"Balancing The Grill: Searing Success and Personal Peace"

[00:00:38] Speaker A: Welcome to mortgage me marketing, education, activities and tips from Morgz loan originators. Super happy to have my buddy Nick Piaz here today. [00:00:46] Speaker B: Well, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. [00:00:48] Speaker A: Well, you know, when we start these shows, first thing is favorite steakhouse. [00:00:54] Speaker B: Favorite steakhouse, other than my own house, would be Texas roadhouse. [00:00:58] Speaker A: Texas roadhouse. [00:00:59] Speaker B: Yeah. The reason, the reason why is because even though I know there's better steakhouses than that, but the last time I had a steak, there was just so good, it melted my mouth. And I can't stop thinking about that steak. [00:01:11] Speaker A: I think we might need to start charging some of the steakhouses we talk about for some ad revenue. But no, I'm the same way. I love to cook steaks at my house every Sunday. We've done it. As you know, my father passed, you know, back in December, but we still do the tradition. It's still Sunday dinners. It's always steaks, sometimes shrimp, other goodies. So speaking of other goodies, what sides do you like to get over there? [00:01:38] Speaker B: So I'm kind of boring when it comes to sides. Of course, I love the splurge on the garlic mashed potatoes, but I typically go with steamed broccoli just to create that balance between a nice piece of meat and then broccoli. [00:01:52] Speaker A: Kind of fitting you should say that, when our topic today is balancing the grill, searing success, and personal peace. And by the way, you guys, it is challenging to keep coming up with puns on industry success and our favorite meats. The reason I wanted to have Nick come here today, just a little background. Nick is a marine. He's transitioned into a successful entrepreneur and business leader. He has over a decade of experience managing teams and growing businesses. Nick has dedicated himself to helping others unlock their full potential. He's the founder of IE Mastermind. Actually, they have an event coming up Nick's going to share with us at the end, so stay tuned for that. They're a global group that empowers entrepreneurs and leaders to achieve extraordinary success. Nick's journey from the Marines to business has equipped him with unique insights on discipline, which I know firsthand because Nick and I actually trained for several events together. We did a event, 70.3 miles triathlon in Santa Cruz last year, which was a pretty awesome. One thing I did learn that's not on Nick's bio is that Nick, when you ask him if he can drive at night, he says, sure, but he falls asleep when driving at night. So after an eight hour triathlon, I fell asleep driving his home. [00:03:15] Speaker B: That was a rough ride home. [00:03:17] Speaker A: I mean, the triathlon wasn't even that bad, right? It was the ride home. But anyways, sorry about that. The rest of this is that. Get ready to be inspired. Learn how to reach new heights, both personal and professional work with my buddy Nick. Now, on a personal note, I can tell you he's also an amazing husband, great father, and as I mentioned, he's a fellow triathlete and been a really close friend of mine. So with that, Nick, thanks for joining us. [00:03:43] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure being here. [00:03:47] Speaker A: So, tell us a little bit about this balance, because, you know, I've been told many times in my life that I'm, you know, Keith's all in, right? He's either all in or all out. I'm either training for the next race or marathon, whatever, or I'm drinking a whole bunch of Coors lights and eating too many steaks. So tell us a little bit about this. [00:04:07] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I'm the same way with Keith as far as, like, all or nothing type mentality. And actually, a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners and people striving for these huge goals, they tend to be that way. And what happens is, you know, when they're really striving for that goal in business, look back a year or two years later, and they realize their whole life's not balanced. Maybe their health has gone to crap or their family life's fallen apart, or maybe they don't have that connection with God, and they just feel kind of empty. So. And I learned the hard way that, you know, you have to have balance. Otherwise your life can fall apart. So there is something as balance. It's just the way how to frame your. Your mind and your life around the four key pillars and then keep that in mind. And balance doesn't have to be with time always because I spent, you know, 15, 20 hours some days working, but I still am very intentional with the other areas of my life to create that quote, unquote balance. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you. And it's been the myth, right? Quite honestly. Right. They always. People say, well, you gotta do this successfully, say, no, I gotta work 20 hours a day. There is no balance. And it has been like a myth. But with your experience, I've heard you speak before, which is why we wanted to bring up this topic. You're telling me it is possible. [00:05:21] Speaker B: It is possible. [00:05:22] Speaker A: Okay, so what are the four pillars? You mentioned that to help us achieve this balance between work, life, spirituality, everything that we're dealing with. [00:05:32] Speaker B: Well, so if you don't initially have the key areas or different indicators or, you know, areas of your life to look at. You know, then you really don't have a balance. You know, you. You feel like all or nothing. You're spending all this time in one area, and the rest of the time you're not balanced. But when you really are intentional and know the four key areas that I'll tell you about in a second, you can actually create that balance. So I've had a couple mentors, so. [00:05:57] Speaker A: The first step is to even acknowledge what these parts are. That would be the balance. [00:06:02] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:02] Speaker A: Because some of us don't even know. It's like, okay, I know I go to work. I know I love my daughter. I know that, you know, I think you're a Baxter, a puppy, but I don't really know what even are all these different things that I should be balanced on. Right. So you're going to share what proven these four pillars are, identifying so that we can then find them in our life. [00:06:24] Speaker B: And I heard about these four pillars before I even was a business owner. And I just never. I just kind of overlooked it because it wasn't important. And I wish I would have, because to make a long story short, I would totally off balance a period of my life. I almost ruined my marriage, my health was going to crap, and I didn't have a connection with God at the time. So learning the hard way, I realized that I needed to incorporate balance in my life. So one of my mentors, his name is Garrett White, he talked about four key areas, and his names for each one of these four key areas is body being, balance and business. Another one of my mentors, Bedros Coolian, he talks about faith, family fitness and faith, family fitness and finances. [00:07:15] Speaker A: I think that's what I heard. And I like that. I like the f's. That's the good f words. [00:07:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:20] Speaker A: Right. The f words you're allowed to say. [00:07:23] Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah, if you kind of break it down, you know, faith is one of them. The second one would be fitness. The other one would be finance or business. The last one would be family or relationships. And then when you kind of break it down like that, it's very easy to kind of clump all the different parts of your life into one of those four key areas. And then once you find out those four key areas, you can put habits or little check marks you could do every single day to fulfill each one of those four key areas. And as long as you're intentional with that, I mean, you can really have this balance, if you will, and I life, it doesn't always have to do with time, you know, like I said earlier. [00:08:02] Speaker A: Well, I think that one of the things is that, you know, like, my daughter's gone off to school, right. I don't have 1 hour breakfast with my daughter before she goes to school, right? Which somebody else might do if their kids are at home or family dinner. But as weird as it is, and I'm cool with it now, it could be a quick text. You know, sometimes she'll just text me or she'll call me, and it doesn't, you're right, it doesn't have to be every day, but it is an intentional part of my life in that aspect to make sure that we do stay connected and communicate. So now, since we're all a little bit different, do you have kind of a tactic on how to tackle these? Do you, like, write them down, put them in a spreadsheet? What's your, like, how does someone start taking control of these sections? [00:08:44] Speaker B: Yeah, so I initially used an app, I forgot the name of it, like ultrasound for something like that. I put in all my habits and I just, just started checking them off. I'm a type of guy who likes crossing things off or checking them off and getting them off a list. But I just put each one of those four habits, and I created two habits around each one of those four pillars. And every single day I try to hit all eight of those habits before I hit the door. And what I felt is that it just gives me so much power and energy to know, like, I fulfilled all those four key areas and, like, I can conquer the day after that. [00:09:20] Speaker A: Well, you know, it's interesting because I know we both did the anti seller program, you know, over the last couple years, and sure, many, many people now have heard of and seeing 75 hard, you know, but I actually downloaded the app and paid the two $3. Whatever it was money well spent. Thanks, Andy. You know, but it was because of that checklist mentality, you know, for whatever reason, for myself, too. Did I drink my gallon of water? Did I go to the gym in the morning? Did I read ten pages? Checking it off on that list in the app made it a lot easier for me. So maybe if we can look up that app, we'll go ahead and post it in comments and stuff. People want to check it out or somebody knows of one. Feel free to share with us as well. So do you mind sharing what your two habits are that you've attached to these? Are they too personal to share no. [00:10:04] Speaker B: I'd be more than happy to. I actually tell a lot of people these because a lot of people don't know what to do. So as far as faith, you know, typically, I'll wake up and also working out first thing in the morning. I don't always do that. I'm not 100% perfect, but every single. [00:10:20] Speaker A: I know I've missed you at you. [00:10:22] Speaker B: Yes, you have. But first one is in the health part is fitness, and I have a green drink every single morning. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Okay. [00:10:32] Speaker B: And so if I work out and I have my green drink, I check both of those boxes off for the health part, and I feel like, you know, I'm that far ahead for the health. Sure. And then for the faith part, I'll just start my day off by praying. And then one thing which I used to think was kind of hokey pokey eastern medicine stuff, was meditating. [00:10:53] Speaker A: Not so much. It's been proven to be pretty effective. [00:10:56] Speaker B: Oh, it is, man. It's a game changer. Like, when I started meditating, not only did my stress levels go down, but it provides that extra space for just these thoughts that you usually don't have because your mind's always firing all this stress and thoughts that, you know, just fill your mind. But meditating just for a few minutes by focusing on your breath. You don't have to have any fancy app or anything. Just focus on your breath. 510 minutes. It just provides that extra space of, like, hearing. I call it the holy spirit. But, you know, hearing just that voice inside you, you know, to give you prompts of what to do do, or. That's actually one of the times I was meditating. Actually found my purpose in life, and that's what I'm building this huge empire right now from that. [00:11:39] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you that point about most people that are going to hear this podcast. Mortgage real estate professionals, typically, I mean, mortgage loan originators, is our core audience. Right. I am in that space by profession, and it is not always easy. Right. We're coming off some difficult years. I think it's gonna be a great year. I think it's turning, but I can't tell you how many times myself. You know, at night, you can't sleep, things are bouncing through your head, and a little bit of meditation and breathing technique goes a long way to help, you know, isolate that. And there's some good not supposed to apps on it, but there's some music you can actually download that's really calming as well. For that. Do you do any music when you meditate? Or I. [00:12:26] Speaker B: If I do have some music, I'll listen to. There's this instrumental things called oceans. It's like a hillside song without any singing, and that's just calming. And, yeah, I can meditate for a long time. [00:12:41] Speaker A: I have a similar one. I forget it's like, on my YouTube music, but it's like you put it on. It's just kind of instrumental with, like, some nature sounds and just for whatever reason, it is relaxing. And then focus on the breath work and, yeah, the clarity comes. So that takes out the two things in the morning. Are all these things you do in the morning before you start your day, or is this throughout the day? [00:13:01] Speaker B: So the days that I don't work out, I'll work out in the afternoon, evening, typically, I'll try to have all these done before I even hit the house. [00:13:08] Speaker A: Gotcha. [00:13:09] Speaker B: Garrett White, my mentor, he said core four before you hit the door. [00:13:13] Speaker A: I believe I was at that, that mastermind, because I do remember that you were. [00:13:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I. [00:13:20] Speaker A: Smart idea, by the way, is core for before you hit the door. If you want to feel like you accomplished your day, if you've done something that you set your mind to before you leaving the house. Heck of a start. So what was the other? The other two pillars. [00:13:33] Speaker B: The other two. So the last one or the second to last one is relationships or family. You know, relationships are a broader scope, and it's kind of. A lot of people don't spend time, like, cold cultivating relationships or reaching out to other people, especially when they're in the grind of things and aiming for something big in business. But if you're intentional about it and you reach out to people, like, one thing I'll do every single day, which I do more than just two reach outs, I'll text or dm somebody a happy birthday if I see it on Facebook or LinkedIn, just to kind of reach out to kind of connect with people maybe I haven't talked to in a while, or I'll text or send a quick video for my loved ones, a family member, my wife, my children, that I, you know, either honor, love, respect, or, you know, shout out something that they did great or just somebody who's inspiring. You probably got a text one of these days within the last few years just to show my appreciation of our friendship or something like that. Or something that. [00:14:34] Speaker A: And it is appreciated, you know, being the recipient on the other side, I'll tell you right now, there's been several times in my life where recently, unfortunately, don't go too much into that in every episode, but where it's sad, right? You lose a loved one. And people reached out. In some cases, some people I didn't even think I knew that well, that just reached out and said kind words. And it is appreciated from the other side. So those of you folks that do that, like yourself, sometimes you don't even know because you're not doing it for anything. I think that's the important part, right? It's not like, okay, I'm going to reach out to Nick and say happy birthday today because then hopefully Nick gives me business. Right. This is when you're reaching out purely out of appreciation and respect. And I can tell you from being a recipient, from yourself and a few other people that. That I know closely, it is appreciated. [00:15:26] Speaker B: Yeah. And yeah, you don't have to expect anything back from the people that you send these out to. Even if you get nothing back, as you said, it's all about just reaching out and adding those nuggets into their life. So that's the relationship part. And the last one is finances or business. For me, I'm building a big business right now. So my main goal every single day, or the two things to check out those habits, is read something in a book that I can apply to my business. Right now I'm reading the twelve week year, if you haven't read it yet, pretty good book. And then what I do is I take one of those things that I learned and I just read till inspiration. I don't have to read ten pages, like 75 hard. But as long as you read to something that you can apply to your life, either I applied to that business that day, or I teach somebody something I learned. So you're always moving the ball forward in business. And so those are my two things as far as reading and getting something and then applying it somehow into my life. [00:16:30] Speaker A: You know, you bring up a great point that I've learned myself and maybe a takeaway for other people, which is we could read something, right? We can know something. I mean, I've got books over here on the shelf. I tell everybody in my office, you're welcome to take them goggins and all the different ones. But when you start to teach people something, you know, that's, I think, where you really get it, you know, if I'm sharing with somebody, with an employee something about, you know, a loan program or something, that effect. Right. The more you share and teach it, it's amazing how much better the retention is, you know, and I know there's research on it and people see or hear or do things differently. But I can tell you, for me, I kind of hear it, probably see it a little bit better. But one, when I'm sharing the topic, then I feel like I become the master of that topic, you know, once you've shared it over and over. So that's. That's a good way to start the day. So, okay, we started our day, and then we get derailed in our day. How do we get our focus back? [00:17:36] Speaker B: So after, I mean, after I hit my core four, I feel like I have that balance. You know, I'm not always gonna have the time to spend all the time I want with my family members, especially right now when I'm all. I mean, to me, it's not work. When I work on my business, I could work 24 hours a day and still be happy, but you have to be intentional about putting those pieces into the people that you care about or into your health or into the other areas of your life. [00:18:07] Speaker A: So a couple of things, too, that we were chatting about earlier is tell us about doing something uncomfortable and why is that important? [00:18:16] Speaker B: So, two other habits that I added to my daily routine that's been a game changer for me is I do something uncomfortable every single day. And what it does is you're only growing when you get outside your comfort zone. If you're same thing, like in working out or training for a triathlon or an ironman, if you stay the same without pushing yourself, you're never going to accomplish that same thing in life. If you're just always comfortable, you're never going to really grow. So I try to get outside of my comfort zone and do things that I feel uncomfortable doing. And for me, I'm an introvert, so even talking to people or, you know, saying hello to somebody in the elevator, that's like, huge uncomfortable, out of my uncomfortable zone, so. [00:19:01] Speaker A: Well, you know, I've known you for years, and it's funny because I will say you've come a long way in that box because you're definitely a lot more open and you can see it. But for me, it's probably the uncomfortable part is to delegate things and to give people an opportunity to run with a project. Right. But I've learned, too. In my business, I just can't do everything if we're going to get where we want to get to. It's not a solo mission. Right. It takes the team, and we got to be able to embrace, you know, allow them to mess up sometimes it's okay. Right. So we can learn how to be better. So the other thing you had was doing something enjoyable. So that, that sounds like a pretty good idea, but how does that play into your day? [00:19:49] Speaker B: So I know for, I'm just speaking for myself and I know you're kind of all or nothing too, but a lot of high achievers, you know, people who are really grinding in business, we tend to kind of really push ourselves so much that we don't think about doing something enjoyable all the time. And what that does is a lot of times it puts all this stress and never allows us to kind of release that energy. And just by doing something that you enjoy every single day, it can kind of just connect you with the present moment. Like for me, I really enjoy taking my dogs for a while or going for a hike or a run in the mountains or, you know, hanging out with one of my buddies at lunch or having a coffee. You know, just being intentional about creating that little, it doesn't have to be a long time, 15 minutes out of your day, but being intentional about it, it can go a long way because otherwise, like you're just grinding, grinding, grinding. And then before you know it, you have all this stress or you have, you know, heart murmurs or whatever. [00:20:50] Speaker A: So, yeah, it's funny you say it though, because I could tell you personally, right. Just last week I was down in Orange county with a friend of mine and we were promoting an upcoming event for the California association of Mortgage Professionals. [00:21:04] Speaker B: Right? [00:21:04] Speaker A: Shout out. That's August 4, fifth and 6th. So we went to like ten offices down that area. It was getting late and I was like, well, there's like going to be a lot of traffic, you know, getting back. And she said, well, let's grab a bike to eat over here, right? And I can't tell you the last time I went and sat down and just chilled, it was like a tapas restaurant. So they had all kinds of cool little foods, great venue, great atmosphere, chatted with a friend and then drove home after traffic, right. But I was like really thankful that it did take a break from just, oh, I gotta work, I gotta go here, I gotta go there. So. Yeah. And I could tell you firsthand that it was almost like a refreshing, like a breath of fresh air, like they say. Right? Because I hadn't done that even just to go out to a little restaurant with a friend. Normally it's been, okay, I've got this meeting with these clients and since we're meeting with the clients, we're going to eat. But while we're eating, I'm not even thinking about the food I'm eating, I'm thinking about, are we going to win the opportunity to do business with them? Right? So I think that's an awesome idea to put it on your schedule to do something enjoyable. Is that a daily habit? Weekly habit of. [00:22:10] Speaker B: That's a daily habit. And just by putting it on your like to do list or your habit, every single day, you're aware. You start becoming aware, like what? What? Fulfill what fills my cup. And then you start saying, hey, you know what? I got to do this today or this. And you just added to your schedule, or you start looking for things that make you feel uncomfortable, you know, and you just, I mean, that one habit about pushing outside of your comfort zone and making yourself uncomfortable open a lot of doors for me. You and I, we both know what we rep is Jose Lopez, the photographer. You know, he's all over the place. I met him at Starbucks, and on my list for the day was do something uncomfortable. And he said, hey, I really think you'd be great speaking at we rep. This was before I spoke in front of anybody. And the first thing in my mind was heck no, you know, but I said yes to that. And then that whole month up to it. Of course, I was nervous as crap. But I really used that opportunity to kind of, now I'm going to be speaking in front of a thousand people in a month. And it's all because of that. I said yes and got outside of my comfort zone. But just being aware of that and doing it daily, it can help you grow in many different ways. [00:23:25] Speaker A: You know, it's funny, you mentioned about saying yes, right? So I can't. Daisy was probably ten. I worked in the title industry at the time. And, you know, we were at the office, some different people there, and I think I was pretty near there. I don't think I knew everybody. One of the guys says, hey, as usual, you know, we're headed up the river this weekend. You guys are all invited, even though you all don't show up, you know? Right. And I was like, you know what? I went to the river, you know, with friends before and had been in a few years. I'm like, I want to go. Can I bring my daughter? He's like, yeah, of course. I'll tell you what, I said yes to that trip. Turned out we had a phenomenal time. Became one of my very closest friends. Tom Bernath, shout out to you. He's actually going to be a future guest here. He's in the title industry. But, you know, if I didn't say yes. I wouldn't have known how cool him and his wife and his kids were. And our daughters were close in age. They got to hang out. And all of these memories that are fond memories for not just me, but for my daughter as well, my family came because I was uncomfortable. Some person I don't really know. Right. Which is going to stay at your house, seems kind of weird. But I would encourage everybody say yes a little bit more because a life is short. And any opportunity you have, if somebody is willing to share their blessings with you and you can enjoy them, take advantage. And I'll tell you what, as someone who had sea dos before or boats, you know what? You want people to enjoy that stuff with it. So don't, don't think you're imposing. Say yes when they invite you and take advantage of it. So I agree with that. So the other thing about the. Sorry. As far as doing something enjoyable, do you also calendar out time for, like, family events, family vacations? Do you kind of block out your year? I know there's someone that we both follow that does like a pretty massive calendar, right? [00:25:29] Speaker B: Yeah. That's so Jesse Itzler. He has this calendar called the big ass calendar. [00:25:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:34] Speaker B: And it's huge. It'll take up half your wall. But the premise behind it is blocking out those things that kind of fill your cup on a big scale, whether it be putting in an ironman on your schedule or putting in your vacation. One thing I do every month, and I'm very cognizant of doing it, is taking my wife out on a day or a date night every week or a weekend trip once a quarter. And by scheduling that in there, time doesn't just go by and you look back and like, oh, shoot, I haven't taken her out in six months or year because that tends to happen with people who are focused on a big goal. So, yeah, I do schedule out those big events. [00:26:16] Speaker A: You know, it's interesting because in business, there's a saying, I'm sure people have heard of it. But if you're going to call on people, you're calling on customers, right? In many of our businesses, repetition is the key, being forefront in their mind. Whether you're a loan officer calling on real estate agents, your account executives in the wholesale business calling on mortgage brokers, you got to be top of mind. But if you always just call up and call a realtor, hey, you got any loans from me or this or that? So, you know, I got in the habit years ago of using something called the Ford system, right. Which is family, occupation, recreation, and dreams. So if you go into a dialogue and you're not even sure what to say, right. Just think of that for. Right. Family, occupation, recreation, dreams. The beauty of it is that you're touching, again, kind of on pillars that affect people's lives, being personal and not just coming off as, like, a hard sell just for business. The funny part about that is that during the vid years, right, I talked to a good buddy of mine all the time. Every couple days we were talking, and it was just like, well, you know, there's this, or, oh, just like so much negativity. How's it work? Well, you know, people are allowed in the office. You know, that I actually employed that. And he probably doesn't know this. He might know now after he sees this. I know as well, might list it. But I would say, you know what? Let's. What can I do? Just get my head off of this and start focusing on something. Even in personal relationships, I think it's. It's great to not only think of things that we do in business that are good, oftentimes those good tactics. Follow up business. We follow up. Do we follow up with our family? I think that's cool that you mentioned that. You put that on the calendar just like you're in a calendar, a major event for work or a major marathon for that. Keeping a good calendar, that seems like a pretty good strategy. What else would you suggest to a budding entrepreneur? So we've talked a little bit about keeping the balance. Is there any other daily habits or tactics or tricks, if you will, if somebody was just getting started as an entrepreneur? Because I recall when you and I first met, you were actually employed by a company, and you had a passion and a desire within you to go out and do something. It was scary to take the leap. Right. So what would you say to somebody today that is in that same position? [00:28:49] Speaker B: So the biggest thing I would say is a lot of people have this feeling, or, you know, this feeling that they're not happy where they are or they want to go after something, but they never do it. They look back if they're on their deathbed and they're like, oh, man, I wish I would have done this. I wish I would have done that. And unless you take that leap of faith and do it, you'll never know. And one of the key things that changed my entire life, Washington, quitting the job that I was ten years employed with. I was making great money, health insurance, you know, my family was, you know, comfortable because of the money, but I wasn't. I wasn't happy. I was kind of dying inside because I knew I had more to give the world. And so let me hold you there. [00:29:34] Speaker A: And if you're dying inside, are you really being everything your family needs of you? Right? I'm sure I've probably been there. Sorry, family where if I'm not happy, I personally tends to wear it on my sleeves pretty openly. So I'm sure that your family felt your, whether it was depression or frustration or whatever. So you weren't being selfish, I guess, is what I'm trying to point out. Sometimes people think it's a selfish move to take a leap of faith and go after something. I just wanted to point out that it's more selfless than anybody can imagine. [00:30:09] Speaker B: From the time, I mean, when you're looking in at it at the time, it does seem selfish, but looking back, you know, it changes a lot more people's lives if you go after that passion or that calling, if you will. So that's a big thing, is just go after something that you feel like is set in front of you. Because I believe God doesn't put these big dreams or visions in your mind for no reason. He doesn't not give you the tools to get there. So that's, number one, is, number one, have a vision of where you want to go. And number two, have faith that you're going to get there no matter the stumbling blocks. You know, in business, you got to keep. There's a lot of stumbling blocks, right? Maybe one or two. [00:30:52] Speaker A: But I would tell you this, I thought it was going to take two years. It's taking four years. But yes, expectations from here to reality sometimes are, sometimes it's a little longer. [00:31:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it does take a lot longer than expected. But just knowing that you're going to get there, I know your vision. You're already there. You've been there probably many times in your visualization. You've seen it and just taking those steps no matter what and figuring out a way over those obstacles or around those obstacles or through those obstacles, just never give up. And then the last thing I would say is, you got to surround yourself with people who support your dreams. They don't pull you down. They don't say, oh, are you crazy? You're going on this diet. Are you doing this run or why are you doing another Ironman? You want to have people who support you and say, dan, that's awesome, man. I'm glad you did that. [00:31:43] Speaker A: I appreciated the few people that told me I couldn't do it because I. [00:31:46] Speaker B: Was like, okay, use that as fuel. [00:31:48] Speaker A: Thank you. I mean, you've heard about Goggins, right? The guy reads his, like, twitter hate mail to himself and plays it when he goes running, you know, like, I don't think I want to do that. You know? But I definitely couldn't agree more. If you have people that support you, believe in you, I mean, look, you got to believe in yourself. But people could chip away at that. And I've had those late nights right, over my life of 51 years, right? Thinking was this right decision, you know? And then thankfully, someone will come, come by out of the blue and be like, yeah, dude, it's the right decision. You know? And then you could feel a little bit like, okay, nervous. And I think the other thing is, don't stop when it's hard, because when it's really hard, as, you know, maybe seen or heard other people say, you're probably really close to breaking through. And I think a lot of times, the hardest part is right before you get to that point. So anybody who's thinking of taking a leap of faith, right, have faith. Believe in yourself. That's very important. And also surround yourself with people that are willing to support the dream. How do you know when it's the right time? [00:32:58] Speaker B: You don't. You just go after it. I mean, it's never a perfect time to start a business. It's never a perfect time to pop the question in marriage or have a kid. But you just do it when the time feels right, and it's never going to be a perfect time, people. And one thing, I had the lucky ability to interview a lot of business owners when I was building my health insurance company. And one of the things that I see a lot of business owners say, oh, I'll do this later, but later never happens. You got to take advantage of the time now because you look back in the future and realize, man, I should have done this or I should have done that. So now is the time. [00:33:40] Speaker A: You know, it's funny you say that, because years ago, some people know I was in the exotic car sales business, right? So had the ability to sell cars for years, and, you know, while doing mortgage industry stuff. And I would ask people, I'd be curious, right? Someone's buying a Lambo Ferrari, something that they really want. It's amazing goal for the many times, I would say more often than not, they were probably a little bit older than. Than they would have liked to have been buying the car. Right. And it was because at that point in their life, they're like, okay, justifiably, I can spend this money. And I'm not telling anybody to be frivolous out there, but I would ask them, you know, so, you know, what do you think about, what do you like about the car? Why'd you use? And many times like, I just wish I would've done it sooner, you know? So I think, like, anything in life is if we can find, if it's something you want to go after, find a way to make it happen now, right? Whatever that takes. Maybe that's a reason you're going to go into business for yourself, because you want some house down by the beach or you have some lofty goal that maybe the career path you're in today. I mean, math is math, right? If you see where you're trending, maybe that's not it. So go for it. Right? Well, one of the other things that, I mean, you went from the insurance business, which I know we were driving the other day, and you're like, oh, I've been in all these buildings around here, right? And it's funny how, you know, when you've been in a, for me in southern California, you know, you know, it's like the back of your hand, right? You're driven all over the place and you start to know people, right? And you're like, okay, I know that guy, this guy, this is the doctor, this is the manufacturer. And that actually blossomed into the business you run today, correct? [00:35:21] Speaker B: So, yeah, when I was doing my insurance business, I read a book called think and Grow Rich. Have you read that book? [00:35:27] Speaker A: I think I have it on the shelf over here. [00:35:29] Speaker B: That's a classic. If you guys haven't read that book, you need to read it. [00:35:33] Speaker A: But, well, the cool thing about that book is, when was it written? I don't know, twenties or something. I mean, it's bananas. Like it's way back in the day. So I always am blown away by books that, and there's like this, you know, how to win friends, influence people. You know, these books have been around forever in the crazy, crazy thing is they still work. [00:35:54] Speaker B: Yeah, they do. So in that book, in chapter ten, they talked about the power of the mastermind. And when I read that chapter, I'm like, oh, I want to find this mastermind group in our area because I want to be surrounded by people who are growth minded and support each other. And I found a lot of great networking groups and the chamber, of course, which I'm a part of as well. But I didn't find this mastermind group that I read about. So I created this small mastermind group, and it started growing and growing, and now it's, we're turning it into a global business. We brought on an advisor to really build the foundation of our structure. And we're really trying to. Well, we're not trying. We're expanding into every major city in the United States and then globally just to support local business owners. So they're not a lone wolf out there. They have a place to plug in and not only get inspired and break past their limit of what they think is possible, but also brainstorm ideas or challenges that they have and get insight and resources from other people who are in the trenches with them. So that's what the mastermind group's all. [00:36:59] Speaker A: About, you know, and the thing is, it's like, oftentimes as an entrepreneur, I guess I'm more of an intrapreneur. I help run and develop a company I work for. It is like being on an island, right? Especially we're talking about loan officers and realtors right from our side. I know you work a lot of different business, but still, it's like you're out on an island, and who do you turn to for help and support? And I think it's great that there's groups locally that people can plug into, and this is one that they should. We'll put the link below where you could talk to other people, other business owners, because I'll tell you what, there's a very good chance somebody has, unfortunately have to file bankruptcy, perhaps, right? Somebody there probably has. You need to get a line of credit to expand your business viability. Somebody there probably has. So I think when you can put yourself out there in front of people in your area and share their expertise, I mean, it kind of only makes sense. But sometimes, like you said, people don't know where to connect with that. [00:38:00] Speaker B: Yeah, a lot of times it really collapses timeframes rather than you trying to figure it out the hard way and spin your own wheels. Might as well just shortcut it and ask somebody who's already gone through it, right. Rather than trying to go through yourself. So. [00:38:12] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I think it's really important because like we said, you know, you don't grow something really large by yourself. It's going to be a team. So whether that's a team of, you know, friends that you already have or new friends you're going to make, be sure you are surrounding yourself, right. Don't be afraid to go out and talk to people, don't be afraid to ask questions because, you know, what's the whole saying? Like, there's no stupid questions, stupid people. I'm not quite probably said that wrong, but, you know, don't be afraid to ask questions. It's back to the comfort zone. You know, if I'm uncomfortable to ask for help, that could be, you know, that's going to delay the progress. So. Well, I'll tell you what, those are some really good things that, that you shared. I appreciate you coming and talking to us a little bit about these pillars. We talked a little bit about a new entrepreneur starting out, talked about where to plug in for experienced entrepreneurs. What do you have planned coming up? Something I know that's going on that you want to invite people out to. You want to share a little bit about that and then we'll put the details below in the comments. [00:39:15] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. So part of the mastermind group, we all had an idea, a couple of us had an idea about doing a large event to inspire local business owners. And so last year we started the infinite Growth Expo and we had about 250 people there at the Ontario convention center. Now this year our goal is to have 800 to 1000 people at the Pomona Sheraton Fairplex. [00:39:37] Speaker A: Nice. [00:39:38] Speaker B: On August 10. And we have amazing speakers like Tim Story, David Meltzer, Greg S. Reed, who actually wrote 3ft from Gold with Sharon Lecter. [00:39:49] Speaker A: So it's kind of like we're talking about right when it's getting really hard. You know, I think there's like a photo or cartoon or whatever you see. Yeah. Like with the accent, you're like, I'm done. Like, I swear that that is real life. Don't stop. [00:40:03] Speaker B: So there's a lot of people right now maybe even thinking about giving up in business. You know, I invite you to come down to get inspired and surround yourself with other growth minded people. Just imagine being in a room with 800 growth minded people that you can connect with, collaborate with, get inspired by. And that's a lot of times all you need is that one idea, that one resource, that one connection to bring your entire life to a whole new level. So I'm really excited about it. I invite everybody down to come. If you just click on the link below or wherever this is posted, I'd be happy to kind of get your tickets one way or another to have you show up. [00:40:43] Speaker A: Sounds good. We appreciate that. Before we wrap up here, I want to talk just kind of closing here. What are some tangible and also intangible benefits that perhaps you've experienced when we talk about having this balanced life, the. [00:40:58] Speaker B: Tangible benefits, just feeling not empty, because, I mean, if you don't have balance or you don't even create different areas in your life, you don't know if you're balanced or nothing. But you. I'm just speaking for business owners, people striving for large goals, and, you know, they're striving for that, and then they just feel empty. It's because you don't have, you know, different areas of your life that you're either filling or you're just empty. [00:41:27] Speaker A: Well, I think what I appreciate you did today is you shared what some of those buckets are, what some ways to fill them are, because I can tell you, it's like we talk to our sales team and we say, well, hope is not a plan, and so have a plan, and it doesn't really matter, to be honest, what the plan is. Right. But if you forbid, you were very successful last month with no plan and have no idea how to replicate it. Right. Like, that's almost worse than having a plan that you didn't follow. Right. Because you don't even know how to get back there. So I think that that emptiness that you're talking about also comes in that, like, if you. If you have a plan to do these two things in these four buckets every day, I could feel good that I at least accomplished it, because I never celebrate a new business transaction today. I celebrate a successful month of activities that generate that transaction. Right. Because you. You close a transaction today, or somebody's real estate agent sells a house today. Ello. Gets a new loan today. That's awesome. But that didn't happen today. Today was the result of everything you were doing for the last. I mean, in some cases, it could be two years to develop a relationship. [00:42:44] Speaker B: Right. [00:42:45] Speaker A: So, definitely celebrating those small victories along the way and the actions, I guess, more than the actual transaction, 100%. I'm gonna key that action over transaction, because we'll put that. That's hashtag Keithowles borns me. But the other thing I wanted to kind of look about here was the, from your own standpoint, how has achieving balance affected your own productivity and relationships as well? [00:43:15] Speaker B: For me, I feel like knowing that I'm not just spinning my wheels, that I'm very intentional and I'm following the habits not 100% of the time, but most of the time, that the rest of my day, I can have this extra energy and this extra confidence that I can pretty much accomplish anything. I set my mind to. So it just added that extra power knowing that I'm. I don't like being, I don't like the word structured, but I like having habits that I can check off. And just knowing, as you just recently said, that all these little habits lead up to something great. Yeah. As long as you're doing these things that are going to turn into something amazing someday. As long as you're doing the little things, that's what matters. [00:44:04] Speaker A: It's almost as if we were talking about other books. [00:44:07] Speaker B: That's actually a good book if you. [00:44:09] Speaker A: Haven'T read this one. It's so funny because in there they talk about like paraphrase, like a plane taken off from LA to New York. Right. And if it was just off like one degree, you know, it's going to be like in Florida or whatever instead. Because it's just the small little things over the long term trajectory. Right. And big shout. James clear. It's all you appreciate reading and hearing it, but it is very true. It's these little habits and actions that we can do. And I think the real goal for everybody who's, you know, listening to this gold nugget is decide what those are. And that's probably the tricky part. You know, like you said, whether you, different people have different names for these pillars, the fact is you need to identify what those names are for you and create Nick's rule. Right. Just as two little things you could do and hit that four before you go out the door and definitely improve your balance. And hopefully I can be less all in and all out. You know, I'm going to take some, take some ideas with that as well. With that. I really appreciate you coming by, bud. I will say those of you that want to join us, this was, this was the last one. I had to lay it around Sacramento, 102 days away. Don't stop training. All right, Nick, as always, I appreciate you coming by. Everybody mortgage me marketing, education, activities and tips. Morgzlan originators, we appreciate you and enjoy your stakes. [00:45:37] Speaker B: See you guys.