CO-HOST | Make Money by Preparing Like a Pro (Even When You Think You Don’t Need To)

Summary

Travis Makes Money – Episode Summary

Podcast: Travis Makes Money
Host: Travis Chappell
Episode: CO-HOST | Make Money by Preparing Like a Pro (Even When You Think You Don’t Need To)
Date: February 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the crucial role of preparation—both in podcasting and in broader professional pursuits. Travis and his co-host discuss when and how to prepare, how preparation pays off for interviews, speeches, and sales pitches, and the indirect ways thorough prep can boost your confidence, credibility, and income. The conversation is lively, honest, and peppered with candid anecdotes, humorous tangents, and actionable wisdom for anyone looking to elevate their performance and financial situation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Preparation

• Opening with Humor and Warmth

  • The episode starts with playful banter and a humorous viral clip, setting a relaxed but insightful tone.
  • The co-host brings up the classic quote: "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail," kicking off a deep dive on preparation. (03:00)

• When to Prepare vs. Freestyling

  • The co-host notes: Travis, “I've known two versions of you… sometimes you come in and you've got… all this stuff, and you're like, super prepared. And then sometimes you're like, I just want to go in… and have a conversation." (03:24)
  • Travis emphasizes that the scope and context determine his prep strategy:
    • For high-frequency tasks (e.g., daily podcast interviews), he leans on developed skills, reviewing guest bios right before the session.
    • For special guests or new challenges (e.g., speeches, big sales pitches), he over-prepares, memorizes, rehearses, and role-plays.

• Accumulated Experience as Preparation

  • Travis: “Doing 1,500 podcast episodes is by definition over preparing to be able to continue doing more podcast episodes. You know what I mean?” (10:55)

2. How Preparation Differentiates Your Work

• Standing Out in a Sea of Similar Interviews

  • Travis shares how, for frequently interviewed guests, deep research is key: “If you listen [to] 5, 6, 7… interviews... you’ll find that they’re basically copy paste… So… I’m gonna prep a lot for [those], because… the goal is just to get 'em off of autopilot.” (08:19, 09:15)
  • He insists, "I'm trying to push them off that path... and actually get a real conversation to happen." (09:30)

• Preparation as Respect

  • For high-status guests, prep is essential not just for content, but for relationship-building and reputation:
    • “You owe it to yourself and to them to try to prep as much as you can so that it’s not a waste of their time.” (25:47)

3. Confidence, Control, and Notable Growth Moments

• From Nerves to Ownership

  • Travis recounts his first big, in-person interview with Grant Cardone:
    • “At that point, it was probably the biggest name that I had had on the show… my first ever in-person interview… I was flying across the country… someone who... I had probably consumed... cassette tapes, essentially.” (18:12)

• Controlling the Conversation:

  • He learned to avoid being "steamrolled" by celebrity guests by prepping more than the average host: “Whatever it is, it’s not going to be [me getting steamrolled]. I’m going to try to come in and control this frame, at least to a certain extent, and get where I’m trying to go here.” (21:23)

• Impact Beyond the Interview

  • Prep increases your chance of:
    • Memorable interviews
    • Stronger guest relationships
    • Securing endorsements and new opportunities (“It was a big lesson in, in branding and for me, but also to make sure that every time I connect with somebody… I try to prep as much as I can…” (25:09))

4. Fun & Memorable Moments

• Icebreaker and Speaking Techniques

  • Travis shares his go-to “standing ovation” crowd-game icebreaker for speeches: (12:01 – 14:29)
    • “I’ll open up with just saying, like, hey, everybody stand up... As soon as I clap, you clap... And by the end, the entire room is just basically clapping for me… Astounding. A standing ovation in the first three minutes.’”
    • He notes it lifts energy, primes the room, and usually results in a real standing ovation later.

• Jokes & Church Anecdotes

  • The co-host recalls the hardest he ever laughed at a joke before a sermon (the “spin cycle” cat joke) and a classic youth-pastor mishap with accidental innuendo. (15:00 – 17:16)
  • They both bond over the shared experience of holding back laughter in church.

• Top Interview Compliment

  • Co-host: “The best compliment ever is, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before.’” (26:41)
  • Travis: “Nobody’s ever asked me that.” (26:42)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Travis, on prep and autopilot:
  "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail." (03:00, attributed by co-host)

• Travis on defaulting to preparation:
  "For the majority of things, my default is preparation because it's always better to be overprepared, in my opinion..." (04:29)

• On guest research:
  "If you just prepare more than everybody else, you can probably get to a bunch of stuff that they have not talked about and they'll respect you more as a host and interviewer." (25:27)

• On differentiating interviews:
  “The goal is just to get 'em off of autopilot.” (09:15)

• On the impact of preparation:
  “Take every opportunity to connect with somebody seriously and try to prep as much as you can for any of those types of conversations because it'll always leave a better impression...” (25:09)

• On controlling your own show:
  “Regardless, this is still my show and I am allowed to run my show the way that I want to run my show. And if they agreed to be on it, then they’re like, they’re jumping onto the ride…” (22:00)

• On the best interviewer compliment:
  “Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before.” (26:41, co-host)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:00–04:29]—Debate: When to Prepare vs. Go with the Flow
• [08:19–09:30]—Researching guests who do lots of interviews
• [12:01–14:29]—Travis’s crowd icebreaker technique and the “standing ovation”
• [15:00–17:16]—Co-host’s favorite sermon jokes and church stories
• [18:12–21:23]—Travis’s first big-name interview (Grant Cardone) and preparation strategy
• [25:09–25:47]—How preparation leads to further opportunities and endorsements
• [26:41]—The ultimate interviewer compliment

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Closing Advice and Signature Signoff

• Co-host sets up the close:
  “You know what? That’s a great feeling, but another great feeling is having more money in the bank. So why don’t you close us out with your famous sign off?” (26:46)

• Travis's signature:
  “Money only solves your money problems. But it’s easier to solve the rest of your problem[s] with money in the bank. So let’s start there. Here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in.” (26:59)

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Takeaways

• Preparation is both a safeguard and a differentiator. It’s what separates forgettable conversations from memorable ones—and opens doors to new opportunities.
• The confidence to improvise is bred from countless rehearsals, reps, and accumulated experience.
• Always strive for the “nobody’s ever asked me that” moment—both for your guest’s gratitude and your audience’s value.
• Whether you’re making money, building relationships, or performing in public, overpreparation pays off in ways you may not expect.

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Recommended for:
Anyone looking to enhance their professional chops, earn more, or simply make sure that when opportunity comes knocking, they’re truly ready to answer.

Transcript

[Travis]

You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis.

[Co-host or Guest]

She's one of the most inspirational figures that I've ever encountered. And like, honestly, like, honestly, it's like, it's hard to believe that that much wisdom can come from one person and.

[Travis]

That we're lucky enough to work.

[Co-host or Guest]

I know. Well, it's like to. I mean, to know Joanna as a person. Inspiring. Like if you were in the back of an auditorium hearing her speak. Powerful.

[Travis]

Deepest privilege of my life.

[Co-host or Guest]

But to call her a friend, that's divine blessing.

[Travis]

Only if you get the privilege.

[Co-host or Guest]

Anyway, well, go ahead and hit record and we'll.

[Travis]

Oh, we're recording What? We're already recording on this one.

[Co-host or Guest]

This is the worst.

[Travis]

That's crazy.

[Co-host or Guest]

Why does this keep happening?

[Travis]

It's weird. It's strange.

[Co-host or Guest]

I'm gonna start with a clip.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

I don't think you've ever seen this clip.

[Travis]

Are we just going into it? Okay?

[Co-host or Guest]

Is that okay?

[Travis]

Yeah, that's fine. Let's start with a clip because it just.

[Co-host or Guest]

And it. I'm totally gonna freestyle this episode.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

But I just wanted to show you this. So I was showing you some spoken word, you know, kind of rap vibes, you know, kind of enjoying that. We're having a good time with that. And it made me think of this clip. And I don't know if you've ever seen it. This might spring us into a great episode or this will be a great clip for social media. Okay, can you see my screen?

[Travis]

I can.

[Co-host or Guest]

This gentleman is on a talk show to talk about his skills. And here we go.

[Talk Show Host]

Marshall Cope is a rapper turned spoken word artist. Please welcome Marsha to the show. Good morning. Doing well. So tell me, why the change from rapping to spoken word?

[Marshall Cope]

Because it's basically the same thing. You know, I. Dealing with words for the Bible. It says in the Bible, first there was word in the book of Genesis. And so we live our lives based on that book, which is the Bible.

[Talk Show Host]

So you're going to do a spoken word for us now. Right?

[Marshall Cope]

Right.

[Talk Show Host]

And tell us what we're about to hear.

[Marshall Cope]

It is a freestyle. Okay, I'm just gonna think it up as a freestyle.

[Talk Show Host]

Let me sit back. Go ahead, Marshall.

[Marshall Cope]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

Can't be.

[Travis]

This can't be good.

[Marshall Cope]

Years ago they tried to. Years ago, they tried to put me in the.

[Co-host or Guest]

A.

[Marshall Cope]

This a lie.

[Travis]

Yes.

[Talk Show Host]

God.

[Co-host or Guest]

Yeah. And then the. The whole clip ends with him with her saying, do you want to just try reading something for your book? He's like, yeah, yeah, that would be good.

[Travis]

Oh, no.

[Co-host or Guest]

But anyway, so I. I thought of that clip and one of the more.

[Travis]

Significant bummers of that gentleman's life.

[Co-host or Guest]

It was very funny.

[Travis]

Not that I would do any better, but.

[Co-host or Guest]

But I. But I did want to spring into a conversation though, because earlier, I don't know if you remember this, but I. I read a quote to you, and it says, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Now, Travis, I've known two versions of you in my life, okay? And sometimes, sometimes one of these versions shows up, sometimes the other version shows up. Neither is bad. I just want to be clear. I'm not setting you up to burn you. I feel like I set that up like I'm about to roast you.

[Travis]

You did?

[Co-host or Guest]

Yes, but I know. I don't mean it this way.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

Okay. So sometimes, let's say interviewing. Sometimes you come in and you've got like your iPad, you've got a bunch of notes and highlights, and you've got like all this stuff, and you're like, super prepared. And then sometimes you're like, I just want to go in. I'm just going to show up and have a conversation. And I was curious, how do you determine? Because once you have a certain level of ability, you can show up somewhere and you can feel pretty confident you'll know what to do when the situation arises. There's other times you go in and go like, I better prep like crazy for this. How do you determine when to show up prepared versus showing up just trusting that your tool bag of abilities is going to carry you through.

[Travis]

Are we talking podcast conversations?

[Co-host or Guest]

I just put it there specifically. I just put it there. But I mean, you could translate that to pitching something. You could translate that to a sales call. I just picked interviews because it's kind of low stakes on some level for.

[Travis]

The majority of things. My default is preparation because it's always better to be overprepared, in my opinion, than it is to be underprepared. For me, when it comes to interviews specifically, especially as it relates to this show, it's just we do so many interviews. It would be a full time job by itself just to fully prepare for every single interview that I did. And we only get 20, 25 minutes with each guest that comes on the podcast, so even the over preparation that I would do, we wouldn't be able to get into the majority of the Stuff that I wanted to talk about in that brief of a convers. So for the majority of Travis Makes Money interviews these days, I have basically like the bio of the person and I look at it right before the interview and that's about it. But that is also. Oh, that's also because I've done 1600 or whatever podcast episodes in the last eight years. So I feel pretty confident at this point to jump into a 25 minute conversation with just about anybody and have the ability to go 25 minutes and actually get some really good stuff out of them. When I first started though, I had a list, a literal list of questions. And I didn't know how to transition between questions, so I would say something like, okay, thank you. So what about this thing? And I would go right into the next question. Almost like a. It was basically just reading off of a list of questions. Way less conversational, more probably a more difficult listen. Just sounded. Just sounded scripted because it was. But then now I'll still prep for interviews for my other show, Travis Makes Friends. And I'll do more prep based on the guest that I am interviewing and whether or not they have done a bunch of other ST shows like that in the past. Because my goal when I'm sitting down with a guest like that is really to have a different conversation, not the same conversation that they've already had on a hundred different shows, whether it's podcasts or traditional media. So people who get interviewed a lot, those ones I, I prep a lot for because I'm. I'm really, I'm. I'm just.

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[Travis]

That you're not entirely sure it'll work out.

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[Travis]

That leap of faith.

[Shopify Ad Narrator]

Trust me, I know this. When I started my podcast, I wasn't even sure what I was doing, to be honest with you. What if nobody listens? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I'm embarrassed? You know, what if nobody buys stuff that I put out there? Now I know that I was right in believing myself in launching this podcast and the subsequent businesses that come along with it. Despite all the fears and hesitations. It also helps when you have a partner like Shopify on your side to help. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Magic Spoon to brands just getting started, you can get started with your own design studio. With hundreds of ready to use templates, Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand's style. Accelerate your efficiency. Whether you're uploading new products or trying to improve existing products, Shopify is packed with helpful AI tools that write product descriptions, page headlines, and even enhance your product functional photography. There's really no excuses anymore people, cuz Shopify literally does all of this stuff for you. And did I mention that the iconic purple shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world is from Shopify? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. It also helps boost conversions, meaning less carts going abandoned and more sales for you. It's time to turn those wh ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com TMM or go to shopify.com TMM that's shopify.com TMM.

[Travis]

Not to I'm trying not to make it boring for them is ultimately what it is. And it's like if it's not boring for them, then it won't be boring for the audience. So I try to bring some sort of differentiation into the conversation and it's impossible to know that unless you go through and listen to a bunch of the other conversations that they've had. And when you do that you, if you listen 5, 6, 7 of like podcast interviews, especially like if they're any sort of long form, like past a half an hour, you'll really find that to be true. You'll find that they're basically copy paste interviews on all seven shows because nobody took the time to do any sort of additional research. And like maybe the first person who did it was getting new stuff out of them. But then Next, you know, 34 people that did it are basically just reiterating the same talking points, going over the same things. So if I'm talking to somebody who has done a bunch of that stuff, they then yeah, I'm gonna try to over prep just because I wanna try to go off the beaten path a little bit. Like I said before in like different trainings and stuff, the goal is just to get em off of autopilot.

[Co-host or Guest]

Yeah.

[Travis]

Cause if somebody's doing like a book tour or something, they're just like their, their PR agent at the publishing company sent out a list of questions or talking points to a hundred different media hosts.

[Co-host or Guest]

I rip those up the minute I get em.

[Travis]

Yeah, exactly.

[Co-host or Guest]

Because.

[Travis]

Because most people aren't Doing that, most people are just going like, oh cool, you prepped for me. And then they just go through and ask the questions. And it's very templated. And so people doing a hundred shows in three months to promote this new book, like I said, they just, they, they get into their typical routine on the show. So I'm just trying to, I'm trying to push them off of that path as much as I can and actually get into a real conversation to happen. So. But in the terms of like other things, I'm always preparing for other things because I don't do like, I do podcast interviews all the time. Like, it's just part of what I do in life. I just am constantly doing interviews and talking to people and having conversations. So that's something I feel very competent at. So when I don't prep, I don't have any degree of, like, I'm not nervous in the least when I jump onto another conversation because I likely just had five of them that day. Like, I'm, I'm not super worried about that. And again, with these ones that are 20, 25 minutes, I know how to get to the value. We can get a lot of really great stuff in that period of time. And the majority of the feedback that I get after the interview is always something about that. It's like, man, this felt this just breeze by. This was like a regular conversation or thank you for making this somewhat different. You know what I mean? So on that front, it feels different because I do it all the time. If I'm like doing a speech or something, I feel fairly comfortable on stage once I'm up there. But I'm also going to prepare like crazy for the talk. Or if I'm doing, if I'm pitching something that I haven't pitched before, I'm going to prep like crazy and memorize as much of it as I can and try it on a couple people and run some role playing scenarios with somebody who I like want to run the pitch by or whatever. So I, I hesitate to say that I don't prepare for some of these. Cause I don't want people to hear that and go like, oh, I don't have to prepare either. It's like I want like over preparation's usually the default setting. It's just that like, if you look at it from that perspective, doing 1500 podcast episodes is by definition over preparing to be able to continue doing more podcast episodes. You know what I mean? It's just that I'm not prepared in terms of that particular Guest. I didn't read their book because I have 30 other interviews in the next week, and it's impossible to read everybody's book anymore, you know, so. But, yeah, I don't know if that answers your question, but have you ever.

[Co-host or Guest]

Prepped, like, a joke before doing an interview where you're, like.

[Travis]

The only one that comes to mind is that bit that I did with Myrrh from Impractical Jokers when he came on the show, like, that wasn't really a.

[Co-host or Guest]

You didn't have any. That were like. Like, I'm gonna start by going, like, not really.

[Travis]

Speeches. Yeah. Talk.

[Co-host or Guest]

What's. What's your favorite joke you've ever opened a speech with? That's like an icebreaker.

[Travis]

So I do this. I've done this, actually a couple times at different places. As long as I know the audience hasn't seen me before. And it is helpful, too, because it sort of sets a frame for what I want to happen at the end, which is a standing ovation. So I'm probably. I'm probably ruining this for anybody that sees me speak in the future, and I do this. But whatever, I'll open up with just saying, like, hey, everybody stand up. We've been a lot of speaking today. Everybody stand up. Stretch a little bit. And I was like, we're going to play a game. So the game is, everybody stand up. And then when I clap, you have to clap. If I don't clap, and I, like, fake a clap, and I get close to clap, but I don't, and you still clap, then you have to sit down. So we do that once just to, like, get everybody familiar with how it works. And I'll just clap, and everybody claps, and you clap, and everybody claps, and you clap. Everybody claps. And the third one, you go like that, and a bunch of people clap, and they have to sit down. I'm like, okay, now we all understand the game. You know, everybody stand back up. And then I start clapping. And I do it till the entire room is just basically clapping for me. And I'll say something like, wow, Astounding. A standing ovation in the first three minutes. What an amazing crowd this is. Or something like that. And everybody just kind of goes, ah, you got me. You know, first. That's usually the reaction right there. But it does a couple of things. Number one, it does bring the energy in the room up, because if people are sitting in a room all day listening to people, people are starting to yawn. Especially if you have a spot that's like, after lunch or something like that. It's not super energetic in there. It does get people off their feet, you know, communicating with people next to them, laughing a little bit at the person next to them who had to sit down or whatever. But then it also, again, sets the frame. There's. I don't think there's been a time where I've done that and it hasn't ended in a standing ovation at the end. Because if, like, I ended on a. On a powerful enough point, it's not even necessarily a powerful enough point. It's just ending on a conclusive thought that actually says, like, I'm done now. You can then begin clapping because a lot of people are just really crappy at closing out speeches and you don't even know if they're done until they walk off the stage. So I'll just like, make a final point. And it usually. If again, assuming the talk went well, then it usually ends at standing ovation. Because at the beginning I said, like, it was my entire goal to get a standing ovation. And I got in the first three minutes, so that's my time. And I, you know, walk, like, start walking off stage and makes people laugh and then also sets it up for them to remember later, like, oh, he wants a standing ovation. Let's do that. You know.

[Co-host or Guest]

You know the hardest I've ever laughed at a joke ever before, before a sermon.

[Travis]

Oh, like an opening joke for it, like during a sermon.

[Co-host or Guest]

Yeah, it was. Pastor Paul Chappell blocked me recently. I don't know why, but I don't.

[Travis]

Know if I'm being facetious.

[Co-host or Guest]

No, he told a joke and I think I've. I've stole it before I used it. I thought it was so funny.

[Travis]

Well, that whole routine that I just mentioned was something that I saw from somebody in church.

[Co-host or Guest]

I was like, Carrie Smith, the thunderstorm.

[Travis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host or Guest]

Everybody clamp your hands. Right? I was told.

[Travis]

And so you're gonna tell the joke.

[Co-host or Guest]

So the joke was. It was something. I'm gonna butcher it because, I mean, I'm not the orator that he is. And so he shared. But he. I remember one time he said this. This lady goes into a store and she buys soap to wash her cat. And then she. She goes back in, and then she goes, your soap. It killed my cat. It killed my cat. And then they go, check it out or whatever. I go, I don't think it was the soap that killed your cat. It was the spin cycle. I always thought that was really funny. But he tells it like, With a lot of build up. Like, they would take.

[Travis]

That's funny because I don't remember that joke.

[Co-host or Guest]

It was such a funny joke. I think about that joke a lot.

[Travis]

He had a lot of jokes that were like.

[Co-host or Guest]

I'm sure it's not that he opened up with. I'm sure it's not like his joke.

[Travis]

Oh, no.

[Co-host or Guest]

But it was a very funny joke.

[Travis]

Yeah. He'd always have, like, little jokes like that just pepper throughout the sermon.

[Co-host or Guest]

The other thing I think about all the time is one time, Kurt Skelly.

[Travis]

He is a masterful order. Frankly, he's a very good public speaker.

[Co-host or Guest]

Well, I don't know if he said this on purpose or on accident.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

But he said it was a youth conference, and he went up and he said, how many of you girls, you saw a boy? And your heart started to beat a little faster. Everyone's like, they're all looking at me. And then he said, how many of you boys, you saw one of these young ladies? And your radar antenna went up, and we all. All of us are looking at you like. And I don't know to this day if he meant did that on purpose or not. And I can't imagine he did.

[Travis]

I can't imagine that he did either.

[Co-host or Guest]

But to say that to a room full of junior high boys is insane, because we. We all had. Had that happen, and we all were like, hey, buddy.

[Travis]

Yeah, that happened for no reason.

[Co-host or Guest]

It was such a good moment. It was similar to one time.

[Travis]

There's so many times, though, where you want to erupt in laughter in the middle of a sermon or something like that, and you just. You got to do the. Like, your shoulders are, like, bouncing, and.

[Co-host or Guest]

They'Re like, he's slain with the spirit. Now, one time I was. At last thing I'll say on this one time, I was at Camp Kobiak, and it was a rainy day, and we went in and they put on Toy Story, which is like a pretty chill movie. But there's a scene where Buzz sees, I think, Bo Peep and his wings shoot out.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Co-host or Guest]

And I never. But all of us collectively understood the joke for the first time watching it together at Christian summer camp. And everyone's like, you know, all the leaders are like, why are you laughing at that? Yeah. But anyway, I was gonna ask, what's the most you've ever prepared for a guest? There had to been times. You're, like, sweaty, and you're like, I better prep like crazy. I know I've had those moments.

[Travis]

Maybe it's just this is the first answer that came to my mind. I genuinely do not believe this is the most I've ever prepped for an interview. But the first thing that I thought of was with my. My first interview with Grant Cardone.

[Co-host or Guest]

I have a follow up.

[Travis]

Okay. Just because it was, first of all, at that point, it was probably the biggest name that I had had on the show at that point. And it was my first ever in person interview. And it was at his studio in his office in Miami. So I was flying across the country to do an in person conversation with the most well known person that I'd had on the show at that point and somebody who Back in 2018, I had probably consumed. Like, it was like him and Gary Vee for me, like, I was like the typical sales guy.

[Co-host or Guest]

Can I ask my follow up right now? What? Because I wanted to ask you this three episodes ago when you interviewed. Because I think about that interview and you were very much like, you can sense that you're, like, excited to be there in the, in the interview. I've never felt that excitement when we're doing episode. But you're, you're very excited to be there. You're wearing your little polo, you got your hair all right, you know.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Co-host or Guest]

Was that at like. I know you still like Grant a lot, but was that like, peak, like. Like peak Grant adoration for you, where it was like, like you were the most. Because we were talking about earlier about the, the whole buying a house and, you know, like, would you have been like a Grant Cardone, like, sycophant? Like, I love Grant Cardone. Grant Cardone army, you know, like, was that the most.

[Travis]

I don't think I was ever that way with anybody, just because coming. Coming out of the.

[Co-host or Guest]

But the most.

[Travis]

But yes, that was definitely the peak.

[Co-host or Guest]

Where you're like, oh, my God, it's Grant.

[Travis]

That was a peak of my, like, tribal following where you, like, just glaze Grant.

[Co-host or Guest]

You're like, Grant, Grant.

[Travis]

Yeah. Like, probably that full year was probably the most that I. That I did because like I said, I was, I was in sales. So I, I listened. Listened to his book, his cassette tapes, essentially. Yeah. Because it was like his book was like Closer Closers Guide or clo. I don't know. It was basically a book of like 130 different closes to use in scenarios. And I listened to that book, like, on repeat when I was driving to different territories to knock doors and sell stuff. So, you know, the best clothes. A bunch of his stuff back then.

[Co-host or Guest]

You know, the best clothes. What closing the book. I don't know. I was trying to do like a diss, but it's. I've never read the book, so I don't know, maybe it's. It's probably not the best.

[Travis]

Well, it's all like, that would be.

[Co-host or Guest]

A great, great one star. Amazon review.

[Travis]

It's. It's basically just a bunch of closes to overcome objections and stuff, but it's good to listen to those and script them when you're. When you're. No, it's not closer.

[Co-host or Guest]

No, it's not. Why I'm. I object. I don't think that is. You got anything, you know.

[Travis]

Well, that's. That's because you're not a closer, so that makes sense.

[Co-host or Guest]

Anyway, I was a survival guide. I was just curious if he was. I was just curious if you were at peak grade.

[Travis]

Yeah, that was definitely peak. Grant glazing for me, for sure.

[Co-host or Guest]

Okay.

[Travis]

And then, like, I read. I read his entire new book at that time on the plane over to the interview after I'd already done prep, before that as well. But also in that conversation, he mentions that, like, six times. Like, he was blown away. I. I think, anyway, his reaction was like, wow, like, you, You, You. You actually know the full story. Okay.

[Co-host or Guest]

Yeah.

[Travis]

And then. But like, that's the cool thing about doing that, is you get to other places. Because I, I had. What had happened on that one in particular and why it stands out to me is that another. A friend of mine who's still a podcaster and has gotten a lot better over the years. I had watched his interview with Grant, like, leading up to mine, and he just got steamrolled by the personality that is Grant Cardone and was not super prepped. He was totally out of his element and like I said, steamrolled. Like, Grant took complete control of the entire conversation, the entire interview. It was like the host was barely even there. And so, like, coming into it, I was like, I don't know exactly how, like, what I'm going to get out of this, but whatever it is, it's not going to be that. Like, I'm going to. I'm going to try to come in and control this frame, at least to a certain extent, and get where I'm trying to go here. And it was honestly, like, a big step in confidence for me to realize that, like, the person that I'm interviewing, basically all of the people that I interview are better than me in terms of, like, monetary success or the thing that I talk about, whether it's. Whether, Whether it's Me talking to a psychologist about friendship or it's me talking to a billionaire about making money. Like I'm talking to people who have done. Who have outperformed me in life to a significant degree. But that, that interview, like, taught me a lot about how even though this person might be, might have more accomplishments or might be way more famous, or might be. Have way more money or be more connected, whatever it is, regardless, this is still my show and I am allowed to run my show the way that I want to run my show. And if they agreed to be on it, then they're like, they're jumping onto the ride and I'm not expecting them to be the one to add all the value here. Like, I'm going to steer this conversation. So it's sort of, it was a, like, like I said, helped, helped a lot with my confidence, especially in terms of interviewing people who I fel. Were like out of my league or people who I did not deserve to be interviewing yet, you know what I'm saying? So like that, that was a huge, a huge notch in the confidence belt for me. And then it also taught me the important lesson about like, especially for people that get interviewed all the time, if you just prepare more than everybody else, you can probably get to a bunch of stuff that they have not talked about and they'll respect you more as a host and interviewer and they'll be more likely to make recommendations to other people in their network that you also want to interview or they'll be willing to give you an endorsement to some degree about something that you did well. So. Which is something that I dropped the ball on actually recently I was realizing that because we, I got this client who came in and asked me for like connection coaching, like, like basically network coaching. And I had not gotten that request before. And what was funny about it is she found me on ChatGPT and like asked ChatGPT about connecting with podcast hosts or something and who's the best at that, and it apparently recommended me. So she dm's me on Instagram and asks if I do that type of coaching. And I was like, well, to be honest with you, I haven't really done like that particular, like one. Like most of my one on one coaching is directly related to podcasting or content and now it relates to your business or whatever. Not really done like one on one networking coaching that much. But, you know, if you're willing to work through it with me, then I'll work on it with you. And so it was a very soft pitch. I did not like, try to hard close her on it because I didn't, I didn't have like a framework I was going to walk her through. It was just more like, I'll help you if I can. And so I gave her a discount of what my normal coaching would be and then jumped on the first coaching call and she basically goes, yeah, the reason I ended up signing was that you had an endorsement from your site on, on your website from Ed Mylet. And I just really, really liked Ed Mylet. And I was like, man, I did that a bunch at the beginning where like, if I, if somebody had a good experience with me on an interview because I actually did my job and prepped and provided a good conversation, I asked them for like a quick blurb that I could put on my site and I probably missed out on a lot of those over the years because I stopped asking for them, them. But it was something that was like, reminded me that it's really impactful that each opportunity that you have to connect with somebody is an opportunity to like, further the relationship, further the career, your career further, you know, like, take every opportunity to connect with somebody seriously and try to prep as much as you can for any of those types of conversations because it'll always leave a better impression on that person again, especially if there's somebody who's high status, high wealth, famous, has a lot of people requesting their time, you know, and, and, and that was a perfect example to me of being like, wow. So ChatGPT generated the lead and my website closed it and all I had to do was like, jump on a quick 15 minute call to talk to, like, you know, say, yeah, sure, I can do that. And then that was it. So it was a big lesson in, in branding and for me, but also to make sure that every time I connect with somebody, every time I get an interview with somebody, especially if I feel like they're, they shouldn't be saying yes to me. I owe it to myself and to them to try to prep as much as I can so that it's not a waste of their time. And in fact, they actually look back on that as an enjoyable use of their time and they're willing to continue spending more time with somebody like me.

[Co-host or Guest]

Yeah, right. Yeah, I always say like the, the worst thing a guest can tell me on my show is, yeah, I was just telling someone that the other day or yeah, someone just asked me that recently. Like, literally when someone says that, like I almost, the other day was like, let's skip it then yeah, right. Because I just. We're wasting time. But the best compliment ever is, oh, I don't think I've ever been asked that before.

[Travis]

Nobody's ever asked me that.

[Co-host or Guest]

That's literally like I started sending out of my chair.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Co-host or Guest]

Floating into the sky and just. It's. It's incredible. Well, you know what? That's a great feeling, but another great feeling is having more money in the bank. So why don't you close us out with your famous sign off?

[Travis]

Remember, everybody, money only solves your money problems. But it's easier to solve the rest of your problem with money in the bank. So let's start there. Here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch you next time. Peace.