Podcast Transcription

Tim: One of these mics isn’t the same. One of these mics doesn’t fit.

Melina: What does that mean?

Tim: My mic’s flipping.

Oscar: That’s how you get to relax.

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

Melina: Aloha, everybody. Melina Boswell here, co-founder of New Wealth Advisors Club. Today I’m really, really excited to introduce you to my, actually, good friend, and I can say that honestly, my friend Adrian Bradley. Say hello, Adrian.

Adrian: Hi.

Melina: She’s really nervous. So, it’s okay. And I have also with me Mr. Tim Wilkinson.

Tim: Hi.

Melina: And Oscar Solares.

Oscar: Hello.

Melina: And Kevin is here.

Oscar: ‘Sito.

Kevin: I’m here.

Melina: Kevinsito. Okay. And in the back we have Mr. Andrew Boswell.

Andrew: Hey, hey.

Melina: All right. So, and Andrew and ‘Sito are not mic’d up, but the rest of us are. So well, welcome to the podcast today. I’m excited for you guys to listen to and meet, like I said, my friend Adrian Bradley and why we are having her here today, it’s, I’m just gonna tell you guys, here’s the truth. It was right before we started recording, I asked the question, “So, what all are we gonna talk about with Adrian?” There are so many possibilities. There’s so many veins we could go down when we’re talking about Adrian and letting people know who she is, and we’re in a deal right now together and it’s really exciting. And so I said, “Oh, we can talk about that deal?” And Andrew said, “Hmm, nah, I don’t think we need to do that yet. I think that we need, people need to hear who Adrian is and what she’s about and what she stands for.” And then everybody fully agreed with that. So I think that’s where we should start. So Adrian, why don’t you just share with us, everybody out there, first of all, how long have you been a member of the club?

Adrian: I’ve been a member of New Wealth Advisors Club since January 2015.

Melina: Okay. It’s really funny. Yeah, yeah. Did you know it was that long?

Tim: No.

Melina: Yeah. You thought it was…

Tim: Coming up on four years now? Wow.

Melina: Yeah, that’s crazy. Wow.

Adrian: Actually five, when you think about it, because January.

Oscar: Already hit.

Melina: Yeah, she’s already hit that. So, that’s really crazy to think about. But it makes sense, because I did identify her as, I identified you, as my friend, which I really, it’s a unique thing. I have friends, but you’re my real friend. I appreciate that, our friendship.

Adrian: You’re mine.

Melina: They know it’s true. You know how that is guys, right? People tell you they’re your friend and then, you know.

Oscar: Then they disappear?

Adrian: Or they stab you in the back?

Melina: Right, totally, totally. When things get tough, they run. Yeah, it’s what friends do. So, you’ve been a really, really good friend for me and so I’m greatly, greatly appreciative of that. So you’ve been with us for that long. And would you tell us what your background was, like professionally?

Adrian: For 30 some years I was a Professional Secretary, you could say, Executive Assistant. I finished out with the City of Rialto. That’s basically all I did all my life was be a Professional Secretary.

Melina: Yeah. That’s still a very unique and needed skillset. It’s a valuable skillset.

Oscar: More so, I think you’re downplaying it a little bit.

Melina: I agree, I agree.

Oscar: So we’re gonna dig into that, “I was just a professional secretary,” thing, because you were actually the assistant to… Was it the director level or?

Adrian: The Director of Development Services, yeah.

Oscar: Okay. So really, we refer to that person as the gatekeeper, which means that typically that person knows a lot of what’s going on in the department and who to fend off and who to allow to come into that director’s world at a given time. Right?

Melina: True.

Oscar: So actually, it’s way more than what you’re making it out to be because my experience has been in corporate America is that the gatekeeper kind of calls the shots. And if the gatekeeper doesn’t know you or doesn’t like you, you’re not getting anything done.

Melina: Nothing is happening.

Oscar: See, now you’re smiling, right?

Melina: She’s like, “Well, don’t tell everybody that I actually had all the power.” Exactly. Yeah, that’s exactly right.

Oscar: So don’t downplay it.

Melina: Yeah, please don’t. And I don’t know that I know this question, I don’t know that I know this answer, I mean. What were you looking for when you came to the club?

Adrian: Family.

Melina: Really?

Adrian: That’s all I was looking for, was family.

Melina: What? I did not know that. Did you know that? Or were you thinking it was something else?

Adrian: Well, after Aaron had talked to… I forget now who he talked to initially. I think it was Julie. But he came back home and he said, “Mommy, I found,” because you know I had did the Carleton Sheets and all that stuff. He said, “I found what you’ve been looking for.” And I told him, “Shut up.” And so he said, “No, you’ve got to go with me. I just need you to pay the money.” So I had to pay for him and me. It was just so weird because just soon as you walked in the door, it’s like something… I don’t know, this may sound weird, but something just like, it felt like okay. You know what I mean? I don’t know how to express it any other way. And so family, that’s what I’ve always been looking for, family. I mean, I have my children, I have my parents, but it wasn’t really family.

Melina: Yeah, in the sense of like real relationship that’s honest and that is deep and that is, you know…

Adrian: God-fearing.

Melina: That makes sense. Okay. So, wow, that took me back. I thought you were gonna say, “Well, I was ready to get out of,” you know, “I was gonna retire and so I was looking for something else to do.”

Oscar: “I wanted to make some money.”

Melina: Yeah.

Adrian: Well, I always want to do my nonprofit when I retired, but I always wanted real estate but I couldn’t be an agent because I didn’t pass the test twice. So I was like… You know, back in the ’80s, you know, you need 60…

Melina: That’s so funny. Oh, back in the ’80s.

Adrian: Yeah. You needed like 69 to pass, I would get 68, you know, so I was like, “Forget it.”

Melina: That’s so funny. I feel pretty confident you could pass it today, if you wanted to but, you know, you don’t want do it.

Adrian: I don’t need to be a real estate agent.

Melina: Exactly. You don’t need another job. So why don’t you talk to us a little bit about what your experience has been like in terms of, you know, I think Tim actually said, one of the things that, your favorite stories about Adrian is… Why don’t you share what your favorite story is?

Tim: Sure. My favorite story about Adrian is, like when her first deal. Her first deal took a while, but it was a deal that most people would never have gotten, because, she’s tracked down this homeowner of a vacant property for over a year. Most people would give up on that long before. And it took a long time for her to track this person down, but she finally tracked down the homeowner and the homeowner was ready to sell.

Melina: Yeah, it’s a funny thing. One of the acquisition strategies or one of the lead generating strategies that we teach at the club is, to go after vacant properties that are owned by a person, and find the person and see what the chances are that they wanna sell because it’s vacant. But most people won’t take the time. They walk up on a vacant and then if they can’t find the owner, “Bye.” One quick thing, they just give up, they quit. Which is the truth with everything, isn’t it? People fail because they quit.

Tim: I feel like it’s a really good strategy because Adrian was working full-time and it’s a really good strategy to be able to, it’s one of those things that you can do at midnight or at 10:00. I don’t know exactly what her process was, but it’s one of those things you can do after hours when nobody else is actually working to try to find this homeowner and then…

Melina: And that is what you did, right? Didn’t you say that’s what you would do?

Adrian: Yeah. I would just do other stuff and then come back to it and then do other stuff, and then come back to it, have a drink, come back to it. When I got stuck in…

Tim: Get the creative juices flowing.

Melina: Yeah.

Adrian: And then one night the numbers were transposed on the address and all the legal documents and everything. Remember, Oscar?

Oscar: I remember that, yeah.

Adrian: And something told me to switch the numbers.

Melina: How about that. It was probably the wine.

Adrian: It definitely wasn’t wine. Yeah. So I switched the numbers and then that’s how I was able to, remember?

Tim: I do. Yeah.

Adrian: That’s how I was able to get the homeowner.

Melina: I heard about that.

Tim: Yup.

Adrian: And she said they had been looking for somebody to buy the property.

Melina: And so then you got Oscar involved.

Adrian: Yes.

Melina: Yeah. That’s a great story. I think it’s one of our most favorite stories, because there are so many twists and turns in that deal.

Oscar: Yeah, there was a lot of problems. Title issues, liens from the city, tax liens, all kinds of stuff going on. But it was good. It was fun.

Adrian: But we got those liens down because, remember, they were, what? Thirty-something thousand, we got them down to three with the city area?

Oscar: You just pushed and pushed.

Melina: Yeah, exactly. And you ended up getting a sweet payday there.

Adrian: Yes.

Melina: That was like your first payday. And so did that change your perspective like, “Hey, maybe this this can really work,” or? Tell me.

Adrian: I always felt like it could work, but I just felt like, because to me I’ve always done things and when I do something, I do it to the fullest. And if I commit myself to do something, I’m gonna continue doing it. But everything never worked for me. And so I did a lot of praying. And when this was taking forever, I was like… Remember I said to you one time that God doesn’t feel like I, remember I said, “He doesn’t feel like I’m ready for it.”

Melina: Yes.

Adrian: So that’s why it wasn’t coming through, it wasn’t getting paid. And it took a while to get paid and then once He felt like, “Okay, you can handle this,” it got paid.

Melina: It’s really funny. Most people don’t understand that idea that, and it is a truth that, especially if you’re working with us in the club, and it does have everything to do with us being God-fearing. I’m just gonna say it, like it is what it is. But I believe that with wealth comes responsibility. And when people get, you know, people can be very dangerous with big paydays. And I’ve seen it, we’ve watched it. How many times we’ve seen people really be hurt by making too much money. And it really doesn’t have everything to do with their age in as much as it has to do with experiences in life or maybe where they are personally. And I so I believe that’s the absolute truth. But I didn’t tell you that, right? You told me that’s what you knew.

Adrian: Yeah, that’s what I figured out.

Melina: Yeah.

Christian: Hi this is Christian Rios. As many of you know I had 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 have 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.

Melina: Yeah. So fast forward. You’ve been able to now close some deals and you’re making some money, and we just had a recent situation where we’re entering into a partnership agreement. We are here at this table, which is really amazing, which is a long-term, very long -buy-and-hold strategy, and so we’re excited by that. But through it, Adrian, would you talk a little bit about Restoring Dignity? Can you share the story about Restoring Dignity? Because I think everybody should hear from you.

Adrian: Well, I have a sister that 99% of the time she’s living on the streets. And then I have a few other people that I know that live on the streets. And I kept saying, you know, “Because they don’t have,” you see them walking around, you see them and then, you know, one time I was driving in Brea, I saw my sister, and I’m like, “They’ve got to have stuff.” Like, people, they don’t have toothbrushes, they don’t have just the simple essentials.

Melina: By the way, your sister chooses this lifestyle. This is what she chooses.

Adrian: Yeah.

Melina: I think it’s important for people to know that, because it isn’t like she has to. This what she chooses.

Adrian: Right. Because she feels like she has her own. Because she can’t keep a job. She gets good jobs but she goes into the jobs and wants to tell the people what to do, and on the first day.

Melina: So she definitely wants to be in control.

Adrian: Yeah. She’s not a people person. I always say that she should be living in the forest and just playing with the animals, because like when she lived with us, I said, “Elisa, you can’t live in the house with us and not speak to us.” So she started talking to the dogs, our dogs. She’s that type of person.

Melina: Right, right.

Adrian: So I had sat my son and daughter down one day, and I said, “We’ve got to do something. I wanna do something.” Then when you started doing the bags…

Melina: The bags of love.

Adrian: Yes, the bags of love, I was like, “Aaron,” I was so excited because that was like one of the things I always wanted to do too. And so then when it stopped, I got a little depressed. I was like, “How can we keep this going?” And so then Aaron said, “Why don’t we just start doing it, because you wanna do something for the homeless and everything.” And I’m like, “Yes, let’s start doing it.” So we started doing it, getting the bags together and just, you know, at first we were just passing out bags and having conversations with the people and everything. And then I said, “Well, no, I want something so they could see that…” I guess it’s like, I gave this bag because I wanna make a difference. So then that’s when we came up with Restoring Dignity and we started putting it on the bags. And then I said, “I wanted something to remember Dave by too.” So Aaron said, “Well, let’s put it on the bag.” So I talked to Melina about it and she said, “Yeah, go ahead.” And so we did it. And so then now we’re filling the bags up with the essentials that people need and having conversations with them. And then I wanna eventually get to… You know, how you see the showers, the traveling showers?

Melina: Yeah, yeah.

Adrian: I wanna eventually get to where we can do something like that. So we’re supposed to meet with my daughter’s godmother, she writes grants for L.A. County schools. We’re supposed to get with her on Monday and she’s gonna start writing grants for us so we can get money, so that we can…

Melina: Wait. So are you saying you opened up a nonprofit?

Adrian: Yes. Well, we filed for a 501(c)(3) but it was rejected because we said we’d be smart and do it on our own and not, you know.

Melina: Not hire somebody.

Adrian: Yeah. So we’ve got to refile again. So we’re just trying to figure out who do we go to? Do we go to LegalZoom or whatever, you know?

Melina: We have a referral for you. Did you know that? You should have just asked.

Adrian: Sorry. Okay. And so, we’re going gonna meet with her on Monday because she’s gonna start writing grants for us to, so we can start getting money instead of… Because we’ve been using all of our own money to fund the bags, fund everything.

Melina: Did you want to add something, Oscar?

Oscar: I just want people to understand that, the caliber of person that’s sitting in this room with us. And I’ll say this because she won’t. The example that Tim gave just shows the tenacity that she has to get things done, hence the reason that she was a gatekeeper, right?

Melina: Totally, totally.

Oscar: And because of that skillset that she developed as being a gatekeeper, she’s now able to really do the things that she’s been wanting to do because she has the freedom to do those things. And so I just want people to really understand that, you know, you mentioned earlier that we’re in a partnership with Adrian now, for a different type of… And we’ll talk more down the road about it. That’s not something that’s offered to just anyone. It’s a special someone that we allow into that circle for ourselves to make sure that… Everything has to be, work, the dynamics and the synergies have to all be there. So I just want people to really understand how special a lady Adrian really is and the heart that she has because everything she does is for others. It’s never about her.

And I know when we were in our valley and all that, she was the only one that I can absolutely swear to that reached out and touched us and in different ways.

Melina: Do you know that, Adrian?

Adrian: No.

Melina: Yeah. And he’s talking about when Dave died.

Oscar: Yeah.

Adrian: I mean, I was just being me. I mean…

Melina: Yeah, but we talked about how people, they say that you’re your friend but, you know, friendship is reciprocal, and most people like to be on the receiving end of friendship.

Adrian: I don’t like that.

Melina: I know you don’t, that’s why you’re my friend. But that’s the truth. And so the reality is that we have lots of friends, and I say friends, but truly who you are is a good friend. Like, there’s no other way to say it, because you are true, through and through, you are true. And that is so unique.

Oscar: Yeah. It was even, at that time, we couldn’t even reach out to each other because we’re dealing with our own stuff. And so we were there for each other physically when we saw each other and all that, but when we were remote, we were all in our own little dungeon dealing with whatever we were dealing with. But you were like that little light that came through to carry us through it. So I just want you to know that I personally appreciate all of that and who you have been in our lives.

Melina: For sure.

Oscar: Again, I just want people to really understand, right, that this is the type of environment that we have and the people that we attract.

Melina: For sure.

Adrian: Well, I remember when it happened with Dave, and you did a Facebook letting everybody know. And I remember Oscar, you saying in it to, like, “Give Melina and her family their space,” And I said, “No. I’m her friend.”

Oscar: Hell to the no.

Adrian: Yeah. “I’m her friend, I’m your guys’ friend. If I’m your friend, I’m not giving you space.”

Melina: Hallelujah.

Adrian: And I remember Sammy said, “No, you can’t text them.” I said, “Yes, I can.”

Melina: You showed up. I was so, so happy. You just showed up at my house. I was so thankful. And I just remember coming downstairs and she just had the broom. She was just sweeping my kitchen, her and Aaron, cleaning up my kitchen.

Adrian: Yeah, I told Aaron, “We’re going to be Hazel today.” You know Hazel the maid?

Melina: But that’s what friends do. You just show up. And you don’t have to have an agenda. You just showed up and you were just like, “Oh, the floor, it looks like Melina hasn’t wipe down the counter,” because I’m sure I hadn’t. And you just stepped in as my friend and just saw what needed to be done and did it. And you’re right. You’re exactly right. And I had a few people say, “Oh, I was told not to.” And I just was like, “Well, you understand why,” is that we can be bombarded and overwhelmed because most people don’t know how to show up and just be a friend and serve. Most people show up and they wanna, I don’t know, talk to you or they expect something from you. And that’s what they were trying to protect me from.

Adrian: I call those “ass-sociates.”

Oscar: Was that three Ss or…?

Adrian: Yes.

Melina: I totally get that. I appreciate that. So the bags of love have now turned into something that’s becoming, it’s starting to catch fire, I think.

Adrian: I hope so.

Melina: Because they really are. I got a text message from Sandy, actually, I was just thinking, as you were sharing, I was thinking, “Man, I wish I had my phone with me right now because I would read the message that Sandy sent me when she handed out the bag of love.” She talked to me about the man who she gave it to. She shared his name. Is she behind me right now in the studio? So, hey, Sandy, maybe you can send that message that you sent to me, maybe send it to Tim because Tim has his phone in here, and then maybe we can read it. That’d be kinda cool.

Oscar: She just ran off, or she’s gonna me get it.

Melina: Oh, she just ran. That’s so funny. You know, you guys, when we’re in the studio there’s a, I don’t know, what that spaceship thing is, like the cockpit in there, like it’s…

Oscar: Command Central.

Melina: …it’s Command Central. And so it has like a window and so they can see us, but my back is to them. And so as I’m talking, I can see like, Kevin is pointing like, “Hey, Sandy’s right there.” So it’d be good for you to just read it because the call to action is that we don’t wanna just hand out bags, right? We want to get to know the person, talk to them, treat them like an actual human and find out their story, and not try to change them necessarily. We don’t wanna just change people and who they are, like I really love the respect and the honor that you give to your sister and who she is. Like, she is uniquely made. And what I hear from you is you saying, “Hey, this is how my sister is, this is who she is and I love her and I want her to have the items that she needs, which do give her dignity,” like soap, deodorant, a toothbrush, to have basic needs. And I think it’s such a beautiful and powerful thing. And I think it is so indicative of who you are, Adrian. So do you have it there?

Oscar: Yeah.

Melina: Okay. So this is what Sandy sent me and I don’t know if you… You probably don’t know this. I’m gonna share it with you for the first time. She said, “So I just handed the care bag to Josh. He was sitting in the parking lot floor next to his wheelchair. He was missing his left leg, which got ran over seven years ago. He has no support and family, unfortunately. I explained to him about the bag and told him about Dave Boswell and who he was and how he inspired to create the bags and what it meant. I started to get really emotional talking to him. He said he could use this stuff and he was very thankful.”

Adrian: Awesome. That is what I want to happen, because they are somebody. And people look at them, like if you go to stores, people look at them and think, “Oh, they did this to themselves.” A lot of them didn’t do it to themselves, but then something that really, I was like, “Man, a lot of the people on the streets one thing that they make sure they maintain, they have a gym membership.” A lot of them have a gym membership so they can go take a shower.

Some of them say that they get, when the people see them regularly coming, they cancel their memberships because they realized that they’re living on the streets and they’re just coming there to… So like one gentleman I asked him, “Well, why don’t you go work out then?” Because if they see you working out they can’t. He’s like, “Because I don’t wanna work out.” I’m like, “Okay.” But some of them told me that they actually cancel…

Melina: Which is crazy, because what’s the difference?

Adrian: Right. They’re paying for the membership.

Melina: Absolutely. If they’ve paid for that membership that does seem absurd. Somebody should… Anyway. It’s just because people don’t understand. I feel like we should do something about that. So, yeah.

Adrian: But yeah, I’m wanna get to the point where like we’re trying to decide like for Thanksgiving and holidays, we wanna get to the point where we have meals for them too, full meals, like traditional meals or, my family, we don’t do traditional meals anymore because you get tired of that. Like, last year we had for Christmas, it was a fish fry, and it was good.

Melina: I know. I was invited, I should’ve come.

Adrian: Yeah, you should have. You missed out.

Melina: I did. But I have a brood, I have my own brood of people, so.

Adrian: We had plenty of food.

Melina: We may take you up on that this year, FYI.

Adrian: But I wanna get to the point to where our, Restoring Dignity gets to the point where it’s able to start doing stuff like that. That’s always been something I wanna do.

Melina: So, it’s always been something like, and do you feel like, I’m gonna do a little plug on that on the club, I guess, but do you feel like the club provoked you? Do you feel like Dave provoked you to do it?

Adrian: Most definitely, because before I was like, I guess I could say, too scared to do it because I feel like I was going to fail, because everything else I tried to do had failed. So I didn’t wanna do something like that to where, “Okay, I help you, help a few, and then I don’t help anymore,” because then that would be failure. But being in this club helped me to continue, to keep going. Even though I was always a person that if I say I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it, and if I say, I’m gonna be there, I’m gonna be there, but nothing ever worked out. But since I’ve been in the club, everything I try to do now is working out. I’m in the right place.

Melina: Thank you. Is there anything you’d wanna add, Tim? That you’d like to say about?

Tim: I’m just inspired by you.

Melina: Me too. I’m very grateful for you on so many levels, Adrian, so many levels. I think we’ve hit a few of them today on who you’ve been. But you are now in… What’s happened over the last five years, I just had this revelation is that you’ve become a pinnacle… A pinnacle? An integral. Not, pinnacle’s a top, isn’t it?

Adrian: Yeah.

Melina: All right. An integral part of the club, like you are part of like the fabric. I guess that’s the word I was trying to come up with. You are part of the fabric of the club and what we represent. And so I don’t know how else to say thank you other than saying, “Thank you, and I love you, my friend.”

Adrian: Well, thank you because I’m alive because of you. Bottom line. Because I didn’t picture myself being 60 and still here. You made me wanna stay here. So, thank you. Thank you, guys.

Oscar: And we love you for being here with us still.

Melina: I’m gonna be so pissed to see you leave.

Oscar: No, I agree. There’s the members, and then there’s Adrian. Not the average Jane, I guess, instead of Joe, not the average person that comes to the club, not the average person that sticks around and does things. She’s definitely, yeah, I think you hit it. She’s part of the fabric of what the club represents and what the club does. So, I’m thankful for you being in our lives as well. There’s a lot to learn from you and there’s a lot of, I think, I agree with Tim. You definitely inspire us and inspire others, so you just keep being you and doing the things that you do. And I don’t even know why that rhymed, but…

Melina: I was just thinking, something that just really like penetrated my heart is that, we’ve always known that NWAC changes lives. And today, I think it just became very apparent and very real to me that we save lives too, that it saves lives, it’s not we. We’ve talked before how not one person is more important than the club. It is the club as it exists, as a culture, as an organization. That is what changes and saves lives. And so, just, wow.

Adrian: But you have to believe in the people that are the founders of the club too in order to believe that you deserve to be here, you should stay here. It’s not just the club, but you have to believe in Melina and Dave too.

Melina: Thank you. All right. Well, we’re flipping out. Bye guys.

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 which 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. Josh Mauldin is our producer. Sound design by Frequency Factory. Our executive producer is Mind and Mill. This was all created by Dave Boswell for New Wealth Advisors Club.