We have an exclusive interview with former Shahs of Sunset’s Dhar Mann who is currently the Founder and CEO of LiveGlam Inc.
These days Dhar Mann is also a motivational speaker dedicated to teaching people how to achieve greater success. Read on to find out how he went from living the Hollywood High Life to starting over…
CelebNReality247.com had the pleasure of speaking with Dhar Mann who was transparent about where he is now in his career.
Dhar Mann starts off we could start from the beginning – you wrote that “I was living in a 4-story Hollywood Hills mansion with 9 exotic cars in the garage, and the next minute I was flat broke”
Dhar answers all the questions on how he went from living in a 4-story Hollywood Hills mansion to flat broke and back again.
His story is an inspirational one. His Q&A proves that if you put your mind to it, success is at your fingertips. Mr. Mann touches on how a”quote in the Book of Joy by the Dali Lama” made him see clearly.
Sometimes it just takes a little motivation and teaching to get you to your potential.
2. What were you doing at the time when you were living the lavish life?
I was living the Hollywood High Life, with 9 exotic cars in my garage and a 4-story mansion. At that time all of my income was coming from an investment into a “friend’s” affiliate marketing business that seemed to be really taking off. Since it was passive income I didn’t have to work and had consistent money coming in, so I spent my time going to restaurants, shopping and partying. In hindsight, I should have been a lot more responsible during that time and managing by money much better. But hindsight is always 20/20.
3. What caused you to lose everything?
One day my “friend” told me that he was having a hard time collecting on some large invoices that were owed to him by his advertisers. For a few months he started paying me about 1/10 of what I was used to receiving. I had taken on so much debt and with the houses, cars and lifestyle that it became really difficult to just keep my head above water. What made it worse is I had built a reputation about being this “baller” on Instagram so I had all this pressure on me to maintain appearances. I had no idea whether my drop in income was a small bump in the road or a permanent change so I did a lot of praying that things would work out.
Then one day the payments completely stopped coming in and my “friend” disappeared- no longer returning calls or texts. A lot of people started reaching out to me who, unbeknownst to me, had also invested and said they were no longer receiving payments. The dominos soon fell and it turned out that the whole “affiliate marketing business” was a sham. My “friend” had stolen tens of millions of dollars form many different investors and was recently indicted in Federal Court. His sentencing is at the end of this year and from what I understand he’s facing 15 years in prison.
4. How did you bounce back?
I went from making 6-figures a month to ending up with $600 in my bank account. It was the lowest low of my life. I entered my 30’s completely broke, exiting a very ugly public breakup, having a tarnished reputation and sleeping on a couch of a 300 SF apartment I shared with a roommate. I contemplated leaving Los Angeles and moving back in with my parents. Then one fortunate day I happened to meet a beauty influencer who was teaching in-person makeup classes all over the world. I asked if she had ever thought to take the concept online by starting an online makeup school to make her classes more accessible. She loved the idea, but didn’t know how to. I had no idea either, having never created an online business before, but with necessity being the mother of invention, I offered to partner with her on building the online makeup school- and she agreed. The online classes today has expanded to our own line of cosmetic products and I went from $600 in starting capital to having an 8-figure business in less than 2-years.
5. What was that “breakthrough moments of reflection and understanding” that helped you to turn your life around?
My biggest breakthrough was taking personal responsibility for everything that happened to me. Throughout my life I’ve experienced big failures and losses, but I always blamed external circumstances for what happened to me. Even though most people would have a hard time accepting personal responsibility for being the victim of a Ponzi scheme, I decided if I never took responsibility for my outcomes, then I’d never see myself as the solution. So I realized it was because of my desire to make money quickly, live a fast life, and ultimately- my greed, that put me in the situation to get taken advantage of. I vowed to never put myself in a situation like that again, and when I would finally start making money again, I would never again be irresponsible with money. Even though my new business started making a lot of money very quickly, for a long time I stayed in that 300 SF apartment and even went carless just to make smart financial decisions. Today more of my income comes from my investments than my business.
6. What are your techniques on how not to take your partner for granted?
Court your partner like you did when you first met them. In the beginning, a lot of guys open doors, give flowers, take their women out on dates, but over time that spark gets lost. I try to approach every day like it’s the first day with my girlfriend, constantly showering her with love and appreciation. I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes, but I’m committed to always being better for her. Today I would say she’s more responsible for my success than any other factor besides God.
7. What did you learn from your past relationship that helped up with where you are today?
Always be completely open and transparent with your partner. Communicate about everything and make sure your values are well aligned. Most importantly, take time to build a solid foundation, so when the superficial elements of a new relationship fall off, there’s something real underneath that can withstand a storm.
I entered my last relationship during my “high” and when things quickly came crashing down for me personally, there wasn’t a strong enough foundation for the relationship to last. I entered my new relationship during one of my lowest times and my girl waited patiently by my side and helped to build me back up while most people would have given up on me. I think that difference alone made a big impact.
8. How did you decide on becoming a life coach?
I have this saying, that your struggle today becomes your story tomorrow. The only thing I feel that makes me qualified to become a life coach is that I struggled a lot, so I’ve got quite a story to tell. I use my personal experiences to help others going through similar situations to help them rise above a difficult time.
9. What are the 5 things a person needs to find clarity in oneself?
- Don’t try to impress others
- Be comfortable with who you are
- Take your time and be patient
- Think long-term
- Practice gratitude every day
10. What are 5 things that a person would need to be a success?
Really the same list above, because once you find clarity in oneself, you become the person that you need to be in order to be successful.
11. These days you are “living your best life” what has changed for you?
I read this quote in the Book of Joy by the Dali Lama that says “The depth of your struggle defines the height of your joy.” When you struggle, you become so much more empathetic towards what others are going through and more grateful for everything you have. I certainly still struggle at times with comparing myself with others and wanting to achieve my goals faster, but for the most part, I’m just grateful for the life that I have, especially now that I can compare where I am today to the dark place I was in just a few years ago.
12. What is the best piece of advice you would like to share with our readers?
Going back to the quote I often use, the struggle you’re going through today is just making for a more interesting story you will tell tomorrow. During my dark time I thought that was going to be the permanent state of my life going forward. I was so depressed and felt like my world was falling apart. But little did I know that a rainbow was coming right after that storm and I’d be living my best life just a short time later. When you’re going through a difficult time, it seems like the end of the world, but over time you realize that everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to. Had I not gone broke, I wouldn’t have learned the importance of saving and investing or founded my new company. Had I not gone through a breakup, I wouldn’t have met the amazing girl I’m with today. The world is always working for us not against us. It’s just hard to see during the storm, but if you’re going through a difficult time, I promise you- your rainbow will come too. One day your struggle will just make for a more interesting story like the one I can tell today!
