👉 Access The 4% Files Treasure Map HERE To Get A Detailed Recap & Summary Of This Series!

👉 Access all of the bonus material from the 4% Files right here

Back in July 2025, I saw a social media post that made my heart stop:

The headline prominently said:

Rest in Peace Steve Sims

July 1966 - July 2025

Steve Sims was a podcast guest that had a profoundly deep impact in my life.

In case you haven’t heard of Steve before, he was coined by Forbes as “The Real Life Wizard of Oz” who helped his clients do things like:

Get married by the Pope
Take submarine trips to the Titanic
Have dinner in front of Michelangelo’s David while being serenaded by Andrea Bocelli
Meet celebrities like Elton John and Elon Musk

He even once took a group on a private tour of the Tesla gigafactory… followed by a visit to a legal, licensed brothel to learn about the power of communication (yes, seriously).

But beyond the crazy experiences…

Steve Sims gave me a new blueprint for life.

In fact, a few years ago when journaling about the 3 people I most looked up to, Steve’s name was high on that list — right next to my wife and daughter.

Even though we only spent a few hours together across these interviews, Steve’s mindset has been running like a background program in my brain ever since I met him.

He embodied the values and passions that drive my life today:

Family & Heart: He loved his wife and kids deeply, and built his business alongside them
Doing the Impossible: His entire life was proof that “impossible” is just a starting point
Experiences: The most inspiring (and wildest) experience designer I’ve ever met
Fun & Play: He approached life like a big kid—joyful, absurd, and always ready to make you laugh
Being Unapologetically You: Steve knew who he was and never tried to be anything else
Pure Passion for Life: You could hear it in his voice—he lived with passion, every single day
Storytelling: Hands down my favorite storyteller of all time—he didn’t just live great stories, he delivered them in unforgettable ways

So to honor his legacy, on episode #250 of the show, I stitched together all 3 of our interviews at once.

As I dove through my entire podcast library for this series, I HAD to include my interviews with Steve, despite the fact that I only recently published the trilogy.

But of course, with this being the 4% Files I had to do something even more epic…

You see:

The magic of this series is that EVERYTHING I’m sharing I’ve tested personally… for years.

None of this is something I just learned about and haven’t implemented in a deep way.

So in addition to the truly transformational content that Steve himself shares in the episodes, I actually weave together ~45 minutes of bonus content walking you through exactly how I’ve implemented what I learned from Steve.

These episodes with Steve truly showed me what was possible beyond my wildest imagination at the time…

But just as a fair warning:

This is my LONGEST episode to date, clocking in at 3 and a half hours.

So you’re in for a ride if you commit to this one.

But if you do, I promise it’ll be worth it.

00:00:00 - Introduction to Beyond Curious and today's guest, Steve Sims, as Brandon tees up a “monster” 3+ hour episode surfacing the full Steve Sims trilogy—plus his own commentary between each interview segment.

00:01:36 - Brandon kicks off the trilogy compilation (“buckle your seatbelts”), then we get a teaser straight from Steve: an absurdly epic Florence dining experience beneath Michelangelo’s David—complete with a lesson hidden in the punchline “no one’s ever asked.”

00:02:57 - Brandon zooms out on imagination and identity (“you can’t become a version of yourself you can’t conceive”), name-dropping Napoleon Hill and Einstein while framing why Steve’s worldview can permanently expand what feels possible.

00:05:34 - Brandon introduces Steve’s backstory and impact (bricklayer → bouncer → luxury concierge and experience designer), then shares the heartbreaking context: Steve passed away July 7, 2025 from cancer, and this release honors his legacy by stitching all three episodes together.

00:07:17 - Brandon explains the special 4% Files format: after each interview installment, he’ll return with implementation-focused commentary—what he actually applied and what created compounding results over time—then transitions into episode one (recorded October 2021).

00:13:09 - Steve (story): A client wants to recreate how he originally “won” his wife—college picnic rug, boom box, and all—so Steve rebuilds the moment down to the exact vibe, including tracking down working boomboxes and even figuring out how to record a cassette in the modern era.

00:15:29 - Steve reveals the ridiculous-but-brilliant workaround to “you can’t rent a public park”: he stations attractive women walking dogs on long leashes in a moving perimeter—because “men are terrified of attractive women”—to keep strangers from wandering into the recreated proposal scene.

00:26:03 - Steve (principle): “Control the front door.” As a doorman, he learns you don’t filter people out to be exclusive—you filter to prevent chaos later. Then he introduces “silly password” mechanics (Sesame Street / Teletubbies-type prompts) that inject positivity before anyone even enters.

00:29:18 - Steve describes bouncing a wealthy, entitled guy for refusing to play the childish password game—and how the resulting “rude doormen” press turned into the best marketing they could have gotten, making even more people want in.

00:31:03 - Brandon reflects on how the “velvet rope” concept applies to business: designing the filter up-front prevents 99% of downstream problems—then pivots toward Bluefishing strategies.

00:48:12 - Brandon (commentary bridge): He connects Steve’s patterns (filters, contrast, and bold asks) to how Brandon has applied them in real life—setting up the “implementation” framing that will recur between each installment.

00:01:04:08 - Brandon introduces Part 2 with three things to watch for: (1) listening under what people say (Elton John + realtor examples), (2) leveraging “Unpolished” to stand out, and (3) Steve’s experience design (including a Tesla gigafactory → brothel contrast day).

00:01:06:15 - Part 2 begins with Brandon and Steve riffing on “Sims the Sequel,” setting the tone for another rapid-fire, story-heavy sprint.

00:01:08:12 - Steve (insight): We live in a “gotcha society” that loves laughing at people—so most people hide their dreams to avoid ridicule. Steve’s job, as he sees it, is listening past the words to the real desire underneath.

00:01:10:00 - Steve revisits the core responsibility of proximity to high-status people: guard the front door. If someone misbehaves at Elton John’s Oscar party, it reflects on you, so curation is a form of integrity—not elitism.

00:01:11:38 - Steve (story): A brash caller wants a photo + autograph with Elton “before he dies.” Steve clocks the request as shallow and doesn’t even take the guy’s contact info—because it’s about status props, not meaning.

00:01:13:45 - A second caller sounds similar, but Steve shifts the conversation with one question—“Why?”—and the whole emotional temperature changes, revealing a completely different motivation.

00:01:15:01 - Steve (story payoff): The real “why”: the caller’s dad drove him to school with an Elton John cassette on repeat; years after his dad’s death, hearing Elton briefly “brings his dad back” for three minutes—so he just wants to say thank you.

00:01:17:16 - Steve orchestrates the moment at the Oscar party; when the story lands, both men tear up and hug. Steve highlights the lesson: solving the surface request would’ve missed what the person truly needed—asking “why” created the impact.

00:01:35:41 - Steve (unpolished connection): He sends clients bizarre physical “touches” (scribbles on in-flight magazines, random artifacts) and expects they might hate it—until a long-time client says the “worthless crap” is exactly why they remember him: “Don’t stop.”

00:01:38:47 - Steve underlines the meta-lesson Brandon just said out loud: the human element. Imperfect, obviously-human mail signals care in a world drowning in polished automation.

00:01:44:55 - Steve (tactic): Approaching someone famous? Start with “You don’t know me” to remove their anxiety and let them actually listen—then offer value (e.g., “I noticed three things that could improve your marketing/branding”).

00:01:47:58 - The guy Steve approaches laughs—then reveals the project was shut down six months ago… and Steve’s first two suggestions would’ve saved it. Result: Steve...

#276: The Eighth File: The Power Up That Reveals How To Make The “Impossible” Happen From The Man Who Makes It Look Easier Than Brushing His Teeth… w/ Steve Sims