Recorded at the vibrant Radio Room in Austin, I share a conversation with Jarred and Katelyn on the Genius at Work Podcast.
In this episode, it is packed with energy, insights, and a few laughs as we dive into my journey from struggling reader to speed-reading coach, entrepreneur, and community builder.
I share how I turned my passion for learning into a thriving business, helping high-performers read faster, retain more, and make smarter moves. Plus, we talk about my Wholesome House Parties with No Seed Oils—events that are less about small talk and more about big connections.
Jared and Katelyn bring their signature warmth and curiosity, digging into what makes me tick, from my love for meditation to the wild lessons I learned from a billionaire mentor (yes, there’s a story about a book called Vagina Whispering—you’ll have to listen to believe it).
Table of Contents
Video
Watch the full conversation on YouTube. Or watch it below.
Full Transcript
Jared Curcio: Wild, wild West.
Katelyn Curcio: Hi, honey.
Jared Curcio: Hey, boo.
Katelyn Curcio: How are you?
Jared Curcio: I’m doing great.
David Kirkpatrick: Good.
Jared Curcio: We are here at Radio Room with our third guest in the history of the Genius Network Podcast, David Kirkpatrick. Welcome, David.
David Kirkpatrick: Welcome.
Katelyn Curcio: Big fan, big fan.
Jared Curcio: We were just saying. So this is our third. I guess if we don’t count vacations and traveling, this is the third place that we’ve shot the podcast. One being another studio here in town, the other being our home more recently. And now we are here at Radio Room, which is associated with Squash and Coliseum here on the East Side. And not only do we have a guest, but being here, this feels a little bit more like, intense and serious.
Katelyn Curcio: Sure.
Jared Curcio: What we’ve done in the past, it feels very serious. If we come across like we’re taking this too seriously, like, that’s just a matter of, like, the lighting, set, and setting. Welcome, David. Thank you for coming on the show.
David Kirkpatrick: I’m so excited.
Jared Curcio: So I guess we should note that, like, we of course, like, have done the show pretty much the two of us, for the most part. We’ve had a couple of guests on. And as we enter 2025, one of our big goals for the year was to get more guests. And not just, like, get people on because they have a message or they’re trying to grow a brand or anything like that, but, like, people who, starting off most likely with people we know personally and of course David and I are well connected here at this point. And also, like, people who, like, I just think are interesting and have cool stories and are doing cool things. Like people who are just going for it in every sense of the word. Like, you’re a guy who, based on my experience up to this point with you, you’re a dude that just, like, goes for it. Like, you have a business for yourself that you’ve, like, grown considerably. You have a whole bunch of other things that you do that aren’t just, like, speed reading. And we’ll get to exactly what it is that you do. You hold, you host house parties, you do a ton of networking. You’ve done an incredible job with your social media presence as well. And I’m just, I’m impressed by it and I wanted to have an opportunity to have our audience get to learn a little bit more about you too.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah, I guess, like, start with, like, how y’all met, right?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, yeah, start with that. And then, first thing, just before I answer that, just ’cause, like, it’s, like, what do I like about that? You shared what you like about me. I want to share what I like about you guys. So listen to their podcast. And it’s so me as a single man in Austin. Ladies, putting it out there, looking for a wife. You guys’ relationship is amazing. And people who are single out there, just, you want to see what a good relationship sounds like or what it’s like, the dynamic, what’s good communication, say listen. Listen to. And one word to define it, I’d say, is playfulness super important? For sure. But how will you. Thank you.
Jared Curcio: Thank you very much.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, yeah. Because you don’t see that a lot. It’s tough, right? How we met, it was at—oh, you’re getting a shout out—theboardwalks.com. No affiliate, no commission from that.
Jared Curcio: I didn’t know that they had a website like that. Official.
David Kirkpatrick: Really?
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, yeah. And it’s a walk. Saturday, 8 a.m., Bennu Coffee, South Congress. You walk with 40 to 50, sometimes over 100 people. They’re looking for interesting conversations. So whenever I meet someone there and I met Jared, I think, what was it? In the parking lot. Just in a parking lot, 8 a.m. Yep. Got some coffee.
Jared Curcio: I remember this was. It was the week of Christmas two years ago. So, like, 2023. I remember it was, like, overcast and cloudy and there was still, like, maybe 60 people there or so. And they’re, like, oh, this is, like, half as many people as are normally there. I was, like, really? Okay. Wow.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, it was, like, a light day. Yeah, it was a light day. And I was, like, who’s this? This? I always like to. People love first impressions. Hearing that of, like, what’s, like, your read on this guy?
Jared Curcio: Oh, great. I can.
David Kirkpatrick: What was it?
Katelyn Curcio: It’s juicy.
David Kirkpatrick: I was, like, okay, this guy, built. Has discipline, look in his eyes. Definitely intense in a good way. I like it. I like. Those are the kind of guys I like. Cool. He’s definitely made some money. That was, like, my read. It’s, like, he’s definitely done something.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: And then we talk. Maybe five, ten minutes in, is, like, definitely has some leadership and sales experience. I just, like, pick that up. So.
Jared Curcio: Okay, cool. All right. That’s a solid first impression. I mean, again, like, when people say that I’m intense, I don’t know, like, how to take that because I feel, like, no, no.
David Kirkpatrick: Okay, now let’s define intense. Yeah. How do I define intense? Just someone that also is taking life as it should be, responsibly, like, with life.
Jared Curcio: Sure. Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: The negative connotation people have with intensity might be as, like, oh, you’re all over me, or you’re all over. This is, like, that’s not mine. I’ll tell you. If you’re, like, I will say you’re all over the place. And that’s some people’s definition of it.
Jared Curcio: But, yeah, I mean, like, I would say I am intense, but, like, the fact. And I get that, that’s.
David Kirkpatrick: There we go. Yes, there we go.
Katelyn Curcio: Don’t let the words define you, honey.
Jared Curcio: Am I intense? Yes, I am intense. But, like, what’s—I think one of the reasons why it’s funny when people define me as intense is because I really try to do a good job when I’m first meeting somebody to not come off. He really does actively, like, have worked on. And, like, the fact that for most people, they still refer to me as.
David Kirkpatrick: Intense, I think is kind of, like, cross your legs. Like this. Hi, it’s, like, hi, I’m Jared.
Jared Curcio: You know, but honestly, like, I think my first impression of you, I met a lot. That whole experience was new to me. You were. It was familiar to you. So you were just looking for the newbies and probably, like, I stuck out.
David Kirkpatrick: I talked to everybody. Like, I don’t even know who’s a newbie at that point because so many go. If you told me, yeah, it’s my eighth time, I’d be, like, yeah.
Jared Curcio: Of course, I would say, like, you seemed like a very genuine, very sincere person immediately right out of the gate. You seemed very bright and, like, knowledgeable and curious as well. And whenever somebody’s curious, like, that to me is, like, an immediate sign of, like, I’m going to get along with this person. And I remember you saying that you were a speed reading coach. And I honestly, like, didn’t even really think all that much of it at the time. And then less than a year later, here I was taking your—using your services, so.
David Kirkpatrick: And we met again at the Health and Fitness Entrepreneur Event. I think you were there too.
Katelyn Curcio: I was at that one.
David Kirkpatrick: But then I think that’s when I think the second time I met you, that’s when it started the process. You’re, like, wait, speed reading and memory coaching? I was, like, oh, wait. Jared started connecting the dots. I’m, like, slow reader, bro.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: I was, like, oh, like, maybe I overlooked it the first time because I felt bad about the fact of how slow I read. So I just didn’t even want to, like, have a conversation about speed reading because it was just not my bag. But yeah, we met there and we—I don’t even know if we, like, really even connected, like, all that closely, but we saw each other again and again and again and again.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: Within the community.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: Like, you see all the same people, for sure.
Jared Curcio: And then you attended one of the dinners at Pershing that we had. And then next thing I know, I had way too many people who were telling me that, like, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to read. And that’s when the dots really connected.
Katelyn Curcio: And I was, like, wait, you’re, like, I know someone.
Jared Curcio: Isn’t there some guy that I’ve seen around that might be able to help me? And sure enough, you’re the guy. You’re the guy for it.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: So, yeah, that’s generally how we met and why you’re sitting here now. And, like, again, you host the house parties. The wholesome—what? The seed oil—how does it—what is the official title?
David Kirkpatrick: Wholesome House Party with No Seed Oils. Always, like, picture it too. I’ll do that too. Like, I’ll meet a stranger. It’s, like, let me tell you about—let me tell you about the best party in Austin. They’re fantastic parties.
Jared Curcio: They’re certainly the most, like, well-orchestrated and well, like—I don’t want to say produced because, like, that puts it in a weird connotation. It is produced. It is produced.
David Kirkpatrick: Totally puppet masters everywhere.
Jared Curcio: Well, I mean produced in the sense where it’s, like, you don’t just show up and, like, it’s a free-for-all.
Katelyn Curcio: And, like, you find one person and that’s who you’re going to talk to. Like, you break everyone up. We have talked about your house parties on our podcast before because we’ve enjoyed them so much. Like, you go to the party, you’re broken up in groups. Like, Jared and I barely see each other the entire time at the party. And you break up in groups and you discuss different topics that you make us discuss or tell us—make us.
Jared Curcio: Discuss, have us discuss for.
Katelyn Curcio: But I mean, it’s a great way to, like, meet new people. Such a great connection.
Jared Curcio: People speak, they do performances. And we’ll get into that in a little bit. But, like, because I think that’s fascinating and already mentioned, like, you’ve done a really incredible job of growing your Instagram following as well, which I have to say is also something that resonates with me pretty considerably. And, like, you’ve helped me with my own content in more than one way. So yeah, like, even though we just met on at this, like, cloudy, gloomy walk around Town Lake, it’s—we’ve—I’ve gotten a lot of value out of our connection over the last year and I hope that you feel the same way to some extent.
David Kirkpatrick: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
Jared Curcio: So I guess, like, we can just start by, like, you—how would you describe yourself? Like, how would you, like—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, how would I describe myself?
Jared Curcio: What you do and, like, who you are and for the people who don’t know you out there in podcast world.
David Kirkpatrick: So I answer this in many different ways, like, business exchange ways. I’m always, like, figuring out what’s the first sentence that I share with someone that I think is someone to stay connected with. And this is just the concept. So this little book called Little Black Book of Connections, where a lot of people network, but they don’t spend the time to think, what is your elevator pitch or 30-second elevator pitch? And of course it changes, right? But one that I’ve come to the conclusion that I like asking people is, like, they say, oh, what do you do, David? I say, oh, well, do you think learning faster will make you more money? I don’t even tell them now. Yeah, I’m just, like, do you think learning faster will make you more money? And if they say, no, sorry, sir, you’re retarded, we’re not going to connect. I’ve never said that yet. But if they say yes, it’s, like, well, that’s what I do. If they say, yes, learning faster would make you more money, it’s, like, well, that’s what I do. I help people with their memory, their reading speed, comprehension, and focus.
Jared Curcio: That’s—
David Kirkpatrick: And then go from there.
Jared Curcio: What is the usual reaction that you get? I don’t think, first off, I don’t think that when we first met, you had that now, that—no, no, no.
David Kirkpatrick: Usually it’s, like, oh, I’m a speed reading, a memory coach. And then it goes in one ear and out the other because people aren’t ready to process that.
Jared Curcio: Yeah, look at what I—what I just said, really. Like, when I first met you, I remember—I remember you saying that. And I remember, like, not being able to really tie it to anything meaningful. So I was just, like, oh, okay.
David Kirkpatrick: And that was whatever. That content, that’s also how you do your elevator pitch is how you should do your content.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: So instead of saying, I’m a fitness coach, maybe I’ll just say, you know, you meet someone in person, a man—I think it’s okay to do this, man—if I was a fitness coach, I would be a dick. And here’s why. If you’re fat, I’d be, like, bro—they said, hey, what do you do? It’s, like, bro, why are you fat?
Jared Curcio: We grabbed coffee last week or two weeks ago, whatever that was, and we were talking content. And pretty much all of his advice to me was just, like, just insult—just insult the audience. You’re fat. Why are you so fat? Because you’re not using my services. I was, like, okay, maybe that’ll work.
David Kirkpatrick: I mean, again, who is your—your mentor? I mean, who are you? Who’s your audience, right?
Jared Curcio: No, you’re not wrong. You’re not wrong in that—it was—I was—
David Kirkpatrick: You coach high-performing men. High-performing men want more accountability.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: More men are looking for that. They don’t get enough of that. They don’t get enough of that crucial conversation.
Jared Curcio: So I guess what I would—a way that maybe you would do that is, like, I could say, like, all right, what do you do? You asked me, what do I do? And I would say, all right, David, what do you want out of life?
Katelyn Curcio: There you go.
David Kirkpatrick: Could be. That’s even better. I love processing.
Jared Curcio: Because if you said—if you said, I don’t know, what do you mean? I’d be, like, you don’t know what you want out of life? Well, I can help you with that.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah, there you go.
David Kirkpatrick: Or it’s, like, you ever feel like you lost your—you ever feel like you don’t have clarity in life? That’s what—that’s what I would say. You ever feel like you don’t have clarity in life? They say yes or no. They feel, like, yes. It’s, like, dude, what do you have clarity on? Nice. It’s, like, how does it feel to have amazing clarity? Like, oh, so good. Well, you know how other people don’t have clarity? They’re, like, yes. Oh, it’s so bad. It’s, like, those are the people I help.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: Do you know one person that needs more clarity?
Jared Curcio: So—So getting back to you, then—you help people learn faster, process information quicker, retain it longer.
David Kirkpatrick: Yes.
Jared Curcio: Retain more information longer.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: Okay, so what got you into that?
David Kirkpatrick: So I’ve had multiple rock bottoms in life, and I think that’s where all good stories come from. But the first speed reading book I read, honestly, wasn’t even that good. That’s why I read a bunch of them and that’s why I’m working on mine. That’s more research-based because they’re, like, exercises I would do but it wouldn’t work. And then I’d read a whole book and forget it. I was, like, oh my gosh, does this even work? But how I got into it was, like, I read—the fifth book I read out of 70 in a year when I had a full-time job was about reading speed and memory. It’s, like, oh my gosh, it turned—help me turn five hours’ worth of reading literally into, like, one hour because I just super bad at it. And why did I want to read in the first place? So let’s say no reading speed stuff. Let’s say it right now. Reading speed—speed reading—all that stuff is bullshit. Let’s say it right now. So now here’s your comprehension booster. Why don’t you find six books that will actually double your business revenue? Have you even asked that question? Most people don’t. So now do you—if we found those, maybe you found those—how excited are you to read them? That’s a comprehension booster right there. Motivation.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: So critical. Some people, like, they treat reading like school. You know how people are, like, school is, like, I have to hate it.
Jared Curcio: That’s how I always treat it.
David Kirkpatrick: Now they think they have to hate it in their adult life. You get to read what you want to read.
Jared Curcio: So I always feel like reading was, like, imposed on me.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: It was never, like, oh, like, choose what you want to read and go for it—or, like, or, like, hey, this will help.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. Yeah.
Jared Curcio: It was never, like, hey, this book will help you. It was literally just, like, here’s your summer reading list. And I never did myself—I never did it. Yeah, I didn’t—I remember, like, I didn’t even read anything that didn’t have pictures in it to, like, way—like, way too late—like, way too late. I remember he was your coach. I was, like, a solid, like—like, everybody else was reading Goosebumps. And it took me, like, another year and a half to even get into, like, Goosebumps. Because that was, like, too much for me, like, for me to even, like, take it. I’m dead serious. I’m not even making that up.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. A little bit more on the story of how I got into it, right? So I’m in my 9-to-5, but I just found it fascinating and interesting. So as I’m reading business books, I just, like, joined, like, some programs that probably cost me two months of my salary because I was, like, oh, this book says invest in yourself. So I should do that, right? And then I also found it fascinating. I guess I’m glad I learned early that—why don’t I just read books that make action-taking easier? Who are the biggest action-takers? Why don’t I think, like, them, right? Versus some people like to use it to procrastinate, right? Or they’ll do this. It’s, like, oh, you read a lot of books—you must not take—I don’t read books because I just want to take a lot of action. Reading is—reading a lot—massive volume of reading, I’d say, is true action-taking. It’s unique action-taking that a lot of people don’t do. 42% of college students never touch a book after graduation. Isn’t that sad?
Jared Curcio: 42%?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Whoa.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. Just Google it.
Jared Curcio: Pops up. I guess, again, I was in that—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, yeah.
Jared Curcio: But I will say, I think that there is a component of people who do read a lot of books and do not apply any—
David Kirkpatrick: Oh, yeah.
Jared Curcio: I think that is a—like—a way too big—big of a—like, portion of the population. Like, they want to learn, learn, learn, and they know all this stuff, but they don’t actually apply.
David Kirkpatrick: I think their definition of learning is also bad. I have up on my wall—I took this from Alex Hormozi—it’s written in big, bold: “My learning creates improved behavior.” Any other learning, you have to do this. If you’re learning but you’re not applying, you have to actually say so. I have a friend—he’s, like, always loves to talk about fitness and diet. But I said, in the last six months, did you gain weight or lose weight? You gained weight. So I was, like, you have to say it out loud right now is you don’t know what the heck you’re doing. Yeah, you don’t know what you’re doing.
Jared Curcio: Say it.
David Kirkpatrick: And if you don’t say it, it’s, like, no, no, no—I know what I need to do—I’m just not doing it. Your teachability index is actually zero. And you download nothing. And now you’re still not just fat, but a dumbass too.
Jared Curcio: See, he always—you take the mean route with that.
David Kirkpatrick: I love it.
Jared Curcio: It’s a tactic. It is a tactic. It is a tactic. You’re allowed to do that.
David Kirkpatrick: Then I’ll also say, but you know what? I love you still, even though you’re fat and dumb. Truly.
Jared Curcio: I know you do. And you mean that from the bottom of your heart.
David Kirkpatrick: I do.
Jared Curcio: I can tell. So, all right, so you—you said you hit rock bottom. So let’s, like, kind of back up. Let’s talk a little bit about your background and what those multiple rock bottoms looked like. And then we’ll take it into, like, how you—how you created David Reads Fast.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Which is the brand at David Reads Fast—Instagram and probably other places as well—at David Reads—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, David Reads Fast—YouTube and Instagram.
Jared Curcio: It’s simple. It’s to the point.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Nails it.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. I’d say when I—when people ask my story, I say, well, have you ever felt like you fell behind and you couldn’t catch up with everyone? And that happened to me with college. I saw all my friends get dream jobs, same degree as me. I was doing everything right, supposedly, on the paper, on the books, but they all got the jobs while I had to go move back in with my parents.
Jared Curcio: What degree?
David Kirkpatrick: It was a Computer Science specializing in video game design. I thought I was doing great. I was in the numbers, good grades. But then I just could not get a job. Could I get a job? And then it was just, like, a downward spiral for a year and a half. Even with the degree, I’m back with my parents, I can’t get a job. Embarrassing. I was embarrassed. I was, like, is it even hard for me to just, like, ask for help from people? And a lot of people can’t do that. It’s, like, it’s really easy to isolate. Back then, me, I was—I would—I was never planning to have a business. I just wanted to get a job—nice, nice, and steady.
Jared Curcio: Make video games.
David Kirkpatrick: Make video games. Yeah. Have something nice, soft, and stable.
Jared Curcio: So how old are you now?
David Kirkpatrick: I’m 30. I turned 30 last month.
Jared Curcio: Yeah, we just celebrated it. So this was going back maybe seven this year? Seven, eight years? Is that what we’re talking about, like, coming out of college?
David Kirkpatrick: Gosh, now you’re making me think, how old am I?
Jared Curcio: You can—you can read, but you can’t do math.
David Kirkpatrick: It’s, like, I plotted out that, like, the—like, I don’t even want to think about it.
Katelyn Curcio: He did that, too, for his life.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: People, I think, naturally do that.
Jared Curcio: For sure.
David Kirkpatrick: I just, like, don’t—
Jared Curcio: So—but it’s—we’re talking approaching a decade or so ago was when you were—
David Kirkpatrick: No, like, maybe three—maybe, like, four years ago.
Jared Curcio: Okay. Okay. Wow.
David Kirkpatrick: And then two and a half years ago, was it—I got that—I got laid off. I have to check. It was two and a half or three years ago is when I officially got laid off from that job. But the story was, like—it was, like, hard at home, too, because it’s a big family, small house. My dad has so much stuff. My dad collects books. It’s kind of why I hated them, because I was, like, no one reads these books anywhere. They’re everywhere. They take up space.
Jared Curcio: Can’t we actually collect the books?
David Kirkpatrick: Collected a lot of things.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: And I love my dad. He knows I love him. But, like, some family members just have a lot of stuff.
Jared Curcio: Yeah. Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: And I was, like, yeah—I didn’t like that. But I remember at one point, I just couldn’t take it at home anymore.
Jared Curcio: This is in California?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. And I, like, lived out of my car for a bit. Small, little, tiny car. And then when I had that year and a half of just, like, being a disturbed man, I’d say, is what—
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Now that I look back at it, I didn’t call it depression or anxiety, but honestly, that probably what it was before that. So this made me feel like how I felt, like, in fifth grade. Because in fifth grade, I actually flunked. I was, like, stupid, and I called myself stupid, and I hated it. And then I had—so I had to share the same grade with my little brother. And people, like, oh, you guys twins? I was, like, no. And that’s why I had to, like, felt like I had to admit the shame that I have that I share a grade with my little brother. I couldn’t pretend that, oh, I’m just in fifth grade. I could have—I was, like, I wish I could.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: So I kind of had some anger towards my brother with that. And then we talked about—he processed it now, but I’d, like, wouldn’t treat him nicely anytime after that because he’s a reminder—my brother is—so sad—it was a reminder of how dumb I was, like, and dumb—it’s, like, being a dumb kid—it’s, like, part of—it’s not even, like, the IQ—it’s, like, can I even, like, make friends? Can I even, like, be, like, emotional? Kind of, like, couldn’t do that.
Jared Curcio: So I—I always—I don’t even know if this is okay to say on a pod—I don’t—this is just interesting—I always felt growing up, like, the kids that were labeled dumb, like, sure, there was certainly some dumb kids, but I always felt like there were so many kids that were, like, labeled dumb. And then I would interact with them—I’d be, like, I don’t—like, you’re in, like, the dumb classes—like, I don’t understand why—like, I—I don’t really grasp it. And you telling me this is kind of reminiscent of that because I feel like if I knew you as a child, if you were anything like you are right now, which, like, of course you were to some extent, I feel like I’d be, like, you’re not dumb—like, why are—
David Kirkpatrick: And—
Jared Curcio: And I think there’s something to that where it’s, like, they say Einstein, like, flunked algebra and, like, Eminem, like, failed ninth grade English twice. Meanwhile, he’s, like, the greatest lyricist of all time. And here you are, the guy who flunked fifth grade, and you’re teaching people how to read fast and retain more—have taught me how to read faster and retain more information and—and comprehend it more quickly—and, like, not just that, but, like, make better decisions in what I’m even choosing to read in the first place—so, like, what do you make of that?
David Kirkpatrick: I’d say emotional—some reading Emotional Intelligence right now by Daniel Goleman. Because I know and have met Ken Leonard, the guy who runs Mozart’s Coffee, and he recommended that book.
Jared Curcio: So where he runs—
Katelyn Curcio: Oh, that’s right.
David Kirkpatrick: Book club. Every week.
Jared Curcio: Right.
David Kirkpatrick: I’m trying to collaborate with him on something. But when a multimillionaire recommends the book—yes, for sure, you should read it. But I’d say what’s more important than some IQ is EQ and specifically confidence for children. So there’s—imagine if there was a class that let kids be more confident and dream.
Katelyn Curcio: Yep.
David Kirkpatrick: That’s more powerful than the little, like, IQ stuff that they have and the—
Katelyn Curcio: Standardized testing and the pressure of, like, getting the grades that you need. Yeah. Teaching people how to be creative and—yeah—have that emotional intelligence, the connection, communication.
Jared Curcio: Expand your mind. Think laterally, think critically as opposed to, like, here’s what you need to know—learn it or die.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah—or, like, yeah, you’re not going to pass your standardized test.
Jared Curcio: Is that—do you feel like that has something to do with it? Like, you just didn’t have the ability to sort of be yourself, be creative, and you felt like it was too much, like, hey, read this—or, like, perish, basically.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah. And go deeper—go even deeper—okay—for kids, it’s also—so there’s a book called 30 Million Words. If you’re a parent, if you have—you have kids or a kid—I’ll give you the shortcut of this book—30 Million Words—you don’t need to read it—you should read to your kids every night as much as you can for brain development, because then they will be the kid that sits in class and they just absorb it and don’t have to do much versus the kid who doesn’t have their parents read to them—they’re struggling. And it’s super hard for me. I had something happen to me when I was, like, 10, 11—it’s, like, family members—I was, like, pretty traumatic.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Kind of not a happy thing.
Jared Curcio: Sure.
David Kirkpatrick: But that will affect brain development, and that’s probably what happened to me.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: But yeah, okay.
Katelyn Curcio: For sure.
David Kirkpatrick: It wasn’t me not doing my homework—I’ll tell you—that happens at home—that really—yeah—scrambles the brain, without a doubt.
Jared Curcio: So you come out of that—you come out of childhood, you want to become a—you want to start making video games—anything around that that’s, like, interesting to dive into—around, like, your—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Desire to—
David Kirkpatrick: And what got me into that was honestly my mom—amazing—she valued education so much. And then I think when I was in college, she actually started to go to college.
Katelyn Curcio: Really?
David Kirkpatrick: It was, like, wow. But I remember in high school, as I still honestly had that, like, brain fog of honestly probably, like, hating myself and still not happy—I was taking every day, day by day, even after high school. And then my mom was, like, oh, you should value education—you should go to community college—like, the next day, I had to go and take placement tests. And it’s only because of her—she’s, like, you know what? Just do Computer Science. I didn’t know—it was, like, I trust my mom, and sometimes a step forward is better than just waiting and doing nothing.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: So I’m glad I did—I don’t do it anymore, but it trains discipline and makes you stronger. And my mom bought, like, a course—a kids’ course—for my siblings on, like, make a Minecraft mod. And none of them did it—I was, like, you know what, Mom? I will do it—okay. And I spent the whole summer doing it—I loved it—like, this little kids’ course on, like, programming. And I think that’s what sparked—sparked it for me.
Jared Curcio: Very cool. Awesome. So—but obviously rough period there in terms of finding a job, finding one that you enjoyed, sticking with it—and it’s—you mentioned that you got—you got fired from that position.
David Kirkpatrick: 400 people got laid off from that job. And that was a year before the huge tech layoff—so they had some insider stuff, I guess, from there, from their people. But I was probably not performing—sure—as well as they wanted—totally fine—and I could see why—why it was—I’m a person who loves people.
Jared Curcio: Mm.
David Kirkpatrick: Talking to people there—I was siloed—mm.
Jared Curcio: Definitely.
David Kirkpatrick: I just—yeah—not—not me.
Jared Curcio: Yeah. All right. And did you—did you know that at the time, or did you have to—
David Kirkpatrick: Had to go through it?
Jared Curcio: You had to go through it to learn that?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Okay, so let’s go through that and then, like, how you come out on the other end as David Reads Fast.
David Kirkpatrick: Okay, so here it is—during that job—now that you say that, I think during that job, I was, like, okay—I had read, like, maybe a handful of books—I was, like, oh, my gosh, these handful of books I was gonna go for—the salary I got was double than was what was intended—so I was, like, okay, a handful of books help me sell better or market better, write a better resume or, like, build some projects that get someone to want to hire me—get—hire me—and—but then now I feel like my mind was infiltrated by all these CEOs and millionaires and big dreams—I was, like, okay—that’s why during that job, I wasn’t just doing the job—I was waking up at 5, meditate every day—oh, my gosh.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: You can’t let your environment stop blaming your environment for, like, your losses—there’s, like, so much victim stuff that helped me shift out of that because I’m living with my parents, and it’s really easy to absorb your parents’ patterns—all these patterns—but I do that—do my courses, read, work 9-to-5—you want to get out of here 9-to-5—spend full-time on yourself—it’s—it’s simple, but it’s, like, it’s easy to get caught up—I wouldn’t hang out with specific friends. And then after those jobs, I get an ad for Patrick Bet-David’s business conference that I love, and I go—first time ever by myself—I’ve never been on the East Coast—I’ve never even, like, bought a plane ticket just for myself—really like that—and then I’m around all these people, and then I’m just talking to business owners, like, oh, you read—oh, well, you know your reading speed, right? I’m assuming people know their reading speed—you’re a high performer—why would you spend months to read a book? Or you could finish it faster—like, wait, no—do you not know you can improve it? It’s, like, no—what? That’s possible—okay, great—yeah, I’ll help you. And then I figured out that I should read books on, like, pricing or how to sell—it’s, like, well, how do people, like, get paid? Because, like, I’m laid off now—I can’t do this for free anymore—so I went from, like, $0 to, like, $100—I remember I couldn’t even sell people on the $0—I called people, was, like, this is stupid—wow, this is stupid—or, like, a hundred dollars—like, $100—no, not worth—I can picture the guy now—he loves me, but couldn’t even convince somebody, like, hey, pay me a hundred dollars, double your reading speed—like, nah, I’m good—I was, like, what?
Jared Curcio: Wow.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: Well, because he was just saying, I’ll increase your speed reading, but not, like, adding to—like, I can add so much value to your life—if you speed read, like, this is what you’re going to be able to get out of it—and now that you have that, of course, like, who wouldn’t want to sign up for that?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: So—so—so you leave the nine-to-five—you start working on yourself—you—we’re big meditators—so you mentioned meditating—what—what—what—
Katelyn Curcio: Did you read that?
Jared Curcio: Yeah—what—what flipped the switch for you to make that daily habit?
David Kirkpatrick: Oh, my gosh—meditation—best things—
Jared Curcio: Me—
David Kirkpatrick: Donald Trump—no, I’m kidding—maybe he meditates.
Jared Curcio: That’s basically an impression of me on almost every other episode of the podcast.
David Kirkpatrick: A book called Altered Traits—just because I think it’d be cool to improve my ability to sell meditation to people—but three books—I read, like, all three of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s books in three weeks—it was The Placebo Effect, Becoming Supernatural, and then Dr. Joe Dispenza—but now for me, I’m a Christian, so there’s specific things that I don’t agree with in that book—saying that right now—but I will still learn from it and watch it with my objective lens—but what that book did in sell me on was a meditation—so do you want to enhance your prefrontal cortex, make better decisions? You should do that—you want more willpower to do things—you ever feel like you—you want to—there are things you know you need to do, but you’re just not doing it—meditation will help you with that—it’s just never-ending.
Jared Curcio: Yep—okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: That’s incredible—you heard it here first—I can’t say enough good things about meditation—that’s 100% right—okay, so meditation—and you were doing the speed reading, and then—so you were—you just, like, in that speed reading, like, mindset at that time, because that is sort of what you were picking up on, which is why when you went to the Patrick Bet-David event, that was sort of, like, at the front of your mind when you’re talking to these entrepreneurs and asking them their reading speed, for example—was it, like, becoming a passion for you at that point, or was it just, like, something that you were, like, curious about?
David Kirkpatrick: No, it was just something I was interested and fascinated about—it was not out of business—it was, like, cool—you should honestly do this—how are you not interested in this? Or I can’t believe I’d say things—I can’t believe you haven’t read this book yet in your business for 10 years—like, The E-Myth Revisited—boom—you just bought it right now.
Katelyn Curcio: I feel like we need to add a little, like, at the end, like, your top five for this—your top five for this.
David Kirkpatrick: I have a top ten on my blog—we’ll share it.
Jared Curcio: Okay, cool—yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: And then we’ll put your top 10.
Jared Curcio: Top 10 books—that’s gonna be a tough one.
David Kirkpatrick: I know—it is—we could do specific—we could do this—I like this—problem-solution—oh, my gosh—we should talk about the crazy, maybe billionaire mentor I had in Austin.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: That’s, like, full of stories.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
Katelyn Curcio: Okay.
Jared Curcio: I guess, because we can get into that—but it sounds like—and what I’m piecing together is, like, you were pretty interested and fascinated with speed reading and comprehension—that was something that was, like, coming to light for you at that point—you went to the conference—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: You were meeting these entrepreneurs—you’re realizing that there was, like, a pain point for a lot of them—so it’s, like, you’re blending your passion with a pain that you’re noticing, but there was still a pain on your end, which was not knowing how to actually sell people on it—so then, okay, like, let’s get to the billionaire guy—but I want to hear the next phase of, like, okay, we have passion, we have pain—how do we turn that into an actual business?
David Kirkpatrick: Passion, pain, business—and then I’ll do mentor—just make it, like, linear.
Jared Curcio: Perfect.
David Kirkpatrick: So from the books, I read one that I like—super simple—Donald Miller, Building a StoryBrand—so I love that book.
Jared Curcio: Great—great framework—if you’re—
David Kirkpatrick: If you’re a slow person that doesn’t like to read, just skip the page—I think 78—find the link—find the link and do the worksheet that he gives you for $0.
Jared Curcio: You can find it online.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, you can find it online.
Jared Curcio: So easy to come across, and it’s fantastic.
David Kirkpatrick: So that book made me realize I need to figure out what are the things that they always say if you know the stories within their mind that they say around your product—so it’s, like, well, David, I fall asleep when I read—well, David, why would I read? Because I’ll forget—well, David, why would I read faster? Because I won’t comprehend anything—well, David, can’t you read too many books or—well, David, I don’t need to read or learn more—I just need to take action—not this shit memorized—but it’s just, like, that is what helped me because I’d say things that I was interested in, but they’re not interested in it—so doesn’t matter what I’m interested in—it’s, like, find their stories and then that’ll move them over—yeah, I’d say—but for anyone that’s trying to do a coaching business, like I talked to them, it’s, like, okay, how many clients have you had? How many people have even helped for free? I have a lot of people for free—just so, like, it’s, like, okay, $0—after I couldn’t even sell them $100—you know, I’ve regressed—$0—but give me a video testimony, I will help you for free—so do that—does it even work, right? So that was my hypothesis—it’s, like, how would I like to sell people for free? Yeah—figure it out from there—and read books in the meantime—so $100 Million Offers help me with pricing—so much.
Jared Curcio: Awesome book too—another great—
David Kirkpatrick: So much—but yeah, to really answer your question, even more, I’d say that helped me figure out the pain, which is their stories—and then doing the work helped me get the testimonials, the proof of work—is this even viable? Yeah, right—and you could do that for $0—all that stuff for $0—and then to turn it into a business is just how can you keep serving people, over-delivering?
Jared Curcio: I’d say—yeah, I was going to say you’ve also clearly done a really good job with, like, networking specifically—again, that’s how we met—not just the first time, but the second time and a few times thereafter—and, like, you—you have, like, a great—a great brand down, a great sales pitch, clearly a great message, and you’re fantastic at delivering it—did that come with time? Is it something that clicked immediately? How does that evolve for you—reps?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, time—time isn’t real—come on, seriously, let’s talk about it—like, the more people you talk to—and I’d say do it in person because, like, you want to, like, test the message—but some people want to do that with ads—I would say go do it face-to-face—look them in the face, shake their hands, see the response in real time—you’ll feel it more at a cellular level—yep—also potentially rejection therapy—some people are just not interested—I talk to somebody’s, like, oh my gosh, is a perfect fit—but if they don’t believe certain principles, they’re not—they’re not a fit—there are some people—I will—they will never read—they will never speed read—I’m okay with it—and so are they—yeah.
Jared Curcio: Yep—yeah—cool.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, yeah.
Jared Curcio: All right—it makes sense—all right, let’s talk about the—let’s talk about the billionaire guy—and then I do want to talk about the party—the house parties too.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Like, cool.
David Kirkpatrick: Quickly, I’ll feed people—so, like, podcasters, I noticed this—your guys’ podcast is different—but they’ll say, David, just give me, like, give them the quick tips—give them the quick tips—so I’ll try to give you guys some quick tips—three tips to increase your reading speed—and I’ll tell you what is even a good reading speed, because no speed reading book ever answers this—they’ll say it, but then they cite no sources, which pisses me off.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: My book will—it’s number one.
Jared Curcio: When can we expect the book?
David Kirkpatrick: Three months.
Jared Curcio: Okay—sweet—okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, I actually have been working on it.
Jared Curcio: All right—awesome—I know—I know you have been—I just didn’t know the time.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, cool—number one is using your finger or a pen as you read from left to right—okay—just do that basic—there are more advanced movements you could use, but do that because that’s going to give you a rhythmic eye movement—give you rhythmic eye movement—so they—one thing that they’ve done in the past—early 19th century—they’d actually rub cocaine on people’s eyes, attach some, like, wires to, like, track their eye movement—and the people who are slow readers tend to be—have more erratic—all over the place—eye movement—always go back and regress and, like—but the efficient readers actually have rhythmic eye movement—so just think, like, with tennis, you’re, like, moving smoothly—so you could do a metronome but—something like that—right—good eye movement—they’re also—every time they place their eye—a more skilled reader—and see how I say skilled reader, not really fast reader, because that’s—I think that’s a better definition.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: The skilled reader—every time they place their eyes, they’re getting more information every time they place their eyes than the person who’s a slow reader—so that’s, like, honestly having, like, a bigger shovel for information and download—right—so that’s one—the pacer—two is try to read groups of words and not look at each individual word—right—and skilled readers already do this naturally—and people actually do have vision issues—so if you have vision issues, read some books—I’ll put them in the description on, like, holistic vision healing—there are books—imagine this—most people don’t know this—that help you get off your glasses—I don’t need these glasses.
Jared Curcio: They’re just style and blue light blocking—right?
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah—the—the vision healing stuff—again, don’t do Lasik—awful—that, like, messes with your brain—it actually does—look into it—glasses you can get off of them—but just know your vision can be improved—a lot of people don’t know that—if you have peripheral vision issues, you’re actually getting, like, less information—less bits of information—so there’s actually a three or four different studies showing peripheral vision expansion—visual span training—which isn’t just vision span expansion—it’s actually your brain’s visual processing is just better—they’ve seen with six bits of information—more with your vision coming in, you’ll get, like, a 38 to 41% increase in your reading speed—and there’s one study that was from—what is it? I think it was in Saudi Arabia, and they had, like, 50 students that they tested—all ESL students—English as a Second Language—and they went from, like, 78 to 103 to 108 words per minute, which is pretty slow—but 33% increase is pretty good for just training that alone—last thing—three is minimizing subvocalization—not so that’s the voice in your head—do you read out loud when you read? Try to lower that—okay—and I’m not saying eliminate subvocalization—subvocalization, like, a lot of books tell you to, because that’s really hard and very impossible—mm—but there’s a book called The Psychology of Reading by Keith Rayner where they, like, put a bunch of—what is it called? EMG—they put a bunch of wires on people’s necks.
Jared Curcio: Sure.
David Kirkpatrick: Right—to, like, measure how much are you activating your voice when you read? Turns out slow readers—ineffective readers—activate their voice way more—interesting—but the skilled readers do it way less—all right, so it’s also the theory is that as you get better, it’s an indicator that you need to do it less—right—that’s a big thing—that’s why a lot of people try to eliminate it but then get no progress.
Jared Curcio: Sure.
David Kirkpatrick: Because partly it’s partly just a symptom of you getting better.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Right—so those are the three that I’m trying to give you with detail.
Jared Curcio: That’s—that’s—I mean, when you were first, like, walking me through, like, how you were going to help, I was still a little bit skeptical—not because of you—I was skeptical that I was not capable of reading any faster, I guess.
Katelyn Curcio: Like, why did you decide to move—
David Kirkpatrick: Forward with the program?
Jared Curcio: Yeah, so the reason why I wanted to move—well, why I wanted to move forward or why I wanted to do it in the first place?
David Kirkpatrick: Because I think you should start with—because this would help a lot of viewers—like, what was your identity as a reader or even, like, a non-reader, right?
Jared Curcio: Slow reader—didn’t like reading—I fell asleep when I read—I didn’t have time for it.
Katelyn Curcio: All the things that you just listed.
Jared Curcio: Literally all of them—I wouldn’t say that I ever said that—like, I can’t remember the stuff that I read—I always, like, feel like I’ve had a good memory—so I never identified as having a bad memory, but I definitely identified as somebody who just, like, it was slow, it was taxing, it was really energy—like, I expended a lot of energy just to read—and it would, like, just fall asleep—in fact, like, I would always bring it on vacation—I would read it—I read a book on a plane, and I would fall asleep in the first five minutes—and, like, I just—I fall asleep on planes—so that’s—it was my excuse to pretend like I was going to read a book, and I knew that I was going to fall asleep anyway—this way I could look smart on the plane with, like, a book—but—but then I realized as time went on, I told the story about how Tony Robbins read 700 books in seven years—I want to be the short Shaq Tony Robbins—well, if that’s the case, I better learn how to read, because I probably read seven books in seven years, if that—and just in general, I’m big on synchronicities, and I just noticed that over time—read this book—you should be reading more—like, that just kept pounding me in the face enough where I had to go, okay, am I gonna just, like, let—am I gonna be, like, an absolute dunce and not accept the information that the universe is beating me over the head with? I better do something about it—just so happens that I met you—that’s another thing—the synchronicity is, like, I became friendly with you, and I’m, like, well, I have somebody that can actually help me with this—so why wouldn’t I at least explore that as an option? But to your point, of the three things that you just mentioned, the thing that really put me over the top, because I was still, like, feeling that it just wasn’t going to be a good fit for me personally, was when you said, like, read this page of this book—and I read it, and I noticed you noticed that I was looking at every single word on the page—my eye was moving every word—so if you think of a book and you think of all the lines on the page, if there’s what, 20 words, 25 words per line, maybe, like, my eye was moving 20 times per line—and you just said, okay, well, instead of doing that, just, like, open up your gaze a little bit, like, expand your peripheral vision, take a little bit of a step back from the book—and rather than, like, erratically, like, reading word-for-word, hit it, like, three times or four times over the line—like, read it more rhythmically—and within the first 20 seconds, I was, like, oh, okay, here’s my money, here’s my money.
Katelyn Curcio: He’s, like, I don’t know how to read.
Jared Curcio: I literally was, like, I have been reading wrong my entire life—and I think that’s how most people are—I think most people are reading wrong because even the way that they teach you to read is based on the letters and sounding out words—so you start to learn in this really, like, rudimentary sound-out-words kind of way—by the end of the six- or seven-week period of working with you, I was able to look at a paragraph and just loop my eyes over the paragraph, like, an infinity sign a couple times—and you get to absorb all that information because you’re not reading it word-for-word, you’re reading it more—you said with the right side of your brain, as opposed to the left side of the brain, is the way you described it—where rather than, like, if there’s a sentence where something is, like, the blue dog jumped on the table—is this the example that you use? Am I making this up?
David Kirkpatrick: No, you’re very, very accurate.
Jared Curcio: Okay—the blue dog jumped on the table—it’s, like, if you’re building that picture in your mind word-for-word, you’re starting with blue—okay—a blue what? A blue dog—okay—now we’re building, like, this picture in our head, like, one word at a time, and it’s all out of order—and so then we’re reading it, then we have to put it together in our brain, and then we have to make sense of it versus absorbing the whole block of text as a whole—you’re—in the way you do it over the course of the several weeks, like, you start to realize how to read more with the right side of your brain and, like, paint a picture in your mind as opposed to a line of text.
Katelyn Curcio: And you’re also going to remember that more—yeah, I imagine—correct?
Jared Curcio: Yeah, absolutely.
Katelyn Curcio: Because you’re building that in your brain.
Jared Curcio: And by just looping my—my eyes over the page, you kind of, like, pull in the fragments of it and you can form the whole picture almost at once as opposed to in this, like, seemingly linear way that actually is out of order and out of sequence from how your brain is going to comprehend—it does—it does that—was that good? I felt like I made a lot of sense there.
David Kirkpatrick: Are you a speed reading? Because I was—phenomenal.
Jared Curcio: I just had a really good one.
David Kirkpatrick: Good.
Jared Curcio: No, I have told everybody about it—I can’t, like, recommend it enough—if you think that you’re a slow reader, you’re just not reading right—that’s really what it comes down to—you’re just not doing it appropriately—and you taught me that—so thank you very much—I’m forever indebted because I am no longer a slow reader—now I’m an average-speed reader—I’m actually—
Katelyn Curcio: Would you say you’re a skilled reader?
Jared Curcio: I would say I’m a skilled reader—I would absolutely say I am.
Katelyn Curcio: Like, you’re changing the word in there.
David Kirkpatrick: I love this story that Jared shared—so after Jared read, what was it? Six books in six weeks?
Jared Curcio: Seven books.
David Kirkpatrick: Seven books.
Jared Curcio: I started a week early.
David Kirkpatrick: This guy was on a boat—and then—do you remember that story? You want to share it?
Jared Curcio: Yeah, I was on a boat and I was saying, like, yeah, I just—just went through a speed reading courtship—I read seven books in seven weeks and, like, everybody, like, gasped out loud—audible gasp—audible gasp—wow—seven books in seven weeks—they, like—like I was some smart brainiac or something—the other thing that I think is important, because this is the question that I get a lot is, so, like, you could just read anything all at the same speed and it’s, like, no, of course not—like, you read everything according, like, in relation to how complex it is—so something that’s really simple—I can read a lot faster than I could previously—but something that’s more complex, will it take more time than something that’s simple? Absolutely—but I’m still reading it and comprehending it faster than I would have otherwise—so it’s not like you’re reading everything at the same pace.
David Kirkpatrick: And what I tell people—most people have, like, a one-speed car for their reading speed where you unlocked four different gears—yeah, more gears—and they actually call this—gosh, what’s the guy’s name? Whatever—Rauding or something—it’s a weird scientific name for, like, different speeds and things like that—well, yeah, super important—one thing I tell people is you’ve got to pay the dumb tax—and a guy that started the Flow Research Collective, Stephen Kotler—so read his book The Art of Impossible—and his stuff is all about creativity, high performance, flow states, focus—and he has a chapter, I think it’s chapter 11, called the ROI of Reading—and one thing he says is, like, look, if you want to boost comprehension, especially for speed reading, I’d say you need to read the top five books of any industry—then you start to get compounding exponential results of comprehension—why? Because your brain has more mental models of what this guy’s going to say, a better vocabulary—so—because if this is how I think of it with speed reading, when you see your first and last name up on the wall, how long did it take you to read that?
Jared Curcio: No time.
David Kirkpatrick: Because just no time—you didn’t have to sound it out—look at each one—so what if you could have that processing power with 80% of the English vocabulary or 80% of what they say in sales books or marketing books or copywriting books, what would that do for your business? Right? And that’s just reps—look at those biceps.
Jared Curcio: Just, like—just, like, reps—reps, baby.
David Kirkpatrick: Yes.
Jared Curcio: In the gym—effort, consistency over time—we only have a few minutes left—so would you rather talk about the billionaire or would you rather talk about your housewarming—your house parties?
David Kirkpatrick: Because I could do both—let’s go—okay—so crazy billionaire dude—I have a book club.
Jared Curcio: Hopefully he’s not—
Katelyn Curcio: Would you also promote that book club? Because that’s—I think—really great that you—
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, just message me—David Reads Fast—if you want the information—super easy—or readingforresults.com with the number four—but this guy was one of the craziest mentors I had—is he sociopathic or narcissistic? Maybe—is a billionaire, I don’t know—but he’s, like, smart guy—maybe almost, like, 500 IQ—and he—we—he taught me to, like—like, honestly, how to sell, how to market in very interesting ways—I’d, like, go set up a table on Rainey Street, sell pizza or—one interesting thing he had us do is, like, quickly write a book with someone—and we based the book on a book that was in his head—and then we altered it—and the book was titled—I’ll show you the photo of the book cover too—because we actually printed out and everything—made it look like a real book—it was called What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School About Punchline Vagina Whispering—and we were on the street selling that and promoting that to people—and it’s so funny—like, the people that hated it, I didn’t like them anyway—but the people who loved it thought it was funny—women found it the funniest and were most interested and, like, came home, was, like, what is this about? Are you the vagina?
Jared Curcio: How did you meet this guy and what was, like, this—
David Kirkpatrick: At my book club—at my book club—some people hate him, some people love him, but this guy could, like, cold-read people who’d, like, meet you, ask maybe three questions—now he knows, like, your whole life—or, like, just, like, oh, you see that woman over there? It’s, like, yeah, well, she’s two-times divorced—I was, like, how do you know? And then we go talk to her—two-times divorced—just so, like, super-computer dude—but he burned me out like crazy because, like, to get to that point of, like, a lot of money, they’re very, very different and then have their own intentions for them—so, like, why are you being a mentor in the first place? For me, honestly, this guy was bored and had no friends—I was, like, literally his only friend—some people would jump on the mentor, like, camp with me, but then, like, burn out—but I learned a lot about the party.
Jared Curcio: So he’s not gonna be at the—at the book club—
David Kirkpatrick: No—homie’s too much—dude’s too much.
Jared Curcio: Okay, I gotta get this guy’s name.
David Kirkpatrick: I’ll tell you later—that that’ll be a two-hour conversation—okay—but the Wholesome House Party with No Seed Oils—I did that because I love—I never got to really have a party or parties at my house because the house was just so messy—and I did Wholesome House Party with No Seed Oils because I want healthy food and I want good, nice vibes—I want wholesomeness—and I had a party—a potluck—but people brought, like, Doritos and stuff like that—and they’re, like, oh, you can keep this and eat it later throughout the week—I was, like, absolutely not—what can I add in the name that’s funny? And, like, would get people to bring good food.
Jared Curcio: Exactly.
David Kirkpatrick: And that was that—and then I read the book The 2-Hour Cocktail Party—books amplify life—and I used that so I could have the breakout groups because I’m—no one likes parties that are, like, cliquey—you just hang out with your friends—boring—people want to meet new people.
Katelyn Curcio: Yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: So that’s—that party.
Jared Curcio: It feels like—it doesn’t feel like a party—it feels like an event—it feels like—
David Kirkpatrick: I’ve heard that.
Jared Curcio: Yeah.
Katelyn Curcio: It’s so fun.
Jared Curcio: It feels like a thing that, like, you’re a party—just feels like you show up and you just kind of have to, like, put on—I—I don’t love small talk—so, like, small talk in general—I’m more of a big-talk kind of guy—so it’s, like, what do you do? How do you do it? How was your week? Like, that kind of stuff drives me crazy—but we show up and you have topics—they’re interesting topics—again—people getting up and—and giving little two-minute tiny talks—performances—there was a fire dancer at the last one for your birthday—it was—it’s always incredible—it’s always, like, a lot of fun—and everybody—you could tell—is genuinely enjoying themselves—and then—yeah, there’s plenty of food—and you’re not going to get inflammation from those pesky seed oils either—so I just wanted to highlight that.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Wrap time.
Katelyn Curcio: Oh, yeah.
Jared Curcio: Any final questions for David?
Katelyn Curcio: No, we’ll—we’ll put your top 10—we’ll make sure we get that.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah, let’s—
Jared Curcio: Okay, I’m gonna say—I’m just gonna come up with a quick topic—I’m gonna ask you for your top five books in this genre.
David Kirkpatrick: In the genres—go.
Jared Curcio: Let me think—all right—top five books on—real quick—you already said meditation—you’re already talking about some business stuff—
David Kirkpatrick: Thinking and decision-making—I really liked The Road Less Stupid—decision-making—The Road Less Stupid—I could use help with better operations—and that book is, like, 30 grand worth of consulting—because what is consulting? Questions that you should have asked yourself already.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Didn’t have lens—and that’s what that book does for you—so it’s, like, read it—workbook—read it—workbook—because it’s, like, every chapter is money.
Jared Curcio: What was it called?
David Kirkpatrick: The Road Less Stupid.
Jared Curcio: The Road Less—
David Kirkpatrick: And then for bigger thinking—more leverage—10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan—so because you’re doing 1x right now in your business and life, and then if you do 2x, it’s just more of what you’re already doing—so you’re going to burn out—right—10x is shifting into so much more that you can’t possibly do what you’re doing now—so that you have to have some big changes—and that book helps guide you.
Jared Curcio: Cool.
David Kirkpatrick: Guide you through that—I really like the book Attached for relationships—phenomenal—you think you understand attachment theory and all that stuff, but then that book has quizzes, all that stuff—so you could stop dating the same person—single people—shout out—they’re okay—us—we got some work to do—yeah—got two more—two more—sales and—Sell or Be Sold for a basic one.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Closing is not your problem—it’s nice if you’re getting a lot of objections around the end, because it’s not—everyone’s, like, oh, you got to be a good closer—no, that’d be a good framer—that’s what that book talks about.
Jared Curcio: Close them in from the start.
David Kirkpatrick: And then Flip the Script is also a good one by Oren Klaff, who talks about framing—and he would raise tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars—so why don’t you go learn from an expert negotiator who is flown out to raise money or make money for people when they know they’re, like, they can’t even do it.
Jared Curcio: You’ve read Pitch Anything, I’m assuming?
David Kirkpatrick: No, I didn’t have it because I had a friend tell me about both—but Flip the Script was the newer one—but, you know, I might as well read where he came from—but apparently Pitch Anything was his—he—he’s more developed from Flip the Script, but Pitch Anything—I’ve heard he might be slightly—a little bit more aggressive with the frame control.
Jared Curcio: Yeah, aggressive—yeah.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah—he’s more toned down for, like, the modern—
Jared Curcio: That makes sense.
David Kirkpatrick: Modern—
Jared Curcio: It’s—it’s still—there’s still a lot of really good stuff to get from Pitch Anything in my—it’s my favorite book.
David Kirkpatrick: I want to read it.
Jared Curcio: It’s my favorite sales book—book, personally—yeah—and then one more—you got one more—
David Kirkpatrick: One more—problem—problem—it’s always around—problem—
Katelyn Curcio: Do you ever read, like, spiritual books—
David Kirkpatrick: Or, like, that’s what Joe Dispenza’s book was about—and then that was also Ask and It Is Given—that one’s really good.
Jared Curcio: What’s that?
David Kirkpatrick: So—well, I’d say the biggest thing from there is that people see—they think there’s negative and positive emotions—there’s no such thing as a negative emotion—see it as a notification for something you need to improve upon—like depression—like, you just—a lot of depression is, like, how focused are you on yourself versus just giving to other people—the secret to living is giving—and that comes from Tony Robbins—what a speed reader—2025 January podcast—Patrick Bet-David—16:38 minutes in—maybe into that podcast, he said that he read 700 books in seven years—and he said that I’m a speed reader, so if you want to make money, maybe you should read.
Jared Curcio: And he’s a billionaire, so—
David Kirkpatrick: And he’s a billionaire and—oh, my gosh, I know we’re out of time, but the next—go for it—video, honestly—well, the biggest objection I hear is, like, David, I don’t like books because I like audiobooks—well, do you learn to remember and do you learn to, like, develop focus? Focus is important to me—so which one builds better focus? Probably reading—which one helps you remember it—books—also, like, what’s active learning and what’s passive learning? If you want a shortcut, that’s what—
Jared Curcio: It comes down to—
David Kirkpatrick: Active learning versus passive learning.
Katelyn Curcio: I think you did, like a little story snippet of it, like last week or something, and it was very. I was very engaged with it. I was like, this makes complete sense. And yeah, like, obviously if you’re just listening to something, you’re also probably cleaning the house or doing work or like, do. Someone’s talking to you.
Jared Curcio: You might be right now. Audience.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: And. But if you. But if you are with a book, you need to make time for the book. It’s the book and the book alone. You have to be sitting down, focused on it, processing it.
David Kirkpatrick: Hyper Focused by Christopher Bailey. Let’s make that the last book. My favorite focus book. So good.
Jared Curcio: Okay.
David Kirkpatrick: Yeah.
Jared Curcio: Well, if you want to make. If you don’t want to make more time to read and you just want to read more, take in more active, active reading, more memory, more comprehension, a skilled reader, make more money, be smarter. Stop being a dumb fuck. See, I can be mean too. Stop being a dumb fuck out there.
David Kirkpatrick: There it is. That’s the.
Jared Curcio: Stop losing money in your shitty business, you dummy. Well, then you can go to reading for results. David Reese, Fast dav. Thank you so much. David Kirkpatrick, everybody. Thank you for being here.
David Kirkpatrick: Thank you. Thank you. I’m here all night. Just kidding.