The Bamboo Lab Podcast
"Ordinary people doing extraordinary things!"
The Bamboo Lab Podcast
George Papadoyannis: "It's Better to Lose an Eye Than Your Name"; True Authenticity in a Filtered World
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What happens when you're raised by a Greek mother who tells you that "it's better to lose an eye than your name"? You might just become one of California's top-rated wealth advisors who refuses to compromise on excellence, even when it means tearing apart a perfectly good dress and starting over.
George Papadoyannis joins the Bamboo Lab Podcast from his villa in Greece to share the remarkable journey that took him from Crete to the heights of the financial world. With refreshing candor, he reveals how his mother's relentless standards and sixth-grade wisdom shaped his approach to client relationships and business success. "I believe people hire people like me so we can tell them the truth," George explains, reflecting on how authenticity has become his greatest competitive advantage in an increasingly artificial world.
The conversation explores the powerful tension between work ethic and life balance, with George acknowledging the personal costs of his one-dimensional focus on excellence. Yet even as he discusses divorce and other challenges, his enthusiasm for learning from clients remains contagious. He describes 91-year-old clients who still drive Teslas and prepare for Greek vacations by training at the YMCA, inspiring him to constantly evolve and grow. "When I grow up," he quips about these nonagenarians, "I want to be just like them."
As artificial intelligence makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine communication from generated content, George's message about staying hungry for knowledge, experiences, and service to others becomes even more vital. His final wisdom crystallizes a lifetime of lessons: "Create a legacy that your children and grandchildren will be proud of. A legacy of servitude is a good one... Try to leave this place better than you found it."
Whether you're building a career, seeking financial wisdom, or simply trying to navigate life with greater authenticity, this conversation offers a blueprint worth hearing. After all, as George discovered through decades of success, "being a giver rather than a taker is much more fun."
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Episode Introduction
Speaker 1Hello and welcome to the Bamboo Lab Podcast with your host, peak Performance Coach, brian Bosley. Are you stuck on the hamster wheel of life, spinning and spinning but not really moving forward? Are you ready to jump off and soar? Are you finally ready to sculpt your life? If so, you've landed in the right place. This podcast is created and broadcast just for you, all of you strivers, thrivers and survivors out there. If you'd like to learn more about Brian and the Bamboo Lab, feel free to reach out to explore your true peak level at wwwbamboolab3.com.
Speaker 2Welcome everyone to this week's episode of the Bamboo Lab Podcast. As always, I'm your host, brian. You're going to notice today I've got a little bit of a rattle in my throat. My voice is a little nasally. I've been fighting a cold or COVID, I don't know for the last few days. I'm on the tail end of it. So welcome to the show.
Speaker 2Everyone you know, today we have a guest on that. I have been following on Facebook for several years now and I've you know. He's in the financial industry and so of course that's my mothership and I. I do a lot of work in the industry and every time I bring up this gentleman's name it's all just glorious feedback about who he is and the kind of person he is and the kind of business he runs and how he serves his clients. So I reached out to George maybe six weeks ago or so somewhere in there, and he said George, would you mind coming on the show? He's like, yeah, give me more information.
Speaker 2So anyway, today we have George Papadianis on the podcast. So I'm going to give a real quick introduction because George is ready to go. He's calling in from Greece today, so he's working out there and doing some cool stuff. It looks like he's partying when you see him on Facebook, but he really clarified today before the show that he's not partying. George was born in Greece, raised by an extremely strong and powerful woman, and now he is rated best in state wealth advisor in the San Francisco, california area. So, george, my friend, welcome to the Bamboo Lab podcast.
Speaker 3Thank you, Brian. Good to be here. Appreciate the beautiful comments. I don't know if I deserve all of them, but I appreciate it.
Speaker 2Well, time will tell, won't it? We'll see. Well, tell us a little bit. You know, george, I've gotten to know you, we've had a couple of conversations and, of course, we've been friends on Facebook. We have a lot of mutual friends and connections, but can you tell us a little bit about yourself, maybe your childhood, your family, things of that nature? We'll get started that way.
Speaker 3Yeah, sounds good. So I was born in Crete, which is the biggest island in the southern part of Greece over 60 years ago, and I moved to Athens when I was five. At age 15 and a half, I got a scholarship, so I became an exchange student and I skipped the junior year, finished high school in Ohio, in Marion Ohio, and then I pursued an undergrad degree in computer science, math and French with a minor in business at the University of Minnesota. After that went back to Greece, worked for a few months to save some money for grad school. And then I went to the American Graduate School of International Management, which is better known as Sunderburg. It used to be an independent international business school back in the 80s but now it's part of ASU.
George's Journey from Greece to Finance
Speaker 3And then I worked for Johnson Johnson in Europe in branding and marketing and advertising and product management for three and a half years, had to do my military, which is mandatory in Greece, and came back to the Bay Area, Married my graduate school sweetheart in 1990 and joined back then American Express, now Ameriprise, in 1991. And the rest is history, as they say. I have enjoyed various roles as an advisor, as a manager, as a managing principal, as a franchise consultant and for the last 30 years, as a private wealth advisor. Last 30 years as a private wealth advisor, working mostly with clients, coaching some advisors how to build and maximize their business while providing advice that's in the best interest of the client and it's been a good run.
Speaker 2So when you started in 91, it was still IDS Financial, wasn't it back then?
Speaker 3Yeah, it was IDS Financial Services and American Express Company, yes, and then it became American Express Financial Advisors and then, after 2006, when we were in public, it became Ameriprise Financial.
Speaker 2I started in 1991 as well. I think I started in the fall of 91 with IDS American Express. Yeah, so we started the same year, yeah you and me.
Speaker 3Yes, I started in February.
Speaker 2March of 91. You outlasted me by several years, by several decades.
Speaker 3Well, I'm a lifer, as they say. You are a lifer man.
Speaker 2You are a true blue blood in the Ameriprise world. Like I said, everything I and I've asked a lot of my clients and a lot of my connections to tell me a little bit about George. You know, when I after you and I had even talked the first time a few weeks ago, and, like I said, everybody's, like you know, the one thing I heard about you is you've you have run a very successful career, you have a very successful client centric practice, but yet you never take yourself too seriously. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, does that make sense, be able to make fun of yourself? And you know, my mother raised me with guilt and shame, like most greek mothers. I'm sure some italian and jewish mothers may relate the same thing. But you know, I I would always be put in my place if I was not being exceptional or extraordinary, and I was taught to not settle for good enough, and I had a couple of uh mentors in my practice and in my business, even at joshua and joshua, who would also not settle for good enough, and I think those are good lessons.
Speaker 3It did not feel good at the time I was learning those lessons, but they stayed with me because everything gets stored in that hard drive of ours, in our brain, right? So, so a lot of those things stay, um, a lot of those things stay. A lot of those experiences are staying, and I've been fortunate enough to be raised with good values and principles and a tremendous work ethic, and then it's up to us to cultivate that and make it even better or bigger or stronger and stuff like that. When you do those things, sometimes you go off balance. So, unfortunately, a few years ago my wife asked me for a divorce. I've been divorced for the last five years but I have two wonderful children, a huge extended family back in Greece, lots of good friends and a lot of clients who've become good friends over the years. I've been doing this for 34 years and, like I said before, it's a good run.
Speaker 2I love what I do. You know we talked. What was it maybe three or four weeks ago when we talked the first time? I always ask this question who or what inspired you growing up? I'm going to go on an assumption that your mother was your biggest inspiration growing up. Can you tell us a little bit about your mom?
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean I think many people can relate to that with their parents, whether it's their father or their mother. But my mom was a petite, cute little woman, 5'2", 6th grade education. You know she was a teenager when we were under German occupation in the Second World War. You know she saw a lot of death and destruction in her young years. After the Second World War we had a civil war where the communists were fighting the you know more nationalists and stuff like that, and her dad, my grandfather, was killed by the communists. So I was raised to hate communists. Later I found that also the nationalists did atrocities. It wasn't just the communistsists but did it as in a. So she had to work as a seamstress at age 13 to help feed the family. She was one of five brothers and sisters. One of them was also killed during the civil war and she they had to survive. They were kicked out of their house. You know there were like refugees for a while, so having food and shelter was the number one priority. So she became an apprentice to the seamstress and then she really got to like that and she became one of the best tailor seamstresses in Athens.
Speaker 3I mean we had a little 800 square foot apartment and the kitchen was here at the workplace. That would serve both as a workplace and food that's what we would eat. And also it was my desk where I would do my math and my homework and my literature and all that stuff when I was young. And and she would just work from six o'clock in the morning. I'd be up, she would have a break the house, make breakfast. I would go to bed at 11 o'clock at night. She'd still be working, you know, tailoring and doing fittings and stuff like that. And she'd work on Saturdays, clean the house on Saturdays, and she was very strict. We also were under budget because we didn't have a lot of money. No ice cream before May and no ice cream after September.
Speaker 2You only have ice cream in the summertime?
Speaker 3Yeah, because we didn't have money and I couldn't understand why we had to take the bus or walk so many distances because we didn't have any money. We never were hungry, we always had a roof over our head, but everything was very budgetary. So, given that I'm really good at guilting and shaming my clients, how to stay on budget until I know they no longer need to pay on budget? Same thing with advisors as well. But she's the one who, with very little education other than social education and being a hustler because she had to survive, she's the one that, when I was young, she would say hey, I noticed you got some B's here, some B pluses. You know what's the matter with you? Are you missing a chromosome? You know, did you have no oxygen when you were in my womb? Or you know what's going on. How come those kids are calling you to ask you how to solve those problems and they get A's and you get B pluses. And I would be like, oh, come on, mom, you know I don't need to study, I can figure it out. Those kids study for hours, I can just figure it out. It's not important to have age, um, but then you know everything. She would tell me it would kind of sink in. I just didn't want to admit it, right, because again, everything goes to the hard drive and, uh, the competitiveness in me actually came. I'll share a story with you.
Speaker 3So my mom was doing a fitting with a lady right next to me and she was doing a fitting and you know, before you make the dress, it has all kinds of pins and you know stuff in it. And the lady says, oh, mrs Eleni, the dress looks really nice, it flows. And my mom looks at it and she says, no, I don't like it, it doesn't flow to my expectations. And she just tears it apart and she starts all over again. And you know I'm doing math and then, but I'm paying attention still. So after the lady left, I said mom, why are you doing more work? Why did you tear this apart? I mean, she liked it. You could have just said it's great, but you just kept on going. And she looks at me and says it wasn't good enough, it was not to my standards. She's going to go to some function wearing this and say, hey, I got this new dress. And some other lady who knows better will say, ooh, it doesn't flow, it doesn't fold correctly, and then she's going to come back to me.
Speaker 3I don't want that. I want it to be perfect to begin with. I have a reputation. You know, georgie? We say in greece I mean she wouldn't say that, like that but she said you know, that's where we have those proverbs it's better to lose an eye than your name. And I'm like whatever mom, but you know all those things, all those things, um, you remember, I mean that was like 55, 60, 60 years ago. I still remember that.
Mother's Influence and Work Ethic
Speaker 2So I want to ask you a question on that. So, because I know, when our based on our previous conversation, how important your mother is, was to you and still is and is living on you through your legacy. How do you use that proverb? Or that it's better to lose an eye than a name? Or it's not up to my standards. How do you use that now in your day-to-day work, in your day-to-day life, george? How do you apply that?
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean, if you ask me, it has been a guiding principle for me to achieve the career and the legacy that I have achieved. You know, it's not an accident that somebody puts you on the veterans list of advisors or Forbes or Chairman's Advisory Council or you know blah blah. It takes a lot of effort and some. You know the saying that it's amazing how lucky people get when they work hard. So I learned how to do it the old fashioned way. You know, unfortunately, as wonderful as Ameriprise is, it wasn't NVIDIA or, you know, google or Apple. We didn't get rich by stock options, but nothing wrong with that, by the way, that's how you get rich. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But we did the old-fashioned way, Just work. She had a tremendous work ethic. I had a tremendous work ethic.
Speaker 3Now, don't get me wrong when you are becoming one dimensional because in many ways I had become and still poorly in one dimensional, there's a cost of that, because when you're out of balance, there's a cost to that. I mean, it's not an accident, uh, that I am divorced. Um, being a workaholic had a lot to do with that and I felt horribly responsible and horribly guilty of that, because I was raised with guilt and shame. So you have to have self-awareness, you have to be honest with yourself. You have to look at things 360 degrees, not just your way or the only way. Now, if you were to ask somebody else other than me, if you were to ask my team or my colleagues, many of them will have other things to say about me. Oh boy, if you were to ask my team or my colleagues, many of them will have other things to say about me. Oh boy, George is a troublemaker. Or George cannot keep his mouth shut. Oh, you know, george says the things that we all think, but we are too embarrassed to say so. There's positives and negatives with that. For example, I would never make it into politics. I would never make it into a politically correct job. But the beautiful thing about this career is you can be honest with your clients. And, yes, with age and I've become a little bit more seasoned, I'm not as brute and direct as I used to be in my 30s and 40s. But I believe people hire people like me so we can tell them the truth, and most of our clients can handle the truth. There is a few hires because they want us to tell them what they want to hear, but I think that's the exception. So, at least I believe with my clients.
Speaker 3People want to hear the truth. If they ask me am I going to be okay, george, is my family going to be okay, are we going to be financially sound? They want to know the truth. They don't want to know oh, subject to market conditions and a specific rate of return, I think there's a 90% probability you're going to be fine. No, they want to hear the truth. And if the truth is we don't think they're going to be fine, we've got to tell them so they can do something about it. And if we think they're going to be fine, we also have to tell them so they can enjoy. And if they're enjoying too much, we have to remind them okay, you cannot enjoy anymore because you got a lot of money, for example.
Speaker 3So I'm that kind of person. Not everybody does that. Not everybody has the personality to do that. They have more tact, so they're more polite. They may actually be more successful than me because they do have more tact and they're more polite. This is not something that I think I have mastered and everybody should be doing it this way, but I can tell you that I can sleep good at night because I feel good about the messages I pass to my people who I care about, whether it's my friends, my clients, my colleagues, the advisors who hire me to be their coach.
Speaker 2You know, uh, my kids, you know what have you so what you're saying is is really one of your true gifts that you got for your mother. Because you said earlier, I think, on a phone call with me your mother was not what you'd call politically and politically correct. She would say she would tell people her advice, very little filter with it. Now, what I call it is that's just authentic, right, do you think right now?
Speaker 1yeah, do you think at a?
Speaker 2do you think a younger person going into the field of whatever it's financial, whatever their industry, is getting out of college or high school? How important do you think of them being authentic is for their life and their career?
Speaker 3Yeah, it's a good question. I wish I knew the answer, because there's so many variables. Now. We have AI, we have chat, cbd. I mean nowadays, if somebody takes too long to respond to something you say and you cannot look at their face, you do not know if they're giving you an answer, or AI is giving you an answer that they're quickly typing into somewhere so they can get an answer right?
Speaker 3You see a paper, you see an article, you see something and you do not know if it's the person who you're talking to, or you're seeing that it was the author or was it somebody else, right? So a lot of that genuine reality may have gone out the window. I mean, you look at social media nowadays. We were talking about social media before, I mean now, with having companies like Facebook or Instagram or Chachibiti or Google or what have you not be responsible for? Verifying what goes on print or on video is catastrophic, because it's the wild, wild west out there. You do not know what's true, you do not know what's fake, you do not know what has been artific, you do not know what's fake, you do not know what has been artificially made. You have no clue and you have to do a lot more filtering and you don't even know if the filtering you're doing is authentic and it's not AI. Right, it is very difficult.
Speaker 3I think consumer reports the authentic consumer reports would be a lot more popular now if they can filter through all that and say we are the one true source of giving you objective outcomes. So I think, in this clutter of fake information, part information, misleading information, having an individual who is authentic, who is honest, who is knowledgeable, who is reliable, who advocates for your best interests, is going to become an even more rare phenomenon. And unfortunately, because of COVID, because of the differences in how people are raised, how they feel, the sensitivities we have, the political correctness that we have all evolved in, sometimes all that creates a filter and a buffer that you cannot see through. The authenticity, right? I mean, we used to have the old saying right, you can fool some of the people some of the time. You cannot fool all of the people all the time. Well, all this technology is now making it even more difficult for people to see who is a fake most of the time. Right, it takes special effort for people to be able to do that.
Speaker 2And I do think you know that is. A lot of people are afraid of that and I think what you said, what really nailed it on the head, I think the one differentiating element that we can all practice that is going by the wayside is authenticity, is being yourself, and that's going to scare some people off, because people are used to a polished version of a fake person, that when you give them a real, raw, human being, some people are going to be turned off by that. But the majority of the people, at least the people we want in our lives, are to be turned on by that. They're going to want to be around you. They're going to want to, you know, become your client. They're going to want to become your friend. They were going to, you know, whatever it is. But I do think for a lot of people, that idea of being authentic authentic is incredibly scary for people. It really is, I agree, and I think you know it's. You know I was.
Speaker 2I had a guest on george maybe, maybe two months ago, who runs a program called Uncaged Brotherhood. It's about men getting together and just being authentic and vulnerable and being truthful with one another, and I think those ideas are catching on more and more around our country and around the world because of the fakeness that we see, this filtered, polished version of humanity which isn't real at all. But I think these subcultures, these ground roots, these grassroots operations are coming forward and saying wait, there's an opportunity here. There is a need for men and women to be authentic, to be vulnerable, to be real and to speak the truth to each other in a respectful, cordial manner, and I think that's going to continue to grow, hopefully. Knock on wood.
Speaker 3I agree, I agree.
Speaker 2Absolutely so obviously you're in Greece right now. What part of Greece are you in? By the way? I've got a map pulled up.
Speaker 3Yeah, I'm in the island of Syros, which is the capital of the Cycladic Islands. It's right to the left of Mykonos. Everybody knows Mykonos and Santorini, you know. There's so many pictures. I think Santorini is one of the most pictured, photographed islands in the world, next to maybe Hawaii or something or the Caribbean, and Syros is the capital. It's a very cultured island. It's mostly a locals island. It's not extremely touristy.
Speaker 3All the cruise ships go to Mykonos and Santorini and Crete, where I was born, and Rhodes and Corfu. So it's a very quiet island, lots of culture. There is a theater, they do ballet, they do concerts, there is a hospital, there's an airport, they manufacture ships here, there's a shipyard, there's infrastructure. So they call it the Four Seasons Island because there's population, active population, both winter and summer, not because there's a Four Seasons Resort, and it's mostly where Greeks hang out.
Authenticity in Business and Life
Speaker 3Of course, now, with Mykonos and Sadorini becoming very popular and, quite frankly, somewhat expensive, tourists are expanding. Tourists are expanding and whether it was the Big Five Greek Wedding or Mamma Mia or Maestro, all those TV shows, all of a sudden Greece has been discovered, post-covid even more, and the tourist population is exploding. And because those two islands can only handle so many people. A lot of other islands are becoming more popular. When I found a house here in 2016, it's very quiet island. It has now become a different island, but it still maintains its uh local, uh flavor and exclusivity. You know, everything is half the cost of mykonos or sadorini and two and a half hours by ferry ride from athens, so it's very convenient okay, yeah, I just pulled it up right here.
Speaker 2Now I can know exactly where you are. Good, wonderful. I know the pictures and the videos you've been putting on facebook and social media. Okay, yeah, I just pulled it up right here. Now I can know exactly where you are. Good, wonderful. I know the pictures and the videos you've been putting on Facebook and social media. You know when it's 60 degrees and rainy here in Wisconsin, it was a pleasure to watch your stuff and it looks like you're having a lot of fun, my friend.
Speaker 3Yeah, it's fun, but you're working too.
Speaker 2That's the thing You're working and having fun at the same time.
Speaker 3Well, yeah, this year I hosted already a couple of groups of colleagues and friends and family, so my brother is the general manager of the villa. It's a beautiful, luxury vacation villa. It can hold up to 16 people and we have a crew of five people who basically provide. What's the best way to explain this? They provide. You know this show on Bravo called Below Deck?
Speaker 2Yeah, people go to a yacht and they're ready right.
Speaker 3So we try to provide a yacht-like experience, but in dry land, in a 6,600 square foot house on a two acre property, right on the water, right. So we try to make sure that when the guests come here they don't have to think unless they choose to think, and they can just relax and have a week of indulgement and a bucket list experience where pretty much everything is taken care of. But if they choose to do something on their own, they can. But you know they don't have to iron clothes or do laundry or figure out what restaurant to go or how to get directions. We take them everywhere.
Speaker 3We have a beautiful Zodiac boat, 35 footer boat. We have a couple of nine-seater minivans, we have food and an open bar in the house 24-7. We have a brunch, a main meal, lots of excursions. We do island hopping, beach hopping, and then of course we also take care of them when they arrive in Athens and we do Athens by day, athens by night, get them the ferry tickets, you know the whole nine yards. So it's kind of like an all-inclusive experience without being all-inclusive, so they can choose to go to some restaurants, to have some experiences, get to see the local flavor, the local culture, because when you're in a cruise ship you don't really feel the local culture.
Speaker 2No.
Speaker 3You get off the boat. You get on the boat, you eat at the cruise ship. You know, maybe you spend a few hours. This is a land experience, it's not a boat experience, but we want them to feel always cared for and we kind of, you know, we look after people. My brother and I sometimes argue. You know, he thinks I'm overbearing, which I am. He's much more relaxed, he's more, like you know, easygoing, and sometimes she'll say, when I overdo it with being directional and overvigilant, I'll say, george, give the people a break. They're here to relax. You don't have to have them on the go all the time. You don't have to give them choices what to do. Let them relax, let them enjoy the view, the wine, the atmosphere. You know the ambience. They just want to chill. Oh, but there's so many things they can do. They can hike, they can go, look at their sights. They can do leave them alone, shut up. So it's freaking frog, right. So so we have a very good balance between the two of us and you're having.
Speaker 2I know you said before we started recording you're working long hours right now well, yeah, I mean, look what's happening in the world.
Speaker 3I mean, I, I had, I had a few days that I wanted to have some personal time and I'm not gonna go into this. But you know, we had a health crisis, my girlfriend's child had an issue, and I don't want to go into too much detail. Know, we had a health crisis, my girlfriend's child had an issue, and I don't want to go into too much detail, so that part of the trip was canceled. We were supposed to go to crete and just have some one-to-one time and hopefully we'll get to do it in the future. And then I I'm taking care of groups. I have responsibilities to take care of groups and be a host, a gracious host. So, uh, and then, uh, literally three days before I would get on the plane, uh, one of my top people in the practice resigned. Uh, along with his uh wife, who was also part of the practice, and their assistant was part of the practice.
Speaker 3All of a sudden, I get hit with, you know, um, an unforeseen event. Uh, so all the free time I was supposed to have before I took care of people is now, uh, be utilized to try to salvage as much of the business so it doesn't go out the door, um, in a nice professional way. Um, uh, most people in all likelihood because this is a relationship business will probably go and follow their advisor. That was part of my team that was working with, but some of them team that I was working with, but some of them because I have a strong relationship with not only my clients but the practices clients may stay, so I have to make myself available and as I'm making myself available, some people take advantage of that and so far we're batting 800. So eight of 10 so far who actually took the time to talk to me are staying.
Speaker 3Um, the problem is that most people will choose not to talk to me and it is what it is. So I wish them well. You know, I mean, people nowadays change jobs every five to ten years and I had 18 good years with one of them, time with the other. But it always hurts when you see somebody who you think you're gonna be together forever bails, right, especially for somebody who's a lifer like me. I mean, I've I've been with a merry price for 34 years, so you know I'm not going anywhere, right? Don't say that to bill. You know, uh, but uh, but you know it's difficult because not everybody shares the same vibe, not everybody has the same vibe yeah, it is difficult.
Speaker 2it's like the loss of a loved one really in a lot of ways of ways it is.
Speaker 3It is, yeah, it is. So it's been busy. So my schedule is I get up in the morning, I say goodbye to my guests, we have fun, we go swimming, we go boating, we do things, and then, when the stock market opens in the United States, I will delicately make myself less available. I'll be looking at my iPhone, I'll be looking at my computer, which is in the dining room. I'll be sending emails, receiving emails. I may have a couple of video conferences, a couple of phone calls each day. I don't have 10 appointments a day.
Speaker 3When I'm here, by any means, I always have a licensed person with me on the other side, because compliance doesn't allow us to provide direct advice unless somebody who's in a us oil to be able to provide and accept and receive this advice. So we try to do it in a kosher way. So my team, who thought, was going to have a break, and they're working just as hard as I, am um and and uh, you know, but this is what we do, that's how we survive and that's how we thrive. So and then, when everybody goes to bed around midnight, which is 2 o'clock in the afternoon, california time, I'll work until 2, 2.30, 3 in the morning, which is 4.30 to 5 California time, and then I go to sleep, and then I wake up at 8.30 and do it all over again.
Speaker 2So that work ethic that was taught by your sleep? And then I wake up at 8.30 and do it all over again. So that work ethic that was taught by your mother, I'm assuming.
Speaker 3Yes, she taught me and then I perfected it. Somebody would say and I want to be honest, right, this is not really necessarily a good thing, right? I mean, so many people have come to me and said, george, if you don't sleep, you're going to die, your body's going to give in. Or if you don't check out, if you don't, you know release, if you don't have your iPhone next to you, you're going to have a stroke. You're going to have this. You need to watch your diet. You cannot be having chocolate and french fries, you know. So I get all this advice, which is very good advice, and I listened to it and some of it sinks in and some of it, you know, it's like okay, one ear out in one, ear out the other, because you try to prioritize and I try to create a happy medium, but I'm definitely not in balance.
Speaker 3Having said that, it's not like I'm in a slave factory. You know chopping wood, or you know splitting chopping wood or splitting rocks or doing construction. I'm showing people how to have a good time and because we have a process and a system and I have a good team, both back home in the office and both here, my brother has done an amazing job with the crew that we have here. We try to make it seamless. It's a lot of work to make it seamless, and people who have been here with me know that, but it's not doing hard labor by any means. It is fun. If I wasn't loving it I wouldn't be doing it. No one's forcing me to do this. People say, george, why don't you just retire and just do this all the time and have fun? I would slice my wrists if I would quit doing financial planning, because what the hell do you do in the winter? Eat and drink and become huge. You know what do you do, so this is something that I enjoy. I hope God gives me the brain power and the strength to do it for another 10, 50 years, maybe 10 years at a good level of intensity and then slow down after that.
Speaker 3I have lots of clients. The beautiful thing about our business, as you know, brian, is I have lots of clients that have experiences and I, as an advisor, try to continue to learn, and the hard drive is not full yet, so I store a lot of it in the hard drive. So I live by courage through my clients' successes and their failures, and I see a lot of 90-year-old clients. So I live by courage, through my clients' successes and their failures, and I see a lot of 90-year-old clients. Last summer I did like a little fundraising where I donated weeks days in the villa to raise some money for the fires we had in the Bay Area a few years ago and because of COVID some people delayed doing that. So last year I had a 91-year-old client who would go to the YMCA for six months before he came to Greece. He came with his 63-year-old son and his son's girlfriend and because he knew there would be stairs and hills in the Acropolis in Athens and also at the house, he did not want to inconvenience the rest of the group so he was working out so he is not a bother or a nuisance for the rest of the guests. When he was here he had the ball.
Greece Villa and Balancing Work
Speaker 3I look at somebody like that. Oh, by the way, he still drives a Tesla. I don't know how well he drives, but he drives a Tesla. We talked about cars. We talked about BMWs and this and that and electric and the future of Tesla and stock, and he's like 91 years old and I'm like I won't say his name, I'll say a fake name. Let's call him Joe, that's not his name. I said, joe, when I grow up I want to be just like you. And for every Joe like that, there's five other Joes where I pick things up. I'm like, when I grow up I want to be just like him or just like her. That's the beauty of our business. You know, you learn from everybody. You learn from successes. You learn from failures, not just our own.
Speaker 2I think what keeps you young, george, is you know I always believe that you know when you're 34 years in a business, you are a master at what you do, and we all are. You know 30, 20, 30, 40 years doing something. You have to put yourself in an apprentice role consistently throughout your life. You have to be in a role where you're learning from other people, just like you're teaching and coaching and other people, and when you do that you stay young. I see a lot of people who have you know, like you and I are 30 years or more in our industry where they just kind of shut down because everybody comes to them for counsel and advice. So they're so used to dispensing that advice and direction to their clients and their family and friends. They don't go to anybody else, they don't look for anybody else to learn from, and that's when we start to die. I think when you're constantly looking for people or opportunities to learn and I believe that it's true it keeps our mind our spirit and our soul and our body young.
Speaker 3That's why professors do not ever retire. Professors like I have a bunch of Stanford professors and UC Berkeley professors they have to kick them out of the campus. They don't want to retire. Why? Because they're dealing with young students, they're dealing with young people, they're dealing with things that are innovative, right, yeah, they stay engaged, right. It's not because they cannot afford to retire, of course they can. They want to stay engaged. They don't want dimension to set in. I certainly don't want dimension to set in, right, right, and as long as you have some balance, even if you're out of balance, but some balance, it's good, right? So, I think, being passionate about what we do and and we know what we stand for and do it well, and be intentional about what we do and we keep evolving, we don't stay static and we keep learning and we keep contributing, I I think that's an attribute that everybody can benefit from. I'm person company included.
Speaker 2And I've always. You know, this idea of work-life balance to me, I get it, I get the importance of it, but I always like to, I like to use the term work-life blend because I think if you love your, if you love what you do for work and your career and your vocation and your calling, it's not I mean, it's still work. Yes, it is. But let's say I retired or you retired and we just golfed every day because we love to golf or whatever it is. I don't golf, but whatever it is you love to do. What, if you love to do the things that you love working just as much as you love doing those things? Is that really overworking? I mean, I can't imagine retiring. I'm 58. I've been doing this for 29 years, this year coaching. I can't imagine retiring because I don't know what I would do.
Speaker 2I love getting up in the morning and doing what I do. I get as excited on Monday mornings as I do, for I like to go on vacation. I haven't gone on a vacation in three years, so maybe I need to jump on an airplane soon, but I like getting up in the morning and start my work. It fills me. It fulfills me. I like talking to clients. I like talking to people like you on the podcast. I like to do speeches and, do you know, I like that communication aspect of it.
Speaker 2So I think if you don't like your job, yes, you need to have a lot more work-life balance. But if you love what you do, you can blend those two together, Because I think if you're passionate at work, you're probably going to be a little more passionate at home Not always, but it's going to bleed over to the other. If one is bad, the other one's probably not going to be very good either, and I think if one is good, you know you can go overboard. Yeah, and I've done that many times. Like you said, I've become one-dimensional at times in my life and I had to recorrect myself and kind of give myself a little more of that multi-dimensional experience in life. But if you love what you do, I mean to me I don't really want to do a lot of other things. It's true, Keep it simple, Keep life simple. George, what would you say in the last year or so has been one of your greatest learnings?
Speaker 3Gosh, that's a good question, Obviously going through that personal challenge with the divorce which unfortunately is ongoing we haven't finalized the financial aspect yet it's very tough Dealing with aging people that are your friends, because all of our clients become our friends as we all get older. It's not just us getting older, it's our clients getting older. Maybe we're getting older Dealing with the unfortunate, depressing part of our business where we lose people that we know, people that we like, people that we respect. I mean, gosh, I've gone to more funerals the last two years than the previous 15 years combined. Right, so dealing with that is rough because you're dealing with real life. So dealing with that is rough because you're dealing with real life. The other thing is, you know, dealing with the responsibility and the financial stress that we have been dealing with the reality show we're having from Washington DC since February is rough, right. So that can be very stressful. I think you know it's not just the last 12 months, it's how we deal with things that we don't expect. Dealing with the unexpected, right. So whether that's a business-related adversity or personal health or political events, it's very difficult and, as the saying goes, it's not what happens to you, it's how you deal with it right and if it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger.
Speaker 3As I mentioned before, this is only the last 12 months. It's actually in the last few weeks where my girlfriend found out that you know, her son is having a health issue. I mean, I came out of left field and that's just. It can be so overwhelming because you go through the stages of shock, denial, disbelief why my boy, why me, why us? What did we do? Why do we deserve this?
Speaker 3And then you know you eventually have to accept it and go to solution mode. How do we deal with it? How do we treat it? How do we handle it? And then you know you eventually have to accept it and go to solution mode. How do we deal with it? How do we treat it? How do we handle it? You know how do we smooth it out, how would we move on? I mean, those are the things that are difficult. Dealing with the stock market going up and down yes, it's hard. Dealing with portfolios going up and down, yes, it matters, but when? Yes, it matters, but when you deal with health issues, when you feel completely out of control, it's not up to you. That's the tough part.
Speaker 2That's the tough piece it is. And, of course, looking at the stock market part, the media definitely doesn't help, by the way they portray the market and how they fearmonger a lot of Americans, and so what they hear, they absorb and then they think that's reality, and sometimes it is, and sometimes it's not too you know, have you?
Speaker 3ever read the book. The Obstacle is the Way, george by Ryan Holiday.
Speaker 2I have heard it, but I have not read it. Brother, that's a fantastic book. What you were talking about with your girlfriend's son, you know just things happening that were unexpected in our lives, that aren't you know. It's not that they happened to us. I mean, that is what we have to accept. But now what we can control is how we react to it. And his book is all regarding the ancient philosophy.
Speaker 3I love you.
Speaker 2I don't know what happened. I don't either, I'm sorry. No, no worries, I could edit that part out, so I was mentioning George. The book the Obstacle is the Way would be a really good book, maybe for your girlfriend and or her son or you to read. It's all about how do we handle the things that are unexpected, the things that are possibly negative or challenging in our lives, and it's all. So much of it is how we go through those challenges. I read the book once a year. It's in my top five most impactful books of all time Because as we go through difficulties in our lives some are major, some are catastrophic, some of them are average or small size. It's how do we handle ourselves.
Speaker 2I always use the idea of the CIA method what can we control, what can we influence and what must we accept? And we should only be focusing on the things we can control in life. And when we do that, so many beautiful things happen, and a lot of us. You know. I know during COVID, you know, I saw a lot of family and friends who didn't know how to handle the masking and the six foot distancing and the, you know, the shutdowns and all of that, and I said well, you have to just accept that as reality.
Speaker 2What can you control during this time? And there are so many things that we can control during difficult challenges, and when you focus on those things we can control, you know, it tends to get us through things a lot better. So I would recommend the book the Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday for anybody out there who are listening right now. It'd be a great book. Thank you, George. What would you consider to be a win for you or a victory in life at this, at this point in your stage of career?
Speaker 3Yeah, I mean we, we, we kind of mentioned that in the past. But, you know, staying true to yourself and your beliefs and your convictions, um, you know, do what you say you're going to do. Um, you know, when I do self reflection, I, you know, I believe that I was placed in this planet, even though I did not know it, uh, 35 years ago, uh, but I was placed on this planet to be of service to my fellow man and woman. And when I have so many people trust me with their livelihood, their financial future, their family's financial future, I see that there's a huge responsibility.
Speaker 3I don't see it as a burden. I see it as a huge responsibility. And I don't see it as a burden. I see it as a huge responsibility and I don't take it for granted. Right? So, staying vigilant, being an ongoing student of your craft, my craft is this, right financial planning. Stay relevant, evolve, stay current so you continue to be valuable to yourself, to your clients, to your colleagues I think that, for me, is a win in life, and I think that it doesn't just apply if you're a financial advisor. It applies if you're a doctor, if you're a priest, if you're a teacher, so many other professions.
Speaker 2I think we're all placed on here for something. We're all given a purpose or a mission in life, and I don't know if any one is more important than the other. But if we just incorporate and say this is what I was placed here for, I'm going to be the best damn version of that role that I have to play. And I like the fact that you said it's not a burden, it's a responsibility, and that's a whole different mindset, because it can feel like a burden at times for some people when you have a job where people are relying on you on a consistent basis, and if you carry that mindset, this is a burden. I'm toiling through this. This is a struggle. You're going to be of very little service to your fellow human beings, but if you say, hey, it's not easy, this is a challenge and it's tough sometimes, but it's my responsibility, that's a whole different click in the mindset and that's a whole different click in the mindset and that can make a major difference before you you go about your day.
Learning from Clients and Staying Young
Speaker 2Okay, I have a question. This is my favorite question, george. So if I were to fly out to greece today and I'm gonna I'm gonna fly my uh, bring my time machine with me. We're gonna go back to a stage in your life and you pick the time and age you want to be. But if you're gonna go back and you're to talk to your younger version of george and you could sit down and talk to that young boy or that young man, what would you say to yourself?
Speaker 3Yeah, that's a good one, Probably, to not be as impulsive as I have been. Think things through a bit more. I know some of the senior management at my company would probably appreciate that. Senior management at my company would probably appreciate that. Yeah. So be less impulsive. Think things through a bit before I act and come out guns blazing. Be a little bit more measured, a little bit more politically correct Not too much, but a little bit more so I don't turn off people or alienate people or intimidate people or bully people. Sometimes you can come up with that. I don't intend it like that, but many times you could feel like that, especially when I do my eyebrows, front my eyebrows, uh, and look at somebody directly in the eyes. I've been told that's a dangerous look, um, but once people get to know me, they know I'm a teddy bear. Then they're like, ah, he's just, let's just leave him alone.
Speaker 3One of my actually all the employees my brother's employees in the villa. She used to be scared to death of me, especially when I would look at her and frown if something was not going to my expectations. And she was so scared she had a few crying sessions with my brother saying if it wasn't for you, christa, I would leave. Your brother is scary. And then you know, two years later, you know I would, she would do something silly and I would look at her like what the hell is that? What is this? And now she knows me, she's go oh, I'm so sorry, boss, don't worry boss, I will do better next time, boss. And then she completely blows me off. I'm like, okay, fine. So once people know me, they know I'm harmless. But when I'm upset and there's a good reason for that, they also know, so they don't do it again.
Speaker 2Well, it's not. It's not a bad thing for people to be a little intimidated by you up front and then still the soft side later on. That's not a bad way to go through life.
Speaker 1No no.
Speaker 2Have you ever read the book the One Minute Manager, that kind of classic leadership book from I don't know 1980? There's a story in there. I love that book and there's a story in there about this. One kingdom had two leaders, a general and a king. And the king and general got together and said okay, we're going to work for six months, you're going to play the role of the hard ass. And that was the general was going to be the hard ass for six months and the king was going to be the soft one. And they played that role and everybody said, boy, that king is such a nice guy, but that general is a real ass, you know, he's tough. And so then, six months later, they switched roles and the general became the softer, kinder one, and the king had to play the role of the hard ass. And six months into it the rest of the kingdom said you know what? After all, that king is an actual asshole. But that general, he sure has come around and they respected him because he started off tough.
Handling Unexpected Life Challenges
Speaker 2And that always stuck with me because I'm a lot like you, or I used to be probably like you. You and I probably were very similar back in the nineties and early two thousands where you know I was pretty politically incorrect, I was pretty rough around the edges, I was very frank and blunt and, probably because I didn't know any better, I've softened a lot and I've smoothed off the edges of my life. But I think I also saw a lot of people at that age, when we were in our early 20s or mid-20s, who were real soft and real very kind people, very nice people, but they could never turn around to deliver the tough message when they needed to and when they did. It was really awkward for them where people who start off delivering that tough message and kind of that gritty personality. They can become softer over time and they still have the respect of the people around them.
Speaker 2But it's hard for those people who are really soft and maybe never want to say the. You know they don't want to say the wrong things or disrupt the boat. So then later on they try to and it never comes off right. So I think it's good to start off strong and then soften over time. That's my rule, but I don't know if that's always true. It's just no reason. I don't have any research on that.
Speaker 3I agree. Yeah, I share. You heard about sandwiching the message. Right, yeah, you sandwich the message by where you provide criticism constructive criticism to somebody and you have to say something positive and then something constructive and then finish with a positive outcome. Right, if you correct what you're doing, you're going to have a great future ahead of you. Come right, if you correct what you're doing, you're going to have a great future ahead of you.
Speaker 3So we used to have management meetings in the 90s and we would role play how we can pass a message to somebody who is in danger of not getting that action plan. Remember those action plans. And I remember a fellow district manager of mine who had really mastered the sandwich message and he had to deliver the message to a couple of people who were in danger of being fired. And then, after he would deliver that message, I would deliver the message quite bluntly Dude, you need to get your stuff in gear, because if not, you're going to be history. And I wouldn't say it exactly like that.
Speaker 3But that was the message, right. And then I would talk to a couple of his people and, you know, after he had the message with them, I would say, well, how did you go? How did your name go to your manager? Oh, it went great. I think I'm going to get a raise. I think I'm going to get a promotion. I'm we used to say they're not around and we're not the manager anymore. But sometimes people take, they hear the same message from the same messenger, but they receive it differently and it has a different outcome. It happens to all of us.
Speaker 2That's all about being authentic. In my opinion, authentic means being authentic. I remember one time, george, when I was a training manager in Ann Arbor, michigan, and we had every Friday we had to do one-on-ones with the advisors, and I remember one particular. I was 23 years old, I mean, some of the advisors were older, way older, far older than I was. And I remember one Friday I made three different advisors cry in one-on-ones.
Speaker 2And I didn't do it intentionally, I was just I didn't know how to polish my words and I remember going into a management meeting that afternoon and had gotten around the region at that. What happened? And I thought, for sure I was going to get in trouble. But I didn't know any better. And I remember the regional vice president in the management meeting saying, yeah, mr Bosley in the back row made three people cry today.
Speaker 2And then I thought, oh man, that was so embarrassed. And I thought, oh, I'm going to get fired. And he said if more of you did that, he said, you'd get more promotions in our country. That's how you get promoted. So I was taught to be that way and I got out of it quickly enough. I kind of realized I don't want to make people cry, and so I had to learn how to be a better. I was a horrible leader. I just said what I thought and what I felt, and so that was an impetus right there, that, okay, maybe I'm getting accolades for making people cry, but that isn't the way I want to do it, so I had to learn. What does leadership really mean?
Speaker 3It's true, I mean, but look at Bill Belichick, right from New England, right, I mean, the guy has what? Five rings, six rings, right. And every time I would see him in public, at least because I did not know what he did behind the scenes, but every time I would see him in public. You know, if New England won, he would say we did our job today. We didn't do anything extraordinary, we didn't do anything heroic, we just did our job and we won. And then, whatever the rare occasions they would lose, you know he would say I did not do my job today, my team did not do my job today, my players did not do my job today. But we'll get better, we'll learn from it, we'll look at the film and we'll get better next time. I mean, at the end of the day, if we actually all do our job, keeping excellence as a measure, not as a minimum, but as a measure, as a target we all would be better off. There's no doubt right. It's just, it's easy to say, it's not easy to do.
Speaker 2I agree. I'm reading the book Extreme Ownership right now by Jocko, and that book it really hits home the importance of leaders doing exactly what you just said. If something, if there's a failure in the system, it has to fall on the leader first. If there's a failure in the system, it has to fall on the leader first. And that book has really clicked my mindset and how I approach life with my clients, my family and my friends, and my personal life is taking ownership on everything that's within my wheel. Well, and even if sometimes it has nothing to do with me, I have to take ownership on least on how I respond and react to it. And that book has been a good mind shift. I'm going to shout out to Scott Rethke out of Seattle Washington, because he's been pushing me to read that book for the last six months and I finally got picked it up and started reading it. So what's next for you, george? Anything grand in the future.
Speaker 3Yes, I mean I don't know. I still am in a state of flux because of this divorce thing, which has been painful, but I really consider myself to be blessed, doing what I love. There's moments where this job can get to you, but for the most part, I am doing what I love and I'm making a positive difference in so many people's lives, including my own, my family's, my colleagues, my fellow employees, so I think I would enjoy doing what I'm doing for a while longer, but I would also love to find some more time to smell the roses, so to speak. You know, I used to be as I mentioned before, I used to be very much guilt and shame. I would tell my clients don't buy a timeshare, do not buy a new car, buy a used car. Buy a used car, buy a certified, pre-owned. Make sure you get the warranty. Don't go shopping at Nordstrom's, go to Marshalls, to DJ Maxx, to Costco. Don't buy too much at Costco, though, and now that I'm in a different stage of my career and my clients are usually five to 10 years older than I am, and if you do not know whether you've made it by your 60s, then you're never going to know. So for the people who I know that are good, they're in good shape.
Speaker 3My message, especially given the fact I've gone to more funerals the last two years than the previous 15 years combined my message has been changing. I'm still delivering tough messages to people who I should deliver it, but for the majority of my clients is, you know, I tell them do not put off for tomorrow what we can do today, because tomorrow is not guaranteed and, as long as it's within reason, start taking off items from your bucket list, right? And many people say to me well, george, you should be following your own advice. Dude, come on, what are you doing? I'm like, I am living a good life, I am enjoying myself. Yes, it would be nice to have a little bit less stress, but that time will come too. Uh, so I am still trying to figure out, brian, how to balance all of that over the next few years.
Speaker 2Okay, Well, I'm going to wish you good tidings on that. I'm sure you'll get it. So one last question. I know you're busy and I know there's a seven eight-hour difference in time frame, or maybe more. Eight hours from yeah, I'm on central time. Yeah, eight hours from you, eight hours difference.
Speaker 3Is there any question, george, that I didn't ask as we wrap up, or any final message or mantra you'd like to leave with the Bamboo Pack audience out there? No, I think you're obviously very good at what you do, a very good interviewer. I don't know how much value I provide to your listeners. I don't think what I've said is rocket science or profound for anybody who may have been listening to you or has been coached by you for a long time. But sometimes maybe it's not just the messages, the delivery of the message. So people have to pay more attention just to figure out what my Greek accent is saying. So I guess my message is gosh. You know, live a full life, be passionate about what you do and what you stand for. Try to do it well, be self-aware, be intentional and always keep evolving and learning and contributing.
Final Wisdom: Stay Hungry for Life
Speaker 3A life of servitude is much more fun than a life of taking and withdrawing. It's better to deposit than to withdraw, to my opinion. Stay hungry. Stay hungry for life, not just for success and accolades, but Stay hungry for life. Not just for success and you know accolades and this and that, but stay hungry for life. Create a legacy that your children and grandchildren will be proud of A legacy of servitude is a good one. Try to make a positive difference in your life, your family's life, your people around you and you know, try to leave this place better than you found it. I think if we could all do that, boy, we would be just kicking butt right. I think being a giver than a taker is much more fun.
Speaker 2You know, yeah, and you said something a moment ago. You don't know how much value you've added. I've been sitting here taking copious notes as you're talking and I have learned a crap ton on this particular interview. This is episode 147, this is my 147th interview in the last three and a half years and I think the things that you said, george, like you said, none of it's rocket science. You've capsulated so many of my other guests that they've talked in different shows and different episodes and you put it down into one succinct hour of this.
Speaker 2This. This is a blueprint for how to live a good life. You've been authentic, you've been honest, you've been vulnerable, you've been wise and you've shared all the life lessons. You've been honest, you've been vulnerable, you've been wise and you've shared all the life lessons you've learned so far in the past few, several decades, that you've acquired, but also that you've picked up from other people. The one thing I got out of this more than anything and you said it now at the end was stay hungry, stay alert, continue to learn, and do that under the guise of serving your fellow man and woman, and I think that stay hungry thing that's what I was getting out of. Everything you said is always search for new wisdom, learn from other people, but do that not just to benefit yourself. You do that to benefit the people around you, your clients, your family, your friends, your community and the world as a whole. So, trust me, this is going to make a big impact on a lot of people when it gets released.
Speaker 2So I appreciate you. My friend, I can't thank you. I know you're busy. You're in Greece right now, in beautiful God's country over there, and I can't thank you enough for taking the last hour and spending it with us and I wish you blessings as you go through some of the changes you're going through in your life. And I wish you blessings as you go through some of the changes you're going through in your life, and I wish you blessings out there in Greece and we can't wait to get you back home in the States here in July. So thank you so much for being such an honored guest on the Bamboo Lab podcast.
Speaker 3Well, thank you. Thank you, Brian, thank you for all you do. I appreciate the opportunity and I hope some people will find it valuable, like you said.
Speaker 2Oh, they will for sure. Thank you, can you stand for just a minute? I'm going to hang out. I'm going to say our Sally Tay. Everyone. Thank you for tuning in today.
Speaker 2I know this is an episode that you know I say this a lot that's going to get a lot of really good reviews. This is one again, like I said, this capsulated so much of the wisdom of the 140 other 146 guests I've had on this show. I got a lot out of this one. So please listen to this, listen to it again. Grab a piece of paper, take notes, garner the wisdom that George shared and then share this with two or three other people in your life. This is a wisdom that can be shared from anybody, from 18 to 118 years old. So share it with somebody you love. Thank you for tuning in. Please hit that, smash that like button, please rate and review us and remember next week, same time, same place we'll be back. In the meantime, please get out there and strive to give and be your best. Please show love and respect to others and yourself, and please, by all means, live with intention and live with purpose. I appreciate each and every one of you listening today. Bye-bye.
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