Episode 215: From Van to Empire: Unleashing the Power of Possibility

Have you ever wondered what it takes to turn your life around completely? In this extraordinary episode, our host, Matt Shields, takes you on a riveting journey from the confines of a cargo van to the heights of a real estate empire spanning hundreds of apartments across the country.

Prepare to be inspired as Matt fearlessly shares his personal story, unraveling the transformative moments that propelled him beyond the limitations of his circumstances. Through tales of resilience, determination, and unwavering belief in the power of possibility, Matt's incredible journey will challenge you to ask yourself: What's holding you back?

Join us as we delve deep into the triumphs, setbacks, and pivotal decisions that defined Matt's path to success. Discover the secrets behind his rise from living on wheels to becoming a prominent figure in the real estate industry. This gripping episode will ignite your own dreams and leave you with a newfound belief in the infinite potential within you.

Don't miss out on this thought-provoking episode that will empower you to break free from the shackles of doubt and embrace the boundless opportunities that await. It's time to unleash your own potential and embark on the path to greatness. The power to transform your life is within your reach - tune in now and let Matt's remarkable journey be the catalyst for your own incredible story.

Today on Invest in Square Feet, we have a special episode. We've received many comments, wanting to know more about my background and how I got to where I am today. So today I have Troy, who is a recent guest on the Invest in Square Feet Podcast, interview me about some of my upbringings and the way that I look at certain situations.

We all have events that shape and mold our responses and our reactions to things, and I get pretty deep into some of the personal experiences that I've gone through, some of the hardships that I've gone through in my life. My goal with all of this is to be more open and more transparent with all of our listeners so that you guys can know me a little bit better and understand where I might be coming from, from specific events or happenings that I might have gone through in my own life.

 On Invest in Square Feet, we unlock the secrets of wealthy entrepreneurship. I'm Matt Shields and my mission is to help business owners protect and grow their business so that they can invest. Passively into multi-family real estate. So today's gonna be a little bit different as the intro had described before.

I'm going to be interviewed today and tell a little bit about my story and the reason why I wanted to do this. So that everyone can understand that we all go through setbacks and struggles. I reveal some of the things that I've gone through, some of the low points in my life to where I am today, how I sprung back from those situations, and literally today I own multimillion dollars worth of real estate.

I hope this inspires you and I hope that it connects you a little bit more with my story. And what I've been able to accomplish, and I look forward to having you reach out, and I'd love to be able to help you take your business to the next level so that you can also do the same thing, and also invest in multi-million dollars worth of real estate.

 I love, the mindset of referring to these ebbs and flows of life, as,  seasons right? So many people get so bogged down into my life is falling apart. Things aren't going well. And, that's not the way that life is always going to be. You know, you're going through a season, maybe it lasts six months, four months, a year, you know, things will get better and you have to recognize that it's a learning opportunity and it's a learning opportunity to be able to really spring yourself forward because now you know what not to do, right?

You've already, you've already made it to that part, part where you feel like you failed or what have you. So, um, we all go through it and you just have to, to have the perseverance to keep on, keep on going. 

It gives me chills because, you know, Matt, when you think about it, when people think, you know, is it, why is everything getting worse and or why is this happening to me, the good news is, is if you pay attention and get recalibrated, you can actually realize that there is a winter coming up.

There's gonna be a time where we can sit back a little bit. We don't have to get out there and cut that grass right away, if you will, and you know, we're gonna ha we're gonna have a little bit of snow and, and it's some time to recalibrate and then get ready to spring back out. Um, like what you call it, seasons.

I like that. Tell me a little bit about you today, Matt, describe yourself today. If you were to look at yourself in, in maybe three areas, if we could.

I'd like to talk about. Um, I'd like to talk about your relationships. Um, I'd like to talk about, about your wealth. I'd also like to talk about health, um, maybe mentally and physically and taking a look where we are today, but then also, you know, I'd like to then after go back and talk about was it always like that and, you know, and how did we get up to this point, kind of working in reverse

I have a, a number of different companies and a number of different focuses. I have a technology company and we build custom software, custom apps for many businesses. , one business has sold more than, uh, a hundred million dollars using, uh, our apps, uh, so that they're on the, the sales side of things.

So it. We have a great understanding of what drives people and what, where the, where the blockers are, where the issues are that. A lot of people may not necessarily see, right? So technology company, um, is doing well and a number of years, probably about five years ago or so, I started getting involved in large multi-family real estate.

 We've got about 780, uh, units, uh, under management right now.

Uh, and to a company, those, those assets. We also have our own property management company and our own construction company to be able to, to feed and work off of one another. Um, and then I also have a podcast. That is in the top 3% of all podcasts, uh, out there. So that's, that's in a nutshell, that's what I'm doing today.

It's a great journey and, and I'm learning every day as well. And I think that that's, that's one of the keys, like we said before, there's always seasons, there's always things that are not going to go the way that you had planned.

But if you have this perspective where you are always open to earn, uh, to, to learning and to bettering yourself and, and approaching things from a positive perspective, no matter how bad they may seem, um, It's gonna serve you well, right? And again, we're all gonna go through things. We're all gonna lose things.

We're all going to have the days that aren't going to go the way that we planned. But at the end of the day, you know, keeping that positive perspective is really key for what, what I found. Um, and again, i, I app approach that with pretty well everything in my life. Um, relationships, I always look at the positive side of things.

Uh, I choose. Not to have assholes in my life. Like if I don't get along with you, then you know, I'm, I don't keep banging my head against the wall trying to, you know, make things work. I prefer to have positive people and people that are, um, you know, out there doing things that motivate them and drive them.

So that's the type of people that I like to surround myself with because then that, that just feeds my energy and that motivates me as well. I wanna do better. I want to be able to keep up with them or beat them or whatever it is, right? So, so that's how I approach. Pretty well ev every relationship, um, you know, that I, that I have.

Um, and then from the, the fitness side of things, again, always learning. Uh, but I've, I, I feel like I've pretty well always been in, you know, pretty good shape. Um, I, I'm, I'm pretty active ski play volleyball a lot. Um, you know, we used to run a lot more when my knees were a little bit better, but, uh, yeah, I feel like health has kind of always been one of those things that I've, I've been pretty lucky with, I guess you can say.

Uh, and, and interestingly enough, one thing on the health side of things, I don't go to the doctor at all. I, I don't take aspirin. I don't take medication. Um, I believe in healing myself naturally and. Um, you know, with the foods that I eat and, and, you know, I don't take cough medicine. I don't do any of that stuff.

So, um, that's the way that I've pretty well always been. And I, and at the same time, I don't eat any type of fast food or anything, don't drink pop. Um, it's probably been 25 years since I've had a sip of any type of pop. So, um, again, it's just, just my lifestyle. It's the way that I have chosen to live so, It did.

It's, uh, it, I I would believe that, um, having those areas balanced like that today would be a dream come true. Would I, would I say that that would be an accurate statement? 

 It's interesting that you say that and. I don't, I'm not one to brag at all. To me, I feel like I haven't even started yet.

I, I feel like the things I've done are normal. Um, And yet other people tell me all the time, like, oh my God, I can't believe that you did that. How did you do that? That's, that's incredible. That's amazing. But to me it's just, it's just, it's life. Right? So I, I think the goal with all of this is be is, is to bring other people into this way of thinking where.

You know, again, you're gonna have your ups and downs. Don't let it, don't let it destroy your life. And I've, I've gone through that situation as well in my own life. Everything hasn't been, you know, peaches and roses this entire time. Right. I've, I've had my share of struggles, which we can get into that in a few minutes as well.

Um, but it, it showed me when, you know, when I was at rock bottom. Yeah, it's, life isn't that bad, right? Like, this isn't anything to like, oh my God, I can't, I can never, I can never do this. I don't wanna do that again. But I've learned from it, but I lived through it and everyone is so afraid of loss and so afraid of what everyone is gonna think about me.

And I have to put on this, this persona of, you know, nothing is wrong and I'm, uh, you know, I'm an expert on, on everything. Right? Um, Once you lose all of that, you realize that it really isn't that bad, you know, to, to lose things. And it's, it's, it would be worse if you have something in your life that you want to do and you never do it.

That to me is, you know, is the true failure. That's the true loss that you never, you never had the ability or the the drive to actually accomplish it. So, you know, if you. If you go through things and you fail, at least you tried, right? And you've learned from that. And then use those learnings to be able to try something else or try it differently.

And that's what I feel like this whole thing is all about. That's what I want to be able to get, you know, through to people to help them through those issues. Help them through those blockers. Get out and do whatever the thing is that you're, you've been wanting to do. Um, don't worry about the failure.

You're going to fail. It's part of life. Expect it and learn from it and then, you know, get up and do it differently. Do it better the next time. I 

love that. Thank you. Matt. If we looked back at, you know, le let's, let's go back quite a ways. Let's go back into when you were, I'm gonna call you the inspiring entrepreneur, a time when, if you could describe to us, You know, what was it like to, you know, get your first business license and, you know, what was your thoughts, what were you gonna accomplish?

Not looking at maybe so much as where we are today, but, you know, you were a young man, an electrician, I believe if, if I remember right. And, and, uh, tell us a little bit about that first business. What did it feel like to, to be a part of that, um, time of your life? 

 I'll even bring it back a little bit further than that.

Growing up, my, my dad was an entrepreneur, right? Uh, he had this line of country craft type decorations that he would make in our house. So he had all kinds of tools and he'd, you know, Woodworking and all of that. And they had some pretty decent accounts, like JC Penney's was one of their accounts that they had.

And as a kid, I can remember going to the local JC Penney's and, and they would set up  my dad and my mom would set up the displays with all their products in JC Penney's. And that's, that's kind of what I thought life was like. Like that was not. Not a big deal to me. Now I look at, look back on and I'm like, that really was something different.

So growing up I always had this idea of, you know, doing things to make money. I remember I, I would, you know, buy antiques and, you know, kind of fix them a little bit. I remember there was a sewing machine, like one of the pedal sewing machines that. Was broken and, and I, I figured out how to fix the pedal thing and then resold it and, you know, made some money.

So I was always doing those types of things. But, uh, so out of, out of high school, I didn't go to college, but I joined an electoral contracting company. Um, I. Which interestingly enough, the reason why I joined an electrical contracting company was because I wanted to buy houses and fix them up and sell them at the time, and electrical was sort of the area that I didn't really know all that terribly much about.

So, uh, when I was out of high school, I joined the electrical contracting company, which like was about a five year program or so, and as soon as I had enough hours in the industry and I passed the electrical or the, the apprenticeship program, I took the state license and got my state certification and started my own electro contracting company.

So I was. 22, something like that, 22, 23 maybe. Um, at the time, and that was the last time that I ever had a, you know, a true W2 type position. Um, you know, I haven't worked for another boss since then. Um, and again, people look at that and they're like, what? You know, you were so old and or so young and  you acted so, so old with.

You know, the decisions that you were making, right? That's the way that I always have been. I've always, I've always gone out and wanted to be able to better myself. Um, I can, I can remember as a teenager, I was reading all of the, you know, the Rich Dad, poor Dads, and, you know, all of those types of books that were exposed at the time to better yourself.

That was, that was who I was. I always wanted to, again, better myself, make, uh, Make a living doing the things that I felt that, that were worth doing. 

That. I love that. And Matt, it sounds like to me that you're somebody who maybe doesn't live with inspiration, but with ownership of the type of life that you want.

You don't grow to it. You, you just simply live it. 

That's something that  I've always believed in. Um, I also will say that I've always had the, , the make it happen type mentality, right? I can remember being very, very young, , I started putting roofs on houses when I was 11 years old.

Uh, I, I had, uh, I guess he was an uncle who was in the building trades and. 13, 14, 15. I was the one who was hauling everything back and forth on the job sites. And they're like, you know, people don't work like this. People don't, you know, I can't even tell you the last time that I had, uh, especially a younger person, do as much work as what you do.

And that's just the way that I've always been. I, I, I get to work and I make things happen. And I feel like when you have that type of mindset to just go after it and, and get whatever it is done. You're going to be successful. And I still live my life, even on small things. Like, you know, I get up at six o'clock every morning, no alarm or anything, you know, I'm watering the plants, I'm cleaning the house.

You know, I, I don't, I don't sit around, I don't lay in bed and, you know, think about getting up or I don't grab the phone and start. Scrolling through things, you know, I get up and, you know, start, start producing, start learning, start whatever it is that I'm doing. That's, that's always been my personality.

So, 

Matt, let's take a look for the, the entrepreneur  whether they're in, in trades or they are in, um, you know, in medical profession, real estate. You know, what ha, what have you. There's an entrepreneur, um, everywhere that is, is listening to us and saying, um, you know, Yeah, you know, I've had a dream.

I've wanted to do things, but I'm also scared of failure and what does that really feel like and look like? And I think a lot of people are scared to talk about the failures. They, they look at it as a place of, uh, you know, either that, you know, a lot of pain, um, you know, or a place they grew from, but, When I listen to you talk, and in, in the past you've talked about, you know, having some bumps as part of the journey that was actually quite enjoyable and allowed you to go through a different season and, and shift and pivot.

And instead of allowing it to seem like, uh, the, the dissolution of, or, you know, or sort of the, I guess, the, uh, The teardown of your, your life or your business. You looked at it as a, as, as a way of just adapting and, and keep moving on cuz you had the big picture in mind. Could you tell me a little bit about, you know, what, what does failure, um, or the, what people would perceive as a failure for you?

When I was 16, my father, my father passed away. He actually drowned in Cape Hatteras.

So obviously this was a complete shock to the family. And at the time, prior to that, I was, I was very, very quiet, very shy, very reserved, always worried what people thought about me. And that really brought me out of my shell, right? I, I realized how short life was and living that way, you know, under putting so much stress on myself because of what I was perceiving everyone else to think of me.

Um, I. Was not serving me well at all. So I was, you know, 17 and realized, you know what, when I, when I express myself and when I show people my thoughts and ex tell people the what I'm thinking, everyone started to gravitate toward me and I started to really enjoy life, right? So I look back on that situation and.

I S I I, I would do anything to have my dad back, but I can absolutely say that that was one of the first dark times in my life that I realized. You know, let's look at this from the positive. And that's what I, that's what I take away from it now, that that event really brought me out of that, out of my shell, right?

So we had talked about the, you know, the next couple years I started my own electoral contracting company, and that was doing well. Um, and one of the goals that my dad and I always had was to buy houses and fix them up. Rent them out, you know, sell them, kind of getting, getting into the real estate side of things.

So when I started the electoral contracting company, I started to also buy the houses and, and work on that. And it worked really, really well because when the electoral contracting business was slow, I was able to send the, the guys, the team to the houses and, and we would work on the houses then. So as a great filler of projects, um, until 2008 happened, and this, this was in the Cleveland market and.

In 2008, obviously there was a lot of, lot of turmoil in the, in the markets. Very much like what we're going through right now. And unfortunately I had a number of companies that owed me money on the El electrical contracting side of things, who went out of business, which then I was responsible for, you know, making all of those, all of those payments, which ended up putting my contracting company out of business as well.

So at one point, You know, I had this, I had this decision of my mom lives in the area so I could go live, you know, on my mom's couch. Uh, or I could embrace this and, you know, Explore what the quote unquote rock bottom looks like. So I chose the rock bottom side of things and I had one of the, the cargo vans from the electoral contracting company that I put a cot in the back of of it and I went to Walmart or wherever and got the best sleeping bag that I could get, and I would spend the nights in hotel parking lots in the back of the van sleeping on this cot.

And, you know, the, the thought process was that, If I go to a hotel parking lot, there's always all kinds of, um, you know, cars from all over the place there. So I wouldn't be bothered all night long or get towed or whatever. And then, uh, I, I had a gym membership, so six o'clock in the morning I'd wake up and go to the gym and do my workout and, uh, take a shower and then go on about my day, right?

And throughout that entire process, I realized that I was working extremely hard. To buy things that I thought that I needed to, to have in order for other people to think that I was successful. So I, I, I, again, I learned from that. Rock bottom time that you don't need to do all of that. You don't need all of the fancy things.

Like that's, that's just driving more, more use and more stress and you know, it's just a perpetual motion. The more you get, the more you need to make, the more you need to keep up with all this stuff. And the bigger house you have, the more grass you have to cut. All of that stuff. Just starts to hinder you after a while.

So, um, so I, I, I got rid of all this stuff. I lost a lot of stuff and I was so much lighter and so much happier after that. And again, I realized that I went through this thing that everyone is afraid of going through. And I came out on the other side unscathed. Right? It's, it's not that big of a deal when you go through and you lose everything.

Um, so since then, I, I pivoted the, the electoral contracting company into the technology company, um, which sounds like a large leap, but we had started doing energy management in 2005. Uh, so we were writing software and, and controlling building systems, H V A C systems, lighting systems, you know, before anyone was really doing that.

So we had a little bit of, a little bit of background in software de development. So that's, that's where I took. Uh, the, the learnings from earlier in my life and moved forward with the technology company, which has morphed into what it is today. So what, what has been feedback from people like now today?

Um, hearing that, that story so far, like what are, what, what's an aha moment that they're like, you know what, I did that too, or Maybe that's what I need to do. Have you had any circumstances like that where someone has said, you know, Matt, I thought you were crazy. So I went and I went and found a cot. I, I've, I'll say that most people are more reserved where they don't necessarily.

Get into those types of conversations, but I do, I do tell that story with the hope that it does inspire people to go out and do things. And I, I just had a conversation a few days ago, and this, this happens a few times a week, I would say, where, you know, people say, you know, I was talking to you and I realized I was thinking too small.

So I, I, now this is what the new goal is, right? Or this is where I'm, this is where I'm going. So, M my goal again is to be able to inspire people to be able to, if take that step, whatever it is that you are afraid of. Or if you've already taken that step and you think that your goal is here, maybe your goal needs to be up here and go after that bigger goal, right?

And once you achieve that bigger goal, then there's something above that, right? So don't limit yourself to mediocre. To the normal way of life, quote unquote, normal way of life. Just because you're afraid of something or you're afraid of what people are going to perceive of you if you, if you  fail.

Um, that's, that's sort of my whole message is just let's, let's get everyone inspired. Let's join together and, and. We can all learn from each other. And I'm, I'm not saying I'm the, the master expert of anything. I'm always open to new ways of doing things and new thought processes and uh, new introductions and, you know, I'm learning from people every day.

Matt. If, if we'd looked at when that time could have been low, there's gonna be people going through recession here, maybe as they're listening today or sometime in the future. And then oh eight will come back at some point for somebody. And that might not be on a global scale.

It might be just for you and your own economy or your city community. Um, maybe just in your own mindset. Would you say that the re one thing that got you through that was, were you more aware  of the fact that you were at rock bottom and you sulked, or would you say you were more aware that you had a bigger goal in mind to get you up to.

You know, a thousand plus, you know, um, doors to, to own or, or, you know, technology companies. Or maybe you didn't have that exact vision yet, but could you, if you were telling somebody today that says, you know what, I, everything's terrible. I've got a mound of bills. My marriage is on the rocks. My kids aren't talking to me.

I spend less than four hours a week with anybody in my family.  What was the big picture that you could say to somebody is just to stop and think about differently today? 

So I can remember when I was going through that time that I, I purposely wanted to feel what that felt like.

To, you know, be at rock bottom because I feel like before that, again, I was always worried about the material things, the material possessions, and I wanted to break myself of that, of that thought process. And I felt like going through this where I didn't have anything, I knew what it was like to have all of this stuff.

I, I lived in a 5,000 square foot house by my, by myself. Um, So I, I had all of the things that people consider as being successful, but I didn't like, I didn't like the feeling of. What that was doing. I didn't like the, the feeling even of people that I was hanging out with at the time. Again, people would look at me and sort of, I don't wanna say use me for my money, but, you know, wanna hang out with me because it seemed like I had a lot.

Right. So I wanted to completely separate, separate myself, and completely break myself from that entire thought process that, that sort of internal presentation of what I felt like I had to do. And for me, going the path that I went, I felt was the best way to be able to break myself of that to, so that I didn't, I didn't portray that feeling anymore.

I didn't portray that emotion of, I've gotta worry about. You know what people are gonna think of me. And it kind of goes back even to when I was a kid, right? Like I, I said, I was always very, very self-conscious and worried about what people thought of me. You know, fast forward 10, 15 years, I still was doing that, but I was, I was doing that with stuff and presenting myself as being, you know, somebody that was not authentic.

So by, by breaking all of that and living through a completely different life, Um, I was able to separate myself from that. So I, I remember having that, that exact, that exact thought as I was living that. And I was never afraid, cuz I always knew that I had the skills or I had the ability to be able to do more.

What I'm finding interesting with, with what you also said is as I went through my different seasons of ups and downs, whether that be my mental, physical relationships, wealth, all of those things, I'm realizing that, you know, having a, a person or a mentor who can actually see through all of that, very hard to come by.

If I was to ask you, Matt, Would you be somebody who, who would, who could organize a group of people? 

 Like such as myself or my peers or other people at different levels, no matter what level they come at, and help them organize a way of chunking things down. A way of, you know, saying it's time for a new chapter. Right? Or it's time to get ready, you know, clean up the, the yard cuz the new season's coming and we need to, to recalibrate.

 It's actually interesting that you, uh, mentioned this cuz this is exactly what we are looking to, to accomplish next, right? Um, our goal, and some people might be listening to this on the podcast or maybe you've heard of this, uh, somewhere else, but the podcast Invest in square Feet is all about.

Wealthy entrepreneurship and our goal is to be able to take business owners and grow and protect their wealth so that they can invest passively into multi-family real estate. So our goal is to be able to work with other business owners. No matter where you're at, again, I'm, I'm saying business owners, but it could be people who are thinking about, you know, creating a business.

Uh, and we'll, we'll have this group, this mastermind type, uh, facility where we'll pair you up with other people that, um, you know, are in a similar boat, but then also some people that are a little bit. Further, a little bit more advanced than what you are. So again, you're always going to, to keep growing through this, you're always going to have that, that direction, that guide to be able to, um, know what to expect at this, this certain level.

And I, I'm, I. Like I said earlier, I'm not even at my capacity. I'm not finished yet, so I'm still always looking for additional people to be able to bring into my life to help me get to the next level. So I'm even going to use this, you know, for, to better myself. Um, and that's, that's the whole reason why I even started the podcast.

Invest in square feet to bring entrepreneurs together, learn from other entrepreneurs. Uh, and now we've interviewed. Over 200, I think we're probably about 230 or so interviews at this point. So we've, we've interviewed all, all types of industries. Multimillionaires, zinc, 500 billionaires. We've, we've had everybody, uh, all walks of life and all types of.

Um, advice and input from a lot of these people, which again, has shaped and helped me with the way that I think. And I want to be able to expose this from not only my own perspective, but again, bringing together everyone who, who is going through and, and, and experiencing these, these different things all at the same time.

Um, you know, bring them together so that we can all grow together and learn from one another. And, um, Again, make, make our mark on this world, which again, ultimately is about, um, bettering, bettering the lives around us, bettering our worlds, whatever it is that we're, uh, that we're interested in 

And a great way to think of all of your businesses, um, is that it's a vehicle to accomplish something else. So one of, one of the goals that I actually partnered with, uh, some other multi-family real estate investors is to eradicate dog EU in Asia, right?

So I'm a, I'm a huge dog lover, and this is very early on, but our goal is to. Understand, you know, how the dogs got where they are today, what are the complications for getting them, um, you know, getting them adopted, you know, medicine, all of that type of stuff. Um, you know, we want to play a role in that and be able to make a huge impact into eradicating, uh, the dog euthanasia.

So all of the stuff that I'm doing, all of the businesses that, that are being started and created, that's one of the end goals that I want to be able to use those vehicles to be able to, to impact. And I'm sure that the listeners have all kinds of. Um, opportunities, organizations that they're interested in as well, and using the business as a vehicle to be able to impact whatever those organizations are.

That's, that's what this is all about. 

Love that, Matt. , something maybe that's repeatable by you or, or by anyone else is, uh, listening is.

To me, you get an opportunity today to decide on something. You can either take part in recession or you can decide not to take part in recession, You can look at whatever excuse you want to not growing, whether that's inflation or job loss, or you know, hard to find staff or you know, all kinds of things that are going on in the media today.

Or you can decide to go after a mission. 

 That's exactly what this whole thing is all about.  This is my way of bringing people into my life who have, have goals and want to be able to better themselves.

 Powerful things can happen when you have people. Connected who are on the same,  the same e energy wavelength. It's really, inspiring being able to be around people who are, who are making things happen. So that's what this whole thing is all about, and, and trying to cultivate that, that group of people to make that impact in the world.

 All right, so there you have it. You know, I find it really interesting when you open up and talk about things that you've gone through in the past, and this could be good or bad, but a lot of people seem to gloss over the bad and they don't want to talk about it. But in my experience, I felt like when I embraced that quote unquote rock bottom, and now looking back on it, I.

Talk about those types of things. I can absolutely recognize the transformations that I went through during that time period. And just like everything else in my life, I, I try to keep a positive attitude about everything. And I recognize that when I made those changes to embrace the rock bottom, it really did it more or less humbled me.

Right. I was able to get away completely from the mindset of having to keep up with everyone else and having to have the best of everything right. So, Remember to embrace your rock bottom no matter what you're going through. If you feel like you are at rock bottom or you've hit a low point, make sure to embrace it and learn from it and evaluate what you're going through and thinking at that time and what you should be doing to move forward so that you don't have that happen to you again.

That's one of the main things that I see people doing is they'll hit some type of rock bottom, they'll. Make some type of crash landing, but then they don't change anything. It's still the exact same routine. They might not be as disciplined as what they need to be, so don't do any of that. Right. One of the other main things that I've absolutely learned over the years is that you want to.

You want to find someone who has already done whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish, whether that be an individual person or if that's joining a group, your learning curve is going to be so much shorter. That's what you want to do. You want to be able to find other people who. Ideally are doing it right now.

You know it's best if you can find someone who is actively doing whatever it is that you want to do right now and then learn from them whether you have to hire them or they have some type of program or group or something like that. That's the type of situation you want, and be careful when you get into a situation where, Someone claims that they had done so many things in the past, but they're not doing that today.

They might have had success at that point whenever that was in the past. But things change. The market changes. People change. And things that might have worked 10, 15, 20 years ago might not necessarily be as effective anymore. Or other people, the market have caught up to whatever they are or whatever that they did.

Maybe the market is all doing that now and, and their unique selling proposition is no longer unique anymore today. So be very, very careful who you're taking your advice from. One of the other really powerful things that I like to do is, again, refer to these ups and downs, and everyone is going to have these ups and downs as seasons in my life, right?

None of these things last all that terribly long, but we all have this propensity to look at the worst case scenario and look at. The sky is falling, and this is horrible, right? This is a season that's not going to last very long, right? Maybe it lasts six months, two months, three months, a few weeks, but we think that our lives are over.

So don't get bogged down in that. You're going to make it through and refer to these both ups and downs as seasons in your life. And of course, as always, if you want to understand what the wealthy do, head over to invest in square feet and sign up for our newsletter. We're going to have other tips and tricks and things that our guests reveal to us that are only.

Published on the newsletter, and we also are publishing the various different investment opportunities that we may have available as well on that newsletter we drop every Wednesday, and we are available on whatever podcast platform it is that you use.