Podcast Transcription

Intro: Welcome to “Flippin’ Off,” a purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.

Dave: What’s up, everybody? Good morning. Good afternoon. Good night. Wherever you are. Dave Boswell here, Davey Boswell. I got a good friend of mine in the house today, Carlos G… Is it… Actually, tell me right now. What is the right way to pronounce it?

Carlos: Guerra. I’ve heard, like, “Guerra,” and I’ve heard “G Carey.”

Dave: Yeah. So say it. It’s Guerra?

Carlos: Gerra.

Dave: Guerra. Guerra. Just like Gerra, like, there’s no U.

Carlos: No.

Dave: I think the U confuses me.

Carlos: Guerra…Hispanic. Guerra.

Dave: I wanna say, like, “Geera.”

Carlos: Gerra.

Dave: Gerra. Like the U-E Guerra.

Carlos: Yeah. That’s why I just go CG. Just, like, CG.

Dave: CG. Nice. Anyway, Carlos Guerra, a good friend of mine now. He’s… How long have you been at the club?

Carlos: It’s been a year and…a year and a half now.

Dave: About a year and a half. Awesome. So, the reason for today’s podcast is just to go through Carlos’ story and talk about some of his struggles, his experiences, what got him into the mindset to actually even begin looking for the club. And recently… I will just let you guys know now. Recently, Carlos closed a deal. How long were you at the club before you closed your first deal?

Carlos: Oh, God. Five months, six months. First deal.

Dave: So, within five or six months, Carlos… And what was the profit you made on that first one?

Carlos: First one, it was a net of 102, but given expense…

Dave: Your split.

Carlos: Twenty-eight.

Dave: Twenty-eight grand on the first one, in five months. So, Carlos has a bit of… He’s seen a bit more success than most people do within their first six months or even within their first year generally, which is awesome. That’s what we wanna see more of. And we just wanted to show that it’s possible, and give an example of, you know, somebody who’s been through that process already, and show maybe what kind of mindset it takes to… I don’t wanna say luck, because we all know luck doesn’t really exist, or luck does exist, I guess, but it’s only when, you know, preparation meets opportunity.

Carlos: Right.

Dave: So, I guess, you know, maybe talk about a little bit of what kind of mindset you were in when you were, you know, looking for the club, and then if that shifted at all for you when you found the club. So, maybe we’ll start with where are you from? What’s your, little bit of your background?

Carlos: Background. Well, I grew up in Long Beach. Just overall background, I come from biomedical research operations, so heavy on the science, heavy on the analytical. Spent 10 years doing hands-on research. So, what you see in the news, those individuals with the lab coats working on testing…doing operations on rats, was one, and then I slowly transitioned to more of a leadership opportunity with the medical school that I was in. And I think the entrepreneurial mindset came from there, because I was given opportunities to test certain things and build a research enterprise when there wasn’t any, and trained students, trained medical students to do research, to think analytically, to train them, and then to do publications in a more, like, presentations with scientists and then get grilled on that at the same time.

Dave: It’s intense.

Carlos: But…

Dave: It sounds intense.

Carlos: It is. And, like, science is no joke. And then from there, I decided to go more of a leadership route more than the hands-on. So, I went to graduate school, got my MBA, then I got an offer at City of Hope. There I learned how to manage funds, like, major funds for an institution. And then I started consulting with physicians, going over their funds that they had for their clinical research, their projects, their team. So, it was more of the overall scope of the institution and operations from that.

Dave: Okay.

Carlos: And then transitioned into real estate.

Dave: Yeah. So, you were always interested in real estate while you were…

Carlos: It’s funny because there’s four things, four life events that happened that ultimately helped me transition to real estate. First, as we shared intimately, like, the loss of my father. Things that happened in 2008, 2009. I think that affected everybody. The third was when I bought my first home. And I’ll tell you a little bit more about that one. And then having my daughter. The last one was a major point for me to transition into real estate, and I never thought I would be transitioning into real estate.

Dave: You never thought you would?

Carlos: No. No. But it was a big proponent. She was a big proponent.

Dave: Your daughter.

Carlos: Yeah. To make the final leap.

Dave: Is that because of time?

Carlos: Yeah. Time has value, dude.

Dave: Yeah, absolutely.

Carlos: And seeing the amount of little time I was spending, and chasing something that I thought I was gonna be in for a long time, and then not having that fulfillment was like, “Okay. What am I really doing?” So, that’s when I decided to take a leap of faith. Everything that I’d built up to, for 10 years, you know, going to school, graduate school. All that.

Dave: It’s a grind.

Carlos: It’s a grind. And then I was like, I’m not happy, I need to see my daughter. And at the end of it I was like, I resigned.

Dave: So, you actually quit.

Carlos: I quit. Yeah, everything I built up for. Because I was, like, unhappy. And at the end of it, I needed to spend more time with my daughter. And then it was a Facebook ad that I found. And it was Frank.

Dave: So, you had not tried to get into anything else, any other real estate clubs or seminars or anything?

Carlos: No. It was just… I was up at night, thinking, “Okay. What’s my next step? What do I have to find locally for me to be around my daughter, but at the same time provide some type of income?”

Dave: So, you didn’t know that it was real estate?

Carlos: Nope. I didn’t know it was gonna be real estate.

Dave: Interesting.

Carlos: The thing that… The third aspect, when I was buying my home, I was more hands-on with that, because the first home that my parents bought was in Victorville. And they just… They didn’t do the research. And coming from a research background, I was like, “Okay. I’m gonna be very hands-on with the process of this. So, I would be looking at different areas, the market cap, and then the tax rate in different ones. And then, “Okay. What does it sell right here? What’s the sell right there?” I was doing more research than the realtor I was…

Dave: Yeah, way more, for sure.

Carlos: Way more.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: And then I made an Excel list of, “Okay. This property has sold…has been on market for this amount of time versus this other property has this, this, this, you know, score 1 to 10. Okay. Made decision right there. We’re going…

Dave: That’s awesome. Okay. So, you said there were four different events that… And your daughter being the main one. Maybe a little bit backing up, and obviously, as honest and transparent as you wanna be. You can get into as deep as you want to, but maybe tell me a little bit about, like, how those other events shifted your mindset, because your dad passed away when you, how far into school were you?

Carlos: I was in my second year of just undergrad at Cal Poly, pursuing science. And he was a big proponent of education. Like, he…

Dave: He was about you going to school.

Carlos: Yeah, yeah. Because he showed me during the summers that, you know, what the value of a dollar is, like, literally working with him, going to work, getting dirty. All that lessons during the summer.

Dave: What did he do?

Carlos: He was a maintenance guy, the maintenance supervisor.

Dave: …old-fashioned labor.

Carlos: Mm-hmm. We would flip the apartments that he had to get ready. So, he renovated, painted, do electrical, the plumbing, all that.

Dave: Okay.

Carlos: I learned that aspect from him.

Dave: But he pushed you to go to school?

Carlos: Yeah.

Dave: He really wanted you to not do that work or what do you…

Carlos: He showed me, like, “This is the life that I’m having to do for you to have opportunity. Take advantage of this right now since I’m providing this opportunity for you to have. And that way, you’re not struggling in the future.” And once he passed away, unfortunately, in a car accident, I was like, “Crap.”

Dave: Yeah. Shit.

Carlos: Shit.

Dave: Fuck.

Carlos: Yeah, dude. It was a tough time.

Dave: Yeah, I get it, man.

Carlos: At 21, now becoming a head of household. I didn’t even know what the freaking life insurance was, dude, at that point because he was the man of house. He took care of everything. And then now I have my mom. She’s in a mental state that, it’s like, “Okay. I have to be strong for her. I gotta be strong for myself. I have to figure all these things out now that I have to provide direction.” And that’s where it was really the beginning of, “Okay. Now I’m the man of the house. I have to make these major decisions.” And along the way, I didn’t have that mentor, like, guidance-ship that I was looking for. And then 2008 happened. I learned that lesson pretty hard.

Dave: So, how did that affect you? I know it affected a lot of people.

Carlos: It did.

Dave: 2008 being, for those of you who don’t know, the big crash of the market, the real estate market. A lot of people lost a lot of money, and it affected you.

Carlos: Yeah. We lost a lot of money.

Dave: Okay.

Carlos: What they paid for and what we let the house go for. Seventy grand.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: Seventy grand. And basically, we trusted a realtor that I shouldn’t have, and we didn’t know what the situation was, and then we ended up renting because she just wanted out because it had too many memories and too much of my dad.

Dave: Sure.

Carlos: So, that’s where I was like, “Okay.” I didn’t know anything about real estate, but that was my first lesson about it. And then that’s why I was hands-on when I was looking for my first home to purchase, because I was like, “Okay. I’m gonna learn this process.”

Dave: Make sure it doesn’t go wrong.

Carlos: Exactly.

Dave: Do it right. Okay. Makes sense. So, and then fast-forward, you saw this Facebook ad.

Carlos: Mm-hmm. It was late at night. And then it was Facebook ad in terms of the real estate club, and then submitted the online form, and then I got a call from Frank.

Dave: And what kind of mindset were you in when you sent that in, you send your info? Were you just skeptical, like, “I might as well just see”? Were you hopeful about it, or how were you feeling when you were…

Carlos: I was getting an interest because I was researching again.

Dave: So, you started doing research again.

Carlos: I started doing it.

Dave: Yeah, of course, you did.

Carlos: And then I came across NWAC and then I was like, “Okay. What are they about?” And then read the reviews, went through the website, and started getting informed of who’s in there and what do you guys do and how you guys do it. And then, yeah, I was like, “You know what? Let me just go through… see what’s going on.”

Dave: Yeah. So, when you came through the three-day event, and you were gonna…getting ready to start looking for deals, what… Did your mindset shift from… Did a light bulb go off for you during the three-day or… You know what I mean? Like, did it click for you? Because you closed the deal pretty quick.

Carlos: Yeah. Basically, like your mom said, you provide a business in a box, by trial and error of what you guys already have been through. And there was a moment there in RPP that I had with your mom. I call it the Peter moment, because we connected in a way that she knew that I was apprehensive, but I was gonna do it.

Dave: I knew you were apprehensive, for sure. Yeah.

Carlos: I was quiet for the last two days.

Dave: Very quiet. I didn’t know about you. And I didn’t know about you at all. I was kind of like trying to figure out what was going on with this guy. Super quiet.

Carlos: Mentally it was, like, you know, what I was thinking I was gonna be doing for the rest of my life. Now transitioning to you guys opening my eyes to other possibilities, other opportunities, but at the same time having the opportunity to be around for my daughter. That was a big proponent.

Dave: A big deal.

Carlos: Yep.

Dave: The wheels just turning. That’s why you were quiet.

Carlos: Yeah. Very…

Dave: Analytical mind just moving. That’s cool.

Carlos: Mm-hmm. Absolutely, dude.

Dave: Okay. So, now you start looking for prospective leads, you start prospecting for leads. What were your conversations like at first?

Carlos: It’s funny because the first door knock I ever did, I was… There was someone outside. It was in Yucaipa. And I noticed that she was having a hard time. Something was going on. It was a pre-foreclosure. I did actually a little of the marketing piece of introducing who I was, my picture, a little bit of my background, and why I was there. I left it with the homeowner’s sister. And that turned out to be something that Patti went to go talk to the homeowner. And…

Dave: With, intentionally for you, or just, like, randomly she went as well?

Carlos: No, no. Intentionally went because he contacted me after.

Dave: Oh, got it.

Carlos: And then I wasn’t, you know, well versed in terms of his options.

Dave: Sure.

Carlos: So, I referred him to Patti.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: Patti then went over there and, you know, she did her thing as she does. She’s very good at what she does. And that homeowner ended up doing chapter 13, ultimately. We couldn’t help him out.

Dave: And real quick, for anybody who doesn’t know Patti, she’s crazy awesome. She is super outgoing and, honestly, just one of the most genuine people you’ll probably ever meet. She really just cares about… When she starts talking to you, she has one thing in mind, and that’s just you. And she really doesn’t care about anything else. She has no, like, motives or, you know, there’s no… There’s no strings attached. She’s not looking to accomplish anything other than, you know, serve whatever that person’s needs are. So, that’s why she’s very good at what she…

Carlos: Absolutely. And that’s where we connected really quick. And based on how she saw how I was approaching homeowners, she mentored me. She mentored me. She basically showed me how she does things…

Dave: That’s awesome.

Carlos: …and how… And then that’s where it clicked. I was like, “Okay. The next door, the next door.” I got a little bit better with the conversations, a little bit more comfortable. And then that first deal that happened, it was persistence with those homeowners.

Dave: So, tell me a little bit about it. How did it go?

Carlos: So, at first they were apprehensive. And then I started noticing, oh, they said that they are doing a loan mod. Then, I know, in RPP…

Dave: So, what was the first meeting like? Let’s just go to the very first meeting.

Carlos: First meeting?

Dave: Yeah. The very first time you met the homeowner, what was the conversation like, or what was that encounter like?

Carlos: They were like… They were a little bit apprehensive, because they were like, “No, we already have it covered in terms of a loan mod.” But then the little things I was noticing, the body language, the circumstance that they were living in. I started asking more questions. And then, based on that conversation and that apprehension, like, they have everything covered, and I started asking more pointed questions, diving into it, and realized that they were getting scammed. They paid $3,000, $4,000 to get a loan mod.

Dave: Ahh, boom, there you go. So, you told them, “You’re being scammed. You should never have paid for that.” And gained instant trust.

Carlos: Yep.

Dave: Cool. Awesome. Perfect. Great. Okay. So, that was… How long was the relationship from the time you started talking to them to the point where they were all finished up?

Carlos: I think that took probably four visits, three to four visits within a month’s time.

Dave: Okay.

Carlos: A month’s time.

Dave: So, that’s quicker. That’s honestly quicker than most of these transactions and most of these processes, but that’s awesome. They were able to get it dealt with. So, what was the details in the house? They were in foreclosure. Somebody scammed them. And so did you guys take care of that?

Carlos: Yeah. We definitely took it where we called the lender. Your mom and I, we got on the lender. We got on a call with them. And they haven’t received one bit of documentation.

Dave: Oh, man.

Carlos: And that’s when they have that self-realization as well. And then, looking at what the documents and providing them the…] information, that’s where your mom made the offer of helping them out. And then based on the realization that they faced, and now that offer, they were like, “Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s go for it.”

Dave: Yeah, it’s a no-brainer. That’s amazing. It happens when you’re just willing to help somebody.

Carlos: Right. And we looked at it holistically. And that was a big aspect that they were having people come up to them just offer them, like, “Look, we’ll give you $25,000 cash,” but not really diving deep into what they really needed.

Dave: Yeah. They’re just throwing numbers at them.

Carlos: Exactly.

Dave: Nobody has any idea what to do.

Carlos: Without explaining.

Dave: They’re terrified.

Carlos: Exactly.

Dave: Yeah. Feeling like they’re getting scammed again.

Carlos: Exactly. So, their approach was very methodical, but very holistic. And that was, you know, what encapsulated a lot of trust in that partnership before.

Dave: That’s awesome. Do you think you would have been able to do something like this without having gone to NWAC?

Carlos: No. Absolutely, no.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: The way that your mom approached the situation, the way that she brought me in, and then adding the components of Oscar, then Tim, the creative thinking, that’s where I love that conversation, because of the analytical side, the way they’re performing it, and how it made sense. And it was a win-win situation for a lot of individuals.

Dave: Right. For everybody. Yeah.

Carlos: And it just made total sense, and I was like, “There’s no way I could have thought of this at that point.” Now, there’s a lot of more tools and resources that I have that I can have that conversation pretty easily.

Dave: Yeah, absolutely. How’s it been since then? Have you been consistently door-knocking? Do you fall off a little bit after the first one? Or how has it been? You can be honest here.

Carlos: No. No. To be honest, I was like, there were things in the pipeline. That’s the thing with this. I decided to do it full-time.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: And with full-time, your success is really dependent on you.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: But at the same time, you have to recall that this is not an easy business. It could take a mental toll on you one day, and then you’re gonna have to wake up the next day and then have more conversations. And you have to be kind of ready for those conversation, because you’re dealing with a new individual with different circumstances. And you’re the individual that has the knowledge, but also the resources to help them, whether they realize it, not at that moment in time, but they will realize it.

Dave: Eventually.

Carlos: Eventually.

Dave: Yeah. It’s a matter of getting them, or getting to that place with them.

Carlos: Yeah. In total, I mean, there’s been five deals, but within that, the net was… It was a lot for this year.

Dave: Yeah. That’s awesome. That’s really exciting. That’s awesome.

Christian: Hi, this is Christian Rios. As many of you know, I have been a member of New Wealth Advisors Club for over seven years, and got started when I was 17 years old, with absolutely no real estate experience. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from being in the industry is the need for authentic relationships. If you’re looking for an actual team locally in Southern California with all the resources needed to close deals, register for one of our free workshops by visiting www.joinnwac.com. Thanks for listening to the “Flippin’ Off” podcast.

Dave: That’s awesome. That’s really exciting. That’s awesome to hear. Yeah. That’s really cool.

Carlos: Yeah, dude. Yeah, like I said, this business is something that if you really are gonna put 100%, you’re basically putting your life with it. You have to really be consistent, disciplined, but at the same time, be prepared that you need to face things that you haven’t faced in the past that need to be addressed. And this year has been a crazy year for everybody. And for the first time, you could say in 13 years, I was able to stop for a little bit.

Dave: Take some time?

Carlos: Take some time. Even though there were things in the pipeline, I needed to take some time for me and address certain things that I haven’t, because after the death of my dad, I just always been on the go, dude. Go, go, go.

Dave: You don’t stop.

Carlos: You don’t stop. So, yeah, dude. I’m not gonna lie. There’s times where I was depressed and I had to deal with that. So, yeah, I now take medication for it.

Dave: Do you?

Carlos: Mm-hmm. I take medication for depression. I have my counselor. We talk about things. But at the same time, I enjoy just being in front of the door and actually have an agenda and conversation with the homeowner.

Dave: That’s a big deal.

Carlos: It is.

Dave: That’s really cool.

Carlos: Because that adds a layer of fulfillment that, you know, I didn’t have in my past.

Dave: It’s so cool. But coming from somebody who… I mean, how many years of school did you go through?

Carlos: I will say six, seven post-high school.

Dave: So, you went on a grind through school to be able to have a successful life.

Carlos: Absolutely.

Dave: And I mean, with your degree, I mean, just, you can make well over six figures a year.

Carlos: Yeah. I left a six-figure job.

Dave: Right. And for perspective, I mean, I think that’s everything. When you look at the average Joe, the average Jane, like, most people are just trying to get to a point in life where they’re financially stable.

Carlos: Right.

Dave: And they can hear it from somebody, you know, who was completely stable, beyond, I would say, past financially stable. And so, you were pretty successful. And it just goes to show you really can’t find that fulfillment in money. It just doesn’t. It just doesn’t do it.

Carlos: It’s a byproduct in terms of, you know, years and years of investing in yourself, but thinking that you were gonna be fulfilled doing that role. And now, transition into real estate, then you find yourself, okay, being fulfilled, but learning, basically, how to fish. Basically, learning how to make your own income. And there’s no cap to that. It’s only capped by how much effort you really put into it.

Dave: It’s so true.

Carlos: That’s it, dude.

Dave: That’s exciting too, when you think about that, really. And that’s honestly one of the things that keeps me going and gets me really juiced up about what I do is the possibilities of what could happen. And sometimes that can even be paralyzing for a lot of people. Sometimes, like, the fear of success, it can paralyze people, and I find myself in that place at different times. And I have to struggle with that. But…

Carlos: Yeah. But here’s the thing. Here’s the beauty about it. I wasn’t alone during that process. There were people that were coming in that I’ve been able to partner with, that I’ve been able to learn, that I’ve been able to have a genuine conversation with and a genuine relationship-building off of that, that now transcends to me even mentoring individuals that reach out to me.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: So, it’s like you’re paying it forward and then people notice. I’m not one that likes to brag in terms of success.

Dave: Sure.

Carlos: Anything monetary, anything like that. I see success as I have time for my daughter. That’s success to me. I have time for my family when I wasn’t really focusing on that. I was chasing titles. I was chasing positions and ambitions and salary.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: But then coming to a realization that, you know, this has more value. This will have a long-term value for me, myself and my family.

Dave: And how’s your relationship now with your daughter? How has that been?

Carlos: I get the chance to just have her, you know, wake up, make breakfast, play around. Now with those whole COVID thing, just teaching her, like, the letters, writing it out, set curriculums up, for her to be ready. But I know her upbringing will be very different now because of real estate.

Dave: Absolutely.

Carlos: That more of that entrepreneurial mindset, to look at things very differently, to look at things creatively, rather than just where I grew up, where my dad was like, “No. School, school, school.” School is great, but it’s not gonna teach you life lessons.

Dave: That is so freaking cool, because she’s really gonna get both sides of it. She’s gonna get the best of both worlds. Yeah. Mike Tyson. The best of both worlds. Having, coming from your dad pushing you to be… She’s gonna see everything that you did. She’s gonna see the good things about you going through school and then she’s gonna see how it was important for you to spend time with her and she’s gonna see that she has value. And she’s gonna see the value in herself because you gave her that. I think it’s so awesome what you’re doing, man. And I think your story is inspirational and it’s very relatable.

And that’s the reason I wanted you to get here to share this. I just know that so many people are at a point in their life where they are not fulfilled no matter what they’re doing. And I think it’s so important to hear from somebody who has made money, like, who’s been there and has made the money without having to become an entrepreneur that… You did the grind. You’ve made the money. You could have done that. And it wasn’t right for your life. And so I think it’s so big. It’s so big for your family, for your future, and for you.

Carlos: Yeah. No, absolutely. I mean, it is possible. And I know I’ve spoken with individuals that have been doing this a while and it’s just the mindset. Everybody has things in our life that they look at setbacks, and they hold on to that so long that it doesn’t allow them to fully progress. But that’s where mentally, I had to do a mental check for myself, because I’ve always been on the grind. I always had to go, go, go. I need to make this happen. I’m driven. And if you tell me, “No, you can’t do it,” I’m just gonna prove you wrong right there on the spot. I will. And that’s just the mentality that I was raised with and the grit that I had to have, because…

Dave: Yeah. And in fact, I’m pretty sure we told you not to quit your job…

Carlos: No. But I mean, I came to NWAC after.

Dave: It was right after. Yeah.

Carlos: It was right after.

Dave: I think it was, like, right after, because I was like, “You quit?”

Carlos: Yeah. I was like, “You know what? I did it.” But then this opportunity came up with getting to know you guys.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: What you guys are about. And then building… Basically, you guys… I see it this way. You guys are a ship that you guys have your captains, your leaders, and then you guys take us out to sea for three days to learn the aspect, then we come back, then you guys give us our own little boat, basically, our own little boat to basically go out there to fish.

Dave: That’s awesome.

Carlos: But you guys are there as well to protect us from the sharks.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: And at the same time, look at every fish that we catch, and see what we can make of it.

Dave: That’s an awesome analogy, or metaphor. I’m not sure that’s… That’s awesome.

Carlos: And then there’s always gonna be that lifeline there. If I need help on something, I have a questions. I look at things very differently. So, that’s… It’s funny because I was thinking about this this morning, like, “How am I gonna reference this?” And then…

Dave: That’s awesome.

Carlos: I was Baby Shark… I was doing Baby Shark with my daughter, dude. And I was like, “You know what? Sea, boat, sharks. You know, it makes sense.”

Dave: That’s epic. It does, too. I mean, that’s perfect. That’s exactly what it is.

Carlos: Yeah. And now when things come up, like, there’s an appointment that I have this coming Saturday with a student that mentioned, like, “Hey, look, I wanna learn from you, see what you’re doing, and basically improve.” I have an appointment on Saturday.

Dave: That’s so cool.

Carlos: And even if, like, they say something I don’t know, I was like, I always have my go-to is Oscar.

Dave: Yeah.

Carlos: Oscar is like… I always like breaking things down, like, “How far am I in terms of my approaches,” or the solutions that I think I’m thinking of, basically, providing, versus how he thinks of things. And it’s… There’s a lot of similarities there.

Dave: Yeah, absolutely. I would agree. Do you think anybody can do the business?

Carlos: Yeah. If you really have the wherewithal and the mindset for it.

Dave: Yeah. Mindset is gonna be the biggest part.

Carlos: Yeah. Big. Anybody can change in terms of the way they approach certain things, the way they talk, the way they might think, but that’s where mentorship is a big aspect.

Dave: That’s right. I was gonna go next to… Carlos went through the six-week… Twelve-week? Six-week.

Carlos: Twelve.

Dave: Is it 12 or 6?

Carlos: The mentorship with your mom.

Dave: A mentorship with my mom is six. Or maybe it’s 12. I can’t… I’m having a major brain fart right now. Is it six? A six-week mentorship. I can’t remember. You went through the mentorship program and… Tell me a little bit about that. And why did you feel like you needed to do that?

Carlos: For one, I needed to really see where this could take me, like, really look into it very prospectively, invest in myself for the first time outside of academics. And what your mom provided was an encapsulation of breaking things down for you mentally in terms of everything that you compartmentalize, you need to unpack that.

Dave: Mm-hmm.

Carlos: You really need to unpack that.

Dave: You need it front of you.

Carlos: Exactly.

Dave: You needed it all out. Yeah, I totally get that.

Carlos: There is something to be said about revealing things and discussing things and walking through things, rather than just, “Okay. It’s real estate. I can learn this, this, this.” But at the same time, walking through, unpacking certain things, and how it correlates to the success that you’ve had in the past and the success that you have in the future, it’s kind of setting another foundation to prepare you what’s ahead. And that’s where I was like, “Okay.” For the first time, I was able to unpack, privately, during this time of COVID, the passing of my dad. Because I wasn’t… There’s one person told me I was not able to grieve the way I should. And sometimes you need to take things out for yourself to reveal and go through that pain to have that self-realization, because, as we both know, parents are big proponents in our lives.

Dave: Yeah. Yeah.

Carlos: So, yeah. The mentorship helped me definitely align certain aspects of my life that I needed to get in order.

Dave: Yeah, absolutely. Sorry I lost myself a little bit.

Carlos: No. No. I know, it’s… Yeah, dude.

Dave: It’s heavy. So, yeah, that’s really cool. I think a huge part is being willing to, like, going through mentorship, because you can listen to all the information and you can hear it, and it can go in one ear and right out the other.

Carlos: Right.

Dave: So, it really takes, like, being in the right mindset to go through the mentorship and then take advantage of it and do the things. I just see Carlos as somebody who… I really see you as somebody who’s just, like, a really good representation…like, just a really good student, like, somebody who, you know, like, you do what you’re supposed to do. You get the information in front of you, you analyze it, decide whether or not it’s valuable or makes sense, and then you go ahead and do that. And you don’t waver on it. You just do what you’re told. And it’s a perfect example of if you do what you’re supposed to do and you kind of follow the steps, then the things… But it’s easier said than done. Right?

Carlos: Yeah, I know. The first year was, like, I was more like, “Let me learn as much as possible.” Always there in the classes, learning, asking pointed questions, digging into the mind of Tim, digging into the mind of Oscar, Chris Albin, just asking pointed questions because I was so curious. And then now, this year and a half, the second year, going into the second year, I’ve been like, “Okay. Let me see what this guy is doing. What’s working for him…

Dave: Nice.

Carlos: …or working for them?”

Dave: Nice.

Carlos: So, closing… Okay. So, I was provided an opportunity to close my own deal outside. And I learned a lot in that process. The network that, you know, basically, Empires, and just talking to them, you know, just be prepared too, when you’re facing, you know, these opportunities what you learned in the past, the foundation. Yeah. And now, I’m starting to think, “Okay. I’m taking a little bit of this, a little bit of that.” Just forming my own way of, like, pursuing real estate, but at the same time, going back to always having that comfort of knowing I can go back and just get a double check.

Dave: Yeah. It’s so cool.

Carlos: That’s critical in this business, because you know who to work with, and you know who not to work with.

Dave: Right.

Carlos: You’ll realize that pretty quick.

Dave: Yes.

Carlos: And that’s where that safe haven I feel like, with NWAC, with Oscar, with your mom, going over deals. It makes sense, especially as you’re starting off.

Dave: So, cool, man. Very cool. Anything that you’d wanna share with anybody that you wanna…somebody who’s thinking about coming to the club and not sure, maybe on the fence, or anything or any encouragement?

Carlos: When you asked me to do this podcast, I was surprised, but at the same time, I really thought about, like, the message that I wanna translate and the impact that a decision like this can have life-changing effects, but at the same time, doing something with intent. So, there’s self-development books I’ve been reading during this time. And there’s a passage here from “Life Principles,” from Ray Dalio. Successful individual. And then this really… in terms of where I was at that point. And I think this will help relate to a lot of individuals in terms of even getting into this business.

Dave: Awesome.

Carlos: Okay. So, at some point in your life, you will crash in a big way. You might fail at your job or with your family, lose a loved one, suffer a serious accident or illness, or discover that life you imagine is out of reach forever. There are a whole host of ways that something will get to you. At such times, you will be in pain, and you might think that… I’m sorry. That you don’t have the strength to go on. You almost always do. However, your ultimate success will depend on how you realize that fact, even though it may not seem that way at the moment. So, this is why many people who have endured setbacks that seemed devastating at that time ended up as happy or even happier than they originally were after they successfully adapted to them. The quality of your life will depend on the choices you make at those painful moments. The faster one appropriately adapts, the better. No matter what you want out of life, your ability to adapt and move quickly and efficiently through the process of personal evolution will determine your success and your happiness. If you do it well, you can change your physiological reaction to it, so that that way…so that what was your pain can become something you crave.

Dave: Wow. So, how is that… How did that apply to you, or in the biggest way, would you say?

Carlos: It made me reflect on the choice that I made during that difficult time, of losing my dad, quitting a job that I wasn’t happy with, having that time with my daughter, and adapting to what was right in front of me. And that was an opportunity to have a better future. Here I am now.

Dave: Yeah. Yes, you are, man. Killing it, too. Killing it. That’s awesome, man. You’re an inspiration for a lot of people, for sure, so… Including me.

Carlos: Thank you.

Dave: So, thank you for sharing with us, man. That’s awesome. Where can people find that?

Carlos: So, Ray Dalio, “Life Principles,” Audible, Barnes & Nobles…

Dave: Nice. I’ll have to check it out. It’s good stuff. Carlos, I wanna thank you very much for joining us today and sharing your story and pouring your heart out. Your story is awesome. Thank you for being an integral part of the club and for showing up as a leader and who you’ve been. It’s really awesome. And it makes what we do at the club… It just reassures me and all of us that, like, what we’re doing is powerful and, like, what we provide is valuable. So, I just wanna thank you for that very much, man.

Carlos: Thank you for asking.

Dave: Guys, I think that’s gonna be it for today. So, it’s been fun. And we will see you next time. With Carlos and Dave, we out.

Carlos: Out.

Melina: I’m Melina Boswell, your host of the “Flippin’ Off” podcast. I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, we’d love for you to subscribe, give us a five-star rating, and tell your friends all about us. You can find more episodes of the “Flippin’ Off” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever else you like to listen to awesome podcasts like this. If you like what you’ve heard, we’d really appreciate it if you’d follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and tell us the stories that you’d like to hear.

Tim Jackson is our senior producer. Luke Jackson is our editor. Brothers. Josh Mauldin is our producer. Sound design by Frequency Factory. Our executive producer is Mind & Mill. This was all created by Dave Boswell for New Wealth Advisors Club.