.jpg)
The Real Deal Podcast
Unlock the door to success in the dynamic world of real estate with your hosts, William Gomez & Alfredo Madrid. Join us as we dive into the inspiring journeys of loan officers and real estate agents, sharing their triumphs, challenges, and invaluable insights. Your key to navigating the ever-evolving landscape of real estate starts here.
The Real Deal Podcast
#17 From Career To Calling
If you're intrigued by the complexities of purchasing vacant land, this episode is a must-listen. Josh Claybook, a seasoned land professional, delves into the critical factors potential buyers need to consider, such as utilities and easements, and his approach to building a robust buyer's book. As the market shifts from a seller's to a buyer's market, Josh provides invaluable strategies for navigating these changes.
Driven by a divine calling, Josh's transition from corporate life to real estate is nothing short of inspiring. He shares how his faith guided him through career changes and personal challenges, leading to a deeper spiritual connection and a more purposeful life. Find out how maintaining faith can provide strength and perspective both professionally and personally. With practical advice on achieving work-life balance, prioritizing family, and staying true to one's divine calling, Josh's story is a testament to the power of faith and perseverance in transforming one's career and life.
It's very important to always frame what you do in the right light, and it makes a world of difference.
Speaker 2:When I wake up and I say, hey, I've got a choice of get up and go live in the environment that you love every day and then see what God brings your way.
Speaker 3:One of the things that I give credit to any success that I've had in this business is that I truly love what I do.
Speaker 2:Have some grit. Don't be quick to give up when the enemy hits you in the mouth, Because guess what? It's going to happen as soon as you start on Monday morning with a full agenda and a full plan for the week. You're going to not feel good or something's going to happen and your agenda is gone.
Speaker 3:Josh Claybrook, thank you so much for coming on. The Real Deal man, you're a podcast commodity. Right now. You were on the podcast for your Arrowhead brokerage and now you're coming on. I wonder what's next for you there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just whatever gets thrown my way, I'm happy to dive in and tackle it, but I'm excited yeah well, I'm super excited to have you because I sent an email to Alfredo yesterday.
Speaker 3:You've been licensed since last year. When was the exact?
Speaker 2:time, August or October, realistically about a year and a half. So I'm rolling two years right now, so I'm two years this October in the business.
Speaker 3:But how many deals did you close in 2022?
Speaker 2:34, 35.
Speaker 3:In 22? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was part-time my first year, so my first year of it. You closed 22 deals part-time.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, yeah, man, I'm going to have to double check my deals, because for 2022, it didn't have anything, but for the last 12 months it said that you've done over 50 deals.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's probably accurate year to date. I would say, if you add in some 23, I'm sorry, this is 24. So you're correct For 23,. I would have done probably 34 to 35 deals. I started late in 22. So I only had about two months in 2022 to really get going. So I started that January of that. I guess it would be. 2023 was my first full year in the business.
Speaker 3:But I was part time that January. So for anyone listening, I think at this point like that's not normal, I think at this point we just let you talk for the rest of the podcast and tell us like how did that happen?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do you? What do you feel you? What do you owe for that? Man I mean I know like I really want to get into the faith stuff with you because you a lot of your answers around that and that, and that's super important to us here as well, too.
Speaker 1:But what do you feel you owe that early success to? Because we don't hear that very often. Even the people that we bring in here that have a lot of success now, most of their stories start with like I closed one deal in my first six months.
Speaker 2:Right. I think for me it wasn't an option, right. I've got strong goals and visions and I don't. If I fail, it's on me, it's not anybody's fault, it's not the market, it's not a recession, it's on me.
Speaker 2:And I think I adapted that mindset early on into my career. So, coming out of corporate America that I was in for 20 years, I was used to building businesses and building myself up to a certain position and then helping lead a team underneath that trajectory and I think once I stepped off in real estate, I realized that it's me and it's all on my shoulders. So I hit the ground running, probably made a lot of mistakes, did a lot of things that I wouldn't do again as far as investing money in certain places and then really judging that ROI maybe not have been as fruitful as I wanted to. So maybe those numbers don't reflect true income, the bottom line in the bank checking account. But at the end of the day, I learned a ton through that that short time in the business and I just went to work and I just rolled my sleeves up. I started early.
Speaker 2:I will say this it starts with, for me, being in real estate. The type of real estate that I do. It's not work, guys. It's a passion. I get up every day and I get to go do what I love to do. That makes it a lot easier to be humble in the market. You make connections a lot quicker and you're just out there having fun.
Speaker 1:Which is what? Because I'm'm gonna give you a little reference to what I'm asking here. I feel that it's very important to always frame what you do in the right light, and it makes a world of difference getting up every day and going to work if you have it framed correctly. You know we could, we, I could frame lending as like I gotta get up and deal with problem, or I could get up and go. Man, I get to make some dreams come true today. So how did you frame your job? Like when you say I got up and got to, I love what I do. What was that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I live on a farm. I live the lifestyle that I'm out working in every day. I absolutely love being on properties. I'm a big outdoorsman myself I've always been so I get to go do that every day.
Speaker 2:So when I when I wake up and I say, hey, I've got a choice of yeah, I don't have any deals sold today or I don't really have a whole lot of prospects but I get to go to a coffee shop and meet some elderly gentlemen and talk about property and property values and, hey, how many acres do you have? How long have you had it? Tell me about your family history. I get to go live in the world that I'm already living at home. Right, I'm basically just moving to a different piece of property. So I frame my mindset of get up and go live in the environment that you love every day and then see what God brings your way right. And that's hard, because some days you may not think you saw any fruit from that, but you planted so many seeds that end up coming to fruition months and months later.
Speaker 3:What percentage of your business is land?
Speaker 2:I would say probably 75% of it. Raw land percentage of your business is land? I would say probably 75% of it. Raw land, raw land or land at least a couple acres and larger, so with structure on it, with the residential property, some with commercial property, but it's all land focused in some way, shape or form. I would say most of it.
Speaker 1:And that was intentional.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the brokerage that I worked for was Arrowhead Land Company, and they're very land focused. Now, me being where I'm at, I had to look at my geographic location in terms of the market. And, yes, I'm licensed in the whole state of Oklahoma, so I've got free range to go from the boundaries if I want to, but that doesn't work for my family life, so I play within an hour and a half from Tulsa. That's where my really strong market is, and for me it's a little bit West of Tulsa, predominantly, um, but yeah, I focus on land, country living, rural living. That's a. That's the world that I'm in.
Speaker 1:So my wife's obsessed with like looking at land online right, like going to Zillow, going all that kind of stuff. How like by the time it gets listed on Zillow or something, it's probably already been filtered and whatever, like how much of land deals get done like off market pocket listings. You find a piece, number, one number. Second question how do you go about finding land opportunities?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so to list or to retail or list or List or buy, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, list or buy. But the first question is how many land deals get done before it even make hits, mls, or before it even hits? You know, zillow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I would say there's a fair amount of those that do happen, and that's because buying land is a process. You don't just say you know what, next year we're going to sell our house and we're going to buy a different house. I tell first. One of the first questions I ask folks is when that, when I'm showing them a property, is how long have you been looking for land? If that answer is we've been looking for about six months, you haven't seen enough properties, you haven't done enough investigation to really know what you like or what you don't like, and that's nothing against them.
Speaker 2:But there's so much involved with vacant land. There's easements that run across it, there's utilities that you can or cannot get access to. You may have to dig a water well or can you tap into rural water. There are so many different variables there. When I hear someone say we've been looking for about four years, that's a customer I want to work with because they've seen enough properties to know what they like and what they don't like, right? So to answer your question about how many properties I bought off market, I try to keep a book of buyers that have been looking for three to four years, and that book of buyers is who I show these properties to that I know are coming on market. Those guys are ready to buy. Those folks are ready, their vision is really clear, they know what they want and that's the ones that will buy those off-market properties.
Speaker 2:Now, with that said, a lot of land deals in today's market. The market is shifting a little bit, as it is in residential and we'll probably get into some of that as well, but there's a lot of factors that go into that. So, going from a seller's market to a buyer's market, there's more properties. Price per acre is a big driving factor. Distance to major amenities, to Tulsa that's the market that I live in is that 30-minute bubble to Tulsa because that's where I live? Right, that's what I know and what I know can reach to their family and their visions and their dreams.
Speaker 3:So one of the questions I have for you, and did you have this? Did he answer the second question that you had?
Speaker 1:Well, the second yeah, essentially, um, you know, he is putting himself in the shoes of the person that would want to sell or buy to go and find these properties. That's right.
Speaker 3:So something that I'm really curious about you know, you and I met through a uh residential deal, um, and then we have another deal going on and it's another residential deal. I couldn't even tell you if there's acres on that house. I know it's out in Manford. One of the things that I give credit to any success that I've had in this business is that I truly love what I do.
Speaker 3:But there are a lot of things within the job that, like most people, would hate, and I honestly have to trick myself into doing those things and learn how to like them Right. And so one thing and I just think of this because I heard a quote by Mike Tyson one time says discipline is doing things that you hate doing, but doing them like you love them. So that's what, how I do do stuff. My question to you is, as people are listening to this and they're like cool, he's done all these deals. He's, you know, pretty new in the market. Um, he's done way more than I've ever done, and I've been in the business for five years, three years, seven years. Um, and then his answer is pretty cliche I love what I do. Let's talk about like how much less do you like doing just like the residential deals, and then if it's 30% or 80%, like, what do you do to overcome the things that you don't like about doing this job?
Speaker 2:Yeah, if I just sit here and said, hey, I love to be in a side-by-side showing property when it's 110 degrees outside, I'd probably be lying a little bit. Right, it's hot. So sometimes showing those residential deals gives me a break of my day-to-day mundane. Those things within your job title that just they kind of get old. Or you're like, yeah, I got to do a bunch of research with utility companies to find out who the service provider is, where the OWRB water lines are out here. There's things in every faucet that get a little bit old. So for me it's a challenge. I love going into a residential house it's probably not my bread and butter every day and my shirt says you know land company on the outside of it or the land man. Right, it's just, it's a challenge for me. But also I got to take a step back from my flesh and I got to say let me put it this way, I had a buddy asked me one time.
Speaker 2:He said do you think you're ever going to get too busy and have to to say no to some customers? And I had to think on that because my first blush instinct was like, well, you know, we've got financial goals that we have to hit and then I felt like I got revelation on that. I went back to him and I said, man, I said I think you just have to charge accordingly for your services that you're providing. But if I say no to a customer based on the acreage is too small or it's a residential home versus land, I'm not able to do that through that transaction. What I'm called to do. I'm not able to serve that client that I was called in that situation to serve anyway. Right, I'm in that situation for a reason. I need to embrace it and look for the positive sources and outcomes that I can bring through that transaction. Don't judge a book by its cover because it's less than five acres.
Speaker 1:Do you consider yourself fairly structured or are you more just like hey, let's see what the Lord has for me today, you know, or are you like I'm making this many calls today? My goal this week is to meet this many people you mentioned you were probably in corporate America before this. Yes, sir, cool, so I'm sure you've seen structure, been a part of it, implemented it, all those kinds of things Like we've met with other agents before and we ask them a question like this and they're like man, I just, I just get out there, you know, I just meet people. And so we come from a different world where we're like, we're going to talk to 60 people this week, we're going to meet with 15. We're going to, you know, where are you on that, on that spectrum?
Speaker 2:I love that question, so for me it's a balance. I don't make 50 calls a day, I make 10 to 12 very structured calls. Discipline is everything in this business.
Speaker 2:The battle is between your ears. In this business and it is most businesses right For me. I have a running calendar, a schedule. I usually can't fit anything in within that week. I'm already booked out, but that's because I've got a set list of agenda of things that I want to get accomplished this week, people that I want to talk to, follow-ups that I want to make. I've got a plan In my mind. I know where my business is going to potentially come from this week. But I will say this many are the plans in a man's heart, but the Lord directs his steps. So I can have plans of seeing these customers and this customer and this customer, but I have to listen to these opportunities. When I'm at a grocery store or a gas station, I hear someone talking about you know, I want to think about maybe selling my house next year. I'm going to step over and introduce myself. Right, you're listening for those opportunities, but you're working. You're always working in some way, shape or form. You're selling yourself all the time. So does that answer?
Speaker 1:your question Absolutely. Would you say that like, say, I mean, do you have like time blocks where you're just making calls? I feel that people really trivialize and don't prioritize those kind of things in our business enough. I'm seeing that's probably why you have some success from that right Is because, like what I see a lot of people is, they'll structure those days or those times and anything, almost anything will come up that day and they're like well, I got to do this, I can't, I can't make my calls today, and it's. It's crazy to me to even see somebody that's not having success right now, that's not producing. Go well, did you make your calls today? And they're like no, I didn't make it. What happened? Oh, I just I got a new app, they called me, new application called me and they and they deprioritize those things that are actually going to make them successful on a bigger scale.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. You have to protect your schedule. If you don't, someone else will use it up and it doesn't matter what you're facing in life. Anytime you're about to do something good, get ready, because you're going to be attacked. So you have to plan for those kinds of things to happen.
Speaker 2:So are there things that get scratched off my calendar and move to the next day? Absolutely, but for the most part I keep a checks and balance system and I look back and if I've got it on that calendar it's set in stone. I've got to do everything I can to try to make that call and honestly, a lot of that is for self-development, because my nature is I don't really want to do that, I just want to go do this because it's funner. But you got to be structured and you got to be disciplined. You got to do the things that nobody else wants to do. I love it. Pastor Craig says this all the time. He says what you do in the dark produces what people see in the light. So it's not what's flashing, what you're out there doing in front of everybody, it's what you're doing when nobody's looking, when everybody else is done or before everybody else gets started. What have you already gotten done for the day.
Speaker 3:So I think I could have answered that question for him when you asked him that, as he's structured, I know that you're structured. But I guess to add on to that question is if it comes Friday, how well do you track stuff as well? Is that anything that you do at all? Uh, when I first met Alfredo, the first question that he asked me he said how many leads do you get a week? And I said, uh, I mean, I, I have no clue, like I could have guessed, and I've guessed you know some stuff.
Speaker 3:People might think that I track stuff too much. Right, like I was at lunch the other day and somebody, uh, you know, I tracked my water and everything, and I got the guy I was with just jokingly said he goes, you probably track how many times you go to the bathroom like to pee, and I, and, uh, I go, haha, no, I don't. And he goes. How many times do you think you go? And I go, probably like 15 times. And then he goes whoa, that's a lot. And I go, uh, maybe like 10, and he go, and I go, you know what, probably like eight, and he goes, you know what? This is perfect, because I have no idea, because I don't track that. So where are you at on on the tracking part of it? Like if we talked to you on a Friday and we say, josh, I know you're structured, but how many calls did you make this week, how many whatever activities that that you do to to be able to have the business that you have right now? Would you be able to answer that?
Speaker 2:I don't know if I could answer that as detailed as I probably should. Most of my stuff is right here. I mean I've got a lot of it here. I've got Excel spreadsheets and I've got CRM platforms per se that I like to use. But that is an area that I could absolutely improve in. What I'm more focused on is putting processes in place so I can meet that calendar deadline or those structure points that I needed to do. I look back at the end of the week and say what prevented me from getting these calls done or this call done like I intended to. So my structure is next week. Let's fix something there so that doesn't happen again. But yeah, as far as the tracking system I mean your basic CRM stuff and Excel sheets is what I typically operate off of.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, what's your long-term goal as far as your business structure, meaning like, are you looking to grow a team? Are you looking to get help? Are you looking to get administrative help? Are you looking to mentor people Like? What is your goal there?
Speaker 2:Great question that's evolving. Whenever I first got my license, I stepped out of a high-level management job in corporate America and I said you know what I've managed for years and years? I think I'm okay to just go do my, do me, just take care of myself and my family and go grow my business. Success jumped out there really quick. I was able to meet some early goals and stuff and I thought this is great, this is, this is comfortable. We're not called to be comfortable. So I think the Lord has refocused that direction for me.
Speaker 2:Uh, in the end I my goal is to own my own brokerage, and I think that'll be what will happen. I've got a lot of work to get there. I've got a lot of processes to build to get there. I'm constantly meeting folks that say, hey, if you ever own a brokerage, we'd love to come work for you. And I think that's how the Lord uses these little moments to say hey, you're doing what I want you to do. You're touching people like I want you to touch. Keep doing today's work today. Be cautious looking in the rear view mirror because you can't see what's ahead of you, but also make sure you're doing today's work today.
Speaker 3:So, if we can go back to I know you've mentioned a couple of times you were in corporate America. Alfredo has talked about that. He can tell that you're a faith guy. I mean, the second time that I ever saw you was at a. Actually, I ever saw you was at a. Um, uh, actually you went to it as well too. It was, uh, what was it called? Life search? Yeah, and it was. It's like a, a Christian conference and stuff. So I know you've told me this story when we went to lunch, but, uh, I'd love for you to share that on on your transition to real estate, as far as, like, you were a corporate American for 25 years. And then let's talk about that transition, like, why did you feel like you needed to go into real estate?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I realized this is going to get pretty deep on the faith side, but I realized that one of the areas of my life- that I was missing is not.
Speaker 2:Missing, but not as structured on as I'd like to be was my prayer life. I was doing really good at reading the word. I was in men's groups. I'd started men's groups. I had a good community of guys. I was heavily involved. But I wasn't taking that time to just step away from all the noise of this world which, as you guys know, is everywhere. I wasn't stepping away from that and just spending just silent time with the Lord and I had decided that that was something I needed to get better at. So I stepped out on the porch for what felt like an hour it was probably 10 minutes but I stepped out and just sat in the Lord's presence for about 10 minutes and I started getting a feeling that I should get a real estate license. Very just, kind of subtle, and that feeling started growing. So I started acting on it. I started getting a license.
Speaker 2:I was about two weeks into my online course and a good friend of mine, who's kind of a, a brother of mine in Christ, he's a mentor, a couple of years older than I am and he called and said man. He said I got to share something with you. He said I've been getting woken up in the middle of the night about you and I said, first off, that's weird, I'm married, we need to pump the brakes on our friendship. And and he said, no, that's super cool, thank you for telling me that. And I took that in. But that was affirmation for me, right? That was the Lord saying I'm using brothers of yours to pour into you. Let you know that what you heard from me is accurate. That's how I'm using my affirmation.
Speaker 2:About three more weeks go by. Identical story. Another friend calls me. Hey, man, remember when we were riding the truck about six months ago? I said yeah, and he said remember me telling you you should sell real estate? I said I missed that whole conversation, that you said that. And I said why'd you say that? He said, man, the Lord has been waking me up with these dreams in the middle of the night. And he said I feel like I'm supposed to tell you you're supposed to sell land.
Speaker 3:A second person. Second person said that and what I said. They've been been waking up at night and having dreams visions of selling real estate.
Speaker 2:And I said, man, I said what you don't know, what the previous guy that's told me this doesn't know is. You're the second person that's told me that, but I'm already three, four weeks down the road and get my real estate license. So that, right, there is my driving force. When you say, why do you get up in the morning and why do you go do this, is because I know I'm called to do it. Yes, I love it, but there's a deeper calling on my heart and my life that I have seen God show up and do this in, and I don't have a choice. We run this race with intensity. That's what we're called to do. And I'm called to run this race because God's got a bigger plan in it. Don't know exactly what that looks like in the end to your last question, alfredo, but I've got a purpose in it.
Speaker 3:So that's how it started, but then we're kind of skipping a little bit of the part of of. You probably had a I mean, you can tell me the title that you had at your company. I can only assume how much you were making a year at that point. What did that transition look like?
Speaker 2:Great question. So there was two jobs in there. I was a regional sales manager for medium duty trucks for a large semi-truck dealership running four, four states and eight dealerships for that product line. At the height of it had close to 50 something sales guys that I worked with at some way shape or form had just made the most money of my life, that massive bonus. That was super blessed and proud of that.
Speaker 2:And I was driving to work one day and I felt like the Lord just spoke this into me. He said where is your comfort? Is it in your paycheck or is it in me? And I said well, it's in you, Lord, but don't mess with my paycheck. Right, that's how we go. And Well, it's in you, Lord, but don't mess with my paycheck. That's how we go. And I just felt like he challenged me to step away from that and I knew there was something missing. There's a lot in a corporate job like that, with goals and visions that just started differing a little bit from my personal goals. So I stepped down and took another job out of Oklahoma City, hired on as a vice president of sales for a product line, and the Lord aligned a couple of key conversations there that I felt this is his affirmation right. While I'd already started getting my real estate license. I had already started this process. Okay, so I was working this job.
Speaker 2:I ended up getting let go from that job and what was ironic is I could have done that job in my sleep. I mean, I literally was managing three people versus 50, right, Just a lot less chaos. It was just a much simpler job. My heart wasn't in it. So I got let go and when I did, a little bit of anxiety hit me and I thought, Lord, why did you call me into this season?
Speaker 2:And now you slammed the door shut on me. And then I remembered I had been praying through that conversation I had earlier about being diligent in prayer. I've been praying, Lord. I need provision, I need guidance, I need wisdom in what you want me to do ultimately. And I said I'm just going to ask that when that time comes, you make that move. And he did. He slammed the door shut. I had no choice At that point. I had half a dozen listings, or maybe a dozen listings, and I had to go figure it out. I had to go figure out how to make money. In three months of real estate, I made more money than I'd made in corporate America all year long with the Lord's touch on it.
Speaker 3:Wow, that's incredible.
Speaker 1:Where does your faith come from? Did you grow up with it? That's question number one. I like part one. Part two is right. Let's go. Part two has your faith ever been challenged?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I didn't grow up religious. Oh good, you have more questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's it. I was just going to reiterate, like where did it come from, how did you come to Christ, how did you get your faith? And then, has it ever been challenged?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I was raised around church. I wouldn't say I was raised in church, didn't really go to church when I was 12 years old, so I just don't recall having that background. I moved to Texas for a job in the corporate lifestyle, moved down there, was all by myself and felt alone. And I drove by Grace Church of Humboldt, texas. One day I just felt a calling to step in. I walked into that church. I sat through all three services, bawled my eyes out and I knew that God was real. I knew he was in that room. I didn't know in what way, shape or form, but I knew something was there.
Speaker 2:I left out of there, moved back home, was looking for a place. I'd been praying a 21-day prayer to find my significant other, my wife, and within that time frame we actually met in Tulsa at a mutual friend's birthday party and the rest is history from there. But she was going to church. So she got me into church. She bought me a Bible about three, two years before COVID bought a Bible for me, had my name engraved on it, my full name, and it sat in my nightstand for at least a year and I thought, oh, this is great, thanks for this.
Speaker 2:I'll probably never read this and I remember working from home during COVID in the early stages of it, and we had been going to church for a couple of years now, but my heart wasn't in it, I wasn't feeling anything, I didn't have a relationship there. And I remember opening that book. I was sitting at the house working from home during the COVID years the first part of it and I thought you know what, lord, if you're real, you'll show me something in this. But I'm going to give you 30 days to see what you're about. And in 30 days he absolutely wrecked my heart and he started calling me, speaking things to me to do that he had told me to do years ago I didn't really realize was still even an issue. So I started addressing things from years ago. That caused a lot of challenge in my marriage. It caused a lot of challenge in relationships that nobody without that kind of calling would do. That People just take stuff to their grave nowadays, right?
Speaker 2:We don't bring up our dirty laundry and our baggage. But I felt like the Lord was telling me to do it, so I did it and then from there, the Lord started just speaking and dropping guidance and wisdom to me. But it was. What was interesting is he had told me to do this a long time ago, so my question to a lot of people when I talked to him is you know they're?
Speaker 1:like I don't hear anything from the Lord.
Speaker 2:What has he told you to do already that you haven't done?
Speaker 3:That may be the roadblock, so this is pretty recent and I say recent like like when you drove what, what, what year was it when you drove through that uh church in texas?
Speaker 2:so that would have been oh goodness, that was probably back in 18 or maybe even 15. It was quite a while ago.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was probably 15 I can't believe 2015 was quite a while. I can't either. That's what's shocking. To say that that's crazy. I think it's probably about 50. What? What was it that made you, like, want to stop by, that, like, was there something you were going through life?
Speaker 2:I think it's what we all go through. I think you know that something's missing and you don't if you're not a believer and a follower at that time. Something's missing and you keep going to different things to try to figure out what that is right. You have a problem with this job, so you switch and go to another job and then you find the. What the heck is going on.
Speaker 2:And then finally, it's just like when your heart's open enough to it to even just glance at him. The Lord says I'm standing there knocking. If you let me in, I'll be there. And that's what he was doing to me is, I drove by this church for nine months and the eighth month I finally stopped in. Right, I drove by every day going to work and every day coming back home, and I never gave it a second look. I always would see it and that's a big church, yeah, whatever. And finally I was like you know what? I have nothing going on this Sunday. I'm bored. Everything's a wreck in my life. I don't know if I'm going back home or staying down here forever. I don't know what's going to happen. Like I don't know what to do. I'll just go check it out. The cool thing is, nobody have to worry about what anybody thinks, and I feel like that's where the Lord started planting seeds.
Speaker 3:That's so good. I think that you shared a little bit that, um, you know, with how deep you are in your faith, you still go through hard things, like I mean, uh, when you shared that you know you got let go of that job, like that's stuff that people don't don't think of when they see somebody like you, they see somebody like cool. This guy has this faith, but all these good things are happening to him, so it's a lot easier to um to to be like that whenever you're going through life is easy. What, what's something else that you've gone through pretty recently within your business that has tested your faith, that that maybe people can relate to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, um, man, that's a great question. I don't know if there's one specific thing, but I think just the day-to-day challenge of the culture and we're all geared so different. But when you see things at your occupation that you're like man, was that really fair or should I've gotten that lead and so-and-so's got that lead, and then how we're how we react to that? So to your question is it the challenges inside my mind? Like I told you, it's when I run into those situations where I'm like man. I was probably wrong there. How do you react to that? Well, I know how the old Josh would react to it, but I know what scripture says and how scripture says to react to it. So the challenge is navigating through the mundane day-to-day life in the grace of Jesus. Right, it's really easy to praise him when you're on the mountains and it's honestly I'm in a season where it's really easy to praise him in the valleys but the challenge is praising him in the everyday deals, the walk.
Speaker 1:I just really love the long-term perspective that comes from faith and trusting God, because then it makes all these issues and problems and obstacles just seem like bumps in the road. They're just bumps in the road because there's something bigger at play and there's trust and faith in that plan. There's trust and faith that all things will be used for good and I just think it creates such a peace of mind and heart for everybody that really leans on that and it's dang near impossible to not be stressed out and not be worried and not be anxious If you don't have that long-term perspective. I feel like you got that. I feel like you're like I'm going to figure it out. He always has, always will. I'm listening, I'm following, I'm discipling and that's what really matters and I trust.
Speaker 3:Well, it's funny, the reason we're sitting here right now is because, um, I reached out to to you. Uh, the Friday we went to the men's breakfast and it had something to do with church faith.
Speaker 3:So I literally just naturally thought of you. I was like he was probably in there, there were so many people in there, and then I told you I was like, hey, I just got out, this men's breakfast Made me think of you, just wanted to check in, how's everything going? And, um, and it's funny, there's people listening that are not even they're not believers, right, there's people that are believers, that that can't, don't even you know praise. And when they're at the top of the mountain, and then even the ones that praise him when they're on top of the mountain, it's easy to to to forget, you know, like lose faith when you're going through the valley, like that's where most people pray, but, but it's easier to be like man. I mean that this must not all be real, because I mean, why would I be going through this? Right, what you're talking about of like that's easy for you now and what you're going through in a day-to-day basis reminds me of a story that that guy that spoke and I couldn't tell you the guy's name that spoke, but he talked about how he was going to the grocery store.
Speaker 3:He leaves the grocery. He had texted his. His daughter said hey, I'm at the grocery store, can I get you something? And she didn't text back until he was literally in the car, in the parking lot ready to leave. And she's like hey, can you get me this and that? And he was just like mad about it. He was just annoyed about it. He was just like, oh my gosh, I could easily tell her like I've already left or I could go back in there. So he says, okay, I'm going to go back in there. So he runs back in there and he's already kind of annoyed. And he's already kind of annoyed and he's waiting in the checkout lane and the lady in front of him is just taking the longest time because she's like I don't know if he said that she was counting change or something like that.
Speaker 1:She couldn't afford everything she had, so she was having to put stuff back. Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:She was like, okay, can we do this one or this one?
Speaker 3:And then so he, finally, she just goes, you know what, I'm just going to pay for this, but not in like a godly manner, right, like it was just like he was just annoyed, so he was like this is just going to be faster.
Speaker 3:And then he talked about how, after that, the lady just starts bawling and just says thank you so much, like this is what I needed, like that was pretty much her God moment and how God used him, um, even though he wasn't being like quote unquote spiritual and he wasn't at the top, he wasn't in the Valley, he was just living everyday life, and that's what you're talking about. When because I think a lot of people don't understand that and honestly, I think I would have understood it different even if I wouldn't have heard that story Cause that that, I mean that story really, really resonated with me, because you just never know whether you're a really good person or a really bad person like that. You know, god is willing to use us every single day, um, when we don't deserve it, you know keep showing up for him, yeah man, that's so good Alfredo you got.
Speaker 3:I figured you would have. You know you've had a lot of questions, but let me touch on that just real quick.
Speaker 2:What I love about that is it shows the patience that God has for us and where my mind used to go was, I, was, I was that guy and I still am at times.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure I'm not fixed, but I still am that guy A lot of times that what God started revealing to me is showing me the opportunities that I missed. And after a certain point in time, if you're competitive by nature, you don't like to miss opportunities, right. And I started realizing you just missed an opportunity, or you know what? I think I was supposed to pay for that person's food or whatever, or that person was pulled over on the side of the road. I feel like I should have helped. Next one, I'll get the next one. You know what I mean. These are all opportunities, I think these are little lobs that God just throws out.
Speaker 2:He's like, let's see how I handle this one. And that's what started driving me to do some of these things, and I'll tell you a quick story. I was at church one day and we just finished worship and I was going to sit down and during worship we got my phone. My phone was put on silent and I felt like the Lord spoke to me and said text your old, one of your old bosses, and ask him how his mom's doing. Such a random question. Real easy to put that phone back in your pocket and say I'm not going to do that. I mean, we're going into the end of the word. And I just thought you know what, I'm tired of missing opportunities. So I pulled my phone out and texted the guy and said hey, man, just let you know I'm thinking of you. How's mom doing? And he said thanks, appreciate it, didn't hear nothing else.
Speaker 2:Two days later the guy calls me up and I could tell his voice was shaky. This guy's about 6'5", 250 pounds man's man. Never seen him shed a tear and I can hear this guy's voice is busting. And I said you all right? He said man, mom passed away a month ago and he said what made you text me? And I said well, if I'm being honest with you, I was sitting in church and I said I shouldn't even probably had my phone out, but I felt like the Lord told me to text you. And he said, man, thanks for sending that text as just a missed opportunity.
Speaker 2:Go embrace those opportunities because you never know when it can make a difference for somebody.
Speaker 3:Man and, again, people that are listening. They're not even, you know, because we've gotten into a lot of faith stuff in this episode, more than we've ever had before. But even if, cause there's a lot of people that can relate to like cool, like God can talk to you, whether they believe it or not, and even if they believe it, they're like he doesn't talk to me, but I was listening to a different podcast, um of uh, I'm sure you know who Andrew Huberman is.
Speaker 3:Uh, I don't know if you know who he is, but he's like this uh science guy that just talks about like how you can better your health and stuff, and he talked about they've done a study on the um like cause. He talked about how the biggest thing that kills people is loneliness and, um, it talks about how it's so much worse for your health than like smoking a pack of cigarette or drinking and not having friends.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and he talked about the difference that it makes in people's lives is just so much. If you think of somebody and you text them good morning, like if you send a person good morning, it's just like a check-in, like wow, somebody's just randomly thinking of me.
Speaker 3:And it makes me also think of something that I've done with both of you, you guys, which is every single, you know, I told myself that I would do a cold plunge every single morning this year and, uh and man, when I started doing it and the only reason I did is because alfredo started doing it and I hate the cold and I was like how in the world is he able to do that? But I just wouldn't, I wouldn't even think of doing that then. So I started doing it and it was just awful, man it was. It was so awful until one day my wife was out there and I I'm in there and I'm just talking with her and I get out, and I was like that was like that was the easiest thing and it was colder than normal. And then, so what I started doing is I started just propping my phone up and using it as a timer and then just whoever I'm thinking about, like I it's, I honestly can can say that there hasn't been one person that I have felt.
Speaker 3:God tell me, reach out to that person to be completely honest. I mean, I'm, I'm a day in person, 250 something. So most mornings I'm like, oh my gosh, who's somebody that I haven't, I haven't sent it to, and and dude some of these texts that I get of people that are like I can't believe you sent this, you know this day, because I'm going through all this stuff and and you know it's crazy. So for anybody listening, that's like's like you know, that's good for you, but like I don't hear from god, like I don't, like it's literally just waking up one morning and say I haven't talked to josh in a while.
Speaker 3:Let me just say good morning, how's everything going? So? Uh, man, I've, I've truly appreciate you having you on here and, um, um, alfred, I don't know if you have anything for him, but I just. My last question really is what's one thing that you would tell an agent that's been doing this for a long time and just can't get? You know, they're maybe thinking about quitting right now, but they're like man, I feel like I'm supposed to stay in this business or a brand new agent Like you were, like you just were a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So uh, just back one second here. Just remember to those who say I don't know if God ever speaks to me, I never hear from God. The devil's never going to tell you to do something that benefits somebody. So if you're hearing a voice in your head, you don't know if it's God or the enemy. If it's someone that's going to help somebody, it's from God and not the enemy, I'll just assure you of that.
Speaker 2:So you may be hearing from God and not even recognizing his voice. So to your question you know, for that agent, I think we can get there in just about any type of career or anything that we do in life. So what I would say to that is I would just take some time to reflect and say, hey, do I like what I'm doing? Is this something that I enjoy? Am I burnt out? I think we can be called into seasons and it's not a forever season. So I'm not going to say that that agent needs to stay in it forever. They need to decide that for themselves If they do feel like this is a passion. This is what I want to do. Just remember. It's okay. Recognize where you're at. You need a little bit of time to recoup, gather your thoughts, get back to your discipline. It all starts with that. Set small goals that you can achieve that are attainable. Set those goals and go check them off. Start building that self-confidence back up in your heart to know you know what I can do this. This isn't that hard.
Speaker 2:Second thing is put yourself aside. Go serve people. Don't look at trying to make a paycheck. When I start focusing on a paycheck, my business starts suffering too. But when I go back to the basics and say you're doing this because you bought a farm, you know how much of a struggle it is and you're educating people on how to do what you do or how to go buy a farm so they can enjoy what you have. That's why I got in that part of the business.
Speaker 2:So go back to the basics of your why in the business. If you focus on your why and the why is not all about you you can succeed in this business, and you will. The third thing you got to do is be persistent. Have some grit. Don't be quick to give up when the enemy hits you in the mouth, because guess what? It's going to happen. As soon as you start on Monday morning with a full agenda and a full plan for the week, you're going to not feel good or something's going to happen and your agenda is gone. So just jump back in there and go fight.
Speaker 1:That's good. That was really good. That was really good. I have one last question, kind of as a piggyback to that what does work like? You have a couple of young kids, okay, and your family man, your follower. What does work-life balance look like for you?
Speaker 2:Absolutely love that question because I literally have that question with guys every day coming out of different jobs and they're like man, I just don't know if that's what I'm supposed to do forever. My journey has transitioned as well. It has nothing to do with my book of business. What I love is, when I start this out, guys say, well, you're to a point now in your business. Your book of business kind of carries you yeah, that'll burn out too if I'm not doing today's work.
Speaker 2:Today what I've had to do is I've had to realize that the pace that I was running for the first two years would burn anybody out of this business. I can't do that long-term. It's not sustainable. That's the pace that culture tells us. You got to run, you got to grind harder than anybody else out there. You got to start at six and end at eight, and I was on the computer till 11 o'clock at night.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, but the Lord's given me a family. I'm called to be a present father and a husband in that family, more so than I am at work. Right For me, it's the Lord, it's my family and it's work in that order and I got to treat it that way. So I've got to structure my clients and my schedule to be able to turn that off and be present on those times when my kids are out of school. Yeah, I start early. I'm at the computer by 6 am. That's typically that's every day, right, and that's after getting the word in most days at that time. But when my kids are out of school at four o'clock and they're home, my little girl needs me to be present and ask her how her day was not at nine o'clock when she's laying in bed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good, love it.
Speaker 2:It's a rhythm, right, Just like when the Lord created this world. It's a rhythm. You got to be able to turn that off and shift gears and you can't just work all the time.
Speaker 1:And it goes back to that trust thing. You're just you're trusting for provision, Awesome.
Speaker 3:Anything else I don't man that. This was really good.
Speaker 1:I'm I'm super thankful that you came on and thank you for, I mean, was that not the best answer that we've ever gotten? Whenever, yeah, like I think uh answered with conviction.
Speaker 3:I love it, yeah we've had a couple where people are like, uh, work hard, that was good man that was really good.
Speaker 1:Cool. This is josh claybrook, and he's the real deal thanks, guys, appreciate you.