Honoring Dennis Mallon: Lessons from an Entrepreneur and Method Actor's Inspiring Journey

Hello, my fellow school believers. I don't know if you noticed or not, but you probably did. I don't know, but the There's no intro, there's no commercials in this one. I'm deleting all the commercials in this episode and the reason being is this episode's being dedicated to the Guest that I have on this episode. This is a little hard to talk about, but The guests that we have on our program today is Dennis Mallon and Dennis Mallon, as About two weeks of me doing this intro passed away in a tragic car accident. So this episode I'm dedicating to Dennis Mallon and his family and friends, and I Recorded this in March and so we obviously didn't know what was going to be happening at that particular time. And He's a great interview and I really wanted to make sure you all had a chance to see Dennis and who he really is and how much He loves his family, which you will see in this episode. So I didn't want to like turn this into a big hoopla or, you know, like I normally do, and make a big deal and that kind of thing, because to me this is kind of a, this is kind of a time to just celebrate who Dennis really is as a person. So we're gonna go ahead and get into it and Say, dennis, and I hope you enjoy this, there's not gonna be any kind of, i'll say it In the interview, but there's not gonna be any wrap up. I'm leaving all that stuff out just to sit and celebrate with Dennis. So, thank you everybody. Let's listen to Dennis. Salutations, school believers. And we are here again with another Amazing entrepreneur, and today we're actually interviewing an experienced entrepreneur. See, we're talking to Dennis. Hi, dennis.

Hey, how are you, Jesse? What's going on, man? Thanks for having me today.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for being an undiscovered entrepreneur. Now I have a kind of a semi serious question to ask you. Okay, yes, sir, all right, are you a school believer? I?

Am. I am a true school believer. I've been a believer way before there were believers. I am The believer.

Oh right, it doesn't get. It doesn't get more serious than that. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much For being a school believer, dennis. I appreciate you. Now We've talked a little bit, but I want to get, kind of my audience, an idea of who you are and what you do and how long you've Actually been doing that for. So can you do that for me please?

Yes, sir, yes sir. Well, i'm a, i'm an actor. I'm an actor. I've been acting now for 25 plus years and if you look at my journey, i'm 53 years old. My acting range is 35 to 55. If you look at my journey, jesse, i've gone from a culinary school, graduate, business school, to Working as a CEO of a technology company, employee number three, to being a financial professional, to being where we are today. And I look at it and that's why you know I want to talk to you and why I think we're on today. I'm truly an entrepreneur Being an actor. You're an entrepreneur, you know. You're not a w2. I'm speaking for myself, not the rest of the industry. You're not a w2 employee. What I hunt, i kill, i dress, i eat and I say that with with all the respect in the world, because When I, when I was in technology, i was employing number three of a technology company and I was VP of BizDab, what does that mean? I was the sales guy. I was employing number three. So I had to go out and I had to make a sale to pay for my desk And the next sale had to pay for my chair. You see where I'm going and I mean, i had great people around me, we had a great support system, but I think it comes down to habits and routines, habits and disciplines that really serve you. You know it's how do you, how do you do and have multiple jobs and multiple streams of income? Well, you need to be relatively disciplined, not relatively. You truly need to be disciplined and you need to be laser, being focused on what you want and I don't know about you these things they really don't teach in school. Now, to give you, to give you and and your And your followers, the true scope of who I am. I'm a straight-C student and I have no bones about it. Straight-c students, no bones about it. Straight C's from birth. And I got through because I Work hard. I think I'm a pretty decent guy. I think I know I'm a nice guy and people like me. So did I get pushed through it once? I'm sure, but I worked hard for my degrees, i did what I had to do and here we are. So you know it's the old adage right, you don't care what people know, you care about how they feel. You know, give me someone with heart, give me someone with tenacity, give me someone with hustle, and I can teach them anything.

Well, there you go. That pretty much defines it all right there. You know, when I was first talking to you and thinking about you know how is an actor and entrepreneur And that's something kind of went through my mind a couple of times and how that actually works. But you define it very well. It's somebody that has a lot of hustle that gets out there and just does me that, and it's not like you're working for somebody else.

Ultimately you're working for yourself and to get those acting jobs and get paid that way too, and hey you know I told you earlier I was down in Miami this morning to do to do a commercial, to do a national commercial. You know I've built such a network of people. You know a sphere of influence where people know my work. They know my work ethic and I think I'm pretty decent what I do. I say that because I'm a professional actor. What does that mean? I'm auditioning all the time, okay, or I'm on set all the time and getting paid, so that's pretty important stuff.

Yeah, absolutely, and I'm with you on the sea student. I'm a sea student, ladies and gentlemen, Just so you know too. I Gotta be honest with you. I know there's a lot of parts of school That's very important, but it's really, personally, it's not as prevalent as it used to be when we were younger, when we were actually going to school. I mean, a lot, of, a lot of these people now They could just go out YouTube University and learn just to pretty much anything they want to learn. It's just so much easier now. That's the only reason I was able to start a podcast. I didn't go to school to learn to podcast, i learned it from YouTube or a couple people that I talked to. So, hey, get the. I mean, be happy with Actually getting through school and graduating school. Straight A's is great if you, if you think you could accomplish straight A's, awesome. But you know what, cesar? Okay, that's so.

I here's. Here's the thing my sister killing, and I love her dearly. She's two, two years, four days younger than me. We're both Scorpios. Okay, she's straight A's from birth. Straight A's from birth. I'm straight C's. So our personalities are that much different and look it's like anything else. If you look at the majority of fortune X CEOs, okay, their undergrad degrees are either in communication or in English literature. Think about that. You get to be a fortune X chief chief executive. You get to get to the C suite and you need to know how to communicate. Outside of that, their graduate degree is in specific disciplines And that's really what it comes down to. You know, get the undergrad mature, learn how to communicate because, again, i didn't learn how to do that in high school, nevermind grammar school and then get your discipline in whatever you want to do engineering, your doctor, what your lawyer? Whatever you want to do.

So Everything we do in our life is an experience for a reason. Yes. So I mean a schooling, or anything else for that matter. Go into college, even the current job that you're working right now, it's all experience to push you towards a precipice, towards a specific direction that you're actually going to go. So I appreciate that. Thank you very much, dennis, my pleasure. So What I'd like to know and this is something I ask all my guests is in your first year of business, when you first got Started in your let's say, your acting career Let's start there In your in your first year, was there any problems, pitfalls? I mean, what was your deepest pitfall you think you encountered in your first year of of?

Oh no, no man, everything was smooth from birth. I You know, i pooped perfectly. I lie. So my first gig, my first, first, first ever acting gig, was a rendition of of my cement. I Played Lenny, okay Yeah. Now, if you know anything about Lenny and of by cement.

Lenny has it, lenny has some issues.

Lenny has some issues. John Malkovich John Malkovich is Lenny is amazing, by the way, and You know. Word of advice to actors if you're reprising someone's road, do not watch their work, especially if you are a plea and you're just starting out. So here I am trying to replay the great Malkovich horrible my second show. I'm driving back to new jersey, where i lived at the time, and the car and i'm crying and i'm studying, i'm stammering and i'm so depressed, i'm so, so out of it, not understanding what. I've never had these emotions in my entire life. You know, i don't know what's going on. I call my mentor And i'm like look, i don't know what the heck, what you know what the heck's going on. Here goes, well, obviously you're a method actor. I go jim, i don't care, i don't know what that is, i don't care what that means. I'm out, i can't do this. I gotta go to work in the morning, i gotta be up at six to be in Manhattan. I can't do this. I finished my contract and then i quit the business altogether, not knowing i tapped into What i tapped into, a gift that i was given, that i can, i can, i can be emphatic To that role. I can embody and really inhale that type of role. I'm a method actor, so took me a while to get get control over that, because if you think of method actors who comes to my Heath Ledger, rest in peace, robin Williams, rest in peace, philip see more often I'm walking phoenix. I mean i can keep going on and you see the commonality right. So how do i get control over that? now? i've taken all two courses back in the day, very basic courses, and i believe you learn by doing a very hands on everything that i do. So that was a major pitfall not understanding and not knowing what's going on. Now i'm blessed because i might. My only Real bad habit is going to the gym. I'm a gym rat. I'm a gym rat. I'm not a drinker, i'm a cheap date Two beers maximum, two glasses red maximum, two scotch all the same time. By the way, you know i'm Irish but i'm a, i'm a lightweight, so i'm not into any substances and i just i hit the gym. So i've learned over the years and i do like rolls that are broken, i do like rolls that have range. And if you look at my work on youtube and whatnot, i like going there. I like emoting, i like really hitting it. You know you've got to learn to take your ego and put it aside. I had a an audition for a geico commercial and the way the audition she came out you gonna show up, you're gonna be a geek, you can sing the macarena and you're gonna hit a car. The cash and director is gonna go bang. So i came in, i had a bow tie on, i had a pair of glasses with tape in the middle. Totally look the role. So they play the macarena, macarena And the director goes when he goes. When i say bang, you got into a car accident. Now my eyes are closed. I'm going macarena and he goes bang. I flip the chair back, my feet are swinging up in the air. Everybody's laughing, the clients laughing, the cat, everybody's laugh. Okay, i get the call back the next day. I did not come back as the same character. I came back as cool slick me, not even thinking they wanna see What i showed them. Okay, so again, ego got in the way and i lost five grand pretty expensive less okay. And you know i, i just i've learned to be a very effective communicator. Let the people you consider in your inner circle where you're going, what your goals are, what you're all about and you gonna jump on the train And be on this journey with me or not. You know i, i'm pretty big on social media. I run my own social media. I got a lot going on And i'm not looking for fans, i'm looking for friends to join me in this journey. I go to the gym and people like, hey, we saw your super bowl commercial, thank you so much, i'm gonna need an autograph. I go. Well, are you a friend of mine? Oh yeah, you're good friend. Friends don't friends don't get autographs. You're friend of mine got my cell phone really yeah it creeps me out and a good way, you know. I mean it's the person doesn't creep me out, but i feel kinda, i feel kinda awkward. I was in the gym, as i am daily, usually in the morning, and i was out there I'm early evening, so i had a shoot that day and this older gentleman that i truly respect came up and said hey, i saw your western. I go thank you so much because i had long hair and a big beard going on at the time, because i really enjoyed it, because, and then i saw that hearing aid commercial with all those wires around you, i go thank you so much. And then other guys at the gym overheard them and they jumped on a bandwagon. I felt, you know, i am at a point where i can accept compliments and i appreciate it, what is still kinda like a geeky. You know, i kinda felt a little awkward cuz that's my j o b, that's my job. But if i can come across and people can appreciate it, even even better, even better.

Right, right, that's a great story. Thank you so much. That's pretty awesome. I just want to mention that really takes a lot of discipline to be able to go to the gym. You know and set yourself up that way to where you have a constant thing, where you're going on a daily basis, and if anybody could pick up on having that particular type of habit Not doesn't have to be necessarily for the gym, but you know to do your the one thing that be in your zone of genius on a daily basis that's something you really need to pick up on. So thank you for using that. That's good. Can you just real quick and i you gave me a good idea about it, but can you explain exactly what a method actor is?

So you know i It's, it's. That's an interesting question. So define it. I'll define it. How i define it? Because i never started the michael douglas method what's that show? and HBO. I never really studied a method per se, but i'll give you an example the great alpachino. Now i've been blessed, i've worked with mr pachino three times. He is a method actor. He embodies the character for the entire time. He's on set. When he played, don't he on stage if he was a, if he was a ninety day run, he was, don't you everyday for ninety days. It's a matter of truly doing your work and truly understanding the subtle nuances and the true feelings of that character. And i do the work. You know, i said earlier i like characters that have range. I like characters that are broken. Because You know and again, i'm not casting aspersions and all do you respect the lily white sheriff? it's a lot easier to play that character. I'd rather play the villain, because the villain is like an onion, there's layers to it, okay, and it allows me to dig deep into my own psyche and to really bring things up. A movie i did, a short, i guess about a year ago now. Cold chances It's by josh were right, young guy, very talented director, very talented writer. It's a pretty dark film, pretty dark. I think it's still on youtube, i think you just remastered or something. I had to get dark. So we had zoom calls. We had our rehearsals on zoom, because it was a kind of to a jenna covid And i cry, i emote big time, big time, and you go up and down. There's the arcs, there's the peaks, and you really want I really want the director, really wants the people watching it to feel for you. You want to draw them in. I played a man with dementia, i guess about four, five years ago ish, yeah, about four, five years ago and we rehearsing, we're blocking the scene, setting up the scene And during rehearsal i went there. I went there. Okay, the makeup person comes in afterwards she's crying I got what's the matter is that i got your so amazing, thank you. The director comes in. He's crying. The dp director photography. So You know when you strike a court, you know when you pull the heart strings, and it's at that moment i know i gave them what they wanted. Now you know, unfortunately, fortunately, i have experience in my family with dementia, so i was able to go there. You know, kinda. You know, have an out of body experience if you would be able to cry, stutter, stammer, what. Whatever I was able to do, i was able to, trying to try to figure out the work right word in body and body always comes to mind be emphatic to the script, be emphatic to the character. When I do My character breakdown, i always try to huddle with the writer and with the director and I'll say, look, this is how I see the character plan, fifty years old, army veteran, divorce twice alcoholic, loner, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. And I paint such a picture where When I read it and when I start memorizing the script, i inhale that and I embody all that, if that it. I know I'm not explaining it correctly, but I hope that's a good way.

No makes sense yeah, makes perfect sense. You know, embodying what the characters actually feeling at that particular time, exploring that emotion in yourself, that, i mean. That pretty much sums it up right, there is method act, everything that you just said, you know, that's just think about it, if my first everything was Lenny Right, right, exactly and we know, lenny is a mess, right, lenny is all over the place.

That's my first everything and that's where I went, because I got that natural talent to go there and it's taking me a long time to Understand it, comprehend. It's a natural talent, i was able to plug into that. So it's like getting behind the wheel of a car, a stick shift and not had not, not driving, not knowing how to handle stick shift, and you just bucking, you just going all over the place. Same thing. That's a great analogy.

I should write that down yeah, that is a good right down, ladies. let's record this to you later, okay so?

That's it, you know, that's, that's interesting.

There you go. I'm glad I can bring that out in you thank you. Another thing you mentioned is ego. Ego can be a good thing but it can be a bad thing to get. You got to keep control of that ego, especially when you're coming across new experiences and you don't want to have a big head about things But you still want to be able to take in you know knowledge and experiences from other people And to bring it into your entrepreneur venture and be able to take a compliment gosh, darn it. When somebody likes what you're doing, don't deflect it, say, oh, you know whatever, no, take it in as a positive thing. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that Deflection. For a while there was one of my biggest downfalls to I'd be like I'm doing my best, you know that kind of thing yeah, thanks, thanks yeah, but I mean being able to take in that positive energy for yourself, to make it a part of yourself and say genuinely, say thank you very much. I really appreciate that. That really shows a lot of a lot of gumption being able to bring that into yourself. So I appreciate it takes a while.

It does. It takes to be able to truly accept in me. I, when my super bowl commercial ran two days later, i went to a local wine bar that I that I frequent. I walked in and my good friend started clapping for me and I was really, really moved. I was really touched. But that's you know. You need to, you need to be able to accept it.

You're right, you're a hundred percent right, all right that's great, so I'm gonna move on to the next question here real quick. you mentioned the gentleman a little bit earlier as a mentor, jim, so one of my questions is usually as who's a mentor that really helped you along your entrepreneur or your acting career, as it were? and you mentioned Jim. can you tell me a little bit about Jim and how he helped you?

I'd be more than happy to Jim demonic. Demonic demonic is his last name and he loves it now. Jim used to teach at the American Academy of dramatic arts and sciences in Manhattan. He used to teach voice and he was a dean before he retired. Jim looked like Robert Baratheon on Game of Thrones. Okay, now we're both freemasons. I happen to be a little senior to him. Yeah and when he came in the lodge I was mentoring him. So here I am, metering this Shakespeare actor and we would get together every Friday in Manhattan for a Scotch and a cigar. And I come from work I'm wearing my three piece suit. Sorry, mama's home, you hear the dog together. I would come out meet with him in my three piece suit. And there he is, and he always made a big deal. I look at this kid came from central casting, what a good looking kid. And after embarrassing me about six, seven times, i'm like do you think I could? I could make some money, i can do something. Oh, my god, yeah. So he really lined me up. You know, what do I need to do? You need a headshot. Who do I go to? Boom, everything I needed. He had a name and a phone number for me. You know, jim, i need an agent. Who do I call bang? I need to learn how to read copy what's copy commercials. Who do I call bang? He was there for me. So here's a dear brother of mine, a fraternal brother of mine, that we hit it off. We're still friends to this day, 25 plus years later, and I still, you know, reach out to him. I lean on him with different things that come up that I'm unsure of, or I need to bounce something off someone that's genuine and leads with the heart, and that's. I'm really fortunate enough Now, you know, angela Montovano was one of my first teachers back in the day. I consider her, i consider her mentor also, and that's, you know. And the fortunate part, jesse, i've been able to mentor different newer actors on their journey. So it's a matter of giving it back, it's a matter of paying it forward and some matter giving it back. But no, jim, we chat. We either text or chat, you know, once a week, and catch up. So now, but he's a love, that guy. I really do.

That's great. Thank you so much for that. Yeah, jim sounds pretty awesome, and he kind of took you by the hand and gave you the information that you needed to go to move on, and it sounds like you're doing the same thing, paying it forward. I love doing that. There's always somebody out there that can, that you could point in a direction and change your lives. That's what I really like to do, with the knowledge that I have is to see that somebody needs some help and just say, hey, this is a good way for you to go or check this out, and it sounds like you're doing that too. So that's great. I really love that. Thank you so much for that. All right, so here's one of my here's one of my favorite questions, now that you've had this journey up to this point, yeah, and hindsight, is there a failure that you really are proud of, something that you did, that later on you decided, you know, i'm glad it happened that way. You have anything like that that comes to mind.

You know that you are the culmination of your experiences Okay, good, better and different. You are the culmination of your lessons that you've learned and hopefully you've learned and you're not going to repeat. You know what you've learned. You know the definition of of insanity is what doing the same thing over again, expecting different results. So said Einstein Okay, yeah, there are plenty of mistakes. You know, i trusted the wrong people, i befriended the wrong person, i made the wrong decision Plenty of stuff, plenty of stuff that makes one not as impetuous as one would be in their youth, makes make someone think twice before they do So. Yeah, i mean I can keep you going for 24 hours or a lot of mistakes I've made. You don't have that time to know why. But yeah, there's. There's definitely epic fails. You know, my first feature was was devil's advocate, and right after, right after Lenny, i did a commercial and then I had devil's advocate And I remember being picked out of a crowd And I had Mr Pacino sitting right behind me, keanu Reeves in front of me, craig T Nelson to the left of me, and the scene went on all day. And you see me, you see a lot of me, and towards the end of the scene there's two doors coming out of a New York City courtroom. I came out the back door and I turned and I'm walking right into the camera. I am mugging the camera for a long 10 seconds And all I'm thinking, jesse, is I'm going to get kicked out, i'm going to get cut. You're never going to see me. And what do you see in the big screen? You see my big head, all by myself, and I was just laughing. And I was just laughing. So a decision that could have been detrimental to me, my career, paid off. So you just never know. You know you learn how to trust your gut. And if you're not going to be able to trust your gut And if you're pulling up to an audition and you get stomach pains all of a sudden, do not go in. Learn, read your body, read your instrument. And that's why you know it's really part of my job to go to the gym and to maintain my instrument Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually to be able to take certain roles, make certain decisions. You know I do a lot of. I do a lot of lives Facebook, instagram, tiktok, whatnot And I always say about decisions, and I say about what I call them sudden leads It's a God moment when something is dropped in your lap. The Super Bowl commercial, remy Martin with Serena Williams that was dropped in my lap. Dropped in my lap. The lead role in Gray people that's out now. That was dropped in my lap. But think about it. My definition of luck has always been when preparedness meets opportunity. Preparedness meets opportunity. Sure, i'm lucky because I'm prepared. When the heavens open and that opportunity that suddenly falls on my lap, boom, i'm in a position where I can go. I can say, yes, let's do it, okay. Well, a lot of people might be hesitant. You have basically five nanoseconds to make a decision. If you're subtle and stammering that decision, they're moving on.

Yeah, that's about all you got, all the time you got for just about anything. When it comes to anything left that comes at you like that, you have to make that decision now. And I try to instill that in my son too, because he's one of those wishy-washy guys that want to think about it but not that. And I keep telling him you only have one opportunity to make this decision. Don't let it pass you by. And it's not just an act and that could be in anything. That could be anything in entrepreneurship, that could be anything that comes at you. So be prepared, be mentally prepared to make that decision quickly.

It sounds like an M&M song. Are we just rapping together? We're rapping Right? Don't even get one chance, or not? Give us a chance to vote.

We're just rapping. We got another business model going on. We'll do it. We'll talk about that later. Okay, so that's great. Yeah, trust your gut. That's something I actually say a lot in my podcast is trusting your feeling and your gut reaction to opportunities and things that come by, because ultimately it's going to affect you. You need to be able to make that decision, just like we said. So, trust your feeling, trust your gut, follow it. So all right. So what I'd like to know is, currently, what are you most proud of and your vast number of accomplishments? You've had many accomplishments in your lifetime And then you've come up to this point. Sir, can you tell me one or two accomplishments? I mean, you've done some awesome stuff. You've done commercials, you've done television, movies, things like that But do you have one or two things that just kind of stand out in your mind?

Sure Yeah, my son, my daughter. There you go.

Well, tell me about them. If they're going to be your greatest accomplishments, I want to know about them.

What are they? Dennis is 23. Lauren, Ashley is 17. Sorry, Yeah, just my kids, my family, You know it really. They mean the world to me. They really do. You know we need a reason to do what we do, We need a reason to hustle the way we hustle, And you know if I can leave this world better than what I got it and if I can create something for them and the legacy for them and for my grandkids someday. That's what it's all about as far as I'm concerned. So that's by far my greatest accomplishments. Now I'm a divorced father And it's like anything else. With that come certain challenges, et cetera, et cetera. But you know you do the best you can. But I'm so proud of those kids, dennis being 23, he's in college right now. Lauren Ashley is going to be graduating from high school this year And they've overcome a lot. They've overcome a lot. I've had them with certain commercials Like sorry, i don't take them to Disney unless we're working Right, you know. So if there's a gig in Disney and you need kids, i'm like, hey, guys, you want to go to Disney? Yeah, and we're getting paid. So they've been very flexible that way with me And they're just very patient And I really you know you read your mission statement, you read your goals, your affirmations. It's all about leaving a legacy, you know. Legacy of a body of work, legacy of financial legacy, legacy of being a good example, being a good human being and affecting people's lives, hopefully affecting everybody. You touch positively And that's why I take this stuff so serious, because even if people go out to see my movies. What does it cost to take a family out? these days, i don't know. let's say, $100 between babysitting, parking tickets. You want to have popcorn, you want to have popcorn. What's it cost? I don't know. So I take a lot of responsibility And I'm really blessed that my responsibility, my roles and everything that I'm doing is getting bigger and bigger and bigger, because I take it so serious Now, just like Tom Cruise. When Tom Cruise is on set, it's like being on vacation because he loves what he does So much. I love what I do so much, and it truly is a lifetime of work, jesse. I mean, i listened to something recently with Brian Cranston And this kid came up to Brian Cranston and said, hey, i'm going to go to Hollywood for a year and give it a try. He's like kid, don't waste your time, don't waste your money. This is a lifetime pursuit. Look at the people that just won the Oscars last week. If you like the Oscars or not, it doesn't matter. Ok, a lot of people. I got a lot of slack for asking people about the gym that you watch the Oscars Crazy, but think about it, brendan Fraser, what a journey that guy's been on. If you know half that guy's story, that's amazing. Kwan Lee I hope I don't mess up that guy's name. What a journey, jamie Lee. What a journey she's been on. And they finally got the epitome of their job They got the Oscar. It's crazy. So it truly is a lifetime pursuit. It's a lifetime of love. It's a lifetime of love and hate, and you've got to balance it out. You've got to keep pushing. That's what drives me. Someone asked me well, what are you going to do once you make it? I don't know. Once I'm there, i'll let you know. I'll probably take your vacation, take Leanne on a long vacation And then, when I come back, i'll probably just do the same thing put my head down and grind.

Some of us don't want to make it because we know that when we finally get there it's over, and we don't want it to be over And that's kind of the way I think about it. I got to tell you, i could tell, obviously your kid's been a lot to you And I appreciate it As a father myself. I have a son that's $30 and a dollar that's $28. Nice. Both of them are very, very gifted in arts and crafts and things like that. My son's learning to be a blacksmith and my daughter is making custom dolls Nice, yeah. And it's been amazing to watch them grow from that, and I have a granddaughter now too, so that's pretty neat, nice. Very nice And she's smart, She's so smart. And then I have a 16-year-old son who he is actually? he's studying physics right now Damn. So, at 6'2". So I'm still trying to figure that one out. So my kids made a lot to me. You could see my logo back here. My daughter designed my logo. She does all my art and my graphics and things like that to help me out.

That's awesome. That's cute.

So they all have their thing that they do, and they mean a lot to me too. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. Love what you do. That's really super important. As a matter of fact, that's one of the things that you need to look into when you're looking for your zone of genius. You got to make sure that, whatever you do, you love what you're doing, because it's going to be something you're going to be doing for most of your life. Yep, if you don't love what you're doing for most of your life, you're really going to fall into a deep dark place where you don't want to be. So I mean, it's really really important to be able to love what you do and when you're doing it If it's something that you even can do for free that you don't mind doing so much because you love it so much that's when you know you're in the right place of what you're doing.

You know. And how many people you drive by a cemetery, jesse, how much music is left in those people. You know how many people are already dead. We just haven't buried them yet. That's a sad state of affairs. I mean, my dentist senior loved my father, adored my father. My father had the same job for 45 years. Was he happy with the job? He always said when he's no longer happy he'll quit. He's such an articulate, creative guy that he could have done anything. You know, and I remember he got me to the utility company when I was younger. I did everything I could to get fired. They couldn't, they wouldn't fire me union, but I couldn't. I couldn't see myself because I'd be there about 30 years now at this age. I'd be top union stuff, making six figures, pushing papers back and forth. I would be brain dead. And I say that with all due respect, because the people at my age now that were there at that time, they had no respect. Nobody respected them. Management didn't like them because they were making too much money. There's nothing they can do for them. There's nothing they can do with them And they you know how much music is left inside of them. You know Now I take nothing away from anybody that has a job. You know you do what you got to do And I've had. I've had jobs as I've been building this career. You know I would never tell anybody just hey, look, you got to quit your job. Okay, don't worry about the electric, don't worry about the mortgage, quit your job and go back. No, i'd be stupid to recommend that. Okay. But if you have a goal, if you have a dream, damn it, pursue it, pursue it, be disciplined enough. There's 24 hours in a day, three eight hour periods right One for work, one for rest, one for play, figure it out. Like we said earlier, between YouTube and the internet there's plenty of ways of doing businesses or figuring it out or getting an education. Elon Musk is the biggest advocate against colleges. Okay, because there's stuff on YouTube you can learn. Now, you know I'm not going to sit here and argue about the merits of college. It is what it is. You know I learned a lot. I learned how to drink alcohol, i learned how to meet women, both of which I was still straight Cs. But you know I mean that's. It is what it is. You know. Thanks for some people, it's not for others.

Right, you just got to find where you're at.

Exactly.

All right, so this is going to be my last question with you, but I really like this one because this gives a nice word out to everybody that's listening. So what advice would you actually give to somebody who's looking to make the jump into entrepreneurship if they're just getting started? Because a lot of my listeners are just getting started in their entrepreneur adventure. So what kind of words can we give them that you would like to give them, dennis Sure?

First off, make sure you have enough money in the bank. Okay, you got to have at least a year, two years of salary, because now it's all on. You Do not forgo a job for business because that business owner if it's an HVAC business, a plumber, a baker, an actor you now own it. You're responsible for the insurances, you're responsible 28-7. Whereas in employee mentality you punch out at five o'clock on a Friday. You go home, you play golf on Saturday. Life is grand, okay. Secondly, you need to have a system put in place. I'm trying to mentor these young guys over here in Florida where I am. They have a very successful key and lock business very successful. They have so much business coming in they can't handle it. But unfortunately they also can't find enough talent to help grow the business. And every time I see them at the gym I'm like they're like oh man, i'm so busy I can't get here anymore. So they have a 28-7 job. Okay, they're not business owners. Let's look at business systems. Mcdonald's Best business format system in the world. What business is McDonald's in? Not the hamburgers and fries business, they're in the real estate business. Okay. Now, regardless of what happened with Ray Kroc, the ethical aspect of it watch the movie the founder, michael Keaton great movie. Regardless. There's a system put in place. Okay, the entrepreneurs that own a McDonald's franchise go to a hamburger university and they need to learn the system. If you're a baker and you're sick for a day or you want to go on vacation, is the business going to continue without you? You've got to keep that in mind. These locking key guys, which I respect dearly I think they're not even 30, every time I see them I'm like dude, you need to franchise, you need to franchise, but first off, you need to put a system in place, which is very important because, think about it, if you walk away today or you want to take, you're making seven figures. Are you able to enjoy the seven figures? Are you able to take a vacation? Are you able to hit the gym? If the answers are no, that you're now a slave to your business. You need to systematize it. Okay, and you need to really understand and get a good CPA. Okay, so you need to have savings because it's going to be tough starting. Okay, so you got to take that pressure off. You need to systematize your business, which I can help, i'm sure you can help with that Okay. And you need to know the rules of the game, because the tax laws were written for who? The entrepreneur, not the nine to five W2A genre. They're written for the entrepreneur. And that's the three major things I always look at. And even when I consult with new actors, i'm like do you have your LLC put together? Why? Why do I need that? Well, you're a business. The gas, the mileage If I showed you how many miles I expense every year, oh my, i need 3000 miles. He goes, where do you go? I go from where I am, to Miami, to Tampa, to Orlando, to New York, to Michigan, chicago. And he's like dude, oh my gosh, i go. Yeah, i need a helicopter. That's coming. But that's really the three keys in my opinion. Michael Gerber I don't know if you know that author He wrote the book the E myth And, basically stating what I just said, i went to a seminar and Michael Gerber was one of the keynote speakers. He's a New Yorker And he dropped a bunch of step bombs which, as in New York, i was like yeah, you know go you go. But he really basically stated the same thing You need to systematize your business And fine good mentors. Ed Milet is a mentor of mine. I've met him personally a dozen, dozen or so times. I have his routine that I follow religiously. And you need to be disciplined. Because here's the thing, jesse, you're not going to achieve your goals by watching the Yankees game tonight. Okay, entrepreneurs are working whenever the else is sleeping. And if you're not willing to do that, discipline, okay and change and exchange time for money, because soon you'll be able to exchange money for time. Okay, then this it's not for you And entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, but that's okay. You can do something part time, do something on the web. There's plenty of little businesses to do.

Exactly, exactly, hey, and a lot of what you actually said, believe it or not. I just finished reading Rich Dad, poor Dad, beautiful, and that's a lot of that that you just discussed as far as, like, the whole McDonald's story And that's in there.

So there you go. That's exactly.

that's exactly right, though You really need to systematize. E-Meth is definitely a good book. Have you ever been thinking grow rich Twice.

Yes, good man, that should be the granddaddy of all you know self development books, entrepreneurial books. Once you read that, that's the foundation. A quick little story, a little caveat. Last week I'm in the gym and there's this young guy, 18, 20 years old, and a bunch of us old guys are standing around and we're working out whatever. And he goes to me, he goes. Can I ask you a question? Sure, i'm thinking an autograph. I'm like here we go, there you go, and he goes. You know how many years have you been working out? I go pretty much my entire life. He goes. well, what kind of habits and disciplines have you developed? And I'm like funny, you should ask. And then I just kind of went into my. This is what I did. I retired at this age, i did this, i did that And it's all because my habits and my disciplines, my habits and my routines. And it said you need to go read, think and Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill Oh, how about this? How about that? That's a great book, but read this one first.

If anybody wants a copy of that book, they can go onto my website and the resources and buy themselves a copy of Think and Grow Rich and Rich Dad, poor Dad, and I think I have the email in there too. So if anybody little shameless self, plug there. Sorry, but you know what It's important information to have.

I have an autograph copy of the email somewhere. I'm looking at my own book collection. I don't it's in here somewhere, but that's one of my most revered books. really is Nice.

Mine's actually a book by a gentleman named Pat Flynn called Superfans. Oh okay, And I would look into that one too. That one's actually a really good book about building a following and that kind.

You're probably way past that, but Hey, still learn, still gonna nug it. There you go, that's right, all right.

Well, dennis, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you. What I'd like you to do now is kind of give us an idea how to get ahold of you. If we have any questions for you or if we want to learn about anything else about Dennis, let's hear it. Ready Set go.

Well, i'm all over social media. I'm on Facebook, i've got a personal page. I've got a fan page. I'm on Instagram. I tick tock, i'm on Twitter, i'm all over. If I can never help anybody with anything, jesse, please reach out. Please reach out. I'm not a bank, so banks are having it tough these days, but that's but that's out of that. If I can help anybody with anything, please reach out. I'd be more than happy to you know again, all over social media, my email. I've got my own domain, dennis malloncom. De N N I S M A L L E N dot com. Check out my website. All my links are up there And I really appreciate you and your time. It really it means a lot to me being able to share my story with you, with your listeners, your followers and whatnot, and even from a podcast perspective. if I can help anybody with being a guest, i'd be more than happy to, and you know, if you can network me, i really would appreciate it. It means a lot.

Yeah, i actually have a pretty wide network of podcasters on Twitter that I follow. I'm definitely going to, but while you met, uh, uh, today we laughed and learned is where I learned from. So, yes, that's how I reached out to you. So, yeah, kristen Debra amazing.

Those ladies were amazing Yeah. Yeah. So those, those ladies were amazing. They, they, they hit me up once a week and they're like we've got more questions. I'm like let's do it.

You know that's great. So the final question I'm like asking all my guests is six month goals. So every guest that I have, i follow up with them in six months to see if they've reached the goals that we talked about. So what I'd like to do, dennis, is if you have a goal or two for yourself that you would like to take advantage of in the over the next six months, i do And that would be something I'm not going to share, oh, something you don't want to share or you can't share, so, so here's what I've learned And I'll you.

You will take it offline if you like. There are only certain things I put out there into the malinverse. I've got my goals, i my. My year starts in December because the way I write my goals, my affirmations and so on, uh, so for my, for my first quarter, i'm crushing my goals. I've got goals with producing, with doing voiceovers, with doing national commercials, of which I did two today. Uh, so I'm, i'm ahead of my goals. I'm about a hundred at last calculation. I'm about a hundred and sixty five percent of my yearly goals being on your podcast. It's hitting, it's going towards my goals. So, yes, i have a lot of numbers. Um, yes, All right.

Well, i'm glad to be a part of your goals, glad I can help with that, yeah.

I really I, i, i love to work, jesse, And, like I said, i'm looking at my board. There's a lot of jobs that I'm booked for the future, uh, but unless I'm on set, like I just I just got, i just booked a feature film just the other day And you know, my, my fiance in Leanne says well, are you excited? I get excited when I'm on set and the director says action. Between now and then the tree can fall on the director. I mean, there's, there's a lightning construct, there's so many things that can happen. So, and it's not, it's not that I'm cynical, i'm more realistic if that makes sense. Oh yeah, like a friend of mine put on Facebook, a friend of mine put on Facebook whenever I said I booked a job. People are hitting me up and they go look, there's certain things I keep close to the vest. Once I've accomplished the job, once I'm on set, i'll post I'm on set doing X, y and Z, but prior to that there's a lot of mileage between here and there And I'd rather talk about it once I'm there. There you go. Does that's the way to do it?

That's a good way to do it.

That's my Italian nature There you go. You know, that's my Italian nature. if you would, That's awesome.

Dennis, thank you for taking some time to talk to the Scoob believers out here. I really enjoy your wisdom and your knowledge and thank you for sharing with us. All. Right, scoob believers, thank you for joining us today and make sure you stay tuned for the follow up. Okay, thank you everybody. Have a good evening. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.