditional marketing. And then what I do is outside the box marketing. I learned a ton of stuff with air supplying Guns n Roses. How to, like, think differently when you're writing a book, putting on events, marketing, branding your company, and just, you know, just doing things like a rock star would instead of like an entrepreneur would. So I teach entrepreneurs how to become rock stars in their business by doing things just a little bit. Well, actually a lot of bit differently than normal entrepreneurs would. And most people like the things I teach. A lot of people say, well, I'm not going to do that. I'm a not that crazy or. Or be not that forward that I would do that. But even if they don't do the things I suggest, they at least think a little differently when they're putting together their brand and their marketing plan for the year. So.

[B]

Yeah, well, I love it. And I think a great coach is someone who pushes people to do things that they're either not comfortable doing or they don't want to do so they can be better right outside.

[A]

Outside their comfort zone is the key to everything. Like every. Pretty much, you nailed it. Everything that I do, I try as a coach to get people outside their comfort zone. Like I said, most people don't do all the things I say, but at least they'll tweak it and. And do a little bit crazy stuff. Not so crazy, but, you know, a little different.

[B]

I like it. We. In my book, we talk about what holds people back, but it sounds like you try to help them break free as well.

[A]

Break free. Yep.

[B]

So your Rockstar personal branding Bootcamp is legendary. From what I've read. What inspired you to create that and what makes someone a rock star brand in your eyes.

[A]

Yeah. So I'm a. I'm an actor by trade, so I went to college for acting. I got a job out of college at a theater trying to be an actor. So I have this thing in my blood that I just can't get rid of that I. I like entertaining and I like doing stuff like that, but I wanted to make money, so I decided to combine my two worlds of acting and doing events and teaching people marketing. So I came up with this first one was Rockstar Marketing Bootcamp. And I teach people, like I said, entrepreneurs how to market their Businesses outside the box and how to become rock stars in their industry. And I started getting like my events in Los Angeles. The first one I did, I had 200 people and then I had like 500 people and then I got up to like 700 people flying in from all over the world. And that was because I had a radio show back then called Rock Talk with Craig Does Vault. And it's like we're doing now. Kevin has a podcast, I have a podcast. And I think that is the key to everything. I consider it almost free advertising, Just interviewing people, being interviewed by people, just letting the world know who you are. So I did this event, these events, because I just wanted to use my acting as my. This is my one man show. Like I teach marketing, I teach branding and all that stuff. But really what I'm doing is I entertain a lot. I throw out T shirts, we play Name that Tune, we do a lot of interactive stuff so I don't bore people for three days. And my events are, like I said, my one man show of I get to use some of my acting chops, my improv chops, and at the same time teach. I love teaching as well. So my events just over the years became this huge thing and then Covid hit. So we had to start doing zoom events, which I hate because they're just not the same. Podcasting, great, but events online. So now about two years ago, I started again, maybe three years ago, started doing live events again. And they're really doing good. The energy in the room is so high that it just gets people inspired to want to be rock stars in their business.

[B]

I think it's a great way to push people past their comfort zone too. Because when they see other people doing it, then I think they think, I can do this. Yeah, that person can do it. I can do it. I think that's right. Isn't there a story about the first person that hit the four minute mile? Nobody thought it could be done. Impossible. And then, yeah, like three months after somebody else broke that record.

[A]

Yeah, someone just broke. Some woman just brought the four minute mark into 5,000 meters like this past weekend. So again, just like you just said, now it's been broken. So now the mindset is all right, it is possible I'm going to be the next one.

[B]

Well, tell me this, what do you do to make those events so legendary? As I said, I mean, I don't want to give it away and I want to give you away your secrets. But one thing that you do love.

[A]

To hear about it very Very high energy. I'll give you one example. So every, Every, every event, I start the event off with loud music. And if there's like 500 people in the audience, I'll throw out 100 Rock youk Life T shirts. So right off the bat, the law of reciprocity is I just gave a bunch of free gifts. They're going to love me no matter what, no matter what I do. Now they're in my side. The other thing I do is right away, because I put on Rockstar Events. I play Name that Tune, and I just play a bunch of songs and they all yell out the name of the song. They all start dancing. They all start. Like, it's a concert. So right off the bat, I have set the stage that this is going to be not a regular seminar. It's going to be loud music, it's going to be fun. I'm going to give out lots of gifts. And in. And I show videos. I show inspirational videos. I show videos of Guns and Roses. I show videos of me with Guns N Roses. But it's just all different. You know, there's visual, there's auditory. There's me just talking and calming everyone down. So it's just. It's a lot of different things that I use to get people interested for three days. But it's, it's. It is kind of like going to a rock concert at my events. You know, it's not. I love it. No one's standing behind a podium. I always have a rock star. Like, I've had Eddie Money, God rest in peace, my buddy, Eddie Money. I've had Oreo Speedwagon lead singer. I've had Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr. I've had Mickey Dolan's from the Monkees, Duff McKagan and Gilby Clark from Guns N Roses. Tons of rock stars. And then I always get the top keynote speakers in the world. Like, I've had Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Dean Graziosi, Laurel Langmire, James malinch, tons and CEOs of big, big companies. And that's the key. You know, you bring in all the top people and you make it exciting. And that's. That's the key to events. But a lot of people don't know those people. How do you get those people? Well, it's through connections. And, you know, it's. It's connecting with someone like you that, that knows a lot of people. Because you interview a lot of people. Someone like me. I toured with bands and I interview a lot of people. So that's how you get to know them.

[B]

I love it. Yeah, we know a lot of those people. Russell Brunson actually helped me start my business 20 years ago, who signed a lot of those people.

[A]

Oh, that's great.

[B]

He was the first guy I called that when I sold and Connect, you know, he gave me one tip, just give your book away for free. And I thought he was nuts.

[A]

I do the same thing. Give your book away for free. Brendan Burchard also been on my stage. He, here's, here's what he says. I love him, he's great. And he gives out on YouTube and all his platforms. He gives out so much free information and yet he still has thousands of people that come to his events. And I teach that all the time. Everyone's like, well, I can't give away all my good stuff. And I'm like, yes, you can. Because if you're giving that away for free, the mindset is, well, if he's giving me this for free, imagine when I'm going to get. When I go in person. Like a movie trailer, you know, you're watching the movie trailer, it's always the best part of the movie, but it gets you to come to the movie. Same, same idea.

[B]

I love it. My big takeaway from Brenner was his to be list. And we've taken to the next level too. But that, that changed my life. I lost £40 and some other stuff I did for my book. You never know when you're writing a book, you're writing it for yourself sometimes.

[A]

Yes, well, I found your £40, by the way, Doc.

[B]

You're welcome.

[A]

Not 40, but.

[B]

Well, you've written and spoken extensively about standing out in crowded spaces. What are some of the biggest mistakes you see people make when they're trying to get noticed?

[A]

Well, they, they don't go for it. You know, they, they dip their toe in and see. Well, I think I want to be. Well, I want to be this, but I'm not ready to go for it. And, and I always, I think I read your TedX thing and I think you talk about this as well. You know, just don't like half ass. It just you gotta, you gotta go big and you gotta go wide and big and out there. So I always say this, I always relate it to this. We get one life. You get one life. That's it. So why not take some risks and some chances? Obviously. Calculated risks. Calculated chances. But if you believe in your product and your seminar, your seminar, your product or service, and you're passionate about it, you're going to be successful. So I always say this. My wife and I are blessed. She owns a modeling and talent agency. Very, very successful. I'm a very successful speaker. I do a lot of corporate keynotes. So we live in a very nice neighborhood and a very nice house. But I always do say this. We always go because we always take risks and we always go for it. And no matter what we do, but we always say, what's the worst thing that can happen? The worst thing that can happen for us is we sell the house and we move into a two bedroom apartment and we have an office, one office and one bedroom. And we become closer because she's not all the way on the other side of the house and in a decent neighborhood. So that's like our worst case scenario is not so freaking bad. So if you lose everything, which we won't because we're smart about it and we won't risk it all at this point, but you gotta risk something. But the worst case scenario, you still live in a pretty decent place. You downsize a little, you move to, you move out of California. Like I live in California. All you got to do is move somewhere else and you're saving a ton of money right there.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

But the worst case scenario is not death, you know, so if we start thinking like that, that mindset, like, what's the worst thing that can happen? But you got to be smart about it too, and focus on your product, your service that you are so passionate about and you don't give up. Like so many people say, all right, I just did this logo and I just have this brand and I'm going to put it out there. And three months later, I haven't gotten a client and it must be the brand. So I'm going to switch brands, I'm going to switch logos. I'm like, oh, my God, you're killing me right now. You got to have a year, two year plan. Rome was not built in a night. It's no such thing as overnight success. You got to stay persistent. You got to keep doing it. You got to do all the things that you need to do online to get people to notice you. But that's going for it. And you just can't. You. I think you talk about this in your TED Talk thing script as well. You have to be. You have to have a coach, you have to get in a mastermind. I have a coach. I'm in another mastermind, and I'm a coach and I have my own mastermind. But that's where I have 100 people in my mastermind. And I learned from them just as much as they learned from me. We brainstorm. You can't do this alone. No one can. Everyone has a coach. Michael Jordan had a coach. Tiger woods had a coach. We all know those stories.

[B]

Yep. I'll have to get you a copy of the book if you like to read, because we. I would love it. It's kind of. It's gone a step further since I. Since we wrote that. But we call it the RCD method. Reflect, which is where we dig deep and try to find out what's that wrong problem you're solving perfectly, which you just described. And then connect is where we get. Tell people to get a coach and then. Or join a mastermind so they can share that discovery with other people outside of their sphere of influence. And then you're going to love the last one. It's D is for decide. And what we teach is mfd. So I'm going to. I'm totally stealing your T shirt idea because this. This MFD thing is taken off. It stands for Make a fucking decision.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

So MFD is like, people are putting on their shoes, Craig. They're putting it like they're wearing it on shirts. When we go out in our mastermind group, we have about 40 members in ours and people that are reading the book. I'm like, what's your big takeaway? Like, how do I need to MFD more? And I'm like, oh, my God. So that's a great story, though. Real quick, I'll tell you.

[A]

The T shirt says MFD on it.

[B]

Just big capital letters mfd. Make a fucking decision.

[A]

Love it. And it makes people go, see, this is brilliant. Listen to Kevin. It's brilliant because 99% of the people in the world are, okay, tell me, what's mfd? You know, and they just get funny.

[B]

Because I was nervous about it. Talking about doing things that are scared. Guess who the second person that read my book was?

[A]

Who?

[B]

Jack Canfield.

[A]

Oh, very cool. I know Jack.

[B]

So he wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul and the Success Principles, you know, And I love them. He's so sweet. But he read it and he was like, I loved it. I read it cover to cover. It's going to be a classic as long as you know how to market it. And that's what we're going to help you with because I was one in one of his coaching programs.

[A]

Oh, good. Yeah.

[B]

And he's like, And I was like. He's like, what are you nervous about? I was like, ah, kind of the F1. He's like, Man, I loved your part. I'm like, oh God, yeah. I can't fit to say the F word.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

So, yeah, but it's really taking off. So I'm not, I'm not taking it out. I'm not even doing. I was going to do another all ages appropriate edition. I'm not doing it anymore. I'm just going to leave it. It's my become into our brand because that's the way that I coach like you. I'm very direct.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

So we're going to leave it.

[A]

We have. I have a brand. So I'm back in the music industry again. I have a brand called DAM D A M N. It's Disrupt Artists Artist Management Network. My partner John Reese, who has put on 52 music festivals and I came up with Dam and we, we have that damn podcast. Come to our damn seminar and all this. And we're. We're not going to do this. We're just not. Because talk about going for it and. But we were thinking of calling our community damn nation. And I'm like, ooh, that might. I don't know if that would be a good idea.

[B]

Idea. But yeah, that might. You want to go Elon Musk on people.

[A]

Exactly, exactly. But it was kind of funny. But I love make a decision that is. Is so I would, I would. I will have you on my podcast and I want you to promote that 100 my podcast, Rock Your Life TV. So I would love that.

[B]

Well, let me tell you the story real quick because that's my next question about storytelling. It's a quick story. But what, what happened was I was on the phone with a coaching client and she was debating on taking a loan from one group or another. And we'd been talking about it for almost two months. And she's like, well, I mean, I've got this from this person. I got this back from them. What do you think I should do? And I looked at her and it was on a Zoom call. I was like, kayla, I think you need to make a fucking decision. And that was it. That was the call. Didn't think anything of it. I know I've coached her since she started her business. And she's like, you're right, you're right. So the call ended. And about a month later she gets back on the call. I'm like, well, my favorite question to ask when we start coaching calls now is what's going well instead of how are you doing? Because the world's a dumpster fire. But I said, well, it's going well. And she's like, man, I'm MFD ing all over the place. You've changed my life. Even my husband's noticed. I mean, yeah, I've made some mistakes, but I've been able to go, go, go. And I'm like, what are you talking about, mfd? She's like, make a fucking decision. That's what you told me on my last call. It's the best coaching call we've ever had. I was like, caleb, do you mind if I use that in my book? Because I'm right at that stage. Stage where I decided, you know, you got to make a decision. She's like, yes, use it. Use my name. Change my life. That's where it came from. So it's great.

[A]

Here's the thing about decisions, because it is, you know, it's the. It's the easiest thing in the world to do and it's also the hardest thing in the world to do. So it. But here's the thing. If you know what your vision is, what, what your product or service is, what the vision is, what's the five year plan, what's the one year plan, what is the plan and where. Who is your audience? If you know all those things, it should be easy to make a decision of who you want to align with. Which podcast do you want to be on? What's the name of your podcast? All these things kind of just align. And it's the leaders in this world that make fast decisions. And the reason why they're able to make fast decisions is because they know the end game. And if it aligns with our end game, then I'm going with you. If it doesn't align and it's just a little off, then the easy decision is no. And the decision can be no just as much as yes, but make that decision and don't hem and haw. I have. I do these seminars like you said so many times. Oh my God. This is my pet peeve. And it's only not because I want them to. To spend their money on my mastermind, but as I want them to make a decision. So this is what happens. I offer my mastermind program and I get like 20 or 30 people every time I offer it. Some, sometimes 50, but whatever. So. But most of the time a lot of people come up to me and say, I'm just not sure yet. I have Other things to figure out first or I'm going to do it next time is the other one. We get all the time. Every single person that over the last 20 years I've been doing this, I swear to you because I track it. Every single person that said I'm going to join next time. Not one has ever joined over 20 years. Never. And those are the ones that just can't make a decision. They just can't go for it. And I know what they do for a living and they're all over the place. Their website's a disaster and they might not even have a website, you know, and stuff like that. Those are the people can't make decisions. You gotta have everything in place so that you can make an educated decision.

[B]

Well, I think you need a. You described it perfectly. I think you need a decision making process and a lot of people have never been taught that either.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And you have a very simple one. What's the worst thing that could happen? Which I'll give you credit for. But I love that by the way, I always just say look you, how are you going to feel about this decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, in 10 years? Or is it 10, 10, 10? I give a few different ways to make a decision, but start with something. But what's happening, all the what's happening now is like in our mastermind group we had 100% re up rate after like our fourth year which we thought was a pretty big honor because it's a very high end, not cheap mastermind group because I'm a big fan of people who pay pay attention.

[A]

Bam.

[B]

But MFD came up all the time. They're like you just taught us how to make decisions. And so what it did was teaching people that framework has helped them make a decision to stay in our group. So steal it and use it however you want.

[A]

I'm going to talk about price for a second because you bring up a great point. So my mastermind is also high end, pretty very expensive. But during COVID I was living in Texas for four years because my kids went to TCU and I decided to give people a break because I have re ups. I'm Almost, I'm like 95% every year for like the last whatever years. During COVID I offered a very low. They didn't get everything that the high end people got, but they got a lot a very low cost entry into my mastermind. Very low, like one fifth of of what I usually charge. And they all were up for re upping the next year. Out of the 20 that signed up for the very low price, one renewed one out of.

[B]

Interesting. Really.

[A]

They got in at a low price. They didn't do anything because they had nothing on the line. They didn't pay attention. They just half assed it and they felt I didn't get anything out of it. And it's because they didn't do anything. They didn't attend Zoom meetings, they didn't come to my events. So they didn't go for it. Like if you put $25,000 on the line, you're going to do the work well, you should. You know what I mean? And that is such a. I make a good living without my mastermind. I do corporate speaking and a lot of other stuff. I really don't have to have to charge to be in my mastermind, but I do charge. Obviously it's good money, but. And it's good to have money, but I charge it because I know for a fact the higher I charge, the more successful they're going to be and the better my mastermind is going to look. It's going to make me look good, it's going to make them look good. And that's why you charge higher prices.

[B]

You got to. I think so too because I never want to be the smartest guy in the room.

[A]

Me neither. I'm.

[B]

I'm definitely going to get you. I just got my new hard copy and the new cover. Love it. So I'm really excited about it. But there's a section in there under the connect. Because one of the things that drives me crazy is when I join some of these high end mastermind groups and I hear comments from people like, oh, I don't know if this is worth the money. I was like, who are you? I've actually never seen you here before. You need to attend to get the effing value out of the program, you know, so in the book I got mad about it like I normally do and I. And I also had another coaching client who was part of another group say, well, I'm not getting anything out of my coach. And I was like, well, it's good that you have a coach for that area of your life. But let me ask you this, how do your coaching calls go? It's just like social hour. I was like, oh, well, do you show up ready for the call? Do you have questions prepared for your coach? Whose responsibility is it to get more value of the coaching program? Well, I paid him money. I was like, yeah, but you paid him money. And it's Your responsibility. So in that section, we outlined how to get the most out of any coach you work with or any mastermind group that you're in.

[A]

And that is gold. I have a thing where if you want a coaching call, you call me. Like, I have emergency calls. They get my cell phone. They could call me anytime. So they get that. And then they can set up 30 minute coaching calls. And then I have two hour sessions. I don't go after them. I never say, hey, are you going to sign up for your 30 minute coaching call? I let them do it. It's accountability. Like, I mean, it's not accountability. I don't run an accountability program. You signed up for my thing. You're an adult. You should come and you get this. It's laid out what you get. And I tell them you have to say, hey, I want a 30 minute coaching call. And on that coaching call, like you just said, be ready. Ask me questions. We will not talk about the weather. We will not talk about. My dog just got sick yesterday. I am very busy. Respect my time and I respect your time. Like, let's get right to the point of let me help you in your business and not talk about the weather. Oh my God, Kevin. We align so much.

[B]

I know we gotta stay in touch. And I need to get my book in your hands so you can tell me what you think.

[A]

I would love it. I would love it.

[B]

Yeah, Well, I noticed you put in going back to the storytelling because that's where I was when I told you the Kayla story. But why do you think storytelling is such a powerful tool in business and life?

[A]

Oh my gosh. What is it? Stories sell facts something. Stories sell my whole. I toured with Guns N' Roses. Need I say more? I have stories up the yin yang, but I relate them all to business. And I. And how pathetic is this, Kevin? So I toured with them 90 to 94 so 31 years ago. And I just had a party, a 4th of July party with 100 people in my backyard. And there's new people that I haven't met because they bring guests. My friends bring guests. And this is why I'm hoarse today. Because all I did for three hours was tell Guns N Roses stories. Because that's what they want. That's all they want. Please tell us some of the stuff that you couldn't write in your book. And I do. You know, it's fun and people love stories. So imagine like I have 254 outside the box marketing tips that I teach at my seminar and they're just marketing tips. But if I just shared just a tip after tip after tip, without sharing a story like shoot me, you have to interact and with your audience with fun and, or enlightening or inspirational stories. It is it that like I teach, I have insurance people, I have real estate people. And when they're going in to try to land a client and saying, I could do this for you, I could do this for you, I could do this for you. You got to do the research on who these people are and say they love fishing. Relate a story about fishing or something in the thing, not knowing that you looked them up. One of my good friends that used to live in Santa Clarita, California with me, his name is Howie Neuchow. He's the sport president of the sports department at CAA Creative Artists Agency, one of the biggest agencies in the world for actors, athletes, influencers and all that. And he said, you know, before we met with like a LeBron James or Derek Jeter to try to get him as our clients, we researched everything, not just the Internet stuff, but what charities do they like? What do they like doing for hobbies that we don't see online? Who are they as a person? What do they believe in? So that when we had our meetings, we would share stories of how that relates to what we do. And it's all about stories, relationships, all about stories. Insurance salesmen, real estate agents, like fishing, golf, cameras, photography. What do you like doing outside of this and just be relatable to the, to put to the potential client. So all I do is I, I give a tip and I tell a story about the tip. So I have like thousands of stories because that's what people want to hear. They just want to hear the stories.

[B]

You know, I thought bartending for seven years, I've got a lot of them.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

Compared to your stuff. But it was a close second, I bet, because we did it was a life of debauchery for seven years.

[A]

So yeah, I, I, I there, there's footage of the whole Guns N Roses tour in a vault somewhere in Los Angeles. The documentary crew, I, we all pray it stays in the vault.

[B]

Oh, you know, but the big thing are these documentaries for rock stars now. So, you know, somebody offers them a.

[A]

Couple of bucks, Axel doesn't want it. Axel doesn't want it out there. So he does.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Probably praying he sticks to that.

[B]

Well, in a world full of templates and formulas that we see all over the place, you emphasize authenticity. How do you coach people to stay true to Themselves while still being strategic.

[A]

Oh my gosh. Authenticity, integrity, everything is all that is what I stand for. I don't know if I teach it, I live by, I guess I teach it by example. I am the same exact guy on my calls than I am as I am on my stage. I, I don't play a character on stage and turn into some horrible person offline that just is negative and hates people. I literally am the same person on stage as I am offstage as I am on this call. Like if people, if you came to my backyard, I'd be acting the same way as I am right now. I don't know if I teach it though, but I teach that you should have integrity and you should have authenticity. Like, okay, so a big thing right now is chat GPT AI. And while I use it every single day in my business, I use it like as a blueprint for something. So say I'm writing a chapter in a book or say I'm writing a book or if I'm coming up with content, I have a magazine, rockstar keynote speakers, magazine content. Like I'll go to ChatGPT and get a blueprint, but then I make it my own and I add my rockstar flavor to it to make it feel authentic to me that it's not just chatgpt copy and paste. So there's that just being yourself. So one of my kids favorite group, favorite rock band, heavy metal band, is a band called Slipknot. Have you ever heard of Slipknot?

[B]

No, I haven't. That name sounds really heavy metal.

[A]

Just google them. And they wear these like devil worshiping masks, like really bad. And my kids were like 14, 12 and 10 at the time. And they loved Slipknot. I'm like, oh my God, where did I go wrong? What, what have I been teaching my children? And you know, I came from Guns N Roses, but it was not that. So we go, my wife takes my kids to a pop up store for Slipknot. It's on Melrose Boulevard in Los Angeles. And what it is is they take the masks, masks off, they meet their fans and they sell their merch at just some store that they make a Slipknot store for a day. So my wife goes there where she's like ninth in line of thousands of people because my kids are in their fan club. And she goes in with the worst attitude, like, this is going to be a disaster. I'm only here to protect my kids from evil. That's why I am here at this event. And it's Funny, she stood in line with all these goth looking kids. You know, the goth look and everything.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And she's like talking to them. And we belong to some high end country clubs. I won't mention their names because my wife is like these people, these goth kids are much nicer and more authentic than anyone I know at our country club. It's like the nicest people in the world. So anyway, she goes in and meets Slipknot without the masks. And the lead singer, his name is Corey Taylor, runs over to my wife, gives her a big hug, and he says, oh, we love when moms come. Thank you so much. We appreciate moms. And every one of those nine guys that looked like devil worshipers were the nicest, sweetest guys that you would ever meet. But they are authentic to their brand of looking like that because that's their brand. But they're. And they're, they're nice people outside of it, but they stay authentic to their brand even though they're also authentic to their fan base of this is who we are outside of that. So it's kind of this dichotomy of two different things. Two things of authenticity, staying true to your brand, but also outside, you know, staying true to you as a nice person, having integrity as well. So I, I don't teach it, but you have to have it.

[B]

I think you bring up a great point though, because I think what holds a lot of people back, self sabotage, is when they have that bad experience with the people who don't live true to their brand and they don't want to be that guy or that person who screws people over or. And I think it holds a lot of people back. What do you think?

[A]

Well, it does hold a lot of people back because, well, you've been screwed, I'm sure.

[B]

Okay, one handshake guy and I, I'll never change.

[A]

I'm a handshake guy and I have been screwed so many times. But I will tell you this. I am the sweetest, nicest guy out there. But if you screw me once we're done, one, there's no three chances, you know, because that's. I can tell if you are able to do that one time, that that speaks a lot. So we do talk about it in my mastermind. But I have 100 of the most wonderful, authentic, giving people. We all focus on volunteering for charities. And I have a charity as well. I mean, that's part of it. These people pay a lot of money. It's high end. But I also focus on Giving back and starting a nonprofit and. Or volunteering for nonprofits. And you align with who you are. I believe that the people in my mastermind are in my mastermind because I'm that guy. I have people in my seminars that will weed out the cancers. I won't call them plants because they're not plants, but they're people that are in my circle that just talk to people and they can tell. Like if someone. You talk about complaining in your TED Talk thing as well. Oh, my gosh. I had a lady that seemed like the nicest person in the world online. And then some people from my seminar were checking into the hotel, and this lady is berating the front desk person because her room is not ready yet, even though check in is 4 o' clock and it's only 12 o'. Clock. I don't care. Do you know who I am? And I'm like, oh, my God, berating this front desk person. That word got back to me. And that person tried to sign up for my mastermind. And I said no. I just made up an excuse of like, hey, we're full. This. I didn't want to, you know, insult her, but I just said, we're full. Like, apply next time, because it is an application process. And I just protect my mastermind because integrity and authenticity is huge. And also treating people with respect is also very huge. Yeah.

[B]

There's a sign right in my little kitchenette in here that I look at every day that says, how you do anything is how you do everything. I'm proud of you for doing that.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, it is. It's very big. But you know what? You know what other thing is? My wife says this all the time. Now, that lady might have been having a bad day, and I'm gonna, you know, give her the credit. You might have a bad day, but she took it to another level. So there's that. But there's also where sometimes you have to have a little grace, because the thing that's the thing is never the thing. My wife and I live by that. Someone's having a bad day, they flip you off in their car. And we have a little grace thing. If as long as they don't go, like, try to hit you, but they're having a bad day and we have grace because the thing that's the thing is never the thing. It wasn't that you cut them off or whatever, is something is going on somewhere else. And so we do have a grace. But if you take it to a level that is disgusting, like this lady did at the front desk. She one upped grace.

[B]

Yeah, you just be nice. Be nice, be nice, be kind. I don't see how hard it is. Everybody has a rough day sometimes, but you can still be nice and understand that they may be having a bad day. It always drives me crazy. In an industry that I taught in for years, how people. These are doctors. Would attack manufacturer reps because of a decision the company made. Not the rep, the company. And they just chew their ass. And I'm like, guys, that was just completely inappropriate. You know, it's not their fault. It happened to me too, because I was a rep years ago for a big company.

[A]

I always say, also, never burn a bridge. Like, okay, so I toured with bands back in from 1983 to 1994, and now I just started DAM. Like I said before, I'm back in the music industry again. And this is 30 years later, I'm back in. We manage bands. We're putting on festivals.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

We're doing events called breaking into the music industry, where we're helping bands, you know, get record deals and all that stuff. And I'm now using all my relationships back from 83 to 94 because I never burned a bridge. So I'm calling on all those people that I haven't needed for 30 years. But I stayed in touch. And some people, I didn't even stay in touch. And I say, hey, remember me? We used to tour with Guns N Roses and. Oh, my God. So good to hear from you. I follow you on Facebook and I'm rekindling all those relationships because now John Reese and I are using them again. And they're happy because we're doing this pretty big thing. So they're happy, we're happy. Never burn a bridge. Never.

[B]

Well, now you're talking about one of my favorite strategies, too. You're only as rich as your Rolodex.

[A]

Yes, Yes.

[B]

I just want to make sure you never say that, Craig. At a white coat ceremony for doctors who are in their 20s because they have no clue what you're talking about. It was like blank stares. And I'm like, how about your network is your net worth? And they're like, oh, right, got it.

[A]

Yeah, I. I don't have a lot of doctors in my mastermind.

[B]

Probably not.

[A]

Or my seminars. They think they're.

[B]

In beyond blind blaming the name of the book. I often talk about how people solve the wrong problem perfectly. From your work with entrepreneurs, what are some hidden causes that they blame hourly? The root problem is something internal or something else.

[A]

Completely. I love. Can you repeat that again? Solve why? Well, what I.

[B]

The. The thing that keeps getting quoted the most is I'm giving this out to entrepreneurs, CEO, high performance leaders, things like that is people aren't failing at solving their problems. They're succeeding at solving the wrong problem perfectly.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Thanks. I loved it, too. I was like, oh, this is really good.

[A]

You have to text that. You have to text that to me because I'll screw it up. Solving the wrong problems perfectly. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I could talk to Days about this. Well, and this goes to why you need a mastermind or a coach. This is exactly why. Because many people will either go online or they heard it from a friend that's not even in the industry that they're in. This is what you should do. And they're like, so they do that. And it has nothing to do with what they're doing because they just heard it from somebody that doesn't do what they do, you know, so there's where we're getting, you know, especially now on Reddit and TikTok, and we're getting all this information out there, but is it the information that we need that you need to become successful for your particular genre or your target audience? They're just hearing, this works. This works. Well, it might work for real estate agents, but it doesn't work for a jewelry shop owner. You know what I mean? So you have to be in a mastermind. Like, my mastermind is really good because it's 100 people that are in. I mean, we have a couple of. A lot of speakers, a lot of authors, but they're in different industries. So we have to be careful of who we're listening to in our mastermind if they don't know that specific industry. Now I bring in guests that will focus on a specific industry, because I know those people in my mastermind need to hear that. Something like that and solve the correct problem instead of solving problems that have nothing to do with your world. So that, I mean, that is. I've done a thousand podcasts, Kevin. That might be the best line that I've heard. I love that.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Yeah, I'm going to steal it.

[B]

Well, steal it. We call it ethically swipe and redeploy. But that's why we changed the tagline. The first tagline wasn't as powerful, but we changed it to this.

[A]

No, that's gold. That's gold. And I'm an expert. I'm kidding. No, that really is good. I'll Give you full credit as saying.

[B]

I've made plenty of money in my life.

[A]

I always do that. I always say, I was just on this podcast with Kevin, and. And I'll give you full credit because. And I'll go into a story somehow. I'll make up some story. You and I were fishing and.

[B]

Well, there's plenty of stories in the book that I've got just because we tested the framework for a year and a half. So it started off as a TED Talk, and then. And my podcast last year was kind of niche and audiology, which is where I got my start, believe it or not, Hearing and balance, which you probably know a lot from the rock star world, so.

[A]

Wait, what did you just say?

[B]

Yeah, I said that. Well, normally. I'll tell you offline. What I normally say is a joke for them.

[A]

Okay, wait, are you talking about the tinnitus? Tinnitus or something?

[B]

Well, audiology is the hearing imbalance specialist. Like I did hearing aids. That's where I got my start. Believe it or not. I'm an audiologist by training. And I after. And then I built a digital marketing company and coaching company in audiology for almost 30 years, and we sold it about three years ago. And then I came home from the big sale, got my dream car, you know, roll up in the Lambo, and one of my friends asked me that evening, so, Kev, what's next? And I'm like, well, I didn't really think about that, but. And it bugged me. It. It bugged me. We. They left early. I'm not a big late night parter anymore, but I came to my office and I just wrote on my little whiteboard, what's next? And I, I saw this TED Talk book. So I pulled it down, read it, joined a mastermind group for TED Talks, and we got this written and went through this fun exercise for my whole life. And then I started sharing the TED Talk on my podcast last year. And like, almost every single person, like, this would be a great book. This be a great book. And I'm like, great.

[A]

Is that the baseball. Is that the baseball story?

[B]

Yeah, that baseball story. Yeah, that's the big. We spent almost a year crafting that story. I mean, it's a true story. We just. I just had story writing experts who are like, look, the story's great. Just add this and do this and put it in a different order. And I think you got something that people remember, and they're right.

[A]

I, I did. I read it, I guess. Like, I, I don't know. I think I signed up for this podcast 16 years ago because you're so full now.

[B]

We're pretty booked out. My booking team is absolutely phenomenal. They, they go after some really great people and I'm meeting wonderful people just like you every day. But it did take me like six months longer to get the book done and the E course I understand liver then, so I'm just trying to, we were trying to do it like as we get launched, so.

[A]

Good. Well, congratulations to everything you're doing. And I, I, I read your stuff and I said I, I really like it, so.

[B]

Great. Well, I'll have one more question before we wrap it up. It's one of my favorite questions I like to ask every single person on the.

[A]

I'm nervous. I'm nervous.

[B]

Yeah, you should be because it's. No, it's about your days in Guns and Roses. No, totally kidding. Well, you've clearly invested in yourself over the years, otherwise you wouldn't be able to teach what you teach. What's your favorite way to invest in yourself that you change the game for you?

[A]

Mindset. So I, I, I can like personally, I can teach all the marketing stuff in the world, all the branding, all the things how to get people to join your list and, and write a book and do a podcast and how to be a speaker on stage. But if you don't have the right mindset, then you're never going to be successful because if you don't believe in what you're doing, then no one is going to. So back to me. I invested in Mindset because for the longest time. So I graduated college, got a job with Air Supply right out of college. In college I was one of the, I was an actor and I was the lead in almost everything. I came from a great family. I get a job with Air Supply right after I get a job with Guns N Roses. And then I'm now on my own and I run a very successful advertising agency. That one small business of the year in my community. Huge. Huge, huge, huge. And during those whole 30 years, I had the lowest self esteem in the history of the world. I thought, why are people listening to me? Why do people listen to me? Why do I attract all these people? And I, I don't know why Axl Rose used to say on the road, he's like, I have no idea why people think I'm a good singer. I don't know why people come to see me on stage. I don't get it. And I didn't learn it from him because Mine was way before that. But I've always wrestled with self esteem issues and I don't know why because there's no way I should have, I should have been and thank God. I think this was a God thing. I believe in God and Jesus and all that. I believe this is a God thing because of what happened to me those years. I could have easily have been the cockiest son of a bitch in the world. Everything went great and everything I touched was gold. But maybe I had the low self esteem just to keep me even keel, you know. So my focus was mindset. I had to focus on mindset that I'm worth it. I, I do really good work. I'm authentic, I have integrity. And it took a while so my. And, and it's funny, up until maybe 2019 I still struggled with it but something happened where I actually believe maybe 2018 before COVID I actually believe I'm really good at what I do. I honestly believe I am one of the best speakers in America. Every time I speak I get asked back 10 times. I always win best speaker of the event. So I'm really starting to believe it. But took a mindset coach to help me get there.

[B]

Ah, so coaching because that was my next question. But how so you liked having a coach? Oh, you mentioned masterminds as well.

[A]

Oh, I have a coach and I'm in a mastermind as well. I, I look, I, I have a mastermind and I'm a coach but I believe that Tiger woods like we said, needs a coach. So I have a coach and I have a mindset coach and I have an Internet, I'll call it Internet marketing coach.

[B]

Yeah, same. I got a couple too. I got a YouTube coach because we're trying to do better on YouTube.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

Get me on camera more and get me more comfortable being on camera. So far so good. Got the studio set up. That was a disaster. It took me six months but I got it done. It's just all fucking new. It's so new for me because we got, we built that that really large agency. I can't talk about how big it was but that's great. We signed a pretty NBA but in trouble. I'm going to take my money away. But yeah, they, we did. We just had really great partners like you. We just tried to really create the great experience. We had great relationships and people just referred to us because people got results I love. We never, I never had to do any of the crap I'm having to do. Not crap, but you know What? I mean, it's stuff that I'm doing now. It's just new for me. So it's like six months into it, I'm becoming better, more comfortable and people are liking it even. It's funny though, because the best video I've got so far is all this coaching that I had for YouTube. And there's one tool that everybody told me to leave out they or told me, never told me to buy. And it's a fly swatter. Because I was in my thing and I've got this high definition camera pointing right at me and there's this effing fly and it's like perfectly in the, in the new camera. It's. I was like, oh my God. You know, my old shitty cameras were. Wouldn't have shown that. And so I just said it's this. And it was like a two minute video and it's kind of gone a little mini viral. And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me.

[A]

Okay, so I love that. I love the fly swatter thing because that's something that would go viral, right? But I'm just gonna throw this out here, Kevin, because this is the. What I truly, truly, truly believe. I am the guy that will call out the elephant in the room. So for example, if there was a fly driving me crazy, that fly is now part of my podcast. And I will make sure that fly, everyone knows his name. Here he comes again. Because there's the authenticity. So we had that damn podcast was our. My podcast with John. And we, his dog always would just come into the podcast. And you know what we did? We made the dog part of the cast of the podcast. And now he's in the podcast. He squeaks squeaky balls sometimes. And it's like, dude, shut up, stop it. You know, is. But that's what people love, is the authenticity of things that go wrong. People love when things go wrong and you just go with it. So I understand what you're saying. Use the fly swatter as a cool viral video.

[B]

Yeah, we will. We're also. I'm having a photographer coming about B roll once a week here, starting a couple weeks, but four grandkids. There's so many messed up stories with a one year old, a two year old and a four year old. It's just like last night, I think something got in my mouth that they spit out and they're sick and I'm like, I'm. Anyway, it's been pretty fun. All my friends are like, oh my God. Because I can't have kids So I don't know anything about this whatsoever. Jen's got four grandkids girlfriend. She's young kid. Younger. But yeah, it's been an adventure for sure.

[A]

I love that. Adventures are good, my friend.

[B]

Yeah. Well Craig, I need to wrap it up. I know you probably got some other things to do can I do want to get a hold of you and work with you. What's the best way for them to get in touch and we'll make sure we put it in the resources part.

[A]

That would be great. My I have two websites, craigdozwalt.com then the spelling is right there on the thing. Craigdozwalt.com and then I have rockstarmarketingspeaker.com so I have two websites craigdozwalt.Com RockStarMarketSpeaker.com I have an event coming up September 19th and 20th in Los Angeles. If you get tickets for that, would love for you and all your people to come. We can talk offline. Offline about that as well. Yeah.

[B]

Well, let's stay in touch. Craig, wonderful interview. Wish you had more time. Thanks for being here.

[A]

Thank you so much, Kevin.