Transform Failure Into Success With Love with Ryan Pineda

Michael:  Hey! Unbroken Nation! Hope you’re doing well, where ever you are in the world today. Very excited to be back with you with another episode in a very special location with my boy Ryan Pineda. What's up man?

Ryan: What's up man? How you doing dude?

Michael: I'm amazing. Thanks for doing this, thanks for inviting me into your home.

Ryan: Yeah, you're in my space right now, but I'm the guest.

Michael: How does it feel to be on the couch, bro?

Ryan: I've done it a couple of times with people who've come into town to interview. So, it's not my first, but it is different.

Michael: Yeah. Well, I appreciate it, man. I had the honor of getting introduced to you through a mutual friend David Meltzer couple months ago. He brought me backstage for your Tykes Event and you gave him a birthday cake, which I was like, I love this dude ‘cause I love David dearly. And so, I was just like, let's get connected, let's talk about this. Your story, your journey's pretty incredible, what you've been able to build is unbelievable. And I think that as we start, I want to create a little bit of context and so the first question I have for you is if I want to understand Ryan, what is your earliest memory that defines who you are today?

Ryan: My earliest memory that defines who I am? Hmm. That's a good question, man. Well, you know, I grew up as a baseball player and I was fortunate enough to play pro baseball in my adulthood. So, a lot of my memories today are, well, I should say a lot of my younger memories revolved around playing baseball and camaraderie with teammates and winning and wanting to be the best. And like I always had those desires from a young age and I was always ultra-competitive, you know, I learned discipline and all of those things from playing sports. And the other side of it is when I think back to like my younger days of playing baseball, it gives me a lot of joy with my family because we did a lot of travel tournaments and my dad went to every game and he filmed me and did all these great things for me. And so, you know, if you ask me what earliest memory like defines who I am today, I would think back to a lot of those early memories of playing baseball with family, with friends and everything and that really shapes like, the beliefs I have today, especially with the Wealthy Way.

Michael: Yeah. One of the things, I played sports too, you learn how to lose a lot.

Ryan: Oh, yeah. Failure.

Michael: Massive. Sometimes you're like, a runaway a point away, and the other guys, they take it from you. And I think often it's like, who wants it more that day? And there's something about being competitive that I think has played a really beautiful role in my life and given me the ability to do incredible things like speak in front of 10,000 people at Cardone's event and have him invest into my company. I was like, massively competitive like, I'm gonna go do this thing. How do you navigate being competitive as an adult versus when you were young? Because I think a lot of people will look at guys like us and be like, you're competitive and it almost is a knock against us.

Ryan: Yeah. You know, it's interesting, right? I think you have to have some level of competitiveness to succeed in business, right? You get to like, maybe you, you channel that towards your rival or the top dog in your industry, or maybe you're just competitive with yourself and your self-motivated. Regardless of that, I think you need some form of competitiveness to succeed, but you don't want it to cross the line of either consuming you or like arrogance or jealousy or envy. I think that, that's when, you know, it's like, man, it's becoming an obsession, it's becoming too much. Right. And I struggled with that especially playing baseball, right? Because as I was growing in ranks, you know, you're rated against all these other players and if you're trying to move up in the minor leagues, you're watching what the guys above you are doing because you need to take their job to naturally move up, that's the way it is. It's not like we're coming to be friends, even though we will be friends on the team, it's like, but in the end, we are competing for the same position.

And so, during my baseball career, I got really consumed with that and it wasn't good, it wasn't the right type of competitiveness. It was like, man, I'm worrying about what all these other people are doing now instead of just focusing on me and like what I need to do to get better every day and let the chips fall where they may, you know, it doesn't matter what they're doing, all I can worry about is what I'm doing. Unfortunately, you know, when you get drafted and you're 21 years old, you don't know a lot of the things that you know as you get older. So, I didn't really know how to deal with that, I didn't reach my goals of where I wanted to be in baseball, I didn't get to the big leagues, I got way further than 99.9% of people, but I didn't get to the big leagues. And I think a lot of that was stuff like that, just not knowing how to handle that. But the cool thing is once I got into business and I retired and I got into social media and all this other stuff, I encountered the same problems but this time I knew how to deal with it. You know, now when I see a guy like Cardone who you mentioned, it's like, I don't look at him with jealousy or envy or like, man, I got to be bigger than him. I just look at him like, man, dude, respect, like what this guy's doing. And when there's other guys in my industry who are maybe at my level or near my level, like Cardone's at a whole another level from me, right? Like, so I respect that, but I don't get jealous or mad when other guys in my industry are winning. Right. I'm happy for 'em and I'm just focused on what I gotta do.

Michael: That's so much of it. And when I was young, I would get massively jealous of people I'd like, why does this person get it? Why does that person win? And I came to realize, like, sometimes it just was like I wasn't good enough, that's like one of the really hard truths about whether it's sports or business or, I mean, just really anything in life, sometimes you have to sit in and be like, actually it's not that I'm horrid or bad or the worst, it's like sometimes people just, they're gifted, it's more natural for them, they have the ability to come and show up. When you're in these moments, I think about the journey that's led me to be able to even like, express that in a way that's healthy and not like I want to tear down the room, it was just a series of events of people being like, dude, it's okay to fail. It's okay that you're not number one, but for yourself, you know, being driven and being a person who wants to be number one, how do you handle that conversation in your head, especially when failure is like right there?

Ryan: Yeah. Well, I think to go back to sports, I mean, we'll probably talk a lot about sports if you're trying to go deep into why I am the way I am. But like, you know, in baseball, right? You fail seven outta 10 times, you're doing really good. And so, I got used to failure baseball has the most failure out of any sport. And so, it was like, yeah, you know what, I got out whatever, I'm gonna get 'em on the next one. And so, I've always taken that mentality with everything just maybe unknowingly from just that experience, like, oh, this business didn't work. All right, the next one. This video flopped; we'll make the next one. This person left, we'll find the next person. Like that's just how I've always operated. And so, I think at the end of the day, you have to always just keep pressing forward in whatever you're doing. And with the jealousy thing and the envy thing and all that, like, its hard man, it's hard to kind of wrap your head around like, oh man, man, this guy has so many more things that I don't have. Like of course he's where he is at today. Right. But once again, to bring it back to sports, I remember like, you know, there's first round draft picks and these guys have just talent and tools that I don't have and I can't get mad at that, I can't get mad that God made them the way they are and he made me the way I am. Right. But the cool thing is, you know, I believe God gave us all unique talent and ability and we just have to figure out where's the best place to use this talent and ability. And so, for me, like I always thought it was on the baseball field, but now I see God had a bigger plan and my talents and abilities are far better used in business and social media. And so, when I look at, just like people who are trying to get in the game of business or social media now, they'll be like, well, you know, I wasn't born this way with this or that. And I'm like, look, it doesn't matter, you can still make the most of it.

Michael: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I look at my life, dude. I was a homeless drug addict when I was 12 years old. And I've spoken on some of the biggest stages in the world, written a best-selling book, this podcast just crossed 1.5 million downloads, it's like, just because where you start, whether it's on your side of the tracks or my side of the tracks, often the path doesn't lead you to where you think it's going to lead you if you're like paying attention to the signs. There's something here that if you tap into, if you follow, if you pay attention to, if you execute against like the world's going to open up. And some of it, I think actually a lot of it is like inherent in us. You know, I would have to assume, and I'm not going to put words in your mouth and you know, that's why I'm interviewing you, but having a mom who is a real estate agent and a dad who owned a small business, you know, being entrepreneurs, there's something I would have to assume that subconsciously gets buried into you ‘cuz you're watching them go and try to make things work, having a family, having a home building business. Do you think that's played any role in your resiliency?

Ryan: Yeah, it's interesting because like growing up, I didn't even know the word entrepreneur. Like seriously, like my parents never told me, Hey, you need to start a business, you need to get into real estate, they never said that. It was always around baseball and that they knew that was my passion, they knew like I had the talent to pursue a career in that and like that could be way bigger than any of the other stuff they were doing so, they were never telling me to do that. When I became an entrepreneur, it was literally out of necessity, you know, in 2010, I got drafted by the Oakland a's and you know, in the minor leagues you only make 1200 bucks a month at that time. So, I was like, well, I need to freaking make some money somehow, so what am I gonna do? And I looked at my options and I'm like, well, I can't get a job because I won't have time to practice, I won't have time to work out and do the things I got to do and I'm gonna go leave for six months out of the year so, who's gonna hire me? Right? Who's gonna hire me with the demands that I have, you know? And I was like, they're not, so I gotta figure out basically like a side hustle or something that I can control my own time with.

I got my real estate license ‘cuz I remember seeing my mom just kinda work whenever she wants and I always thought it was weird ‘cuz my dad went to work every day. Like, you know, he managed his small business so he was at work, but my mom was just at home all the time and I'd be like, man, she like does whatever she wants. This is great. So let me become a realtor, and I learned I didn't like being a realtor and all that stuff. But long story short, I think subconsciously what happened for me wasn't that, hey, I need to be an entrepreneur, I think what I really desired was to control my time. And I did not like anyone else controlling my time or telling me what to do, I've never liked people telling me I had to do something and or being obligated to do something. I wanna do things that I want to do. And so, I think entrepreneurship gives you that freedom if you do it right and that would probably be the biggest thing ‘cuz like, I also remember go back to the baseball games and my dad showing up to every game and my mom and we going on these trips. I noticed other kids' parents didn't do that, you know, other kids' parents couldn't do it because they were working, they had to go to their job. And I remember sitting there like, man, that kind of sucks, you know, so I think it's the time thing for me really.

Michael: Yeah. I'm very much the same way. I hate being told what to do. In fact, you know, I think know thy self is probably the most important aspect of life. I'm very stubborn, it is the singular thing that drives me forward and the very thing that also stops me, some cognizant of that. And so, I need people to rein me in sometimes, but I do think about those moments like winning tournaments wrestling or championships playing football when I was a kid and like my mom was never there. Battling her own issues with drugs and alcohol and I'd be there and I'd see the kids whose parents would come and what was interesting, I don't remember being jealous of those kids. I just remember being like, that's so cool that their parents are here. What do you think are the most important lessons your parents have taught you?

Ryan: Hmm. Good question. So, I was raised in a Christian home and obviously I think that's the number one thing that was imparted on me, from an early age. You know, I grew up in the church, you know, I don't have a crazy story about like, rebelling and running away from faith. Some people who grew up in the church do, I was just always very faithful and I knew like I wanted to serve God and be obedient and just live my life in a way pleasing to him. So, that would be the number one thing, hands down, you know, ‘cuz even like watching my parents, like, they didn't drink, they didn't smoke, you know, they were super loving, they're still together today. You know, it doesn't mean that they haven't had issues, they've had plenty of issues, you know. My mom struggled with gambling here in Vegas for a long time, you know, like, they've had plenty of issues and they've had plenty of ups and downs with business. In 2008, they both literally lost everything, my dad lost all of his businesses, my mom lost basically all of her clients, they had some rental properties, they lost all those, the childhood home I grew up in, they lost it so, you know, they literally lost everything. And my parents, I remember when I got drafted, they were really like, hoping that I would be the savior to kind of get the family out of this problem, it didn't work out that way with baseball it ended up working out that way later on with business, but they never recovered from that loss. You know, my mom like was never the same realtor after that, my dad never started a business again after that.

Now thankfully, you know, they're retired now, I've retired them and my dad actually works for me because he wants to. And so, you know, it's great and my mom just kinda like, helps with the kids and hangs out and stuff. So, long story short, what did they teach me? I think, obviously faith was the biggest thing and all the things that come along with faith, like having integrity and being morally sound, all of those things. I think hard work was a thing. I've always been a hard worker and I watched my dad do it, you know, he was an extremely hard worker. I'll say actually the biggest thing that I probably learned was like, what true love looks like? You know, ‘cuz my parents like, showed me love all the time and like they showed it through serving, they showed it through sacrifice, they showed it through discipline, they showed it through their actions. When I look at myself as a parent today, you know, we got a third kid on the way.

Michael: Oh wow. Congrats.

Ryan: Thank you. I know how to model like what being a good dad looks like ‘cuz he was there for me, you know, every baseball game and even today and, and all this stuff I do in business, like he's my biggest cheerleader. You know, it's like that for me is the biggest thing like, man, how can I love, you know, not only my kids and my family and my wife, but my employees, you know, the people who come to my events. Like how do I show them like what true love looks like?

Michael: Hmm. Is there a moment with your parents that would define that love?

Ryan: It's funny ‘cuz like when you first asked me about like the first moment in my life, I couldn't think of like an exact moment it was just like, a broad general idea. And then like, even though I'm thinking now, I'm like, man, I can't like pinpoint a single moment. But it goes back to now that I understand myself so much better as a visionary, I'm not detail oriented, I'm like, big picture like, I don't know how it's gonna happen, but we're gonna make it happen. Right. And then like all my integrators in my companies are super detailed, they could be like, this happened on this date, that's what needs to go down here, you know, this is missing a number, they're so detail oriented and I'm so not, so like, I just think back and like, very broad, big picture type deals so, it's like hard for me to even think of a singular moment.

Michael: Yeah. You said it was showing up. Right. And I think that's a big part of it, we feel the energy, the spirit, the effort that people put in, we resonate with that. And it becomes reciprocal in the way that we show up in the world. When you think about now a third child on the way, which is absolutely incredible, congratulations again. And being a father now, I mean, you had to struggle at first, I mean, with James and his story which I know you've shared a lot. But then having a really beautiful young daughter and this amazing marriage like, how do you display love? How do you show love as an adult now, being a father, being a leader, being a man? Like what does it like really mean to you today?

Ryan: Yeah, I mean, the way you show love is through your actions, right? And so, I think what you said, showing up is so huge like that's probably the number one thing. You may know, not know what to do or like how to show your emotions, but by just being there, like that's 80% of the battle. If you're gonna use the 80-20 rule, that's 80% of the battle right there and you know, what's showing up for my kids? Well, I mean, the reason I wrote the book The Wealthy Way was because I saw so many entrepreneurs not showing up, you know, spend all their time here at the business and then like they have no time for their family, they have no time for their faith, they have no time for their health, they have no time for any relationships because they're so consumed with growing their business and making money. And I just don't think that's a good way to live, I think it leads to depression, I think it leads to unfulfillment no purpose, it's just not good. And for me, if I want to make my kids a priority and my wife a priority, I need to show up first and foremost. And the way that I do that is with my time. And so, you know, I have a rule here, I don't work past five o'clock, you know, so if I didn't get all my work done, whatever, I'm going home and the business will suffer. And so, what does that do? Makes me more efficient like, Hey, I need or hire somebody else so we can, ‘cuz it's not like I'm gonna do less, you know, that's the thing. I'm not gonna be like, Hey, well I guess I just can't grow as much as I want to. No. I'm like, well, I just gotta figure out a better way to do it. I gotta hire more people. I gotta budget my time better.

So, I show up for them at night on the weekdays, and then on the weekends I don't work. So, you know, I'm home with the kids and the family all day on the weekends, I'm giving my time to my family. You know, my wife and I, we do a date night every Friday, it's a non-negotiable unless, something crazy happens. But most Fridays we're gonna be on a date night and it's just me and her and time away from the kids and it's just like our time to reconnect during the week. And during the time that I'm with them, it's also, you know, the next step that's a lot harder is being present, I struggle with that because, you know, even though I might be home, like I'm always thinking about business or the next thing, or I'm on my phone texting or doing something, right? And so, being intentional with my family is something that I still need to work on. But like, you know, that's the biggest thing, right? So, it's like if my kids want to go outside and play, let me go outside and play. You know, they love the pool, so it's like I'm taking 'em to the pool, they want to just hang out, we'll hang out. So, my kids are young right now, so, you know, my son's four, my daughter's about to turn three, I don't have like events to take them to yet, but I know that that will change once they get into sports and they get into hobbies and all these other things that often make even more time for it.

Michael: I love that. That's important to you because you're right and you see so many entrepreneurs destroy their relationships, their family, their kids resent them, their friends, stop talking to them ‘cuz they're chasing this dream. I was having dinner with somebody that you and I both know, but I won't mention their name publicly because of what they said to me. And they go, man, you know, one of the biggest mistakes that I've made in my life was not putting my family first. You know, having all this money, all this wealth building these companies and then having to suffer through my kids not liking me. And you think about that and it's like, as an entrepreneur myself and running multiple companies, I don't have children, but I always ask questions like that so I can prepare myself for that moment. So, hopefully I don't go down that path so I don't make those mistakes and I think being a man is very different now probably than like when our fathers were our age and their fathers and so forth ‘cuz there's evolution, you know, there's so much pressure to be like the guy and successful and grow and build and have the biggest f*cking house in the neighborhood. But you said something I think's really powerful where you're like, when it's five o'clock I'm out, man. How do you get to that place? Because I know that there are people listening right now and they're chasing their dreams, it's hard. And look, we're gonna go a little deeper too, because it hasn't always been Ryan Pineda being Ryan Pineda, right? You've struggled, you've suffered, you've been to Helen back and building this thing. How do you stay focused and moved towards these goals while still trying to have the integrity of being the person you want to be?

Ryan: Yeah. You know, I have a saying that in anything you want to accomplish, the purpose has to exceed the cost. So, most people don't understand the cost of what it is they want to do, right? Like,sure, there might be a financial cost, and that's very tangible and easy to say, but you know, what's the time commitment? How much crap are you gonna have to go through to get there? How many setbacks are you gonna have? How much failure are you gonna have to deal with to reach this goal? Right? And if you can clearly start to understand the cost of getting there, then you're now gonna have to look at, well, what's the purpose behind why I'm doing this? And you know, if the purpose does not exceed what the cost is, you're not gonna do it. Point blank.

Michael: But people get confused there, right? Because we live in this purpose driven world like how do you even get nuanced into that?

Ryan: Well, I mean, like, let's take a real-world example, right? Why did you start your podcast? What was the purpose?

Michael: I'll go deeper, very simple. My mission's end generational trauma in my lifetime through education and information. So, the education information is sitting with people like you, like Tom Bilyeu, Tim Storey, you name them, who've been on this show over the years, to have your story, your hero's journey, be laid out in front of millions of people so that they can understand all of us started at zero.

Ryan: And you're super passionate about reaching that mission and it might take you the rest of your life to do it.

Michael: Literally will. Ryan, I know I will die before I reach this mission, but that's not gonna stop me.

Ryan: Right. So, I can see like, you've got the passion behind you, and guess what? Like, you know, for you to hit your mission, it involves you getting more downloads, more views, more exposure, and just getting this message out to the masses, right? And so, it's like, man, starting a podcast is not easy. There's financial parts to it, there's time, you know, trying to go get guests is hard, all these things are really difficult to do and you understand the cost now. And like you could tell somebody, Hey, here's the cost, I think you said one and half million downloads, I could tell you exactly what you're gonna have to go through to get to that point. And then like, now you're looking at, man, what's it gonna take to get to a hundred million downloads?

Michael: Mm-hmm. That's exactly what we're doing.

Ryan: Yeah. And you're like, okay, what's the cost? You know, now that I know what the cost was to get here, what do I gotta pay to get here? And like, if your mission is big enough, which I believe it is, you'll pay the cost financially, time wise, effort wise, failure wise and all those things.

Michael: How do you get to the place of knowing though, because I think that's where people get stuck ‘cuz if you go, you know, one of the things I love about your story is like you're originally like the couch flipping guy. For context, will you share the brief side of that story so people know what that means and then talk about figuring out the cost you're willing to pay to go to the next level?

Ryan: Yeah. So, like I said, I got drafted in 2010 I became a realtor and after a couple years of being a realtor, I realized I hated it. During that time, I was also engaged to obviously my now wife and we're about to celebrate 10 years of marriage, but we're totally broke, right? We're just a young couple. I mean, we got engaged when she was 19, you know, and so I just was like, all right, well, all right, once we're married, I'm about to really figure things out because I'm good like being broke on my own, but sure, it's not cool being broke with a wife, right? Especially one who's going to college, so she's not working, and she was going to school to become a teacher, she was gonna make 40 grand a year, it wasn't ever gonna be a lot of money. Well, actually though, at that time, 40 grand was a lot of money, so we were like, hey, this is gonna be great. But nonetheless, we get married in 2013 and I'm like, all right, I gotta figure out how we're gonna pay bills ‘cuz now, we got an apartment together, we got all this stuff. And so, I had furnished our apartment with all this used furniture from Craigslist, it was a thousand bucks to furnish it. And we used the money from like wedding gifts in order to furnish it and all this other stuff. I ended up looking at all the furniture one day and I was just like, man, I bet you I could sell this furniture for like, probably $3,000 because I just got great deals on it, I've always been a good negotiator. I was like, it just dawned on me one day, I was like, God was speaking to me. He's like, why don't you just sell furniture like on the side? I was like, okay, let me like try this out. So, I went on Craigslist and I bought a couch, ended up bringing it back to the apartment. My wife is like, why do you have another couch? What's the point of that? Like, we have a couch, why did you get another, like, we don't even have room for another couch in this apartment. I was like, I'm gonna flip it and make money and she's like, okay, whatever. And so, it ended up working out, I ended up flipping that couch and I made 200 bucks and I was like, wow, and then the wheels start turning. I was like, what if I just bought one a day? That would be $6,000 a month. Like, that'd be great we'd be balling, I did exactly that. I started buying more couches and then, I bought a truck and I bought a storage unit and it's just turned into my first ever entrepreneurial endeavor, just kind of by accident. You know, there wasn't back then, like YouTube; YouTube was around, but nobody was doing it the way it is today. So, there was no like, hey, here are the top 10 side hustles you could do like, it didn't exist I just kind of stumbled upon it. And I built that business to make an eight grand a month net. I was like, dude, I could probably do this the rest of my life if I really needed to but after doing it for a while and finally getting financially comfortable, it's funny, right? Because you get financially comfortable at that level and you're like, dude, we're good, we're gonna be fine. And then like, now I'm at a new level, and then it's like, you know, you get more bills and more risk and more businesses and more assets and mortgages, and you're like, yeah, I'm like never comfortable now. I gotta always make more money because it could all be gone in an instant, right?

So, I ended up flipping couches for about a year and a half, two years and during that time, just kind of was praying on our one, it was actually, it was our one-year anniversary. We were in New Orleans, and I was like, God, you know, this couch living thing's been great, but I know I'm supposed to do something more like I'm not gonna do this the rest of my life. And I just kind of heard him whispering to me like real estate, it had been about five years since I got my real estate license and I'd stopped practicing and I was like, real estate. I don't even like it, you know? I failed. And then, maybe 20 minutes later I see this TV commercial about house flipping and it was like one of those guru commercials talking about like, hey, you can learn how to flip with no money down today, come to our workshop and all this stuff. And I was like, dude, there's no way you can flip with no money, that's stupid. But then like, I just felt, like the spirit pushing me to like look into it. And so, I get on Google and I'm like, can you flip houses with no money? And then like, all these things pop up, I had never even searched this before and I was like, wow, you actually can flip houses without any money.

And so, then I buy this book and I started listening to these podcasts and this is all on the trip, by the way. And literally by the end of the trip, I told Mindy, I said, hey, we're gonna flip houses, this is what we're gonna do. And she's like, all right and I was like, but here's the catch, we obviously don't have a lot of money right now ‘cuz even though we were making good money flipping couches, you gotta remember I was only doing that six months out of the year. And so, I would go play baseball the other six months and make no money and so we were still basically like not really making progress, we were just paying the bills and living somewhat comfortable. Long story short, we had saved up about $10,000. One of the methods to flipping a house was like maxing out credit cards and getting money that way for your down payment. I was like, you know what? We're gonna max out credit cards. And so, I ended up getting 50 grand of credit.

Michael: And you're a kid so it doesn't matter?

Ryan: Yeah, it didn't, I honestly didn't think there was any risk to be truthful. We ended up maxing out 50 grand of credit cards from my credit cards and her credit cards and thankfully that first house slip worked out and we made 25 grand and it was completely life changing and it changed the total trajectory of my life doing that. But to your point, a lot of people ask me, ‘cuz they're like, dude, how were you scared? Like, what did you do? I was like, honestly, I mean, for one, like I felt like God was calling me to do it. So, like I had that faith that it was going to work out, like that was huge. But two to your point, I was so young that I'm like, we have nothing to lose by doing this. We actually have everything to lose not doing it like if we take this risk and it works out, our life is gonna be crazy, which it worked out way better than I ever thought it would've worked out. But if we do nothing and we just stay on this path, it's very obvious where we're gonna go. Like, it is what it is, and I'm not gonna be happy. So, I have to take this risk. There was no choice.

Michael: Would you have been able to do it without her?

 Ryan: I mean, I say this all the time, people are like, so, you know, should I get married or this or that? And I'm like, well, you know, here's my case study. I was broke when I got married and now I'm rich. So, like it's worked out pretty good.

Michael: So, everyone gonna get married immediately.

Ryan: Yeah. So I mean, like you can't argue with the results. Right.

Michael: But what is it though, right? Is it security? Is it safety? Is it having someone who has your back? What role has Mindy played in not only your success individually, but as a family unit?

Ryan: Yeah, I mean to start off individually, she's always supported me no matter what I've wanted to do 1000%. So, we got married, I was still playing minor league baseball on it, and I played another four seasons while we were married. You know, this first four years of marriage, I was playing baseball. And so she always pushed, she's like, look, pursue your dream, just play literally as long as you can until you no longer wanna play. But like, I'm here, whatever you want to do, I support it. Right. And then, the couch flipping thing, she's like, this is weird. I don't know what this is, but I'll support it. You know, the house flipping thing. She's like, yeah, I mean, if you feel that strongly about it, let's roll. And like over time, obviously, like it's continued to work out and so now she's always supportive, you know, it's like, Hey, I'm thinking about starting this new business. She's like, all right like, go for it. She's never tried to throttle me. In fact, I would say she might even be a bigger thinker than me because, you know, growing up very frugal in my adulthood, because I wasn't making money as a minor leaguer. And even when I was flipping couches in the early days of flipping houses, I was always super frugal,

I didn't spend any of the money. I was like, let's reinvest it back into the business and that was great. But also, during that time, like I started to somewhat think small of like, oh, well I can't afford that because we gotta do all this stuff and then she would be like, what are you talking about? We can totally do that; we can go on this vacation. You can get a better car than that. You know? And it really opened up my mind to like, yeah, actually we could. And you know what, like there's nothing to stop me, even if I wanted to like still be frugal to just go make more money so that this now thing is my version of frugal. Right. Hmm. She's always like, pushed me to think bigger in everything. So, I give a lot of credit to her about that. She sees things like, with potential and faith and everything else and she's like, you could totally do it. Like, there's no reason you can't, you know, so she's helped a lot in that. And then, in the family unit, it's been great I mean, she's a stay-at-home mom now. She was a teacher for I think, like three years and she did it out of passion and she just loved teaching eighth grade kids and she was teaching in a at risk or underprivileged school and she just enjoyed working with those students. But when she became a mom, she decided to retire and do that and now, you know, it's a full-time gig. It's freaking man, when I'm on the weekends and I'm taking care of those kids, it's a lot of work, dude. So, she does that and it's refreshing for me to know that somebody's like doing the right things with the kids and like, I don't have to worry about her at all. Right. And the other cool thing is, she knows when I'm here, like I'm completely focused on being here. So, she doesn't like, bother me during the workday. She's not like, calling me to see like what I'm doing or anything. And like, I know there are a lot of spouses like that, and there might not, you know, every relationship is different, but she knows like, I'm just like tasked to, tasked to ta like I don't have time, like to chit chat. And it's good because we both don't like to chit chat, you know? We're both very like, hey, let's get to the point, like make our words meaningful. Let's not just talk to talk.

Michael: How important is intention in your life? You know, I was listening to you on a mutual friend’s podcast social proof with David one of my favorite, he's a homeboy and you brought up the word intention. And I think it's a word that is, you know, very much a buzzword in the word that world that we live in, especially when you step over into the personal development entrepreneur side and I think it's a place that people often miss the mark of, like, understanding the role that it plays. What role does that play in your life, in your business, in your family?

Ryan: Yeah. You know, one of the things I said, maybe I said on that podcast, I can't remember, but like I always think of like a theme for each year of like, yo, what do I want to do better this year? And like, how can I summarize it in one word? And the word that I went for this year was intentional like, I want to be way more intentional this year with everything that I do. So, if I'm with my family, I want to be present with my family and like, intentional with the time that we're spending. You know, if we're gonna start, you know, a new business or film a YouTube, if we're gonna go film a video instead of me just winging it and whatever, like, I want to be more intentional with it. And I still struggle with that because like, you know, at the end of the day I wing it a lot and it's gotten me pretty far. So, it's hard to like argue with the results, but I know the cost to go back to the purpose has to exceed the cost. I know the cost of getting to the next level with social media and views and videos is I have to be way more intentional prevideo. You know, the fact that like I can already tell you are very intentional because you're referencing things that I've said in other podcasts and other, like, you've done your research and your homework, like, that's intentional. I don't do that like I've just, they show up and I'm like, all right, cool. Let's talk and it works. But to me, to get it to the next level, you know, we gotta definitely be more intentional with preparation and all that and business is the same way.

Michael: Yeah. I look at this as cost and purpose, same thing, man. Because I want people, you know, when I've interviewed some of the most famous people in the world, some of the most impactful change makers on planet Earth, yourself included, like, dude, for me, and like, I don't think I've ever said this publicly. I want you to walk away and be like, h*ly sh*t, that dude asked me questions, no one has ever asked me, that is the intention because I want people to look at what I've been able to do and create as a marker for a good podcast, for good interview, because I go, I'm studious man. I study Oprah, I study Katie Couric, like I'll sit down and watch these incredible interviewers and I'm like, if you look at 'em, they have notes, they've been in there. Now, can I wing it? Sure. Dude, you and I have hung out, you know, top golf, hanging out, chatting, whatever, right? That's different with this. I'm like, I wanna know who you are because I know that if I can get into that, someone listening can find inspiration. Because you've been at zero, you've been at rock bottom. Right. And everyone's rock bottom is different, it's not like mine. You know, when I hit rock bottom at 25, I'd made a million bucks with no high school diploma, it was 350 pounds, smoking two packs a day, got my freaking car repoed, and I was 50 grand in debt. Right. Your rock bottom doesn't have to be that because sometimes there's this like middle ground where you're just like, I don't know how we're gonna pay the bills. We're budgeting food, we don't have enough gas to put in the car. And it's like, that's why I'm so intentional about spending the time to understand who you are and then I get to sit here with you and I go, tell me the truth, Ryan because I know if I do that, you're gonna help somebody like that's the mission.

Ryan: Well, I'll tell you, my rock bottom was very clear. So, a lot of the other moments you asked me about, like, I don't have super clear moments, but I for sure know what my rock bottom moment was. And it was the day I got released by the Oakland a's, you know, I was about to be 24 years old, I'd spent three seasons with them and we're in spring training and they call you into the office and so whenever they call you in the office, you know, it's bad news. So, I walk in and I had already had this feeling that like, you know, something was gonna happen like there were signs and all that stuff. And he goes, Hey Ryan, you probably know why you're in here, but we're gonna have to release you and we wish you the best and everything else, and that was it. And at 24 years old when you're pursuing this dream your entire life, ever since you were five years old, and it's basically over, you know, like sure there are people who come back from it, but usually like you're done 99% of the time. And so, to have that happen it was rock bottom for sure because I went home, I was engaged at the time to my wife, and so I had to break the news or to my fiancé now wife, and I had to break the news to her and I'm like, Hey, you know, I just got released like, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'm coming home. I'm not going off to camp like we thought we were gonna do. So, I come home and I'm like, I can't say like I've ever really been a depressed guy, but that was definitely a moment where I was like, dude, I was like moping around, like I don't know what I'm gonna do l ike I actually started to like look at jobs ‘cuz I was just like, I never even looked at a job before, but I was like, where's a job site? And I think Monster was like the site back then. I was like, I don't know, freaking let's apply for some jobs. And like, I applied for some jobs and like nothing happened and I was like, damn, I would've thought getting a job was easy like I'm a pro baseball player, I got an economics degree and like, I can't even get an interview. And you know, granted I didn't try that hard, but it was like a week of doing it and I'm like, dude, I like reality started to set in. I'm like, I really don't know what I'm gonna do because if it's not baseball, I've already failed at real estate, you know, I can't even get a job or an interview, what am I gonna do? And so, that was like the moment for me where I was like, man, I feel completely lost.

Michael: How'd you pull yourself out of that? Because those moments show up, man. I remember distinctly the moment for me, I was in the gym and I was like, 350, dude, I was like, in the worst shape. And I was like, all right, do something, just do something different. And I picked up the phone to call my little brother, he had just gotten back from Afghanistan and I hadn't talked to him in a while. He'd been home for a minute and I hadn't picked up the phon like I was the world's worst brother at the time. And I'm in the gym, I'm like, hitting the machine or whatever, and I'm like, Hey dude, what's up? How are you doing? He goes, good. What do you want? I go, dude, I just wanna see what's going on. How are you? How's life? What's happening? He goes, never talk to me again, you are not my brother and hung up on me. To me in that moment, I was like, okay, how do you change this narrative? Like it was really like this amazing kick to the face for me because here I had made these million bucks, I'm doing really well, you know, I come from the hood where like most people don't make it out and my own brother won't talk to me. Now it's very different 13 years later I mean, I was just texting him on the way over here. I brought him out to the Vegas for the first time. We hung out a couple weeks ago. Rode the coast at New York, New York, the whole nine man. It was great and we've been able to heal that relationship. But it started with like looking in the mirror, what started this for you? This change from rock bottom? ‘Cuz dude, you know this as well as I do, there are people who are still in that moment and it happened 25 years ago.

Ryan: Yeah. Well, what ended up happening I was kind of moping around for a couple weeks and then I get a call from a baseball team. It was the only team that called me a team in Fargo, Morehead called the Red Hawks. And this guy Doug calls me and he's like, Hey, you know, I saw you got released by the a's, like, do you want to keep playing? And I was like, eh, I don't know. Like, I'm not sure what I want to do like I might just start getting on with my life, I don't know. He's like, well, you know, we got a spot for you here in Fargo like, you'll get playing time. You get a chance to prove yourself and maybe get picked back up by a major league team, you know, ‘cuz this was independent baseball, still professional, but just a different type. And I was like, well, let me think about it, you know, I told my parents and my wife or my fiancé and they were like, dude, you should do it. You should do it. And I was like, I don't know if I wanna do it. And so, I kind of just like ignored it. I ignored it for a few days and he calls me back. He's like, hey, like, we're going to sign somebody else if you don't do this like, we gotta know, are you in, are you out? And I was like, you know what? Screw it. Like I'm in, I have nothing else to do. Like I don't even know what I'm gonna do. I might as well just go play ‘cuz I'm already trained and prepared for this, so you know what? Let me go experience this and see what happens and then I'll figure out my life after.

So, I ended up go playing that season and it was like literally one of the funniest seasons of my life, it rekindled my joy. I actually got traded within a month to a team in Dallas, Texas. And so, I went from North Dakota to Texas and had a good season and then, that set off a chain of events to play for another five seasons. And those five seasons were definitely my best memories and most fun and I mean, we had a blast. But long story short, I mean, it could have never happened, and I know looking back at it, it was all part of just God's plan for what he wanted from me. But when I got back that season, I was kind of rejuvenated with baseball, I'm like, okay, like I actually might have a shot of getting back into affiliated major league baseball. And I was like, I'm going to train for the next season, you know, and I ended up getting traded again to a team in Winnipeg, Canada, which is a whole another story. But I was like, great, like, I'm gonna go play Winnipeg like, I'm like working towards this. And then, during that time, I was getting married in a month, and so, I get married after that and that was when we moved in the apartment and the whole couch flipping thing happened because, you know, I'm just sitting there married, like, I got to make money. I don't know how, but I'm gonna figure it out.

Michael: I think a lot of people, a that's incredible like, I do believe that the universe puts you where you're supposed to be. But you have to pay attention, dude like, this is the thing people always miss the boat on, is it's like Doug calls you. He's like, Ryan, and you're like, I don't know. And then it's like, okay, cool. You don't follow the stars, the universe, the path, whether it's God's spirit, mother nature, whatever it is that's leading you like sometimes you just gotta shut up man. He's gotta shut up and pay attention and just do what is in front of you. We get so caught up in the anxiety of the what if the worries about the things we don't get to control, the chaos of all of it. And it's like, sometimes you just literally have to do the thing. Like I was talking to your assistant before we came in here and he was showing me the new area that you're building out for education. And I look at him, I go, oh, this is like Cardone's spot. And he goes, yeah, Ryan went and sat with Cardone and immediately came back and he was like, this is going to be different now. And I think action with intention and speed is how you actually create change. And I think people are so terrified to take action, they're so stuck. We get in our heads about everything, dude, where it's like, I don't know if I should do this. I don't know if I should do that. They start asking everybody's opinions. They start getting caught up in what their parents did or what their parents think they should do, their friends and this and that. How do you trust yourself?

Ryan: You know, for me, once again, it goes back to faith. You know, I can always pretty much relate back everything to faith, but if I'm in tune with the Holy Spirit and I'm in tune with what I feel he's guiding me to do, then I know I'm gonna be good. Right. And I don't know the outcome, I don't know how long it's gonna take, I don't know the trials and the tribulations I'm gonna face along the way, but I know that the path I'm on is correct because I can just feel it. And I knew that was true when I took the risk of flipping that first house, I knew it was true when I felt the calling to get on social media three years ago and I just didn't know how those paths would play out or any of the issues I would face along the way, but I knew it was the right thing. So, to answer your question, for me, it has everything to do with faith for somebody else I don't have a good answer because my thing has always been if you're just only reliant on yourself and your abilities, then it's hard life's hard ‘cuz you're not that good like, I don't care who you are, you're just not that great and you're gonna make mistakes and you're human, and you're flawed and all those things. But for me, when I know I can depend on God, who does not make mistakes, who is not flawed, who is all knowing who is created this earth, like, why would I want to depend on myself? It'd be dumb to do that.

Michael: Hmm. It's like having the greatest mentor, right?

Ryan: Yeah. Like why would I try to figure it out?

Michael: I think that applies to like business too, you know, to life. I know obviously you have mentors mutually. I always reference Cardone on this show, and that's because he's played a gigantic role in my life, investing in my company, helping me move this mission forward. One of the few people on Planet Earth, Ryan, that Cardone's ever given money to…

Ryan: He'll hit you back up for it.

Michael: Oh, trust me. I already gave it back to him like 10 times over. Right. But you think about that, how important for you has mentorship and having guidance been?

Ryan: I mean, mentorships huge. We talked about earlier about purpose succeeding in the cost, you asked a question of how do you understand what the cost is? Well, having a good mentor will tell you, like, you and I could tell somebody what it takes to build a top rank podcast or write a best-selling book like we understand the cost of doing it. And so, if somebody wants to do it, they've never done it before you talk to us, we'll tell you like, hey, these are the things you're gonna have to do, and so like that's one thing. Another thing would be just inspiration, right? Like when I go and talk to guys like Cardone and like go see his office and hear him speak and talk to him one-on-one and like, have him show me the path ‘cuz he's already done it, he's done the things that like, I'm just now starting to do. He's been doing 'em way longer and I can see like the mistakes he's made and I can see like what he chooses to do today. And it's like, oh, okay like that's what we need to do. I'm looking at it very inspired, like when I see 10X, you know, I went to my 10X was my first business conference ever back in 2018. And just going to that one event inspired me to write my first book, you know, and it inspired me, I remember looking around and I was like, you know what?

Michael: Is that Marlin Stadium?

Ryan: No, that was here in Vegas. And I was like, is in the Mandalay Bay? And I was like, you know what? One day like, I'm gonna hold a conference like this. Like I can see it and I can see like the impact it's having on all these people. I don't know how it's gonna happen. I don't know when it's gonna happen, but one day I'm gonna do it. And sure enough, we ended up holding an event in the Mandalay Bay and it was the one before, the one you went to, but it was amazing.  Now, we haven't held a 10,000-person event yet, but I know we will do it, I don't know when the timing's gonna be right or what that event will even be about, but we're gonna do it. So, when I see mentors, I get inspired because like, there's a difference when you watch a YouTube video and you see something, you're like, oh, this guy's like having all this success. Right? You can see it, but you don't really like really understand it or feel it, right? But when I get to talk to a Cardone for this example, and like he's literally telling me step by step how he did it, like I'm hearing him face to face, like, and I'm seeing it in action. I'm seeing him on a yacht, I'm in his plane. It's real, I'm like, wow, okay. This is different. Like, I've seen it before on video, like I had an idea, but now I get it. And that's what I tell people at our events all the time. I'm like, hey, if you come to Wealth Con, like it's different, it's not my YouTube content like you're gonna see, feel, and experience what building wealth is really like and you know, events lead to life change.

Michael: Yeah. I get that. I mean, I remember, when we had Unbroken Conference in December, we had 2,500 people. And I'm just like, I knew, and that's like a tip of the iceberg, because I'm right there with you. I'm like, how do I put 20,000 people in a room? And I go, if Tony Robbins can do it. Right. I can. And even I look at his private group coaching that I'm a part of, it's like 300 people, but like that's as close. And I'm like, how do I get to the point where I can hire Tony to coach me one time, one-on-one? It's a Millie, right? And it's like, how do you get to that point?

Ryan: How do you could also give them like 10% of your business? It's a million bucks.

Michael: Totally. But I look at that and I remember the moments of, dude, my first investment, I'm gonna ask you about money. I want to transition this conversation a little bit because I think it's really, really important. My first investment for myself was a little bit on the backside of that conversation with my brother, I'm on Facebook, this is about 12, 13 years ago, Brendon Burchard ad pops up from one of his online courses, Og everybody knows Brendon's the old guy in the marketing space. And I'm 50 grand in debt at this moment, I have no money. None. I got a closet full of shoes though. Right. Car that's got repoed, can't afford to pay my bills. But I'm like, something in me was like, dude, you have got to buy this course. And remember Ryan, I looked down on my shoes, it's actually the same shoes I have on right now. I looked down at my shoes and there were $300 Jordan's and I remember being like, you love your shoes more than you love yourself. And in that moment, I was like, f*ck it, I'm 50 grand in debt, let's go. How important is investing in yourself?

Ryan: I mean, there's no better investment, right? Like, I like to say real estate's the best investment. And I fully believe that in terms of like, an asset class, but the class above that is you, right? Like at the end of the day people are like, oh, well I've got $10,000 saved up, I got this saved like what should I invest in? I'm like it's not even close, you putting $10,000 in stocks isn't gonna do anything, you know, and even if you did put 10,000 into real estate and you bought a property, that's fantastic, but you would've been far better off putting it into you. And if you develop skills and things that can make you way more than that, like, you know, real estate investing hasn't made me like being a millionaire and all the other things I've accomplished, the skills I've learned have made me that, right? I had to learn sales, I had to learn marketing, I had to learn how to hustle and talk to people and communicate. And in turn that made me good at doing house slipping and real estate but then it also made me good at social media, it made me good at leading, it made me good at speaking on stage, running a podcast like I had to learn these skills. And the only way to learn these skills is to learn from the best, right?

Right now, for example, you know, I'm trying to become a great golfer like I have this crazy dream of like, I want to be the best celebrity golfer, that's like my new goal in sports because I think it's actually attainable and I don't think it's that crazy. So, what do I gotta do to be the best golfer? Well, I could just go to the driving range and like swing a bunch and fricking hope for the best or I get hired the best coaches in the world and have them teach me the right way to do it so that I'm practicing the right habits and doing the right things and that's what I'm gonna do. So, in fact, like now I'm friends with Tiger Woods's old coach and Bryson DeChambeau old coach and like, you know, I'm accelerating because they know what to do?

Michael: Yeah. That's everything, right? And you look at it, but you know, so many people, you look at their communities, their friendships, and you always hear like, you know, the five people around you will tell you your future. And it's like, I guarantee you've had people who have like laughed at you saying that, where they're like, you want to do what, bro? And I'm like, well, hurry up, let's go man. Time's a ticking man. Let's make it happen. You know, and that's what I try to inspire in my friends and in my community because I just go, anything that you want is possible. The fact that right now we could walk outside and breathe air, it's like, what else do you need? Go take the risk, screw it. See what happens. But the fear is the thing that stops people. The fear of the failure, the fear of not being successful, the fear of the judgment of their friends and their community, the fear of losing the money. What was something that you invested in yourself in that was just totally terrifying, but you did it anyway that has changed your life?

Ryan: You know, the first time I ever invested in myself. Well, it's funny, when I got started into real estate investing in 2015, there was this anti guru like thing going on because it was just like, I don't know, that was just the culture back then. Then, so like I found a website called Bigger Pockets, and they're like, yeah, you don't need to ever pay for education, we have everything you need right here, right? And like, they did have enough for me to get started. I was able to use their resources and get going. And so, for the first few years of my business, I was anti-education, right? So, going into 2018, I actually had a buddy who bought my Growth Con ticket ‘cuz I didn't wanna pay for a growth con ticket, but he is like, he literally had a second-row ticket and he was like, Ryan, you know, this is a $10,000 ticket like, I'm gonna give it to you if you promised to like, be open-minded and use it and then you and I will do ‘cuz he actually wanted me to like, kind of help him and mentor him a little bit ‘cause I was already starting to have a lot of success. And I was like, all right, cool, I'll mentor you and I'll come with you to this event. I came to the event and I heard Russell Brunson speak for the first time.

Michael: I know, dude, that is so good.

Ryan: Yeah. I had no idea who he was and this dude completely switched my mind like during this speech, and it's now gone on to be like one of the craziest speeches ever. It's like legendary and digital marketing circles.

Michael: He did like 3 million in 45 minutes.

Ryan: Yeah, he did 3 million and I was like a percent of that. You know, this thing was like $3,000 and I'd never spent any money on education, but I was like, I got to have what that guy knows like, I don't even know what I'm buying, I didn't even really know what Click Funnels was or anything, but it was so good and so convicting that I was like, I'm buying it, so I buy his thing. And then like Tai Lopez comes on like a few speakers later and at that point, like, my wallet's open and he has something and I'm like, dude, I like what that guy's saying too. I had no idea who Tai Lopez was before this. I was like, but that makes sense, I'm gonna buy his thing too. So, I dropped like 7,500 bucks that day to buy these things and that was life changing because, you know, even though those things may not have like, been like the biggest needle movers, it like opened me up to mentorship. And you know, like one of the things that really stuck out to me was somebody was like, Ryan, like you pay for like baseball coach like when you were playing sports, you paid for a baseball coach, right? A hitting coach, a fielding coach, and a strength coach, you paid for coaches, right? I'm like, yeah, like, why would you not pay for coaches and mentors in business? I was like, that's a good point. I don't know. It just like, I've just always been told gurus are bad and these guys are trying to scam you.

Michael: And so, which isn't not true but at the same time it's like there are a lot of really incredible people in the world.

Ryan: A hundred percent. And I think now, we are in a different world where people want mentorship. Like, they want to work with me, they want to work with you. They wanna work with these people and like they're happy to pay to do it. At the end of the day, like that was like a big moment for me and then that led to me buying into masterminds and buying other mentorships and business coaches and all this other stuff.

Michael: Yeah. And I think it's a necessity. Here's how I look at it like, money is just proving to yourself your value in the world. And if you don't invest in yourself, if you don't cheer for yourself, it's like, who will? Nobody else is coming to do this for you. Nobody's coming to save you. And it's like, I sit here and I look at you and I'm like, you're not an anomaly, dude. In context, please take this with the greatest, like I sit across from, I don't get from you and I'm like, here we are, these two guys who at one point in our life, we've been at zero. Now we've spoken on some of the biggest stages in the world. We have these giant podcasts. I look at our network of community together and it's like, I'm not saying everybody wants that, but what the thing is that you do want is possible.  Like you can have it, like you can build have done the life and people have done it. But dude, you're going to like struggle your way there until you don't. And when you have the willingness to be like, you know what, I'm gonna see what happens, I'm gonna show up, it's gonna put you in proximity of incredible people. And you have your amazing podcast and I'm curious with all the people that you've interviewed, not necessarily a specific person, but what have you learned from being able to sit and bring in this data and information from people who are just one step ahead of you?

Ryan: Yeah. You know, some of them are a lot of steps ahead. But the thing that I've really taken from them is not necessarily like some eye-opening thing that maybe they said on the show that I'd never heard before the big thing that I've gotten as a benefit is building a relationship with them, right? So, it's like when you do a podcast and you build a relationship with someone for an hour, like that is something that translates for the long haul. And so, like, for example, the first time I ever interviewed Cardone was in 2021 and up to that point, we had never like spoken or done anything and like we had a really good interview and like it was a vibe and it was cool and he really enjoyed it. And I was like, all right, cool, that was fun. And then I'm trying to think like our timeline of a relationship, but I think maybe I went to his office ‘cuz then I got invited after that. We built an even deeper relationship and his team called and said, Hey, he's filming, like he wants to come to your office and like film for a whole day for his TV show and whatever. And so, we filmed another podcast, we filmed his TV show, and then, I went back to his office again and then, I went to 10X and I was backstage with him, and then like, they just hit me up again for a different TV show they wanna do together. It's just like, you know. So, the one podcast led to this like, relationship now that's only, you know, call it two years old and who knows where it's going to be, right? And I don't know, but like every, it just, he's one example but like everyone I've ever interviewed, like I have a very good relationship with now and I've learned a ton from them, like outside of the podcast and like the connections they've been able to make for me and all of those different things.

Michael: Yeah. The people are the most important. This is the mistake I think most entrepreneurs make, they think it's about the product, but it's about the people. As you look at the future, paint a quick picture, what does your life look like in a year from now?

Ryan: I'm glad you ask a year because people always, they'll be like, yeah, where do you see yourself in five years, 10 years, 20 years? I'm like, dude, I don't even know.

Michael: I agree. I cannot relate to that at all. I can measure a year though.

Ryan: Yeah, a year is good ‘cuz I'm totally like, Hey, I just gotta figure out what I'm doing today. I'll let God take care of the rest. A year from now, I mean, you know, I'll have another kid, so hopefully healthy and happy baby. We're starting to homeschool, so, we'll be homeschooled and hopefully that's very successful. My goal is to obviously grow all the existing companies and build out and acquire a few more along the way. I wanna build my real estate portfolio, I want to get in the best shape of my life. I want to become the best celebrity golfer. I think that could happen in a year like I really do. What else do I want to do? I mean, there's a lot of things I wanna do. We started a new company called Wealthy Kingdom, which is for Christian entrepreneurs, and like, I wanna see that explode. And like, I want to hold like a massive conference for Christian entrepreneurs, so that's a big goal a year from now. There's so many things we're doing, like, you know, I wanna buy a second home, I was just in the Dominican last week looking at homes internationally. So, you know, a year from now if we could have a, at least a piece of land or whatever the case is, that's where I wanna be.

Michael: Dude, long way from buying stuff on Craigslist to fill your house, to flipping it to where you are today, man.

Ryan: There's a lot. And then I wanna grow my influence, I want the Wealthy Way Podcast to be massive. I am just like; you want your podcast to be massive. I want my influence to grow. I want to impact more people.

Michael: Yeah. I love that. I will help and support you in any way I can do that, brother, for sure. Before I ask you my last question, tell everyone where they can find you?

Ryan: Yeah, I mean, I'm everywhere on social media, just Ryan Pineda on social media. If you're interested in any our businesses or anything, you can go to a ryanpineda.com to go see all the different businesses I own and see if we can work together.

Michael: Brilliant. And of course, guys, go to thinkunbrokenpodcast.com. Look up Ryan's episode in the show notes, we'll have links to this and more. My last question for you, my friend, what does it mean to you to be unbroken?

Ryan: You know, that is a good question. I think the definition of being unbroken is when you are living out your purpose every day, might be a generic has anyone ever said that?

Michael: Let's go with no.

Ryan: So, I feel like that would be a generic answer, but like, if you're truly living out your purpose every day and you're fulfilling your mission, you're not going to be broken, like you are going to be motivated, you're going to be able to handle any adversity that comes your way, you're going to be just on a mission to make it happen. I think that brokenness comes from when you're lost. And when you don't know what to do and you know, that tells me that you don't understand what your purpose is and you don't know what your mission is, and that's why you feel that way.

Michael: Yeah. I agree, man. I love that. Thank you so much for being here.

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