Podcast Transcription

Melina: Just breathe in through your nose. Right? I’m listening to the happy music. Isn’t that so happy?

Man: Sounds relaxing.

Melina: It’s always relaxing.

Melina: Welcome to Flippin’ Off. A purpose-driven podcast about flipping houses and making a difference.

Hello, hello, hello. Melina Boswell here today with Mr. John Slater.

John: Hi.

Melina: And Amir Elia.

Amir: Hello.

Melina: Did I pronounce it right, Amir?

Amir: Yes, you did.

Melina: That’s as best as I can. So, Amir is our Israeli friend, and so I’m always asking him how to say different words. And by the way, he brought me the most amazing hummus.

Amir: Hummus.

Melina: Hummus.

Amir: [00:00:45 Foreign Language].

Melina: Oh, yeah, so good. It’s making my mouth water. [00:00:49 Foreign Language]. No, that’s not it.

Amir: Name is good.

Melina: It’s good. I know. I know. Anyway, today, it’s an exciting day for me today. It’s actually the manifestation of everything that I work for, everything that I believe in, everything that I care about is really wrapped up in this podcast today. I know the two of you are like, “Huh? Well, what does that mean?” Well, it’s really simple for me, because my whole purpose in creating the club and keeping the club going and continuing to enhance it and create new opportunities is so that new people, more people can have success.

You know, if you think about what our mission statement is, “New Wealth Advisors Club is a group of people committed to empower and encourage all people to realize their core purpose in life. And with this realization, we believe everyone can live an inspired life, full of enthusiasm, as they in turn inspire others.” And I really, really, really want to live that out.

And so when I get the opportunity to mentor somebody, coach somebody, and then it’s kind of like they launch and they become a success in their own right, and then they get the opportunity to then turn around and pay it forward to somebody else by launching another student into a coaching program, that exactly is the power of this club. So I always joke that it’s my children and my grandchildren and my great grandchildren because it’s generational what we’re creating here.

And so John is actually second generation. So, technically, you would be like my grandkid.

John: There you go.

Melina: And Amir here would be my great grandkid which is amazing because I mentored your mentor. Your mentor took you on and now here you are, one of the senior coaches, sitting on the Board of Advisors in a very short period of time. And you’ve taken many students under your wing and coached and mentored them. And Amir is one of them. So we thought today we would take the time to celebrate that and just talk to Amir about his journey. And this is Amir’s second podcast, right? So you can kind of talk about that.

So, John, why don’t you share maybe, starting with did you see yourself here? Did you see yourself as being, you know, a parent and then… You’re close to being a grandparent.

John: I know, I know. I kind of did. I kinda did. Because I remember back to, you know, probably been in the club about six months and I was talking to a couple of different investors, and talking to Dave, and I knew where I wanted to be. I saw how the club worked. I saw the opportunity for growth. And very quickly I remember saying to Selena [SP], “I wanna be a senior investor. I wanna be one of those senior coaches that now helps to coach and mentor other people, and then not only that, but see the fruits of what I do to be able to have somebody else then go off and now coach and mentor somebody else.”

So, me, nearly a grandparent if you wanna say, I see that in evidence now because Amir has transitioned from being that club member to an accountability partner, a coaching training. He’s out taking students door knocking and talking to homeowners and helping them grow their business because of what he’s been able to learn. So I’ve coached a number of students and helped a lot of people start their businesses. And you kinda want the best for everybody, but everybody doesn’t necessarily have it in themselves to continue that push, and continue that fight to get to where, potentially, they wanna be.

And Amir is a young guy that came in. He has his challenges but he came from his background and now he’ll probably show a little bit more as well, but I saw an opportunity with Amir, too. It wasn’t me picking Amir and saying, “I’m gonna pick this guy.” It was Amir standing out above and beyond similar to maybe how I can see myself standing out when I started. And that’s what made me want to help Amir move forward.

So I’m very interested today. So let me ask you, Amir, and introduce you to this conversation, but we were here six, seven months ago. We did this podcast on, you know, here you are. You’re joining the club. You closed your first deal back then and it was all exciting because, as a quick recap, you’ve been around. You’ve been to real estate programs. You finally found the club and you’re doing all this stuff. And now it became real for you. So, not digging too far back, but how’s the last six, seven months been for you?

Amir: So, obviously, it’s been wild. I mean, so much happened. And the funny thing is I feel nothing really happened. Like, literally, just scratching the surface, you know what I mean? And, I mean, obviously, since that first deal, we got into a couple more. But for me it’s really like I don’t really quantify success like that, although it is, right? So the contradiction is kind of for me it’s something I think about a lot because I’m thinking like I know I’m gonna do this for the long run, 5, 7, 10 years. Like I’m young. And so…

Melina: Five whole years?

Amir: You know, and oops. So if that’s the case, my focus all of a sudden changed to not the number of deals but working on my craft, being good at what I do, keep creating those relationships because that’s eventually what will change my life in the next 10 years, not another deal or 2. And, by doing that, I know deals will come, like it just will…the money, the deals, it’s a result.

John: It was funny when Amir first really started to get more of a grip on what was happening. When he quit that job and took that leap to go full time and started to see a little bit of success and to then see that shift in him where, you know… We still talk a lot about, “Hey, time management. What are you doing?” “Oh, I’m surfing.” “Okay. Get to work.” That kinda conversation. He loves his surfing but…

Melina: Who could blame him?

John: At the same time, he’s putting in that work and that dedication. And so probably more so in the last few months, you’ve really started to take more and more students out, fill your time from instead of door knocking on your own and kind of running your own business, I know the last couple of weeks you’ve been heavy in God knows how many doors knocks but it’s been with different students all the time. So where is that drive coming from right now?

Amir: I mean, so I think from the first couple of months I’ve been involved in the club and I kind of saw how things are going, I knew I want to be a coach. I knew it. Like I want to do it. That’s where I wanna be. You know what? And after like a year or a little bit more, I thought I can. But I wasn’t acting like a coach. I wasn’t doing like you’re saying seriously. Like, you’re saying, “Do what coaches do,” I didn’t do that and I didn’t know like…

So in the last two months, really, something like that, it just seems so natural to me to kind of be involved with new people that comes into the club and just help them grow. So that’s personally, me, I just feel it happened naturally. But why am I doing this, where the drive is coming from? That’s what you’re asking me, and I feel it’s, you know, my two core purpose is awakening growth. And I know I can do it to the best… I can fulfill it really, that way, first of all, with other students, help them grow. But also for myself.

It’s something that I’m always…I got to keep doing and it’s tough. It’s just hard to kind of keep growing, keep being authentic, keep looking at yourself, keep owning your good, bad, kaka, the whole thing. But that’s what I’m doing. Like, that’s the real juice. Seriously, that’s the answer because that’s the real juice. What’s driving me? To see someone, to actually help someone get…change their lives through real estate. Give me something better.

Joh: I already know the answer to this question, but I think it’s important to recognize that… I was gonna ask you, do you feel you’ve changed over the last few months because you’ve started to close more deals? And I feel like I already know the answer is no. You haven’t changed because you’re now in more deals, you’re getting way more leads and you’re marketing your business and you’re getting a lot more opportunity. But I still don’t think that’s changed you.

Amir: No. You know what changed me? Working with other people, like really working with other people. And I thought that’s what you’re gonna ask actually. I thought that’s what you were going to ask. Do you feel it changed you to go out with different students and just having those conversations in the car about the business, about where you see yourself, about your strengths, about your weaknesses, about that type of… That changed me.

John: I mean, it’s definitely a growth. I remember back, moving from student to coach. There is a growth even to a point where sometimes I wouldn’t feel like door knocking. I wouldn’t feel like going out, me and Selene going together, but because I have to, because I have to go take that…I don’t have to, but because I want to go take that student out and help teach them.

Melina: We’ve committed to them.

John: I’ve committed to them. You become way more confident in your actions. You become way more confident in your actions, in your conversations because you’re now in a teaching role. And I’d definitely say, over the last four, maybe five months that you’ve been doing this now, taking more and more students out, you can definitely see your personality starting to grow, to flourish, if you wanna say, where you are becoming way more confident. Have you seen that? Would you agree with that, Melina?

Melina: Absolutely. I’ve definitely seen it. And it’s so funny to me because I just remember, one thing that sticks out in my mind, and it made me realize who Amir is. He said he had a check in his hand and he said, “Oh, it’s a real business.” It’s like, “This is a real business.” And then you said, “Yes.” So then the conversation started happening around, “Oh, is it time to get an LLC?” And we tell everybody, “Don’t go out and get any entities until you’ve actually made enough money to pay for it.” And so that conversation is already taking place.

So, for me, like I already knew you would get there. But what I’ve seen is I think flourishing is a very good word to describe where we’ve seen Amir go. I already like you. I already saw great, great things in Amir. I feel really confident in who he is as a person and who he is at his very core. But what I’ve seen now is when you’re in a leadership role, how other people relate to you and then watching you relate to them. And then, you don’t know this, but I have lots of conversations about you because I talk to you. I try to make sure that I connect with every person I can at the club.

And so I know you’re out there working because I hear your name a lot. And people refer to you and people say, “Well, because, yeah, Amir said this,” or, “I experienced this with Amir,” or, “This happened.” And that makes me know that you are truly having an impact on other people and that is incredibly valuable which is why you’re sitting here.

John: Yeah, definitely. And, ultimately, what will happen is, as we always say, the business, the deals, the money, all that just starts to show up with the action.

Melina: Totally.

John: And you are definitely creating that action right now, and, as Melina says, to hear a lot of people saying, “Oh, I went out with Amir. I’m going out with Amir.” And I know you’ve been very full with helping other students go out recently. But it’s just, without even realizing it, suddenly, you’re gonna find yourself. And you mentioned five years. I mean, I’m five years now in the club and it just seems to have disappeared. Five years of my life has disappeared in such a whirlwind that it feels like six months.

Melina: Isn’t that the best?

John: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it is. But I feel like maybe I haven’t quite stopped to enjoy it because it’s gone so quickly. And it’s great to see that because I hope I can impart that into Amir as well to say, “Enjoy the journey. Don’t just sit back in five years and say, ‘Holy smoke, I suddenly grew. My business grew.'” Ever since moved so quickly without actually stepping back and just saying, “Enjoy the journey at the same time.”

Melina: That’s probably one of the most important things. For me, the way that I’m doing that is by the power in that and the way that you’re able to do that is by raising up other leaders. That’s the truth. So in the beginning, when you’re first starting is when you have to grind and hustle, and then the harder that you work, the more that you grind, the better you become at your craft. And once you become very good at your craft, when you become proficient, you then get the opportunity to start to pass on your craft to other people.

It is definitely a teacher-to-student craft. And if you can really hone that in, then you get to really enjoy the journey. That’s when the enjoying of the journey begins, in my opinion, because you should stop while you’re in the middle of the grind. But you know, I was reading somewhere and I think… Maybe I’ll get it wrong, but it’s something like this. You know, your 20’s is when you’re working through your life trying to figure out, you’re learning all about yourself. You’re learning about like the real laws of life. And then you learn that, “Oh, my gosh. My parents are the smartest people I know.” That’s in your 20’s, right?

And then in your 30’s is when you really begin to choose your craft and you start to work on it. You start to really hone in on it. And then in your 40’s is when you master it. And I feel like that’s a lot of what we’re experiencing right now in the club. It’s the very same thing. You know, maybe your first… And the beauty is that you can be in control of that timeline. You can condense it by going to work immediately. And sometimes that just simply means getting to class and understanding. It’s like learning a new language for some people.

“Well, I don’t know anything about real estate.” So they need to take that first initial amount of time and really hone in on their craft. But the harder that you work, that’s what I love, is that you can shoot to the top as quickly as you want. There’s no ceiling here.

Amir: And what I heard [SP] is you’re talking decades. And I love it, personally, but I know a lot of people that I talk to, just in general, people in general, I don’t think they have the patience, too. It just doesn’t come right away. It just doesn’t. And if you do have the patience too, and you obviously do the action and you do the work and you develop the relationships, and you’re just committed, the results will come. And then define yourself what the result looks like for you. That can vary.

Melina: True. It can be a payday.

Amir: It can be develop someone to get a payday. So, yeah, you need to get your paydays, but, yeah. Yeah.

John: So this year for you, we talked about however long it was, six, seven months ago, we were in here talking about, “Hey, you’re closing your first deal. You’re about to receive your first check in real estate.” We’re in the middle of the year now and you’re actually gonna be looking…you know, you’re out there marketing your business and running your business but now looking for your fourth deal all of a sudden. So you’ve had that six months of kind of whirlwind activity. So, as Melina will say, “Big Mo’s kinda starting to show up in your life.”

Amir: I was about to say that.

John: What’s the next 12 months got in store for you? Where do you see yourself in the next 12 months?

Amir: Keep being better in terms of what we do. Meaning, we do real state, be better at talking to homeowners. Be better at knowing the in-and-outs of the business because I’m going gonna learn more about flips and construction and contracts and that type of stuff. So just be better with the intention of passing it on because that’s what it is. So it’s two things: being better at that first, and then being better at passing it on, because that’s a skill. That’s a skill where I have, obviously, I would want to learn from here but that’s where I am seeing myself in the next 12 months, really.

Melina: You’re gonna create success stories, you mean?

Amir: Hopefully.

Melina: No, you definitely are.

Amir: No, no hopefully. Yeah, wrong answer. I will.

Melina: Wrong answer. You will. I mean, all you need…

Amir: Actually, I feel there are…

Melina: I think so, too. I believe that.

Amir: Some actually in the pipeline.

Melina: I already know that. It’s already happening.

Amir: It’s happening.

Melina: So I think that was an important piece that you said, when people ask me, “How do I become a coach?” And I always say, “Do things coaches do, right? Just act like a coach and then all of a sudden you will become a coach.”

John: That’s probably the difference in the last six months where you’ve started to show up as a coach. You’re starting to step into more of a leadership position of taking responsibility, not just for yourself and your business but for other people’s business. How funny that you see way more success in your own business whilst pouring into other people’s businesses.

Melina: Shut up.

Amir: No. Really?

Melina: Unbelievable.

Amir: How come?

Melina: Wait. This really works?

Amir: And to me also, one super important piece out of all of it is really self-growth. Like, for me, this is something I personally love. I love the conversations. And I know that it really starts there. Like I know I need to peel out more layers to… How do I say it? I mean, to look at myself in the mirror and own it in ways I haven’t so far. So I’m gonna work on that. Like that’s part of it.

Melina: It’s great. Oh, good. That means we get to hold him accountable to that.

Amir: That’s one thing.

John: And I feel it’s fairly easy for me to look at you like that because I see where you’ve been in your business, and I see where you are in your business. I see a lot of similarities in the way of, you know, I’m not gonna share but I know how much you work and I know how much you don’t work. And I see a lot of similarities in yourself with me where…

Melina: Wait. You didn’t work your first year. Let’s just face it.

John: No, no.

Amir: I surfed.

John: Yeah. I focused on my jobs and what I needed to do and did a little bit. But I still see you as that guy that, you know, you’ve got so much to give, so much to offer. And you’ve really taken a shift in your business this last 12 months, and more so in the last 6 months, and continuing that focus. I don’t even know where you could be in the next year or 2 years. Based on what has changed, as you develop your skills more, maybe time management and looking after your daily responsibilities, but that naturally comes now because you’ve given way more to other people. You’ve given up yourself to really get out there and help somebody else grow their business.

So it comes with an amount of accountability that you didn’t have before.

Melina: Well, here’s the takeaway, I think, and this is an absolute truth, no matter what. We will quit on ourselves way before we will quit on somebody else. That’s actually why you’re having the success that you’re having right now is because you specifically, you’re not driven by money, so you’re not gonna be out there grinding it out for the dollar. What you’re driven by is an internal sense of accomplishment, a sense of growth, and then the juice, like you said, of seeing somebody else get it and have that internal growth themselves.

And so, once you’ve made a commitment to somebody, you’re just not going to quit. You may quit on yourself, but you will not quit on them. And that is a universal truth. And that is, I believe, well, I know, one of the staples of why the club has as many successful people as it does is because of that absolute truth.

John: Definitely.

Amir: It’s that simple. Definitely.

Melina: Yup. All right. Well, Amir, thank you so much for coming out today.

Amir: Thank you so much for having me.

Melina: Thank you for sharing. And I feel like we should do like a six-month checkup, like, “Hey, so what happened?” And then we get you back out here and see where you are and do a checkup for you in six months, like we do with the dentist.

John: No pressure.

Amir: How about three months?

Melina: Challenge accepted. I accept those terms, three months. Yes, you are. Three months, buddy.

Amir: Done.

Melina: All right. We’re out of here. Everybody have a great day. Go create a great day. See you later.