The GAS Method | Ep 52
In this solo episode, Arjun Dhingra unpacks the GAS Method—a mindset rooted in empathy, effort, and ownership. He explains how “giving a sh*t” can set you apart in business, relationships, and life, especially in a world where most people operate on autopilot.
Drawing from his personal journey during the 2008 financial collapse, Arjun shares how leading with care helped save hundreds of families from losing their homes—and how that same principle can transform athletes, professionals, and entrepreneurs today. You’ll learn how to build unshakable trust, create lasting loyalty, and thrive by showing up differently than everyone else.
Whether you’re leading a team, building a business, or chasing personal growth, this is your playbook for making empathy your ultimate edge.
Timestamps:
(00:13) – Personal Growth Through Relationships
(00:54) – Introduction to the GAS Method
(04:00) – The GAS Method: Caring in Business
(05:18) – The Importance of Human Empathy in Business
(06:31) – The GAS Method: Creating Loyalty and Connection
(08:47) – Introducing the GAS Method
Welcome to the LFG Energy podcast! Your host, Arjun Dhingra, is a two-time Taekwondo world champion and the former Team USA co-head coach. He is a 23-year mortgage veteran of the industry who loves influencing change in people.
This podcast is about the stories and lessons of those who have had their backs against the wall and have ultimately overcome. Former Olympians, coaches, entrepreneurs, and incredible human beings will share their experiences of resilience and beating the odds in spite of adversity so that you too can learn to start doing the same in your life.
Connect with Arjun:
▶️ LinkedIn | Instagram | Website
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Transcript
Happy Thursday, guys.
Speaker A:That means it's time for another episode of the LFG Energy Podcast.
Speaker A:Welcome back.
Speaker A:As always, I appreciate you guys listening and supporting the show so much.
Speaker A:Today I want to share a personal story about something that has helped keep me not only in business, but able to thrive not just in my relationships, but in all the opportunities that I'm able to welcome.
Speaker A:In a world full of apathy, the biggest differentiator isn't skill or talent, whether you actually give a crap.
Speaker A:I've learned many years ago that execution without empathy is pretty much meaningless.
Speaker A:There's a lot of transactionalists in life, whether they are service providers or people that sell you a good, or people that coach.
Speaker A:They're just there to collect your money, maybe move the needle in your life or in your day to day just a little bit, enough to keep you mildly satisfied or feeling like it was worthwhile, and then they just move on.
Speaker A:But this personal mantra or lesson that I've learned through just experience and then later decided to name it is called the GAS method.
Speaker A:And that's what I want to talk to you guys about today.
Speaker A:I shared this during my keynote from the Better Human Project in San Francisco this last February.
Speaker A:And it's an event that was just focused on everyone being better.
Speaker A:There was no mention of business.
Speaker A:We just shared stories and thoughts and panel discussions about how human beings can overcome, how they can endure, how they can improve every day and just be better humans.
Speaker A:Now, if you were at that event, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Speaker A:If you'd like to attend, this is going to be a standing event every February, so just get in touch with me to learn more about it.
Speaker A:But I talked about this GAS method and why this mentality, why this approach is needed now especially more than ever.
Speaker A:We live in a cynical world where negativity ends up prevailing most of the time in terms of how people's mindsets and their judgment is being clouded.
Speaker A: Now, let me take you back to: Speaker A:I was in the mortgage industry and most of you know that.
Speaker A:Listen to this podcast.
Speaker A:That's what I do for a living.
Speaker A:I've been in this space for 24 years now.
Speaker A:The financial collapse was going on around us and this was incredibly stressful to watch because the state that I lived in at the time, which was Nevada, was one of the top states for foreclosures in the country.
Speaker A:So everyone was losing their homes right, left and center.
Speaker A:People were having to move out there Was a lot of shame and humiliation attached to this.
Speaker A:They couldn't afford to live where they were at, having to move back in with family or just find another place to rent.
Speaker A:It was a really, really dark time.
Speaker A:And I remember it like yesterday now, my brother and I, because there was no money to be made, because the industry was completely washed out, there were no transactions to be done.
Speaker A:New guidelines had to come on on how mortgages would actually be conducted.
Speaker A:We decided that we would help because we knew, we knew how to talk to banks.
Speaker A:We understood what real estate and mortgage language was.
Speaker A:And for a lot of these people around us, many of whom were our clients, they couldn't talk to the banks again because they were so embarrassed about the financial distress that they were in.
Speaker A:They couldn't quite convey what it is they needed or just navigate through this uncharted territory, which quite honestly had never happened before.
Speaker A:So nobody knew how to go through it.
Speaker A:So we decided to step in and act on behalf of as many clients as we could to try and save as many people as we could possibly from having to lose their homes.
Speaker A:Now, we charged a small $250 fee to basically act on their behalf.
Speaker A:And I'll be honest with you, very few people could actually afford to even pay it.
Speaker A:That's how bad things were.
Speaker A:But we still helped as much as we could.
Speaker A:Anyways, in the end, we were able to save some 200 people from losing their homes.
Speaker A:Now, who do you think, considering that we are still in the business today, that those 200 or so people actually came back to when it came time to getting another mortgage transaction or needing help with a financial decision that centered around real estate?
Speaker A:That's right, they came back to us.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because we gave a crap.
Speaker A:We were there when it mattered most, when things were absolutely horrible or so dark for them to be able to operate in, we stepped in, acted on their behalf and saved people from what would be a grossly humiliating and stressful situation of having to leave their home, go move somewhere else, take their kids out of that school.
Speaker A:So many negative things would come from that.
Speaker A:And that's what basically paved the way for me to name this method.
Speaker A:It was the gas method and it stands for really simply put.
Speaker A:Guys give a shit.
Speaker A:We simply gave a shit.
Speaker A:And I think today, as I mentioned in the introduction to this podcast, this is needed more than ever.
Speaker A:So many people are out there just doing things for the sake of doing things.
Speaker A:But there's no care, thought, feeling, emotion or connection attached to any of it.
Speaker A:But if you show just A little bit of sincerity in what you are doing.
Speaker A:You will build customers for life.
Speaker A:You'll build relationships that will never go by the wayside, bonds that are completely unbreakable.
Speaker A:And that to me is the essence of what it is to be a human being.
Speaker A:It's being out there, helping lift one another, succeeding together, extending a hand when somebody actually needs it.
Speaker A:Because God knows you'll need it one day too.
Speaker A:It's not just about caring superficially, it's about showing up fully for your people.
Speaker A:It's energy plus empathy plus excellence.
Speaker A:That is what ultimately makes up the GAS method and the difference between performing and actually serving with care.
Speaker A:This applies to whether you are managing a team, you are closing real estate transactions, you are competing as an athlete, or you're part of something else, managing a creative campaign.
Speaker A:Whatever it is, there's always a way in which you can show care for others.
Speaker A:And even when you think it may not benefit, you put that out of your mind.
Speaker A:Just do it.
Speaker A:Because it's the right thing to do.
Speaker A: set you apart, especially in: Speaker A:We live in an AI world where automation is is separating from everything else.
Speaker A:But what automation cannot replace is human empathy, human emotion.
Speaker A:And that will always win.
Speaker A:In fact, it'll remain undefeated for as long as time stands.
Speaker A:People are burned out from transactional experiences and one offs.
Speaker A:But they remember the person that took an extra 60 seconds to just listen and treat them like a human being and look them in the eye to try and serve, even when there's nothing to gain from it.
Speaker A:I can tell you to this day, even in this current market for what industry I'm in, the people that are surviving, and not just surviving, but actually thriving, are those that apply the GAS method.
Speaker A:They give a shit.
Speaker A:And the ones that are kind of burning out or they're not being sought after again for repeat services or transactions or business, they just kind of treated people like they were another number.
Speaker A:And we all know brands or services that we follow or things that we subscribe to or that we're associated with where this can apply.
Speaker A:You know, the things that you continually go back to or that you refer to in such high regardless generally had a better connection or there was a better feeling that it elicited from you when they treated you a certain way or when they were serving you versus those that just took your money and ran or they just disregarded you as another one off.
Speaker A:Now if you want to learn how to apply the GAS method or come up with your own version of it.
Speaker A:Here's a framework for how to do so first, ask better questions.
Speaker A:Instead of thinking, what's in it for me?
Speaker A:Ask how can I make this better for them?
Speaker A:How can I make this all about them?
Speaker A:How can I be in service to to this person or group?
Speaker A:Next, do the thing that nobody expects.
Speaker A:The follow up call, the handwritten note, the deeper research, going the extra mile.
Speaker A:Do something with your heart.
Speaker A:And then lastly, own the outcome.
Speaker A:We did a previous episode here on the LFG Energy podcast about extreme ownership.
Speaker A:And that applies here.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Whether it's your fault or not, take absolute ownership in it, because people will feel that now this GAS method or approach will create loyalty, reputation and momentum no matter what you're doing.
Speaker A:And here's some examples.
Speaker A:For athletes, your teammates will notice the effort.
Speaker A:For marketers or people that are executing creatively, your clients want care.
Speaker A:They don't want clicks.
Speaker A:If you work in real estate, trust is earned through effort, not pitch decks.
Speaker A:If you're a young professional, someone who's early in their career giving a shit will help open more doors for you than you can possibly imagine.
Speaker A:So I'll tell you this as some of the final words, guys, I know that I'm not the most talented at what I do.
Speaker A:I know there's people that are sometimes more resourceful than me.
Speaker A:What I do know for a fact, categorically, is that no one gives more of a shit than I do when it comes to the things that I'm involved in or the people that I serve.
Speaker A:And if there's one mission I have every single day, it's to make sure that whoever I sit across from, they know and feel that and leave without a shadow of a doubt that Arjun cared.
Speaker A:And I want the same for you in all of your dynamics and relationships.
Speaker A:And anything you touch should leave with that same feeling.
Speaker A:You will always outlast and outshine them all if you just give more of a shit.
Speaker A:It's literally that simple.
Speaker A:And it's so absent in today's world.
Speaker A:And if you've been paying just a fraction of attention, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Speaker A:If you open your eyes and witness what's going on day to day.
Speaker A:Now here's a challenge for you that are listening and I want you to do this right away if this is hitting you right now.
Speaker A:First of all, send me a DM and say GAS or GAS method in it and let's have a conversation about what you're feeling and how I can maybe be of more help to you in this area, but I want you to find an area today or someone that you can interact with where you can over deliver.
Speaker A:Not for credit, not for likes, not for money, but because you give a crap.
Speaker A:Then go do it.
Speaker A:That's it guys.
Speaker A:It's really simple at the end of the day and I wanted to share with you this GAS method which I talk so much about and it's so important to me and I hope that it becomes something important for you in your life.
Speaker A:Thanks for listening guys and I will catch you guys on next week's episode of the LFG Energy Podcast.
Speaker A:If you enjoyed this episode, please send me a DM or a screenshot of it.
Speaker A:Tell me what you liked so that I can share more episodes like this with you to try and move the needle in your personal or professional lives.
Speaker A:And also don't forget, check us out on YouTube where you can see more visual aids that go along with each of these lessons and episodes.
Speaker A:Thanks guys and we'll see you soon.
