🔥 You Don't Lack Talent, You Lack Courage 💥
In this powerful episode, Brian Rose sits down with entrepreneur and mindset expert Spencer Lodge to uncover the real reason people don’t reach their full potential — and it’s not talent. 😤💡
💪 Discover how to break through fear, stop waiting for permission, and start taking massive action toward the life you deserve. 🧠💼
This conversation is packed with hard truths, real strategies, and that no-BS energy you need to get moving 🚀
✅ Why most people settle for less
✅ How to take full control of your future
✅ The mindset that separates winners from dreamers
🔥 If you’re ready to stop playing small, this one’s for you.
🍿 Watch the Full Episode: https://londonreal.tv/lodge
💰 The Investment Club: https://londonreal.tv/club
💰Crypto & DeFi Academy: https://londonreal.tv/defi
In this powerful episode, Brian Rose sits down with entrepreneur and mindset expert Spencer Lodge to uncover the real reason people don’t reach their full potential — and it’s not talent. 😤💡
💪 Discover how to break through fear, stop waiting for permission, and start taking massive action toward the life you deserve. 🧠💼
This conversation is packed with hard truths, real strategies, and that no-BS energy you need to get moving 🚀
✅ Why most people settle for less
✅ How to take full control of your future
✅ The mindset that separates winners from dreamers
🔥 If you’re ready to stop playing small, this one’s for you.
🍿 Watch the Full Episode: https://londonreal.tv/lodge
💰 The Investment Club: https://londonreal.tv/club
💰Crypto & DeFi Academy: https://londonreal.tv/defi
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00I really believe, period, period, period, that if you have no mission and no purpose in life, you go nowhere.
00:07When I look at your back, Spencer, you went from this kid who couldn't really pay attention at school,
00:12parents were divorced, had financial struggles, you can actually sit here today with all this amazing success around you.
00:19I don't see myself as successful at all. I see myself as a failure.
00:23Still. Yeah, big time. Success definitely isn't money.
00:27And Maria Concierge, who I work with, the children from Bangladesh, she saved 680 children.
00:33That's success to me. But then on that metric, you're successful as well.
00:38I try and help people. I don't like pain. I really struggle with watching people in pain.
00:46You go and spend time in a village in Nepal with a community where every child at the age of eight years old becomes a prostitute,
00:53and they have no other option. The needless suffering that people go through really, really deeply affects me.
01:01You realize that you can do very small things that we take for granted and make a huge difference to people.
01:08That changed every part of my life. Never, ever since have I given a hoot about money apart from how it can help them.
01:18Ten years ago plus, you also struggled with mental health, even wondering if you still wanted to be on this planet.
01:27I was carrying something so heavy, and suicide felt like it was very light.
01:32I planned what I was going to do. It was very simple.
01:35Fly back to London, say goodbye to the children, and there were three buildings in Chelmsford, and I chose to jump off one of them.
01:41Jesus. And so I went back home to say goodbye, and my dad's car was on my driveway.
01:46He said, go grab a shower. There's a man I want you to meet, a buddy of mine, and introduce me to a psychiatrist.
01:52Because my dad knew what I was about to do, although I had not said a word to my dad.
01:57A lot of the documentary work and a lot of the work with the children were my cure.
02:03When I saw how tough their lives were, I had no reason to be complaining.
02:07They've got no idea what they did for me.
02:09A lot of the time people go, oh, you'll be so good to these kids.
02:12You'll be, let me tell you, they saved my life.
02:29The world is changing.
02:33Inspiration is everywhere.
02:37It has never been so easy to connect, share, and bring people together.
02:44We're learning from others and finding the best in ourselves.
02:52Challenging our beliefs.
02:56Sharing our vulnerability.
02:59Overcoming our fears.
03:01Transforming ourselves so we can transform the world.
03:11How far can we go?
03:14This is London Real.
03:15I am Brian Rose.
03:16My guest today is...
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04:18This is London Real.
04:25I am Brian Rose.
04:26My guest today is Spencer Lodge, the award-winning entrepreneur, business strategist, and podcast host.
04:32You have spent over three decades mastering the world of sales and business leadership,
04:37and were recognized in the top 100 most influential people in Dubai for your impact on the financial services industry.
04:43You've launched multi-million dollar ventures, coached thousands of salespeople, and played a key role in scaling businesses around the world.
04:50You're also the host of Unscripted with Spencer Lodge, one of the most listened-to podcasts in the region,
04:55with guests like Tony Robbins, Stephen Bartlett, Ant Middleton, Grant Cardone, and most importantly, me.
05:02You ultimately believe that mastering sales is the single most important skill for business success,
05:07and that without it, even the best ideas will fail.
05:10Your mission is to help as many people as possible achieve extraordinary results by changing their mindset,
05:16taking responsibility, and embracing discomfort.
05:19Spencer, welcome to London Real in Dubai.
05:22I am so excited to be here.
05:24Thank you for having me on the show.
05:25It's really kind of you.
05:26Dude, it's my pleasure.
05:27I sat down with you for your show, I think, a year ago, and we had an amazing discussion.
05:31I find you an incredible host.
05:34You're really intense, and we were really having a meeting of the minds.
05:38I think we could have gone on for another hour or two, so really enjoyed that.
05:41I've gotten to know you, and now I want to go deeper today.
05:44Lots to talk about, but I wanted to jump in maybe right on that top-line part about sales.
05:50I don't think I've ever had this discussion where sales is the most important thing,
05:55and I'm curious why you say that.
05:57I'd say today, sales is still a bit of a dirty word.
06:01If you tell your mom you're a salesperson, then she's like,
06:04oh, why aren't you a doctor or a lawyer, when in fact salespeople are usually some of
06:09the most highly paid people in the organization.
06:11They make things happen, and if you're an entrepreneur, you know you're dead without them.
06:15And I'm curious, why do you say that, and why do so many people still not really recognize that?
06:23People like the word entrepreneur.
06:25They like the word business owner, founder, okay?
06:28These kind of cool words that are associated with starting a business.
06:31But anyone that starts a business, the first thing they've got to work out is how they're going to find clients.
06:37It doesn't matter what the job role is.
06:38If you're the CEO of a company or the managing director on these fancy titles, it's like, you're a salesman.
06:44Now, you might be selling different things in different ways to maybe the guys that are on the bottom rung of sales in the business,
06:49but you're still a salesperson.
06:50So, how did it get to be dirty?
06:54And for me, I look at salespeople as the backbone of a business.
06:57You see the administration and the operational and different functions in the business looking down their nose at salespeople.
07:04Well, let's see how your salary gets paid if there's no sales.
07:07Because if you think about it, the company doesn't make any sales.
07:10You don't have a job.
07:11So, should we maybe respect these guys a little bit more?
07:13And then let's add to that the psychological highs and lows on a daily basis that they have to deal with.
07:20One minute on fire in the car giving it, yes, and the next minute getting a no.
07:25And that feeling that goes with that, they have to deal with.
07:28Those people that work in other functions in the business get their salary.
07:31They get their medical insurance.
07:33They get everything delivered for them.
07:34Okay, they've got to achieve KPIs.
07:36But if they have a bad month, do they still get paid?
07:39Hell yeah.
07:40Salespeople don't.
07:42So, I think they should be respected.
07:43For bringing their revenue into the business.
07:45And I think they should be respected for the highs and lows they go through.
07:48And actually, we should champion them.
07:49Because these are the guys, as you say, that are making it happen.
07:52Yeah.
07:53How do people become good at sales?
07:55Because when I look at your background, and I want to go into it, I don't see the making of a salesman as you grew up as a young kid.
08:01So, how did you get good at it?
08:04And how can you recognize a good salesperson?
08:06And what makes a good salesperson?
08:08So, this is a really interesting question.
08:10So, thank you for asking it.
08:11Because I believe that sales is a skill, just like law or accountancy or anything else.
08:16It's a skill that you need to learn.
08:18A lot of people have got into sales by accident.
08:21They couldn't get the job that they really wanted.
08:23So, they go into some business development function in a business.
08:26And they have to learn to be a salesperson.
08:29Or their grandmother says, well, you've got the gift of the gab.
08:31So, you should be a salesperson.
08:33To me, it's not.
08:34Being a great salesperson is learning the skills, number one.
08:37And number two, understanding that selling isn't talking.
08:40Selling is listening.
08:41And so, you have to be a really good listener.
08:43And there are lots of people out there that don't listen very well.
08:46But great salespeople do.
08:49You need to really understand what's making your client tick and what's important to them.
08:54Whereas a lot of people think, I just got to pound you until you say yes.
08:58But you want to listen to them.
08:59See if you can solve their problem.
09:00But more importantly, reiterate back to them what they want.
09:03And create that relationship or understanding.
09:06Is that what a salesperson does?
09:07Imagine us changing the title of salesperson to chief problem solver.
09:12So, that's their job title.
09:13Chief problem solver in a business.
09:15They'd probably get a lot more respect.
09:17But that's all we're doing with everybody we meet.
09:20Yes, at the end of the day, we're trying to create revenue for our business.
09:23And we're trying to match what we have as a product or a service with the need of that person.
09:28So, a great salesperson is just trying to identify the person that has the need.
09:32Understand their need in great detail.
09:34And see if they can bring a solution to that problem.
09:36Then you're respected.
09:38Okay.
09:38Then the transaction is done in a really structured, professional, and respectful way.
09:43And everybody wins.
09:44It's like a customized solution.
09:46And oftentimes, your client values things that, in your opinion, aren't valuable to you.
09:52Are not expensive for you.
09:53And you can deliver those.
09:54And sometimes the things you think they'll value the most aren't valuable to them.
09:58And the only way you know that is by listening.
10:00Yeah.
10:00Being great at asking questions.
10:02And I think that's why I enjoy podcasts.
10:04Because I like to learn.
10:06I'm naturally very curious about people.
10:08And I'm no different if I'm in a selling situation.
10:11I want to learn about somebody.
10:12I want to understand what makes them tick.
10:14I want to understand what their challenges are.
10:15And I want to understand, you know, is there something that I can bring to the table that could solve that problem in some way?
10:20Now, sometimes, personally, my mind runs away with me.
10:24So, as I'm listening, my mind's coming up with solutions all the time.
10:27But maybe because I've been doing it for a long time, that's why it's like that.
10:30What's the biggest mistake most people make in sales?
10:33Whether they're just beginning or even seasoned people?
10:37Respecting themselves is a really important one.
10:40And the second one is understanding that it's a skill.
10:43And you have to invest time in learning and getting educated, rather than thinking you're just going to wing it.
10:50Okay.
10:51What do you mean by respecting yourself?
10:53Well, salespeople can very easily disrespect themselves.
10:56They can, because they get lots of rejection.
10:59Okay.
10:59So, when you start off in sales, I mean, my boss told me on my first day in sales.
11:03I swear this is the absolute truth of what happened.
11:06Is this door-to-door selling furniture?
11:07No, no, no.
11:08It wasn't for office equipment.
11:09Office equipment, right.
11:09And I literally had to make 100 cold calls.
11:12And he said, get me 100 no's.
11:15Then make 100 door knocks and then 100 cold calls the next day.
11:19Get me 100 no's.
11:20And I'm a kid.
11:21But what he was doing, he was teaching me that, no, he's good.
11:24You're going to get a lot of it anyway, so learn to accept that there's nothing bad about it.
11:28And at that stage in my career, as young as I was, as moldable as I was,
11:33I was learning one of the most important skills within the sales industry, which a lot of people don't learn.
11:39So, get used to no.
11:40Yeah.
11:41And bring them in.
11:42You've just got to line them up, knock them out.
11:44If you get 100 no's, then you've done the correct thing that day.
11:47My boss said to me when I got into financial services at 23, he said to me, you're 23 years old.
11:54What self-respecting 50-year-old man is ever going to trust his money to you?
11:59And I was like, oh, yeah.
12:01He said, you have to know more than anybody else because you don't have life experience on your side.
12:06So, be a whiz.
12:08Understand everything there is to know about sales.
12:10Understand everything there is to know about this industry.
12:13Put them together and you'll be able to show with your expertise that you can bring value.
12:18And that was really important to me to understand.
12:20And he was right.
12:21Who's going to trust a kid with their money?
12:23So, I think that in sales, it's really important.
12:26Like, really important that we don't go into sales and just kind of fumble our way through.
12:30It's never going to work.
12:31But, you know, it's like crypto.
12:34How do you ever get anywhere with investing in crypto unless you take some time to learn about it?
12:39Study it.
12:40Go to classes.
12:42Get people to teach you how it all works.
12:44Then invest in it.
12:45Now, if I said that to anyone, they'd say, well, that's exactly what you should do.
12:48But when it comes to sales, it's, oh, you know, well, you know, I'm a good communicator.
12:52You know, I can knock on doors or I can make calls.
12:57Yeah, but why make 100 bad calls when you can make 100 good calls?
13:02Do you think we'll ever have degrees at universities in sales?
13:05Why don't we?
13:07I mean, my daughter right now, she's studying philosophy and a bunch of other things.
13:10If she said there was a sales degree, I'd be like, you're all over that.
13:15That degree would be worth 10x anything else because she could get out and be ready to do almost anything.
13:22You know, go anywhere.
13:24Imagine four years, Spencer.
13:25Yeah.
13:25The details, a class on cold calling, a class on mindset and rejection, a class on each one of these things.
13:32A semester on cold calling.
13:34Imagine that.
13:34You'd be a master bulletproof.
13:36Absolutely.
13:36Role plays.
13:37Yeah.
13:38Internships.
13:38Yeah.
13:39I'm telling you, Harvard's missing a beat.
13:41But why don't they do that?
13:42I'm always baffled by this.
13:44I'm really baffled by this because they'll do marketing degrees.
13:46Right.
13:47Okay.
13:47Degree in marketing.
13:48Yeah.
13:49And I'm like, well, marketing and sales are partners.
13:51They're friends.
13:52Okay, they're enemies sometimes in business, but the reality is they're friends.
13:55You're right.
13:55It's push selling and pull selling.
13:57It's marketing's pull selling.
13:58Sales is push selling.
13:59It's like, there should be a degree in that.
14:01Yeah.
14:01It just has this weird connotation, this weird thought process around it.
14:08It's icky, isn't it?
14:08It's icky, even though some of the highest paid people in the world are great salesmen.
14:12And every great entrepreneur is, by definition, a great salesperson.
14:15Elon Musk's and the Tim Cook's and all these people, look at them.
14:18They're selling all the time.
14:19They're now building personal brands on the back of it.
14:21But who's front and center selling the new iPhone?
14:23It's Tim Cook walking around the Apple campus.
14:26It's crazy.
14:27Now people really understand.
14:29And when I got into this business I'm in now, I had to be the front and center salesperson.
14:35I didn't mind it.
14:36I was ready.
14:37But if you're not ready as an entrepreneur and you think you're going to outsource it, forget about it, right?
14:41Yeah, no chance.
14:41Because if you're an entrepreneur, you might need to raise some money.
14:45You've got to sell.
14:46Yeah.
14:46You might need to persuade people to come and join your startup with no big salaries.
14:51You've got to sell.
14:52So it's in all parts of our lives.
14:53And Mark Cuban says, if there's one skill you have to learn, the first skill must be sales.
14:56Everything comes after that.
14:58Do you find that you can continue learning?
15:00Like I sometimes get these reels popping up on Instagram and these people saying, like, here's three things about sales.
15:06And I watch it and I'm like, damn, that's pretty good.
15:08You know, I'm just constantly getting some knowledge and Chris Voss, he's that famous FBI negotiator, and he always says, get them to say no, don't get them to say yes.
15:16And I don't know if I completely agree with that, but I'm playing with it and trying it.
15:19I don't know.
15:20I'm constantly getting new ideas on sales.
15:23Well, sales is about systems and processes.
15:25Greatest sales people have systems and processes they follow.
15:29So if I look at my success when I was actually selling, I had a system that I followed.
15:35I was a guy that had three options.
15:37I could cold call, I could network, or I could get referrals.
15:42Well, I didn't want a cold call.
15:43Nobody does.
15:44Networking, I'm the guy in a networking event in the corner looking at my phone going, why am I here?
15:48Really?
15:49Even you?
15:50I don't like going into a room of strangers.
15:52If I go in and I'm coming to see you and you introduce me to three people, that's fine.
15:56But if I don't know anyone, oh, that's the thing.
15:59What if they know you because of the show and stuff?
16:01Even, someone said it.
16:03I was hiking the other day.
16:04I was coming down the mountain.
16:05This lady went, you're famous, and I'm like, am I?
16:07That's amazing.
16:07And I was just, immediately, I just felt uncomfortable as you said that.
16:11But I think that as sales people, understanding your systems and the processes you follow is important.
16:18So for me, it was referrals.
16:19Okay.
16:20Now, I wasn't the best sales person, but I was the best person at getting referrals on the planet.
16:25Nobody in my industry could come close to me, but because I obsessed about it, and I listened to every video.
16:31You know, back then, it was the cassette tapes and the CDs, whether it was Tony, Zig Ziglar, whoever it was, Jim Rowe and stuff like that.
16:37Nowadays, there's many more.
16:39And there is some really good content out there.
16:41There's an Italian guy in the UK that wears really bright yellow suits, and he's a cold calling expert.
16:46And he gets, and his cold calls are brilliant, and he literally does them, and you can hear the person speaking at the other end.
16:52And I learn something from him every day.
16:54He cold calls people.
16:55He says to them, if I told you this was a cold call, would you pick your phone up and throw it out the window?
17:03And I love lines like that.
17:05There's great starts.
17:06If I told you this was a cold call, would you forgive me?
17:08I think that when you've got people like that that are giving some value in some way, learn.
17:15Try it.
17:16It might work for you.
17:16It might not, but definitely listen.
17:18But it's really a process.
17:19It's not about a fancy trick or a one-liner.
17:22It's really about a system, and that is you're doing tons of outbounds.
17:26You're following up with people.
17:28You're doing all these things that ultimately get the result, just like an engineer would or just like a designer would.
17:33Exactly.
17:33And that's why you should look at it as like a skill, not some magic ability, not something to do when you're inspired like an artist.
17:39You just got to grind and put in the time.
17:41Yeah.
17:42Okay.
17:43Our mutual friend, Grant Cardone, I remember once said something.
17:46It just came into my mind.
17:46He said, sell standing up, close sitting down.
17:51And I think what he meant by that is the emotion and the excitement is done standing up.
17:55Maybe that's when you're on the phone and you're standing up, or maybe you're with them, and then when you close, you're sitting down,
18:00which means, okay, now I'm going to go through all of the details and get them to sign and make sure they know everything to where when it's closed, they're happy.
18:07They don't come back later saying, I didn't know that.
18:10Do you agree with that?
18:11Do you ever think about that?
18:12Really?
18:13Okay.
18:13So let's say we were doing some training right now, and we had 10 people in a room, and we decided to do some role plays.
18:21Is it going to be better if they stood up to the role plays or sit down?
18:24It's always going to be better if they're standing up.
18:26Okay.
18:26There's more energy.
18:27The esophagus is open.
18:28We're breathing better.
18:29So I believe you should stand up when you make every call.
18:32They say smile when you dial.
18:34It has purpose behind it.
18:37Smile.
18:37Be in a positive mindset when you dial.
18:39Nobody wants to answer the phone to someone going, hello.
18:43They want someone positive on the phone.
18:46Whatever it is for you, and I don't believe it's a numbers game sales.
18:50I don't believe like a lot of people do, it's a numbers game.
18:53I believe it's the right numbers game.
18:55So for example, you can make 100 cold calls, or you can call 10 referrals.
19:00What would you rather do?
19:01I'd rather call the 10 referrals all day long.
19:04I've probably got a better chance of converting 10 referrals than I have 100 cold calls.
19:08Well, 10 referrals might take me half an hour.
19:11100 cold calls might take me half a day.
19:14So for me, I don't believe the numbers game should be like that.
19:17So I see it a bit different.
19:18But I've got a lot of benefit from spending time with Grant as well.
19:21And what does he bring to the table?
19:24A system.
19:25Go and do his course.
19:26There's a system.
19:27There's processes.
19:28And there's high energy.
19:30And that's the ingredients we need.
19:32I remember one of his processes, I think, was the follow-up.
19:34He's like, so many people, just salespeople, they miss the follow-up.
19:38They don't do the follow-up.
19:39And the follow-up after that, and the follow-up after that.
19:41Maybe because that's a little more grunty, and maybe you don't have the adrenaline spikes
19:44with the initial outreach.
19:46But that's the system, right?
19:47How do you get out of a rat race?
19:50How do you create wealth, not only for yourself, but also for the generations to come after?
19:54I am absolutely amazed with the quality of companies that we're getting exposure to.
19:59We go on to Zoom calls with the innovators and the folks who are building new applications
20:04in metaverse, blockchain, artificial intelligence, decentralized finance.
20:09What's going on, everybody?
20:10Thumbs up if you've been seeing me.
20:12We are focusing on early stage investment.
20:16And the quality of people that we're getting exposure to, whether it be Dan Tapioro with
20:20OneRT, Jason Ma from Open, Yatsu from Animoca.
20:24It's been a phenomenal experience thus far.
20:26It has far exceeded my expectations.
20:29We are focusing on cutting-edge technologies.
20:33I view it now as the best investment I have ever made.
20:36The upside, I view, is unlimited.
20:39And as a retail investor, I would never get this exposure anywhere else outside of Investment
20:44Club.
20:44See you in the Investment Club.
20:46The other thing is we forget that if you speak to 100 people, there might be people
20:53in there that it's not the right time.
20:54Yeah.
20:54They might have just had an argument with their wife.
20:57Yeah.
20:57They might have just had a bit of road rage in the traffic.
20:59You know?
21:00They might have come out of a busy meeting.
21:01They might have a busy day.
21:02It might not be the right time now.
21:04That doesn't mean they don't like you.
21:05It just might not be the right time.
21:07So why would you not go back to them again?
21:10Maybe the next time is the right time.
21:12And people will always put you off by saying, call me back in three months.
21:15Okay?
21:16Or call me back next month.
21:17It's like, no, can I call you back tomorrow?
21:20You know?
21:20If we're going to do something, I'm going to demonstrate some value to you.
21:23So let me demonstrate that value.
21:24And then you can decide whether I'm of value to you.
21:27Okay.
21:28And if people are intrigued by this, what do you think is the best way for people to learn
21:31how to sell?
21:33The first thing I would do is I'd go online and I'd look.
21:35Because different people appeal to different types, you know?
21:38There are some great sales trainers out there.
21:40Grant's a great one.
21:41You know, Chris Voss has his approach.
21:43But there's many out there.
21:44But go and say to yourself, this is a skill.
21:47I'm going to learn this skill.
21:49And I'm going to find someone whose personality and approach I like so that I can learn the skill from them.
21:54Okay.
21:55And then always be a student.
21:56Okay.
21:57Love that.
21:57All right.
21:58Love that.
21:58I want to talk about your background because I can't even believe you're here based on your background.
22:04There's nothing in your early days that would imply that you would be as successful as you are today, in my opinion.
22:10And I want to go into that.
22:11But first of all, I know you as like the king of Dubai.
22:14Well, not the king of Dubai.
22:14But one of the most plugged in guys, an OG here, who's been here for a long time and seen the whole thing grow.
22:21So, can you tell me about your experiences in Dubai?
22:25How long have you been here?
22:26Why did you stay here?
22:28And like what you've seen over this past decade plus?
22:30Imagine you go and work for a company where the boss that you work for is really ambitious and he really wants to be successful and he really wants to take you with him.
22:43Now, plant that into a city.
22:45Bear in mind, I've lived in nine countries before I came here.
22:48So, I've been around the world, South America, Far East, Africa, Europe.
22:52I've been all over, Eastern Europe.
22:54So, I've got a fair understanding of what people are like around the world.
22:58And then I come here to this city and I remember what happened and people won't necessarily know all of the UAE.
23:05But I landed at the airport and I had a meeting in a place called Alain.
23:09Now, Alain is a town about an hour and a half from Dubai.
23:12So, I arrive at two o'clock in the morning, I jump in a taxi and I give them the guy, the taxi driver, the Hilton Hotel Alain.
23:19And he's like, Alain?
23:21And I'm like, that's what it says.
23:22He went, Alain?
23:25I'm like, yeah.
23:26So, we drove through the night and we got to this hotel.
23:29I wake up the next morning, open my curtains.
23:32Okay, there's mountains.
23:35I'm like, are we in the right country?
23:37I thought this was desert.
23:38Anyway, the guy I was meeting met me.
23:40We had the meeting and he drove me to Abu Dhabi.
23:42And it was very Arabic, you know.
23:44It was a very big part of Arabia.
23:46Lots of sand, lots of desert, lots of kind of old buildings.
23:49Nothing too swanky and sexy.
23:51And then later on in the day, about five o'clock, we drove to Dubai from Abu Dhabi.
23:54And as we're coming towards Dubai, I could see these lights and these stuff going on in the distance.
23:59I'm like, that's Dubai.
24:01And so, we're driving up this highway and I'm like, and so I said to the guy, I said, is that Dubai?
24:04He went, no.
24:06I said, what's that?
24:07He said, oh, that's Dubai Marina.
24:08That's a project that just started.
24:09I'm like, that is a marina.
24:13It's the biggest marina project ever built in the world.
24:15And this is the first part of Dubai that I saw.
24:17And I'm like, holy macaroni.
24:19What year is this?
24:20This is 2005.
24:21Five, okay.
24:2220 years ago.
24:23The marina had six towers that had just been finished.
24:25The rest of it was nothing.
24:27And they had dug out the water.
24:28Yeah, the water was there.
24:29The water was there.
24:29But just six towers.
24:30But not both ends, only one end.
24:32So, you couldn't go all the way through and loop around.
24:33So, that place that I know you at, that was all blocked off at the beginning.
24:36Okay.
24:37And the Palm was?
24:38Palm was built, but there weren't houses.
24:39There were a few houses on it.
24:40Okay.
24:41So, they were just started.
24:43So, they were just selling them off plan when I was there.
24:45And the people were moving into the first houses.
24:48And then people were saying, yeah, you can buy a house for half a million pounds on the Palm Jumeirah.
24:55And I'm like, who the hell would want to live on a man-made island?
24:58You've got to be nuts.
25:00But I also said that about the marina.
25:01I'm like, who the hell would want to live in the marina?
25:03And this is like, who the hell would want to live in JBR?
25:06You know, all of this stuff.
25:07It's like, why would they want to do that?
25:08But you could just see that there was real ambition.
25:11And what I learned very early on is that we don't have politics here.
25:15So, in England, what do we meet?
25:16We meet, how's the weather?
25:17How's the traffic?
25:18How's public transport?
25:20Politics?
25:20Religion?
25:21Normal conversations in the UK.
25:23We don't have politics here.
25:25And that was really refreshing.
25:26We don't have weather either because it's either hot or mega hot.
25:29So, hot is all it is.
25:31So, I'm in a country where you can see there's ambition.
25:35You can see there's lots of stuff being done.
25:38Across the road from my office at the time, they were just about to build the Burj Khalifa.
25:43And so, it was a big construction site of which nothing came out the ground at first
25:47because all the foundations and the underground car parks were being put in.
25:50But then slowly, this building came out of the ground.
25:52And every week, another floor went up.
25:54And it was literally outside of my office window.
25:57And I'm like, wow.
25:59And this huge shopping site.
26:00I'm like, wow.
26:00And they're like, this is going to be a whole city, a whole district.
26:03This is downtown.
26:03And I'm like, I knew it as the desert.
26:05I was running around with a football out in the desert before.
26:07So, I saw this going on.
26:10And I could see that there's a lot about this place that was cool.
26:14And another thing that was really interesting is every time my mum and dad came to visit,
26:18my dad's an architect, every time my mum and dad came to visit, my dad was like, oh, look
26:23at that building.
26:24Oh, look at that.
26:24He was spotting stuff he hadn't seen three months before.
26:27And he couldn't believe how quickly they were constructing it.
26:30And so, that gave me a good understanding of what was going here and the ambition.
26:34And one of the greatest marketing statements I saw, they were building the World Islands.
26:40And as they were building, there was a billboard on the Sheikh Zayed Road.
26:43And it said, Dubai puts the world on the map.
26:47Phew.
26:47And I was just, that is so cool.
26:49Yes.
26:50Very well said.
26:50Yeah.
26:51Did anything make you want to hesitate coming here?
26:54Or were you just kind of like, I like the energy.
26:57I want to be here.
26:58So, a lot of people, when they live overseas for the first time, they've got a transition.
27:03Culturally, it's a big shock for them and everything else.
27:05I came here after living in different countries.
27:07And so, it was another place to come.
27:11It was once I got here that I saw the opportunity and the amount of people that were moving here.
27:16Tourism wasn't big then.
27:18So, everyone that was coming here was an expat to work.
27:20And the numbers were just colossal.
27:22They were growing all of the time.
27:23Even back then?
27:24Yeah.
27:24But I also was here in 2008 when it fell apart.
27:27Okay.
27:27So, I saw all of that.
27:29You know, the city emptied.
27:30No, we have traffic here now.
27:32We had traffic like that then.
27:34But then it stopped.
27:35Everyone left.
27:36And so, literally, the motorway, the Sheikh Zayed Road, was empty.
27:40And so, it was really interesting to watch it all happen.
27:42So, a financial crisis happened and then they stopped basically doing real estate and building here.
27:46Yes.
27:46Just because everything was hurting.
27:48Not a lot of money out there.
27:50Correct.
27:50And it just stopped and slowed down.
27:52Yeah.
27:52Okay.
27:53And then it came back.
27:55It came back.
27:56That's right.
27:56Okay.
27:57And how different is now compared to 20 years ago?
28:03You know.
28:03So, there's some downsides with growth.
28:05So, we have to be honest about that.
28:07And so, for me, 20 years ago, wherever I went, to a bar, to a restaurant, to a social club, wherever that may be, a sports event, you'd bump into people you know.
28:16Everywhere you went.
28:17Okay.
28:17And that was really nice.
28:19It felt like you belonged to part of a community.
28:21A wider community than just your area.
28:24Now, with so many people here, we're seeing these geographical areas separated.
28:29And the traffic's bad.
28:30So, people may be on the palm or the marina, don't want to go far.
28:33You know.
28:33No one wants to go to the DIFC of an evening because the traffic's bad.
28:36So, that's one problem.
28:38But the other problem, and I'm saying this as a complainer, but I shouldn't complain, is the amount of tourists that come here.
28:44We didn't have that back then.
28:46And so, I don't know who's an expat and who's a tourist.
28:48All those years ago, I knew you were working here.
28:51Okay.
28:52Whatever your job was, you were working here.
28:53And we were similar because of that.
28:56Both living away from our homes in another country, building the future for ourselves and our families.
29:01And so, it's very easy to connect.
29:03Okay.
29:04And now, a lot of that is tourists, and they're only here for the weekend of the week.
29:07Correct.
29:08And it feels like more they're tourists as opposed to people that have decided to live here.
29:12Yeah.
29:12You don't necessarily make the effort to get to know people in the way you would have done before.
29:16Okay.
29:17You know, I came here, I think, in 07, just to check it out.
29:22I was working in the city.
29:23I brought my girlfriend at the time.
29:25I stayed at the one and only, I remember.
29:27And I'll be honest, I didn't get it.
29:30I was like, because usually when I went to places, I wanted to see the local culture.
29:33It was harder for me to find it here.
29:35I saw a lot of nice things, but I was working in the city of London, so I'd been to nice restaurants.
29:39And I just didn't really understand the vision.
29:42I was only here for three days.
29:43And I left thinking, it's okay, but I don't really get the vibe.
29:48Then I came back in 21 or 22, and I was totally sold.
29:53You know, it just, it had grown so much, and the diversity of the expats were here, and it was this amazing community.
30:00And, like, I was at an event last night.
30:02I guess it's a networking event.
30:03But, and I was walking out, and I met these two girls that are in London.
30:07And I said, I said, you know, this is an incredible place.
30:11They're like, this is amazing.
30:12And we were like, the girls said, if we were in London, we wouldn't have even talked to you.
30:17We wouldn't have exchanged numbers, and we wouldn't be talking about the future.
30:21And I'm like, is that true?
30:22We wouldn't have even talked to each other.
30:23No, we wouldn't have.
30:23We would have just, you know, kind of looked at each other and kept on going our way.
30:27We wouldn't have wanted to help each other.
30:29So you've got the same three people.
30:31You move them to a vibration like Dubai, and now we're like, hey, how are you?
30:35How can I help?
30:37Explain that, Spencer.
30:38Explain the magic that happens here.
30:40Well, it's very easy to explain, actually.
30:42Okay.
30:42If you live in London, and your family are from the local area, your mum, your dad, your
30:48aunts, your uncles, your cousins, you have a whole infrastructure around you.
30:51Your life isn't around people you work with always.
30:54You might go out on a Friday night for a couple of beers after work in London, but the
30:57rest of your time, you're with your family and your friends from school and people that
31:00you've built over the years.
31:01Here, you arrive with none of that.
31:05And it's lonely.
31:06Okay.
31:07There's no one that you know.
31:09Now, you might have a friend of a friend that knows somebody that lived in Dubai or someone,
31:13you know, there can be connections.
31:14And you reach out and you feel awkward because, you know, can we have a coffee?
31:18I'd like to pick your brain.
31:20But everybody that lives here in Dubai was in exactly that position the day they arrived.
31:25And some people are a little bit better than others, but it's still lonely.
31:28And because of that, that energy has come from everyone going, ah, I was in your shoes
31:34once too.
31:34I'm new too.
31:36Can we try and help each other?
31:37Whereas in London, well, we're busy new.
31:41You know, I lived in Amsterdam.
31:43The reason I moved to Amsterdam is that as a kid, I'd been, my dad was with Shell.
31:47And so I knew lots of international Dutch people.
31:50Yeah.
31:50And I'm like, yeah, Dutch people are great.
31:52But I went to Amsterdam.
31:53I didn't get invited to anyone's home in four years in Amsterdam.
31:57And I'm like, that's interesting.
32:00Yeah.
32:01Same with me in London.
32:02Maybe that was me.
32:03Yeah.
32:04But people don't invite you.
32:05They don't include you because they already have a sufficient network.
32:09They don't need new people.
32:10But we need people here.
32:11Right.
32:12Because people will help us breathe.
32:14And I think that's important.
32:15And everyone's doing business here.
32:16And it moves fast.
32:18And it moves almost 24-7.
32:20Almost.
32:21It does move 24-7.
32:22Yeah.
32:22And more so than, I think, any European city.
32:25Maybe you'd say it moves like New York City.
32:27But I might argue it moves faster.
32:29And so when I'm out, I mean, one night in Dubai, I can make more amazing connections
32:34than I could in 30 days in London.
32:36Things that go somewhere.
32:37Things that, like, two days later, things are happening and calls.
32:40And then it's just hard to explain to people, you know, how this place just wants everyone
32:45to win.
32:46Imagine just being, living in a house of optimistic people.
32:51Just imagine that.
32:52You're like, no cynicism.
32:53No, no, no, no realism.
32:55Just optimism.
32:57Okay.
32:57And ambition.
32:58And there's a whole house full of those types of people.
33:00It's going to rub off on you.
33:02It's going to impact you positively.
33:03It's going to make you work an extra hour.
33:06It's going to make you push yourself a bit harder.
33:07Well, then imagine a city full of that.
33:09Everyone's optimistic.
33:10Yeah.
33:11And if you're not optimistic, you leave very quickly.
33:15Which is great.
33:16Go.
33:16Yeah.
33:17I always tell people, like, if I go to, you know, Old Street where I'm based in London
33:21and I walk around and I look at all the people going by, most of those people don't really
33:26want to be there.
33:27They're phoning in, they're collecting a check from somebody, the government or a business
33:31and they're kind of trudging through life and you get this vibe and the place is kind
33:37of broken.
33:38It's kind of, it's kind of not going anywhere infrastructure wise and you get this feeling.
33:43When I come to Dubai, everybody isn't here intentionally because this is a place where
33:49they're going to build a better life for themselves.
33:51Whether you're a cabbie or the girl from Cameroon that gives you my coffee at Starbucks or you
33:56or all these people, they've intentionally come here because they want to make their
33:59life better and they want to change their circumstances.
34:02And that energy alone for me just makes the whole place vibrate at this really high level.
34:06Okay, so here's a great way of understanding it.
34:08In London, those people, you can't say to them, if you don't like it, leave.
34:14Because there's nowhere to go.
34:17That's where they're from.
34:18If you don't like it, leave.
34:20But in Dubai, if you don't like it, leave.
34:25Get on a plane and go home.
34:26And if you can't make it, you're going to go.
34:28You'll have to go.
34:29You have to go.
34:29You've got no choice.
34:30You can't camp out on the street.
34:31You can't get benefits.
34:33So you have to hustle and make it happen.
34:36There's that famous quote, I think, by the Sheikh said, when you wake up in Dubai, you run.
34:42Whether you're the lion going after your prey, you run.
34:46Whether you're the impala, you run.
34:48Everybody wakes up and runs.
34:51It's brilliant, isn't it?
34:52This is, I'm going to tell you this after living in 10 cities.
34:56This is the best city in the world, bar none.
35:01I'm not a local.
35:02I'm not paid to say that.
35:04I don't have any upside for saying that.
35:08Seriously, if you want to live somewhere and enjoy the experience and be in an environment where you can succeed and grow and be around other people,
35:15there is no better place on the planet right now than this place.
35:18And I've been here 20 years.
35:19So I've seen it all.
35:21I'm not the guy that's been here for 12 months.
35:22There isn't a better place than this, period.
35:24I can't believe you could say that with that much excitement after being here for 21 years.
35:30Think about it.
35:31A lot of people can't say that about a marriage or their company or anything after 21 years, even after 10 years.
35:37But you're saying that.
35:38If you follow you on social, on Instagram, it looks like you're paid by the Ministry of Tourism.
35:43It is.
35:43And a lot of people are like that here.
35:45I follow their feeds and I'm just, they're like, let me tell you again why this is the greatest place.
35:49And it's just on and on.
35:50I think I do the same thing on my stories.
35:52But you, I mean, what's this whole woke thing that happened in the rest of the world?
35:57That didn't exist here.
35:59Amazing, right?
35:59I mean, what did the rulers of this country do?
36:01They just rolled their eyes and went, whatever.
36:03Okay.
36:04They dealt with COVID in a way that the rest of the developed world, the rich developed world, didn't know how to.
36:11Whether that's Australia, the UK, Europe.
36:13Okay.
36:13Literally, it dealt with very quickly and handled very well.
36:17Okay.
36:17You think about a country that's 50 years old or 51 years old.
36:22Imagine what in the UK you do in 50 years.
36:24And you compare that to what they've done here.
36:26Are there parts that don't work properly yet?
36:28Of course.
36:29Is the legal system perfect yet?
36:30No.
36:31Okay.
36:31But they're working hard all of the time.
36:33So you've got this city that's equally in the race to succeed, just as every entrepreneur is.
36:40They want to be the best.
36:41They want to bring this.
36:42And so you're in this place where it's literally, come on, let's go together.
36:47And so you get sucked into that positivity.
36:49And there's no reason for anyone that works hard to fail.
36:53Right.
36:53So much abundance here.
36:55So much success just waiting to happen for people.
36:57Yeah, yeah.
36:59Just curious, you know, when you think about the future of the city, is it just going to keep growing and growing and growing?
37:07And they have ambitions of being the best city in the world, the number one place in tourism.
37:12They just want to keep going.
37:14What can we compare it to?
37:15Maybe Singapore.
37:17If you look at Singapore, they're essentially a very small land mass.
37:21You look at the UAE, 84% of this country is Abu Dhabi.
37:25The other six emirates cover the rest of it.
37:26But if you go up in a helicopter and look down at this city, there's not much of it that's developed.
37:32The country's actually not very developed.
37:34We might think it is because we see all these towers everywhere and whatnot.
37:37But there's a thin strip of the sand from the coast in a couple of kilometers that's developed.
37:44The rest is desert.
37:46So geographically, we're in a great location.
37:49OK, we've got phenomenal airports, which means we can move around and so can logistics move around very easily.
37:54We've got favorable tax benefits of working here.
37:58Is it going to grow?
38:00What would stop it growing?
38:01And the great thing is all of the people that are here are comparing it to there.
38:09And they've got reasons not to be there, whether that be Indians, Pakistanis, British, French, Americans, Australians, South Africans.
38:17Why would a South African come here?
38:19No tax and it's safe.
38:21OK, there you go.
38:22Two things.
38:23My kids, my house won't get robbed.
38:25My car won't get stolen.
38:27I won't get a carjacked.
38:28And I can earn more money tax free.
38:31It's like there's not much to think about, is there?
38:33In the UK, what have I got to do with bad weather?
38:36Government making bad decisions, high taxes, terrible medical services or health services, roadworks that seem to go on forever and never end.
38:45And it's like, oh, yeah, but UK is great.
38:47Tell me about crime as well.
38:49You can't wear your watch, whatever watch you're wearing.
38:51You can't wear that.
38:52You can't walk around.
38:53My wife was at the Bulgari Hotel in London recently.
38:56She went outside to take some photos with her phone and the doorman said, put your phone in your pocket.
39:01She was outside the hotel.
39:04It's like, give me a give me a reason to go back.
39:07Give me a reason to live in London.
39:08Now, in terms of success and becoming successful, I don't believe Dubai is any better than anywhere else if you want to be successful.
39:17So it's really important that I share that because I believe if you've got it in you and you want to be successful, I think you can do it anywhere.
39:25Now, if you and I went with the right attitude and we went to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and we said, we're going to make it here, and we wrote a plan and we executed it, we would make it.
39:34So I don't think that these places don't have the opportunity.
39:38I just think that people think it's easier here.
39:42Is it easier here?
39:43I'm not sure it is.
39:44Okay.
39:45I'm not sure for anyone that isn't prepared to work really hard, sacrifice a lot of their personal time.
39:52Okay, all of those types of people, I'm not sure if you don't, if you're not prepared to do that kind of stuff, you won't make it anywhere.
39:57And here's not going to be cushioning.
39:59Okay.
40:00One thing I find really refreshing, Spencer, is what the London Real Investment Club actually does for you.
40:06It gives you the keys to open that door to the inside deals.
40:10In the last three weeks, I've participated in three incredible deals.
40:13It's a layer two Bitcoin protocol, an incredible AI protocol.
40:18The deal flow is beyond what I expected.
40:21I don't think I've ever seen a model like this that just gives average folks the opportunity to be behind the deals, and that's exactly what we've done.
40:29Not only that, you get to hang out with Brian Rose every week.
40:31And for me, that was huge because I look at Brian as somebody who's not only an expert in the space, and I think is on the leading edge, but just the leading edge of thought with London Real and the work he's doing there.
40:41To anyone who's taking a serious look at this, I know it's a big decision.
40:46It was a big decision for me and my family, and it is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
40:51So I wish you all the best, and hope you come join us.
40:54The lack of politics, you know?
41:02I just turned it off when I left London at the end of December, and I will refuse to log in to any of the news sites.
41:09And it's just nice to stop the bickering, and the drama, and the headlines, and the did you hear what he said, and did you see what the stupid thing she did?
41:19And it's just like, it's become such a huge part of our lives in the last 20, 30 years.
41:23There's politics, which used to be something when I was a kid, you'd think about every four years or every once in a while.
41:29Now it's literally replaced entertainment.
41:31And it's just so low energy that I find it really nice not to be surrounded by that here.
41:38And I think I was talking to Dr. Marwan, who's an Emirati here, an amazing guy, and he just said,
41:43yeah, we try to dial all that down so you can focus on your business and your family and the stuff that matters.
41:49And it's really noticeable, you know?
41:51There aren't any politics.
41:53You don't make any decisions.
41:55You don't get involved in it.
41:56And think about every time a country allows other people to be involved in decisions.
42:00It never goes anywhere.
42:01Yeah.
42:02Now, okay, if the rulers were megalomaniacs and causing great problems, then that's a different scenario.
42:08But you've got a group of leaders in this country here that make the decisions, they move very quickly,
42:13and they're doing what's in the best interest of their people, and indirectly that becomes in our best interest too.
42:18Yeah, very much so.
42:20All right, I want to talk about how you made yourself into this person, and then I want to talk about your show as well.
42:27But when I look at your background, Spencer, you could easily not be where you are right now, and yet you are here.
42:38And I'm just wondering how you went from this kid, you know, who couldn't really pay attention at school, parents were divorced, had financial struggles, you're bouncing all around to different places,
42:50and you can actually sit here today, you know, with an incredible business and incredible podcast and all this amazing success around you.
42:57So if your teachers had told you the least likely to succeed, I feel like you would have been up there in your grade.
43:04And I feel like if you ever went back to your reunion of your high school or whatever, you'd be looking around at a bunch of people, and they'd be like,
43:10oh, my God, I can't believe you made it.
43:12When I read your backstory, I get that.
43:13Am I off there?
43:14I think when other people see you and interpret what happened, I think they see it differently to how you do.
43:23I mean, mum and dad getting divorced when I was seven, is that highly unusual?
43:27Probably not.
43:28Same with me, by the way.
43:29There you go.
43:29Dad going bankrupt, you know, I see that as his badge of honour because he lost his business and he started and built again.
43:37I had a mum that worked really hard, even though she had the kids to bring up.
43:40She had two jobs and I was, that was, you know, by osmosis I was learning about that.
43:47But I just, I couldn't get the school thing, you know, and I was bullied quite a lot because I wasn't very intelligent or appeared to be very intelligent at school.
43:56And so I didn't really fit in at school.
43:58I didn't know if I was a loner or not.
44:00I seemed to try and use humour to get myself out of trouble as much as I could.
44:05But I don't, and I think everyone needs to have this moment where they realise what they're fit for.
44:10And I think when I got into sales, I realised that I belonged somewhere.
44:15Before then, I didn't belong anywhere.
44:18But I don't, I don't really think my childhood was, because I've worked with kids that have been through awful situations.
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