David Meltzer knows what it feels like to lose everything — and come back from the edge.

“How much money did you lose?” Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef asked on stage at the National Restaurant Association Show.

“Over $100 million,” Meltzer replied without hesitation.

“$100 million,” Walchef repeated. “And you’re still here. Better than ever.”

For most people, that number would be the end of their business story. Meltzer turned it into a platform.

As a bestselling author and keynote speaker, he dedicates himself to guiding entrepreneurs in magnifying their message and finding alignment in their purpose. His presence at the Restaurant Show wasn’t as a restaurateur, but as a mentor illustrating how storytelling can transform a simple moment into significant progress.

Melzter is quite open about his financial loss, discussing it freely in interviews and on social media. However, he avoids labeling it as a sacrifice. To him, it was an investment.

“My wife isn’t fond of me saying this,” Meltzer acknowledges. “I invested $100 million. Without making that investment, I wouldn’t have reached my current position. So, how could I see it any other way?”

This perspective is a cornerstone of Meltzer’s philosophy. He prioritizes sleep above all else, viewing it as essential for restoring energy, which in turn supports everything he does. He categorizes activities not as work or play, but as how he invests his time and energy.

“I don’t subscribe to the idea of sacrifice,” Meltzer explains. “That mindset comes from thoughts of scarcity and lack. I focus on investing. When you show love to the earth, it reciprocates, just like with relationships. I commit to that investment.”

Meltzer’s job now is making sure those lessons live on in a digital age where content outlasts its creator.

“I’m known both as the person who lost everything and as someone who is successful,” he reflects. “In every endeavor, I find success, yet I experience failure in each one of them, too.”

The Stage Theory

If Meltzer’s philosophy is about investment, the Restaurant Show was where it came to life.

He called it the “fishbowl of content.” Cameras circled an open stage on the final day, but the seats were nearly empty. For many speakers, that would be a problem. For Meltzer, it was the point.

“I don’t care who’s sitting in the chairs,” he says. “I care how many cameras are here and what systems I have to amplify it.”

That is stage theory in practice: Capture content and amplify it. A meetup with two people can turn into millions of views if the story connects. Meltzer proved it when someone asked about the coolest athlete he had ever met. He told a story about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dr. J from his days as a 12-year-old ball boy.

“Two people were in the room when I told it, but that piece of content has over 10 million views,” he says.

It was a familiar lesson for me. When I opened Cali BBQ in San Diego, I spent 14 years focused on the four walls of my restaurant. Working with Meltzer showed me a bigger opportunity: Build in public, fail in public and share the process.

“One of the most important things you helped me realize is the power of asking for help,” I told him at the time. “By making podcasts, YouTube videos and doing stage theory, I hope more people get out of their restaurant and see what’s possible.”

“Business is fun,” Meltzer says. “Life is fun. Activities you get paid for, activities you don’t. But they’re all investments.”

The audience at the National Restaurant Show may have been quiet, but the cameras were rolling. And that means the conversation we recorded will live on long after the booths are packed up — a perpetual stage where the real audience is the one still to come.

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