<\/span><\/h2>\nAt 56, Dean has seen a lot since retiring his mom three decades ago. He admits that throughout his entrepreneurial journey, his inner critic would often chime in with self-doubt, telling him he wasn\u2019t educated enough, but he never stopped thinking big, no matter how unattainable his vision seemed to others.<\/p>\n
Most people can\u2019t say they built a real estate empire in their 20s, but Dean can not only say it, he can say he taught others to do it themselves.<\/p>\n
And as an author and entrepreneur, he can also say he set the wheels in motion for a friendship that would change his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 27 years old, I watched Tony Robbins on an infomercial,\u201d he says, \u201cand I bought everything that he had\u2026. I felt like he was speaking to me\u2026. I wrote down, \u2018Someday, I want to thank him.\u2019 Now he\u2019s my dearest friend in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
That introduction to the self-education industry inspired him to create his first infomercial and set of products, which led to other infomercials, several NYT bestselling books\u2014such as Millionaire Success Habits<\/em>\u2014and the honor of being one of the top success educators in the world.<\/p>\n<\/span>Mastering Friendship and Business With Mastermind<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nA year after Robbins\u2019 program lit a fire inside him\u2014which was more than two decades ago\u2014Dean wrote him a letter that said, \u201cYou shifted my life. Someday, we\u2019re going to do business together, and I can\u2019t wait to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward to 2018 and the two are on a golf course\u2014a twice yearly tradition since their friendship began 13 years ago\u2014talking about what they\u2019d do if they went into business together.<\/p>\n
\u201c(We thought), Why don\u2019t we just teach people what we\u2019ve been doing for more than seven decades combined?<\/em>\u201d Dean recalls. \u201cAnd that\u2019s where Mastermind was born.\u201d<\/p>\nAs co-founders of mastermind.com, he and Robbins teach people to turn their life experience, skills and passion into a product, business or personal brand by providing them with the guidance and tools needed to enter into the self-education industry. Since launching in 2018, they\u2019ve touched the lives of more than 7 million people in over 100 countries, sharing their wisdom alongside inspiring voices like Jay Shetty, Trent Shelton, Marie Forleo and Matthew McConaughey. Through video courses and live events with guests\u2014and some of the highest registration numbers in internet history\u2014the two are living examples of manifestation in real time.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Family Business Is the Best Business<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nEven with millions of eyes on his work and more than a dozen profitable businesses under his belt, nothing compares to the success Dean has found with his wife, Lisa.<\/p>\n
\u201cLisa taught me a whole new level of what\u2019s possible,\u201d he says, adding that after he met her, his business went to a whole other level and his life grew exponentially.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe understood my drive so much, and instead of resisting, she leaned forward, and\u2026 it made me want to find the time to not put business first,\u201d he says, adding that Lisa has made him want to \u201cgo out and solve more, do more, impact more, donate more\u2026. I feel invincible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporting Dean was easy for Lisa because she shared his drive\u2014as well as the confidence that whatever she wanted was possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been really good about manifesting,\u201d she says, adding that, in her business, \u201cthe type of client I want in my chair, the connections, the events I go to\u2014I\u2019ve manifested all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the desire to support her parents that drove her to build a successful career as a hair stylist and business owner. Just like Dean, she asked herself, What\u2019s the fast track of me making more to help my family?<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cMy mom and dad are both entrepreneurs, and\u2026 we lived a very (lower) middle class life our entire life,\u201d she says. \u201cMy parents are immigrants, and they\u2019re just really hard working\u2026. We had very little, but we had a house\u2026. We had clothes; we had food.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work ethic they modeled served as the tool she used to rise through the ranks of her career, eventually becoming Arizona\u2019s top hair stylist.<\/p>\n
Although she dreamed of going to college, she knew her parents couldn\u2019t afford it, so during high school, she attended cosmetology school and worked at a salon after graduation.<\/p>\n
The salon owner only hired stylists with a big client list. And even though Lisa had no clients\u2014and no money to rent her chair\u2014she assured her new boss she had everything that was needed. She pretended she was older, dressed the part and made a glowing impression\u2014all while working three jobs and calling potential clients, pretending to be her own assistant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had different names,\u201d she admits. \u201cI had two cell phones. (One was my salon phone and one was my \u2018assistant\u2019)\u2026. I knew that I was good, but I had to prove myself because I didn\u2019t have clientele\u2026. So, once they came in my chair, they\u2026 knew that I was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her strategy worked. Soon, she was styling music videos, doing hair at New York Fashion Week and building a client list across the country\u2014all before she was 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just was driven,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Her drive came at a price, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started getting alopecia areata when I was about 19 or 20 years old,\u201d she shares, adding that she likely developed the condition because of stress and anxiety from her workload. \u201cYou lose hair in chunks in your head. And I had it so bad\u2026. I was out of my mind going to every doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
She searched for a salon with the cheapest hair extensions she could find and was dismayed by the selection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were these big, gum-type things,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was the worst thing ever\u2026. It was so bad, I wore my hair up for a good year because I had so many bald patches and little clips everywhere to hide it. And I said, \u2018That\u2019s it. I need to learn.\u2019\u2026 And I was one of the first people in my town doing extensions.\u201d<\/p>\n
She practiced on friends and tried as many brands as she could before launching her own hair extension brand online.<\/p>\n
When she and Dean met, she shared her vision of owning a salon where people could get affordable, high-quality extensions. That vision became a reality in 2019, when she opened Extension Bar in Scottsdale, Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cExtension Bar was this dream of hers,\u201d Dean says, adding that they built the first one in a building he owns, where his offices and production studio are located. \u201cWe have a door that connects us\u2026. And this crazy entrepreneurial woman here launched that. It\u2019s doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she had plans to grow Extension Bar, a desire to be a full-time mom and wife took precedence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s really cool about entrepreneurship is that your passions could change,\u201d Lisa shares. \u201cI love being a hairstylist\u2026. I love that\u2026. I know how to immediately change someone\u2019s look and make them feel so good about themselves. And the connections with my clients, I love that. But I also love being a mom and a wife\u2026. Right now, I am so good where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n