The PowerDad Blueprint: Balance, Freedom, and Impact | Mike Gillespie

#073.  In this episode, Justin sits down with Mike Gillespie, real estate investor, entrepreneur, and founder of Epic Living Academy. Mike’s mission is to help dads break free from the grind, create more time for their kids, and live with purpose.

We dive into Mike’s journey from delivering papers as a kid to building a thriving real estate portfolio, leaving a secure government job, and ultimately discovering that true success isn’t about more properties or promotions—it’s about balance, freedom, and impact.

You’ll hear:

• How Mike transitioned from “golden handcuffs” in government work to building a life on his terms.
• Why chasing more money or more doors in real estate doesn’t always equal more freedom.
• The life balance framework Mike uses to help dads design the life they actually want.
• Practical ways to be a role model for your kids when it comes to money, health, and fulfillment.
• How to foster abundance and financial confidence in your kids by involving them in real-life money lessons.

If you’ve ever wondered how to provide for your family and actually enjoy the time you have with them, this episode will inspire you to rethink success and design your own PowerDad Blueprint.

Show notes and more at:

https://moneydadpodcast.com/session073

Transcript

Well, on today's episode, I sit down with my special guest, Mike Gillespie. Mike is a real estate investor, entrepreneur, speaker, and peak performance coach dedicated to helping people become happier and healthier by living more powerful and purpose. Driven Lives There is work at Epic Living Academy.

Mike offers high performance coaching and his core mission is to help dads enjoy more time with their kids, have more fun, and create a greater impact in the world. Mike is the proud father of two daughters and is based in St. Catherine's, Ontario. Mike, welcome to the Monday Dad Podcast. Hey, man, nice to be here.

Thanks for having me. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. And, and yeah, glad, glad to, , reconnect with you. I mean, we, we knew each other, I guess, a long time ago through Yeah. , Common Real Estate, colleagues and then we recently, caught up a little bit at the, , Archangel Summit last week.

So excited to have you on the podcast and, and share sort of what you've been up to and what you're doing and, and how you're helping, , dads, , out there right now. With their lives. As we get started here, what I, what [00:01:00] I always love to do is kind of travel back in time and really, you know, I wanted to get a glimpse into your own childhood.

Maybe talk to us about how or what influenced your thinking or behaviors around money and any impactful lessons about money that you know, you learned at an early age or along the way that still stick with you today. Nice. We'll start with a little time travel, huh? Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting, uh, kind of reflecting back and understanding kind of the journey and kind of what got us to where we are today.

, My dad was, , the full-time worker. He worked at a factory. My mom did some part-time work. I remember there wasn't a lot of talk around money much at all. Growing up I just knew that my dad worked very hard, worked Monday to Friday, trading time for money, and that kind of sets kind of the foundation of what we think is just normal.

Right. So as we grow up, you know, we, we kind of get into some jobs and we do the time for money thing, but a couple, like other little [00:02:00] lessons along the way, like I I, I picked up some stuff from my grandma. I remember she was always save, save. You know, just if you, you get money, kind of just put it away and just save and save and save.

My brothers, uh, used to deliver papers in shovel snow. So I had two older brothers. So I guess I got a little bit of early influence from them in my childhood. I remember I had a, I had a paper route very, very young, and it teaches you a lot of responsibility back then. Like, I just remember like, well, every day you had to go out and deliver the papers, , rain or shine.

You had to go pick them up somewhere and then. Back then we used to have to do collecting. So once a week we had these little punch cards where we, we had to, that they would pay us the, the, the money for the week, right. And punch the card. And like, even at that age, like just the, that sets the foundation for just, , understanding money, understanding the value of [00:03:00] things, , and just even keeping track of money.

'cause I've, I've used to collect all that money and I'd have to like. You know, make sure that I have all the right amount of money and some people wouldn't pay on time. And then some people were just, , available just to pay. So I did that. I delivered flyers. , And then some of the people on my paper route, they were, uh, very old.

And I remember they would ask me if I would shovel snow for them in the winter. It was like, at the time I just thought it was like a gravy train. I'm like, no, no, like, you don't have to pay me that much. And they, they insisted. And I think I would like, I used to always look forward to snowstorms because some people would pay me like, yeah, some people would pay me like 15 or 20 bucks for, uh, a shoveling and That's amazing back then.

And Oh yeah, it was amazing for me at, at that young age as well. And it was tax free. It was cash. It was great. Right? Yeah. Right. So, uh, so those were some of the kind of the, the [00:04:00] earlier things. And I remember, you know, like my, my parents and my grandma, like they would instill with me that. If I wanted something that I'd have to save up for it.

And back then we didn't have the ease of credit, so it just kind of had to be that way. So, uh, I had a bank account and I just remember like, you just always had to go to the mall and there's no bank machines back then. There was no online banking. You gotta take all your money, you gotta bring it in.

And back then, like we actually got more interest than we do now. Not a ton more, but, uh, we used to get it and I'm like, huh, well this is kind of cool, you know, I have a couple hundred bucks in my account. Yeah. You know, you make a buck here or there and like, oh wow. That's, that's not, uh, I mean, I, I'm not working for that right now.

It's just like I put money in there and you're giving me a bit of money, and I didn't fully understand what they did with the money that I gave them, and they make a lot more money off of it, but, mm-hmm. Yeah. Just some of the shit, some of the stuff that I used to do. I remember I [00:05:00] used to go to like flea markets buy stuff.

Just like sell it to just people, uh, friends. I remember I used to go to uh, Von Cakes. I dunno if you remember those little cakes. Von I remember the name. Yeah. I used to buy Joe Louis and flaky. Oh. Buy like a box of 'em. I used to take them to school. And then and seldom for, ah, for a lot more.

But I remember that. So that was kind of funny. And then there was a video game I remember playing I don't know, maybe I was, I was, I was just, before a teenager it was called Mule. Right, okay. It was a pure game. I used to play it with just this one buddy, a buddy named Matt. And we used to play it and I still remember the music going through my head.

Right. And you can just kind of pick different characters and there were different resources in the game. There was energy, there was food, there was. Chris Stite and then there was like, or, and they all get used to different things and you needed to have certain things otherwise you wouldn't survive just like life.

Right. [00:06:00] And it's interesting reflecting back on that game, I'm like. I learned so much about supply and demand from that game. Like I might have an abundance of energy resources. Yeah. And then this person had none. If that person's not willing to pay more for those resources Yeah. Then they're without, so they have to pay me a premium for that.

And like I needed to make sure that I had my resources balanced out, otherwise I would be overpaying. So it was just such a cool game. And I just remember we, we played it a bunch and it's just, it's interesting where you pick things up along the way. On the investing front I started getting into investing or just started to have an interest in it in my teenage years.

My dad was, you know, getting close to retirement. His company was gonna offer him, uh, early retirement, and I remember he went and visited a financial planner and he got into some mutual funds. Mm-hmm. At a very lucrative time. So I just remember like asking him about it. [00:07:00] And I remember back in the day when we had the newspaper, the Hamilton spec.

Yeah. I would look through and I'd gravitate to the business section and the finances, and they used to have all the tickers in there. Oh yeah. And he, I remember that. Yeah. The fonts were so small and you're looking through Yeah. Like, and then the, the a IC was the company. I, I think it would, I think maybe the head office was in Burlington or somewhere, but.

Yeah. Long story short, it, it did really, really well at the time. And I remember like my dad did well and, and it was from a financial planner that just gave him advice. So he introduced me to her. Mm-hmm. And then I started investing in there. So that was kind of the start of like investing and like. If I have money and I put it away, and if I pick the right one, like I could actually do better.

And then, um, I went to school for business. Mm-hmm. Uh, in Hamilton, I started at McMaster. So it was again, like my upbringing was all about. Go [00:08:00] to school, get good grades, uh, get a good job, make a lot of money, and be happy. So I started down that path. I went to university. I studied business. I was doing great.

I did that for a year. I'm like I don't really like this here. Yeah. And I, I, they're, they're getting me to take all these courses, all these electives that I don't really care about. I just wanna study what I wanna study. So then I ended up switching into computer science at university.

Mm-hmm. Did that for half a year. And I'm like, again, like I, I wanna learn computer science, but they're, they're gearing me towards learning programming. I don't wanna be a programmer. So I had the pressure to go to university, from parents and friends and family. It's just, you know, I had good grades in high school.

So that's just what you do. Right. And then. I think like one of my biggest like independent decisions was I quit university after a year and a half. I switched to a local college [00:09:00] called Mohawk College. I studied networking and hardware, so computer science. It was literally like the best decision at the time.

I was a two year program, so I was there half the time. It was half the money. I had two co-op work placements. Yep. Back to back at the Ministry of Transportation. So I had like work experience where I actually got paid hands on, worked my butt off when I was there, and then they had a contract waiting for me, uh, at the government for technical support.

Right. It was unbelievable. And then, um, making my way through the journey here, uh, so I started there. While I was working there, I was actually doing some investing as well, so I was getting into stocks and trading options and I was making money back then during, in most bull markets. Mm-hmm. Like a dummy can make money.

You just put it in something and it goes up, but the real money is made and like understanding, like having a plan and like getting out the [00:10:00] right time. So. I was making money, but it was, it was just luck, right? Yep. Um, but that was kind of the start of stock and option investing. Then I had a couple, uh, buddies that worked that were investing in real estate.

Uh, they were the, they were my mentors at work. They were one level up for me and, uh, they started introducing me to just different real estate groups. We used to go together. Mm-hmm. And I'm sure a lot of your listeners have read Rich Dad, poor Dad. It's usually the foundation of a lot of investors. I don't come from a family of people that have gone to post-secondary school.

Or entrepreneurship. So I kind of was going about this kind of just self-taught on my own, asking a lot of questions. So from there I started buying student rentals out in Niagara. There was a college and there was a university I just bought right in the middle. And timing wise, it was perfect. [00:11:00] It was a complete 180 from the environment.

Now. I think you got in probably around the same time as well. Way back then it was a lot easier to get financing. Absolutely. You didn't need that. You didn't need to have much money down. The banks were lined up and in fact they actually gave us our down payment, the 5%, and we got to keep it so it was not only no money down, it was like.

Here's some money. Here's like a, a bride come, come to our bank. Oh, they were giving you, were they giving you a loan or was there a home e like a, a line of credit to be able to provide that down bank? Uh, so, so I didn't have to put any money down and in fact they gave us 5% equity for free. Interesting.

To go with it. Yeah, yeah. With them. So I think I did one or two of them. Then there was a couple that were just, I didn't have to put any money down. And then interest rates were crazy cheap. So cashflow was unbelievable back then. So, um. I just continued buying. Like, I literally used to look at these spreadsheets and I'm like, what am I missing here?

[00:12:00] Like, I'm like 1400 bucks cashflow on these properties every month. Each one. I'm like, am I missing a row here? Like, this is crazy. This sounds too good to be true. Yeah. So like, okay. So I just, I just kept buying and then. Uh, my real estate investing eventually evolved into, well, from student rentals to family rentals to duplexes, to rent, to owns.

Yeah. So I started buying real estate 20 years ago. Yeah. So that, that was kind of the, the journey of the, the early seeds that got planted. And I'm sure there's a lot more, but just, you know, my, my saving and a mentality back then. Yeah. But things have definitely shifted from, you know, just save money and just kind of hoard it away.

Yeah. And I'm sure we'll talk more about this on, on the call as well, about like. How we use money now and some of the lessons from Rich Dad, [00:13:00] poor Dad, like not all debt is bad, and which back in the day, our parents taught us that it was because they're used to paying a lot of high interest. .

There is a point in time where, I mean, obviously home prices were a lot cheaper back then, but Yeah. Interest rates were, you know, during the eighties, I remember my parents had in the teens, right? Like, it was, like, it was in the teens. It was, you know, it was 19, like 12 or 13 or 14% or something like that.

And I know, and, and you know, we, we cry these days about, oh, it's at six, 6% and you're just like, well, okay. Right. Um. Look at way back, 20, 34 years ago, how much, how high it got. So certainly a different time. Yeah, and I mean, there's a lot of. Different nuggets that I wanted to get into there. But you going through your childhood brought me back to some of my own, childhood memories of, of uh, just being exposed to money and, and I remember going to the bank.

I actually, this was back before where Yeah, we had those, I remember those pass books. Yes. I [00:14:00] still have them. You still have them. And, uh, you know, you get them updated at the, at the. Bank machine, it would print out, it would actually print out on there showing like how much interest you got and everything like that.

But Oh yeah. Certainly. Yeah. And I think, , your journey's unique in that because . As a kid coming out of high school, I think a lot of, people feel as though, okay, you know what, yeah, you know what, what am I doing? , There is this inherent, whether it's expectation, pressure to go to, yeah.

Can, you know That's right. Go to school, get a job and make money. And so especially if you don't have any other role models or other. People that you see in your own sphere of, oh no, there's alternative paths. There's certainly, like, you're, you're fighting against the current, right? Like you're, you're trying to navigate your way and, and through to whether it's entrepreneurship or alternatives other than traditional.

And it's a strong pressure back then. It is. There's still very big pressures right now. 'cause my oldest [00:15:00] daughter actually just started university. But back then it was even more of a pressure because, uh, like that paper meant a lot more back then. It's not needed as much now, in my opinion, but there's still like a massive pressure for kids to just continue on.

., It's funny, , , my own path is, . Again, not the traditional way as well. And you know, I look at my kids, so I've got two, two boys and I think to myself, okay, , when they're about to enter into the age where you're supposed to go to, you know, university, , what are my expectations?

And, and I think they've certainly changed. Like if you ask me 10. You know, 15 years ago, I'd say no. Like you absolutely need to go to university. Right. You know, now I don't, I'm not as, not as set on. Okay. No. That, That has to be the path. Right. There's definitely, yeah. Um, other opportunities and other.

Streams that you can go and if they wanna pursue entrepreneur entrepreneurship, I'll be full if it's supportive of that. , You, you mentioned. And you've been a landlord for, for the last 20 years or so. So, you've certainly seen the ups and downs, [00:16:00] right? Like starting the early days of when money was cheap and, and it was easy to get into real estate and you didn't really, not that you didn't have to do much, you obviously had to do work, but it was much, it was much easier because the price points were lower.

Yeah. Banks were, , willing to lend. And certainly real estate's one of the best vehicles. That you can use to create that financial freedom. Yeah. So it sounds like you start got started with student rentals. , But talk to us about you know, student rentals. Talk to us about other strategies or other ways that you decided to use real estate to really create that financial freedom for yourself.

Yeah. And then ultimately. You know, I know you, you sold off a property, , your last one of, a little while ago. And , and just talk to us about where you're at with that in terms of real estate and why you decide. Okay. You know, what I'm past that point now and, and I can move on to different things.

Yeah. No, I appreciate that. Like I said, I started with student rentals and I think the primary reason I started with that [00:17:00] was 'cause cash flow. So I would buy single family homes and then convert them to six bedroom student rentals. And I would take a ship house that no one wanted. And it was really cool that you can go and negotiate something.

Cheaper and then get creative, go in there and maneuver rooms around and, and, and do various things. Then it's finished and now it's in demand and people will pay a premium for it. So I was kind of like planting the seed of years to come. How I really enjoy doing that work and as time went on at work and back to kind of that whole we're told that this is the way that life works.

You basically get a job, you get promoted, you make more money, you become happier, and then you stay there for a while and then you retire and then you get to do shit. So most of us fall into that and [00:18:00] we do that. I loved my job at the beginning. Fun challenging new lessons, learning new stuff every day.

It was great. Then we get promoted. As I got promoted, I found myself sitting in my office more often on meetings working in the government. Isn't fun for me in these meetings. 'cause oftentimes we don't progress as fast as I would like. Right. So we get to the end of the day and, uh, we're not any further ahead, unfortunately.

Then I would leave work and then I would go check on the progress at my rentals and. I saw progress. I'm like, okay. You know, last time I was here, we were here and Okay, the flooring's down. Oh, okay. The, the drywall's up or this's knocked down. Right. You're like, oh man, this is good. Like, I like to see progress, like fulfillment started to, to fuel me.

Like [00:19:00] I, I started to appreciate fulfillment and I'm like. I like that. Can I do that more often? And then I started to share with my existing network of people, coworkers, family, and they're like, dude, you're crazy. You work for the government. Just shut up and go to work and make a bunch of money. And I'm like, but I'm not happy.

And they're like, who cares? You make a lot of money. Then I said, I'm not happy, and then it's just a loop, right? I'm like, all right, I guess I'm just here. Right? So the golden handcuffs kept me there a couple more, uh, a couple more years than I probably should have been. You know, the, pension, the vacation, the high salary, the, , all the good stuff that comes with it, right?

But fulfillment was just totally underrated. Mm-hmm. So anyways, uh, got promoted. Got promoted, and then just things started to get to me a little bit more at work, and then I'm like, you know what? Uh, let's try something else. I don't know what I want to do, but I know that this isn't it. Yeah. And if I keep busy with what I'm doing, I'm never gonna figure it out.[00:20:00] 

So I asked 'em for a, a leave of absence one year unpaid. They said, okay. So I'm like I started just to experiment with some stuff. I started working with my handyman for a bit. Yeah, he's a good dude. We laughed. We made fun of each other. I was learning stuff and I was getting paid. It was pretty cool.

So did that for a very short period of time. Helped 'em cut some lawns. I like doing that. I like outdoors. Yep. Get a couple extra bucks. And then I'm like, what do I, what else do I like to do? So I, I knew, I knew real estate and I knew I liked to help people. So I became a real estate business coach. Started coaching, , investors, mortgage brokers, agents.

With their business mostly. And I was doing one-on-one coaching. I had mastermind groups. I, I coordinated these in-person experiences, which was wild. It was, it was so fun. I did tours around why I'm investing in certain things. It was awesome. And then, um, so that was going well. I went back to my employer and said, Hey, you mind if I have [00:21:00] another year off?

They said, yeah. Okay. So it was just nice to have a safety net there as a just in case. Right? Yeah. That's where kind of my coaching evolved from just money to more holistic living, more, more balanced living. So you've probably seen the whole life balance wheel before. It's just basically a wheel with, it's broken up into eight life areas.

One of them, it is work, one of it's money, health, relationships, growth, impact, , that type of stuff. Right. So my previous coaching was just focused on the, the money. Mm-hmm. Then it's like, you know what, like there's more important things to just money. We make this money to help us enjoy all the other stuff too.

And it all ties together. And I found like if you are just focused on money, it starts to affect other areas of your life. It was interesting when I started doing that life balance exercise myself, like, wow, like work is having a, an uh, [00:22:00] a really serious effect on other areas of my life. Like my relationships, like my health.

Yeah, because you're doing something that you don't like to do and like, it just, it makes you unhappy. So from there, and again, I was still in student rentals. I had a couple rent to owns at the time. I had a family rental where. I used to live there and we moved out and we just kept it as a rental. So it was, it was still a mix, you know, we were still buying properties along the way, but more of my focus was on, , coaching, online programs in person, , masterminds.

So then I went back to my employer, asked them for the hat trick. They're like, dude, like, you gotta pick. Hey you, you're coming back to us again. Yeah, well, what are you gonna do? Right? Here he is again. They were like, you gotta pick. So, yeah. Uh, long story short, I quit and then I just continued, uh, building out.

Uh, I created the Epic Living Academy. I started to create programs around health. I created a program called Dreamwork [00:23:00] helping people transition out of.

The work that they're doing helping 'em figure out what it is that they even wanna do, and then helping them figure out, how do I go from here to here? And it's, it's not the always the easiest, but you kind of have to plan it out. Right. Yeah. So then over the years I started, uh, scaling back on some of, uh, our properties.

Some of our rent to owns came due, and those sold. And then just over the years I would just be selling properties and the, the money would go into, uh, the account. Mm-hmm. And previously I would go spend, I would go invest that money again into the next deal. Now that I'm out of my job, I would actually take that money and leave a portion in the account.

And that became the lifestyle like that, that allowed us to create, you know, when we get into real estate or business, we, we have this why we have like, oh, I want 50 properties. And then like, why? So we, we often forget what [00:24:00] that why is. And the why is like the freedom. Why do we want freedom?

Because it allows us to, to do more of the things that we want to do, but we get so busy sometimes we forget that it, it is easy to forget that. Like, and I remember when, you know, the real estate group that we are both a part of where we had that connection into. Yeah. You know, you're, what's your, and like what Yes.

Which is, you know, your, what's your five-year plan? And then, you know, think about, okay, what? Yeah, exactly why, right? And because there's, yeah. You know, through the journey of real estate investing, you know, there's ups and downs and you, you have to remember, okay, why are you doing this? Yeah. Ultimately through those challenging times.

And you're right, I think a lot of people sometimes, even when they're building, and I, and I'll, I remember even when I was, you know, accumulating properties in my portfolio. You know, you're working, you know, I was working kind of full-time job. Yeah. You're also I was also accumulating and, accumulating properties both for myself and [00:25:00] other, my JV partners.

And you're just, there comes a point where you're like, okay. Why, what, what is the end goal here of, okay, well I wanna do this because I wanna spend time and provide that lifestyle for my family. And so, you're right. It's, it comes back to that, circling back to that, and it can be different from everyone, right?

Obviously. And having kids was one of the catalysts for me. Yeah. Right. Like there was just a busy period and we all, we all go through it. You know, working the full-time job, buying properties, side businesses. Yeah. Then the kids pop out and we have a choice there where we can continue to put the face to the ground and just keep going or we can maybe scale back a little bit.

And that's what I did. You know, I kind of put certain things on hold. I ended up quitting my job. That freed up some of my time. It obviously ate into finances some. But it also allowed me to kind of be around for my kids more. And some of those early reasons for [00:26:00] getting into business is to create the freedom.

But I remember there was a time where the full-time job side businesses, uh, managing 13 properties, I'm like. This isn't, this, isn't it? I didn't sign up for this and I got into this for more freedom. The more houses I buy actually get is getting me further away from what I actually wanted. And I know there's systems that you can set up that allow you to have a bunch of properties, but that's what I ended up doing.

Just that from then, I just started scaling back on, on the homes and most of my homes were in Ontario right at the time. Yeah. And so I want to, you know, you talked about earlier fulfillment, right? Like it wasn't so your job at the government wasn't fulfilling you and you, and it's, and I think it's good on you that you recognize that and that you took action and steps to get out of that and into a path where you would feel more fulfilled.

Because, there's people out there, a lot of people out there that [00:27:00] they're sitting in, jobs that maybe, you know, it's paying the bills. Right. And, and it's, and yeah, and they're, but they're, they're not fulfilled, right? There's something that's lacking, there's something that's missing. Things are being sacrificed, whether it's health, whether it's time with the family, whether it's, um, yeah.

Other areas of your life that, that are being sacrificed for that. So maybe if you can get into, like at Epic, you know, you're, you focus on helping to align. Per, personal and professional goals, right. For dads, just so that they can enjoy more time with their kids having that greater impact.

So how can, how can dads really set an example of this balance for their kids, right? Right. Teaching them that financial success doesn't have to come at the expense of family. Yeah. I, I, I love this topic because this is what I've been focusing on the last little bit. Like I firmly believe that being the best role model for our kids is how we change the world, whether you're a dad, whether you're a mom, I [00:28:00] feel that this has been outsourced a lot to schools and others, and.

I, um, you know, uh, there, there's some gaps in the system. We'll leave it at that. And I think it's, it's the job of a parent to also still instill good habits and lessons and our kids are watching us. All the time. And what we do, they're more likely to do so if we're, if we have good habits, they're more likely to have good habits as well.

Yeah, it's, it's all around. And like I said earlier, like, and men in general, like, we kind of just put our head down and we just go and it's like, let's build an empire. Let's change the world. Let's do this, let's do that, let's do that. And like, we just get so busy with stuff that we. We forget what we're doing it all for.

And like there were times where I'd go to events and I'm like, what are some things you enjoy doing for fun? And people, they get stunned because they haven't thought of that question, [00:29:00] uh, much, uh, lately. And part of what I, I help people do is I just kind of like a little nice little grab around them and just like.

Slow them down for a bit. Have a deep breath, and like, let's go back and let's, let's think about the things that, that make you feel good, you know? Mm-hmm. What fills your energy tank? What brings you fulfillment? What's fun to you? You know, what, what, what does success mean to you? One of the most powerful questions, because oftentimes we're living other people's versions of success.

Mm-hmm. When we joined Rain, the, the real estate group, how many properties do you want? I want 50. Why he wants 50 and they want 50. Yeah. What's 50? Like we, you know, so it, it's all about a kind of like a reconnection back to just play and having fun. And how does it get balanced? How do we have it all?

How do we have a phenomenal relationship with our partner? How are we more present for our kids? How are we [00:30:00] able to still be healthy? We're busy. So it, it's, there's a lot of like things to do around time. Like most, most dads come to me like they're already busy. So it's like, dude, I don't, I don't have time for what you're talking about.

But it's oftentimes like, or you hear the thing, oh, I don't have time to meditate. It's the people that don't have the time for those things that they need it the most type of thing. And then there's, there's many things around like health and wellness. So we talked about life balance, that one area, the of the piece of the pie.

. Health is one of the biggest game changers in life because it fuels the rest of the life balance wheel when you are healthy. You are more cognitive, you are more productive, you get more results, but you also just get to enjoy things that much more When you're traveling. You're able to go climb the mountains, you're able to go throw your kid in the ocean, like, you know, just chase them.

Yeah. Like you just get to enjoy more fun with family, kids, [00:31:00] friends, everything. And as you can see, I'm like very, very passionate on this because. Oftentimes you, you help people with things that you've had challenges with. So, uh, I've had a health transformation. I've, I've quit my job and I'm doing other things, like, I'm kind of on the other side of it.

Yeah. Still learning along the way and people, I've had coaches and mentors that, you know, that have been there for me and answered my questions and shared things with me. And now here I am, kind of just like reaching back. Pulling up the, the next group of people, so it's, it's wild and it's just great to get a community of like-minded people together that have similar missions and are just there to support and hold each other accountable.

And I almost think it it's sometimes you know, you, you went, you were talking about how dad's like, you, you're, you know, we're, we're all kind of get into this trap of Okay, yeah. We're, you know, nose to the grindstone. We're working, we're working, yeah. To provide, provide for the [00:32:00] family.

But it's almost giving in some ways permission. Like when, you know, when you say you're kind of like, shaking them and saying, okay, like, what does success mean to you? What, you know, what feels good. And it's almost like giving them permission. To say, okay, look, take a step back, breathe, figure out what you know, why you're doing this, what's important to you, and put a focus on that instead of just kind of a daily routine and daily, you know, it's, it's like the hamster wheel, right?

Like you're, you're yeah. Kind of running through the rat race and, and and it's allowing them to just step back and reflect and think about that, um, which is so important because it, it then it bleeds into all areas of your life that you, you may not even realize that. Is being affected, or maybe you do, but, but you know, and just are not compelled to feel like you can change anything about it.

Yeah. So I think it's, it's such a great and worth and worthwhile mission for you to, yeah. And I remember real quick, let me share a quick story. I remember, uh, one of my coaches back in the day, like, he would ask me, like, and they're just, they're powerful questions and [00:33:00] just like hard hitting questions. But what makes, and reflecting back now what makes them extra powerful?

Isn't always just the question, it's, it is your thought in giving the answer. So when I first started into this journey, early on in having a coach, he would give me these questions and I, I remember taking the list of questions and I would go to a Tim Horton's, which is a popular coffee place in Canada.

Yeah. And I would go in there and attempt to answer these questions. So distractions everywhere, loud noise, everywhere. And back then I didn't take my time with stuff. I just wasn't patient. It was surface level answers. Yeah. And he's like, dude, like, I, I challenge you to go find quiet. Go find space.

So I took my journal book and it was eventually I started making my way into nature. Yeah, with my journal, with the questions where it's calming around me, there's the, the only distractions are like the [00:34:00] squirrels or the birds or, you know, or the, the, the water, right? But it, it's, it's taking the time to get past the, the surface level answer.

And dig a little deeper. Well, why is that important? Why, right. You dig a little deeper. So that's where I, I, I got the, the real value, and that's where I'm like, I'm just, I, I, I grab them, uh, gently to start and it's like, dude, like let's take a breather. Here's where you're at. And then, then we get into some, some clarity questions.

Yeah. And, and I, I often find whenever, I'm, I'm in nature, like, and or, and or exercising. It does, it fuels you. It, , it provides clarity in terms of thought. Yeah. So yeah. Absolutely. I wanted to switch into now getting, kind of getting into our kids and really helping our kids learn the necessary skills and habits and mindset. It's really crucial to making sure that they are equipped Yeah. To [00:35:00] succeed with money. You know, you, you referenced a lot of different examples from your childhood of what you took away, going think going back to that from a mindset perspective, what advice would you give to parents in terms of fostering a mindset of abundance and financial responsibility in their kids from an early age?

So, like I said, it's, it's very important to lead by example and have open communications around money. Make it okay for them to ask questions. , But it's, in my opinion, one of our main responsibilities as a parent to explain money, what it is, how it's used, like how you can use it for you. And not be controlled by it.

Because society unfortunately is like money, money, money. Like that's just, that's what life is. And then money just gets you [00:36:00] stuff. I, I, I like stuff too. In my opinion, I, I, I value experiences so much more than, than stuff now. And our, our kids don't always listen to us. So some hints for other parents listening to this is to expose your kids to other speakers.

Maybe it's books, maybe it's authors, maybe I know my oldest Red, rich dad, uh, poor dad. Include them in things. So we're real estate investors. I take my kids to the houses. Sometimes they see me delivering gifts at Christmas to the tenants. They see how to use a saw to install flooring, right?

There's so many lessons learned. They've created the rent receipts for the, , the tenants every year. I would show them the bank accounts, oh, the tenant. And back then sometimes they gave cash. Oftentimes they gave post-dated checks back then that was normal. They [00:37:00] still do. I still get, I still get PostIt checks.

Yeah. So you'd go to the bank with a pile of checks and then they're like. Dad, you just deposited all that money and then you get to show them, yes, I deposited all that. I don't get to keep all that. Here's what comes off of that. And then I get to keep what's left. I remember taking my oldest Liv many, many years ago.

The the group that you and I were part of called Rain, they actually, they did it not often. Very like, there was a a time where they had an event where you can bring your kids. Yeah. And it was like a separate training off the side and was absolutely unbelievable. I know like, it wasn't like tops on her list of things to go to.

But after the event, she's like, dad, this was unbelievable. You know, like we played compound interest, frozen tag and we made airplanes and like there were lessons and ways to make learning fun. Yeah. So that was unbelievable. Compound interests. What a great thing to be able to teach our kids at [00:38:00] this age.

'cause and I'm sure a lot of your guests and listeners on here, you're like, I'm glad I learned this here. But how cool would it have been to learn it five or 10 years prior? Yeah, so, um, yeah, and then just, just exposing them and planting seeds as best you can, and then they get to run with that however they want.

Uh, just the other day, like, my daughter and I, we have like bubble teas often. So we had our bubble tea date. And, uh, she opened her, she turned 18 now, so she's able to, , have her own trading account. So she opened up her own Interactive Brokers account Yeah. And walked her through how to buy her first.

, Bit of Tesla. So she deposited money into the account and she bought a fraction of a share of Tesla to start. Yep. So I tell her, just start small to start, and now she's putting money in. She's like, oh, dad, I just bought my first Nvidia. And, and like, there you go. And then, you know, I'm exposing them to cryptos and just various other types of investment in tech.

[00:39:00] That I really think is gonna change things. Like, I think things are gonna look a lot different in five years from now yeah. Yeah. And I love what you said. I think, you know, and maybe it goes back to I think, the theme of what you said earlier, but you wanna be the role model. You wanna lead by example.

Uh, yeah. You wanna be there for your kids, but you also wanna expose them to different things that you're up to, that you're doing, so that they can, under a better understanding and, and it. Provides that opportunity and venue to have them ask those questions of, oh, like, yeah. So, you know, you mentioned like I, I love bringing my kids to, to some of the rentals and, and just having them see like, here's okay, yeah, here's another house that we, you know, we own that other people are, are providing money to rent.

Here's, yeah. The post ed checks, they'll deposit into the bank. It just triggers so many more questions. It does. It does. And it's, it's, it just, I think just allows them to just Yeah. Get an exposure to to, you know, it's investing and money as well. Yeah. [00:40:00] Well I remember the, at that one real estate event where I was able to bring Liv, she was often her own little side thing, and I remember they created a box.

And it was called the G principle. GIF. Yes. Yes. So again, I, I'm sure you've heard of like the, the jars and you just put money here and here. That was, and they got to create, got creative and they created their own box. They still have it in their room and there's like, there's four little cups in there.

And I would give them, uh, I would give them an allowance, but I would give them that allowance in change. Which forced them to like count certain things so there would be certain allocations for each cup. G was give, I was invest. S was save, and the other S was spend. So there was different percentages for each one.

So it's just, again, just we plant the seeds and no pressure on what they're gonna do. But I think giving them just different alternatives to things, they just have more choice, uh, which I think is [00:41:00] good. Where they don't have to go just, Hey, I'm gonna go to school. I think I want to do this, but. I don't even, I don't really know, absolutely. Well, I'd love to transition to our rapid fire round now. You know, I'll fire off a bunch of questions and, and answer them as you wish. , So first question is, what's one of your favorite books that you've read enjoyed you? You mentioned Rich Dad, poor Dad, which I think everyone's mentioned.

Any others that stick to your mind in terms of, , ones , that you've enjoyed? Yeah. Four Hour Work Week. It was very foundational with probably Tops of the Tops book, uh, that I read back in the day, which really helped plant the seeds of the lifestyle that I'm living now. So that book is all around lifestyle design.

And my favorite book right now that I recommend to everybody is called A Die With Zero by Bill pil. Yes. Oh yeah. By are the like the best book of like, just what are you working towards and then reverse engineer it and [00:42:00] enjoy life experiences in different phases of your life. Right. So it's such a good book.

That is such a, that's an amazing book. I read that. Recently, within the last couple months. And it does really, and for me, yeah, I, I'm a person that is a big believer in experiences as well. And so, yeah. When he talked about being able to frame that, where even just the, you know, if you had that experience early on, you, that experience Yeah.

Actually is compounding over time as you remember, as you remember those memories. 'cause it's, it's still providing you joy, right? Memory, dividends. Yes. Memory, dividends. Yeah. Right. Using our, our terminology. Right? Investing. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And even just the concept of, , which I'm gonna do the creating those time buckets, so understanding that, yeah, there's various stages in life and so you're gonna.

Think about, okay, what do I wanna do within this stage, in this stage, and this stage? And um, and you'll enjoy them more at certain stages. Yes. Most people, they work all their life. They save [00:43:00] money and then they go on the cruises when they're 70. Right. But you will enjoy that cruise so much more when you're 35 and you get to talk about it a lot more.

Or if you wanted to climb a mountain, I'm still gonna climb mountains when I'm 70. Will I enjoy it more at 48? Yeah, I would. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Absolutely. It's in that bucket. Absolutely. , Question number two is, so besides hanging out with your kids, what do you love to do in your spare time? I exercise a lot.

Uh, I listen to podcasts a lot. I'm looking to get back into doing Spartan races, so I've done some there. Oh, way back in the day, if you, if you sign up for a Spartan race, I'll do one with you. Okay, we're good. I, I, last, I last did one. It was a long, long time ago. It was a, it was one of the, I think it was the, the sprints or the sprints.

The sprints, yeah. Oh, dude. They're so fun. And at the starting line it's just what an energy. You're around these people. There's this, this awesome music playing, and then there's [00:44:00] like a, a, a guy that's just like super, like just yelling at you. Yeah. And then he go get messy. And you cross that finish line and you, and it's challenging.

I've done some things, but, uh, I really enjoy kind of just pushing my limits exploring new places, just like, uh, adrenaline stuff and just, we can do a lot more than we think we can do. It's, it's pretty wild. Absolutely. Question three is, what's the best piece of advice that you've ever been given?

Yeah, so we, we've gotten a lot over the years and there's a bunch, uh, one that stuck with me that has had a an insane impact on my life is that you are at, one of my coaches reminded me of this. You're at your work, the majority of your awake time, you better love what you're doing 'cause that's where you're spending most of your time.

So whether you're in some work that you don't like right now, work towards, maybe there's a, [00:45:00] a better way of doing it at your current job while kind of transitioning out of that. And, life is short, life is a journey. Enjoy the ride. Like those are, uh, enjoy, enjoy the, the, the road along the way.

Yeah. Enjoy the journey. Great advice. If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be and why? Hmm. Yeah, there's a lot. I'd probably have to say Elon Musk. I think that guy is, is a wild dude. This guy is creating some, some unbelievable things. This guy's running multiple.

Multi-billion dollar companies in, in itself, like that is insane that that's even possible. And this is world changing things that he's doing, like literally like outer space. And then he's he kind of gets beaten down by people and for [00:46:00] him to be able to like still truck on with what he's doing.

In light of what people say about 'em. Mm-hmm. It's unbelievable. Like I just really like surrounding myself with big thinkers and it inspires me and I feel like doing more by being around people that are doing cool shit. It's why our conversation here is cool. When we go to these real estate groups, we leave energized.

Yep. And it's cool to, to be able to do that. Yeah, he, he's, uh, I honestly don't know how he, that guy does it. Right. I know. He, he is one of a kind, uh, and and I can't wait to, you know, once, once he's commercialized. Space, travel space. Yeah. I, I, I wanna, I, you know, I told my kids, I'm like, okay, no, I.

I'm gonna be there. We're gonna go, yeah, we're gonna do this. And so, yeah. I can't wait. Can you imagine like being in a space and I'm gonna go, I'm, I'll be with you, man. I, I, yeah. I just imagine like being up there and looking [00:47:00] down and then unreal. I be honest, like. Wow. Like unreal, expansive. Yeah. Yeah, he's dreaming big.

And, and then finally, so for parents that are looking to raise financially smart or, and or entrepreneurial kids, what's one piece of advice that you'd wanna offer that really ties together your experience and what you're doing at Epic Living Academy and your own personal philosophy on life?

Business, anything that you'd wanna share with parents who are looking to do that? Yeah, I think I mentioned this earlier, is just o open communication around money. , Allow for the conversation to just be normal, right? And just show your kids how things, , work. You go to the market and you spend money and showing the value of this and, , .

Connect with other people, connect with other communities, , listen to podcasts like [00:48:00] this. Like we get ideas from each other, right? And then you get to take from all these things over here, and then you get to apply it. , And ask for help along the way. Like, we, we don't get this manual, you know, when your kid pops out of like, here's how to be an awesome dad, or Here's how to be an awesome parent, like.

Go find other people that you feel are great examples of, of a dad or as a mom, and just ask questions and just stay curious. And , we change the world. I firmly believe this by being the best example we can for our kids and we're not perfect. And just ask for help if you need it. Wonderful, amazing advice here.

So as we wrap up, where can, , my listeners stay in touch with what you're doing or contact you, you know, especially dads if they wanna work together with you at, at Epic? Yeah. Yeah. So I'm, I work with dads mostly now. There's a, , a community of dads [00:49:00] that, , I brought together and you can find that@powerdadchallenge.com.

Then there's other programs within the epic living academy.com, , around, uh, doing fulfilling work. And I have a health program in there as well, so. Awesome. And we're gonna have all of that in the show notes as well. So, uh, yeah, Mike, totally appreciate you coming on the show today and really just sharing your wisdom, , on not only, money, but also just life and being able to help dads really.

Spend more time with their kids, lead that fulfilling life. Be that example, be that role model. Yeah. That we should be, you know, leaders of in our family. And so, just thank you so much, uh, grateful for the time here and, uh, look forward to staying in touch with what you're doing. Awesome. Thanks for having me on, man.

See you.