Transcription
Now, Steve is a dear friend of mine. And when he was building the Wynn, I'll never forget, he was at my home in Sun Valley and just got to meet him. It was New Year's, and everybody else was standing watching the fireworks, and I was sitting at the table, and I was basically doing a brain melt, sucking out of his brain everything I possibly could. How do you think about this? What do you do? How do you market?
And here's what I learned from Steve: People don't buy products, they buy feelings. People don't buy products, they buy states. People don't buy products, they buy identities. And he and I went back and forth for about two and a half or three hours and became lifelong friends for the last decade and a half.
And what I learned from him is, how many of you know the six human needs? Let me see your hands. Raise them if you know the six human needs. So, real quick, for those who have never heard it before, what's the first need that all human beings have? It's not a goal, it's not a desire, it's a need. What is it? Quick! Certainty. Everyone has a need for certainty, that they can avoid pain or ideally, they can have some pleasure. But that's a survival instinct. If you have total certainty all the time, you will feel completely what? Bored.
So, what's the second human need? Quick! Uncertainty. Which other words for uncertainty is variety, the need for surprise. Who here loves surprises? Say "I!" Well, you like the surprises you want, right? Surprises. You don't want, you call problems. But you need them to, to be alive. And business provides plenty of variety, right?
What's the third human need? The need to feel significant. Significant is the third human need, to feel significant, unique, special, important, significant. Who has the need to feel significant? Who? Who? Everybody! What do people say? "I don't want to feel significant." That's how they get significance. By saying, "I don't need significance. I'm more unique than you. You have the significance, I don't." Some people get significance by buying a $500,000, a million-dollar car. Some people get significance by saying, "I don't spend any money. I, I, I, I don't need a nice car. I'm so special, I don't need a nice car." It's called a reverse ego symbol. Same need, they just go about it a different way.
But if you're totally significant and unique and special, that feels good. But then you feel alone. Because the fourth human need is the need for connection and love. Who needs connection and love? Everybody! Number one. And by the way, those first needs, everybody gets certainty, uncertainty, a variety, significance, even if you have to make up stories about yourself, you'll find a way to feel significant, right? And a feeling of connection, if not love.
The final two needs are the needs of the spirit. You must grow. Is number five. You grow, or you... If a business is not growing, what is it doing? That's a fact. There's no such thing as a stable business. You're growing, or you're dying. There's no plateau that you can stay at and stick around. And lastly, number six, you got to grow. And with what you grow, you have to contribute. Because everything in the universe is either growing or dying. Everything. The universe is contributing, or it's eliminated by evolution, if nothing else. We're made for that.
Now, having said that, when, when I was with Steve that night, I explained these six needs. And as I'm explaining them, he grabs me physically by the shoulder. He goes, "That one! That one!" And I just said, "Significance." He goes, "That's where I've made all of my money in my entire life." He said, "People will pay disproportionately to feel significant than for any other need." He said, "People will spend more money. People want love, but they think they'll get love if they're significant, or at least they'll get laid if they're significant." He said, "So I've built the most expensive hotels in the world. And I charge more than anybody else."
And even when Las Vegas in 2008 went through its drawdown, Steve kept his prices high. Why? Why? He wanted to still be the most special place. He came to this seminar, sat in the front row. And I'm not, there's almost nothing that makes me uncomfortable, but I'm like, "What am I going to teach him?" But he sat in this event. At lunch, took me to lunch. And he goes, "This is the most valuable session I've been in the last 10 years. I know what I'm going to do." This is in 2008. He said, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to, when all my competitors are shrinking right now because they're trying to survive, I'm going to go build this giant Beach Club that goes right to Las Vegas Avenue. I'm going to build this new entrance. I'm going to up my services." He said, "I'm going to do what you teach."
What is the fundamental success to becoming wealthy? It's only one thing. If you want to be wealthy, you have to do more for your clients than who? Than anyone else. You have to add more. What? That is the entire secret to wealth in business. If you want it in one sentence, it's simple: Do more for others than anyone else is doing. Add more value, and you will own them, and you will own the marketplace. He goes, "You know, I'm going to do, Tony. I'm going to, when everybody else is shrinking, I'm going to add more value. So all the high-end people are going to see I'm doing more, and they're going to come to me. And this down period is going to be the most important period of my entire career. Because when the economy comes back, and those guys start giving services, I already own these people. They're not going to leave me. I'm their home."
You've got to ask yourself, what do I do to add more value? And many of you think adding more value means cutting your prices or doing something of that nature. Sometimes adding value is raising your price. It's crazy. Raising your price can increase your sales if it's the right piece. Now, if you raise your price and do more, no question, that could be the right thing in some cases. Some of you, your market is the cheapest price. Maybe it's time to change that business model. Because unless you're Walmart or Amazon or somebody that can do things at massive volume and lose money and sustain it, you might need a thing called a margin. If you're going to be successful in business, you want a high margin. High margins come from high human needs being met.