Before you have a business or a following, you have a friend. Mine grew up to negotiate six billion dollars in sports contracts.

This episode is different for me. My guest was my best friend when we were ten years old, inseparable, running track together at six in the morning, trading baseball cards, growing up right alongside each other. Then life happened, and thirty five years went by without us being in the same room. After all that time, we finally sat down together, and today I brought him on the show.

Greg Genske went from that kid in my backyard to one of the top sports agents alive, building an agency with Gary Vaynerchuk, teaching negotiation at Berkeley Law, and representing thousands of professional athletes through the biggest deals of their careers.

Here's what you'll gain from this episode:

• The Negotiation Secret Nobody Teaches: Greg breaks down the psychology of negotiation and why immaculate preparation on the other person's position beats any tactic.
• The Tom Brady Story You've Never Heard: How a single deposition Greg took as a trial lawyer helped open the door for the greatest quarterback in history.
• Position Yourself as the Expert: Why the people who separate themselves in any industry teach instead of sell.
• Elimination, Not Addition: Greg's decision to give up alcohol after nine years of winning in spite of it, and what he found on the other side.
• What 3,000 Athletes Taught Him About Loyalty: The difference between being an agent and being a real partner.

If you've got a friend from your childhood you've lost touch with, this one is your sign to reach out today. Some relationships are worth thirty five years of silence and still worth fighting for.