The Deca-Millionaire Mindset

In a lively episode of the Let's Go Win podcast with JM Ryerson, I sat down with Justin Goodbread — a deca million entrepreneur, bestselling author, and speaker who’s built and exited seven companies. We dug into the ideas that shaped his life: freedom, impact, the origin of “Deca Millionaire,” and the hard, practical work that turned a double wide trailer season into a deca million reality.

Why Freedom and Impact are Non Negotiable

Justin distilled his purpose into two words: freedom and impact. Freedom, for him, is the ability to live authentically — to mow a field on a Thursday morning, to spend eight weeks with family abroad, to be free of chasing the dollar. Impact is the part of his life that lights him up: turning personal pain and triumph into wisdom that helps others avoid the same mistakes.

“Every single day, it's going to be like an onion... when you peel that next layer back, you may cry. When you peel the next layer back, it may be sweet.”

That onion metaphor came from a friend after Justin’s father died unexpectedly. It became a foundational picture for how hardship prepares us to help others.

The Origin of “Deca Millionaire” — A 19 Year Old Promise

At 19, Justin sat in a Zig Ziglar event and wrote down three wild dreams for the next 20 years: marry “a smoking hot girl,” write a New York Times bestseller, and be worth $10 million — “deca million” simply because it had one more zero than a million. That childlike audacity stuck.

Years later, after suffering massive ups and downs — from success to loss to living in a double wide trailer — Justin revisited that list and made it a deadline: achieve deca million status by 40. The number evolved from a status symbol into a freedom goal: with a simple 4% rule, $10 million could generate the lifestyle he wanted without chasing income forever.

The 48 Month Turnaround: Clarity, Belief, and a Coach

How do you go from a double wide to deca million in four years? Justin’s answer is not magic. It’s a sequence anyone can follow:

1. Get crystal clear on what you want and put dates on it.

2. Find someone who’s already done it — then pay the price to learn from them.

3. Fix your mind — feed it daily with the right inputs and refuse to be derailed by resistance.

He famously hired a coach who charged $10,000 a month. Justin had no business, little cash, three kids, and a wife at home. For six months he spent roughly $60,000 — not to learn funnels, but to work on belief. The technical skills came later; the foundational change was in mindset.

“How bad do you want it?... He spent six months and all he spoke about every single day was belief.”

Justin used a vivid image from his youth — cutting golf fairways and keeping his eyes on a distant pine tree — to explain focus: keep the prize in sight and don’t be distracted by the wobble of resistance.

The Role of a Partner: Why “We” Matters

A recurring theme is family. Justin repeatedly uses “we” because this journey was a shared one. His wife Emily was not an automatic cheerleader five years earlier, but after years of intentionally feeding their minds with positive content, she became the partner who would sign off on hiring the coach and running toward the dream.

“Then we run toward it.”

That phrase — the moment Emily put her hand on Justin’s knee and said those words — is the hinge where private belief became public action. The lesson: surround yourself with people who will back the dream or find mentors who will keep you accountable when your inner circle doubts you.

Daily Habits: Reading, Speedreading, and Curated Inputs

Justin is a voracious reader — roughly a book a week — and he has a set of staple reads he revisits every year:

• Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hill

• Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki

• The Total Money Makeover — Dave Ramsey

• The Book of Proverbs — daily meditation

• The Richest Man in Babylon — classic financial rules (pay yourself first)

He’s also mastered speedreading — not just to race through pages, but to extract, highlight, and apply the most useful principles. His process: read quickly, highlight the top ideas, then distill those into action steps and content to teach others.

How Justin Uses AI and Systems to Amplify Impact

AI is now a core part of Justin’s content and scaling strategy. He uses multiple tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) for research, editing, and repurposing long form assets into daily content that reaches millions. His workflow:

• Capture a week’s flow state thinking into a large body of content.

• Produce a long form asset (7–8k words or a long podcast) that teaches a big idea.

• Use AI and his team to slice that into 30–60 daily social posts, newsletters, and snippets.

The combination of human story + AI execution = scale without losing the message.

Building a Team That Actually Runs Without You

Justin’s favorite metaphor for scaling a team is the merry go round. As owner, you’re the heavy weight that gets it spinning. Most founders hire people just like themselves and end up crowding one side. The better approach:

• Make your vision big enough to hold other people’s dreams.

• Understand the eight core areas of business: planning, leadership, sales, marketing, people, operations, finance, and legal.

• Hire opposites — people who fill gaps, not more versions of you.

• Get off the merry go round: let your team run it and resist stepping in to solve every problem.

Justin’s bold example: his 17 year old son posts on his LinkedIn on his behalf. That level of delegation comes from systems, trust, and the willingness to let others represent you — even if they mess up — because you can fix what breaks.

Raising Kids with Business Principles

Justin intentionally brings his children into the company to teach them how hard money is earned and to avoid creating trust fund expectations. He prioritizes character first:

• Be a person of your word.

• Represent the family name with integrity.

• Learn that the sky is the limit — other advantages (looks, schooling) don’t block success.

Kids do practical work first — physical tasks — then transition into marketing, AI tasks, or other scalable skills.

Practical Frameworks & Action Steps

If you want to apply what Justin teaches, start with these steps:

1. Get crystal clear: Write your 3 wildest dreams and put a deadline on them.

2. Feed your mind: Create a daily media diet that aligns with your goals.

3. Find a mentor or coach: Pay for accountability and truth — even if it costs more than you think you can afford.

4. Hire opposites: Build a team to fill the eight areas of your business and then give them control.

5. Use systems & AI: Capture big ideas, produce long form assets, and repurpose endlessly.

6. Involve those you love: Bring family into the process so they see the roots and the rewards.

Quick oneliners to remember

• “Why not me?” — ask it until it becomes your default.

• “Charge the hill with a water pistol” — if it matters, keep going even when the tools seem small.

• “Your baby’s ugly” — your business will have flaws; fix them before you scale or sell.

Where to Learn More

If Justin’s story resonated, he recommends digging into the mindset + systems work. For entrepreneurs who want help scaling and building companies that run without them, Justin’s resources and coaching offerings are available at justingoodbread.com. There’s also a downloadable Justin mentions that walks you through six essential questions every potential deca millionaire should answer. You can also follow Justin on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Final Thought

Justin’s story is equal parts grit, humility, and practical discipline. The deca million number began as youthful audacity, became a freedom target, and was achieved through relentless focus, belief work, the right coach, a partner who ran toward the dream, and teams and systems that could carry it forward.

“If I can do this, anybody can, but you just have to get your right mindset in place.”

Start with clarity. Feed your mind. Hire the people who complete you. Use systems and AI to amplify what matters. And when the onion of life makes you cry, know that layer will eventually help you impact someone else.

Watch this full podcast episode on YouTube.