Growth Drivers

Chuck Weinberg: The Relentless Reinvention at 50

• Mike & Rachael Novak

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This episode will hit you in the heart.

Rachael Novak sits down with her friend and mentor, Chuck Weinberg—a man who left a thriving granite business and jumped into real estate at fifty.

His story?
 Raw. Real. Relentless.

Chuck breaks down what it means to build a meaningful life—not just a profitable one. He talks about the emotional weight of a commission-based career… and the power of mentorship, empathy, and staying grounded in your values.

You’ll hear how he chased success, but chose significance.
How he built wealth without sacrificing relationships.
How legacy isn’t just about what you leave behind—but who you build up along the way.

If you’re navigating the chaos of business and wondering if it’s possible to win without burning out… this one’s for you.

Listen in—and get ready to rethink what success really means.


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Welcome to the Growth Drivers Podcast
Rachael Novak:
[0:33] Welcome back to another episode of the Growth Drivers Podcast. Today is a special, special
episode. Novak is traveling, and so I get to take over the reins of the microphones and invited our
very good friend, teammate, brother, Chuck Weinberg, to join me today. Welcome, Chuck.
Chuck Weinberg:
[0:53] Thanks. It's fun.
Rachael Novak:
[0:54] This is fun. I love it. It's kind of fun to, I mean, we converse every day in person and text and
all the ways. Yep. But it's fun to do it with some microphones in front of our faces.
Chuck Weinberg:
[1:04] Yes, there you go.
Rachael Novak:
[1:05] So let's start, of course, with anybody who maybe listens to this and doesn't know who Chuck
Weinberg is. Who is Chuck? What is it that you do love? And tell us a little bit about you.
Chuck Weinberg:
[1:18] Dang it. I'm going to be emotional today, yes. Yeah. So I'm a grandpa. I have 10. 10. I on
purpose share a house with my daughter's son-in-law and five of my 10 grandkids. The other five
grandkids and my son live, son and daughter-in-law live about 10 to 15 minutes away, depending
on traffic. We have a son who lives in Kobe, Japan, who is linguist and is very proficient in Asian
languages, loves language, loves teaching. My other son who lives close to us, he's a PhD. My
son-in-law who we live with, he's a teacher at our school. I'm married for 41 years, so a long time. I
met my wife, And I told her that I was going to marry her on the day that I met her. She was not
impressed. I didn't realize this would be a benefit in real estate, but I was, I think I heard this from,
who's the Tom Ferry, aggressive lead follow-up.

Rachael Novak:
[2:19] You were practicing on Teresa way back when.
Chuck Weinberg:
[2:22] So for a whole year, like she was really not convinced that she wanted to hang out with me
because I was pretty crazy. and it took me a year of lead follow-up to convince her that maybe it
was a good idea. So that was actually like 45 years ago because we were 16, both of us. Yeah, got
to do a whole bunch of things in my life, traveled a lot, bunch with the Novaks, which is like some
kind of peak life experiences. Owned a granite countertop company before coming into real estate.
Before that. I was a tire guy for 20 years. I have always been in some kind of leadership. Like even
as a little kid, I didn't let everybody else lead. That was just kind of like who I was. I didn't know
that. You know, I just like, oh, something needs to be done. Well, nobody else is doing it. I guess
that's me. So, you know, and like, I think that one of the things that makes me really tick like is
about who I am is that I actually really like people. I'm curious. And sometimes I really hate people.
Rachael Novak:
[3:29] Working with any part of the general public, whether it's real estate, tires, like custom granite
countertop and home, like, yeah, people can be tough.
Chuck Weinberg:
[3:39] Yeah. And they're also, you know, anybody who's listening to this, if they're real estate, they
know that there are those clients. I just had one. They're a family of 14. And literally, a family of 14
people, multi-generational, just like we are. And, maybe the, maybe they're going to be the highlight
of my year client. I mean, they're just like super thankful. Like everything was, thank you so much
for putting up with us. And they were really easy to put up with.
Rachael Novak:
[4:07] Like they made my dream client. Right. Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[4:10] Um, you have those and then you have the, the other ones, like some other ones we were
just talking about that are like super crazy.

The Journey of Chuck Weinberg
Chuck Weinberg:
[4:17] And yeah, I mean, you get all right. So there's never dull moment.
Rachael Novak:
[4:21] Yeah, exactly. Right. Well, Well, that kind of like prompts me a little bit in regards to let's
change this order. When you were in the Granite Countertop business, walk us through a little bit
like what happened and what pivoted you into real estate to really make that your next career.
Chuck Weinberg:
[4:41] Yeah, well, and I think like I'll even back up a little bit because I think it'll be helpful for people

who are maybe thinking about making a transition or whatever.
Rachael Novak:
[4:50] Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[4:50] Um, so when I started in the countertop business, I had a really, I was really successful at the
Les Schwab store, at the tire store. I was a manager. They wanted me to be a zone manager. I
didn't want to move my family. And like, there was just some things in within that. And I say
principal living is expensive. So like, if you're going to stand on this thing, it might cost you and it
might cost you time. It might cost you money. It might cost you relationships. There's a lot of a lot of
different things in cost but hold.
Rachael Novak:
[5:17] On say that again principle living is expensive i love that.
Chuck Weinberg:
[5:22] Right so like super good we have that right now yes you know like the the ascension, phase
that we're in there's a lot of people so like we we have a principle that we're like this is how we're
going to live and there's we already know there's a whole bunch of people that don't don't want to
live like that and that's totally fine but if you're going to be part like really part of our ecosystem. You
have to keep up.
Rachael Novak:
[5:45] Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[5:46] Right. And like, we're a lot. We're a handful.
Rachael Novak:
[5:49] Yes, we are.
Chuck Weinberg:
[5:51] Yeah. Yeah. We're we're a basketball. And so like when. So for me, I was like, hey, I can't I
can't fully support what the the organization was doing. It was a big it's a big company. And I just
didn't love some of the thing. I loved all of the things about the customer side. But my job was to
hire employees that sooner or later were going to kick me out of, Like, you're hiring people that you
want to stand on your shoulders and be, like, way better than you. And I kept saying, hey, we're
working these guys way too much. They're all going to end up divorced because they're just here
all the time. There's no work-life balance. Like, we talk about that. And their wives, you know, like,
most of the time they're young moms with kids and they're like, well, where's my husband?
Rachael Novak:
[6:41] Yeah, I didn't sign up to do this alone. Right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[6:43] And so I kept saying to the leadership, like, again, I was pretty high up, but like I would say to

the zone managers and district zone managers and the VPs, like, we need to do it different. Like,
this is not the right way to do this. We're not going to, our people are our thing. Like, they're what
drives the company and we're going to drive them away. So if their domain of balance with with
family is in the toilet all the time because they're always in business that's not going to help them
you know like really ascend and so i i left and it was like they thought i was crazy and at that time i i
was really the only one who left without being fired or retired i mean it was that good of a gig but i
was like no like you found.
Rachael Novak:
[7:34] Yourself out of alignment. Right. Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[7:36] I wanted to, you know, I'm like, I can't keep doing this. And so I started a granite countertop
company with a friend of mine from church who'd literally never installed a granite countertop. I
didn't know that. I would have done it a little differently.
Rachael Novak:
[7:50] I was just going to say, would that have shifted here? Yeah. Like, so I'm a.
Chuck Weinberg:
[7:53] Like, I'm a tactile guy. So like, I, I like working with my hands. This week I put in a water
heater in my house because we can't be without a water heater. Like it's nice to have those skills
and to not be fearful of those things. But if I'd have known that he didn't ever install a granite
countertop, I probably would have said, hey, I like the idea of this countertop business, but I'm
going to go work for another countertop company and get some skills before we start our company.
Like I could make some money. We get into the thing and it's like he says, you know, we'll do
memorials and kitchen countertops are easy. Well, they're easy for him because he was just like
ordering them and somebody else was doing all the work. He didn't do it. And so then when we get
our first container from India, I'm like, how do we cut this underground sink out? He's like, I don't
know.

Transitioning to Real Estate
Chuck Weinberg:
[8:44] What do you mean you don't know? Like he didn't want to do that work. It's totally fine, but it
would have been really nice to know ahead of time. Right um so like we we took it from like i i
fabricated with another guy not him not my business partner um outside with no roof for two and a
half years so like cold like we had really good tans in the summer and it was really cold in the
winter because everything you do with granite tops is water so like like if you didn't stand them up
before you left at night they were literally frozen to the to the table in the morning yeah and so you
have to heat it up and you got to be careful because if you heat it up too fast, you can snap it like
all the things. Right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[9:25] So huge learning curve. And it's really fun because it's, you know, like part of me is like design

and fashion, you know, like, so this is like really connected to house, you know, so like color is
important, like getting this exactly right. You know, it's like, like, I think I would do this one over here.
So it was fun because I was actually able to work hard and I was getting to like help people with,
And that, so we got from, we went from there to ordering basically blanks from India. So we would
do the drawings, send them, this is before you could do digital templates. So we would send those
drawings to India and they would make them. And then three months later, they would come to us
all packaged up and then we would take them out. Well, you know, like just because you draw it as
a 90 degree, they're going to, they're going to make it perfectly as a 90 degree. Well, it might be an
89 degree corner in the house because the house is crooked, right? Or this 22 and a half degree
corner or 45 degree is not exactly the same. And so like your reveals are off.
Rachael Novak:
[10:31] Just slightly off. Yeah. Oh my God.
Chuck Weinberg:
[10:33] And so like for me, like I'm like, it took me about eight months to order the tires and wheels
for my new car because like they have to be perfect. And, and like, yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[10:43] And precision matters.
Chuck Weinberg:
[10:44] Yeah. And well, I mean, we're working on two, three, four million dollar houses. Like it does
matter. And so like I'm like, how do we fix this? Well, they're really at that time there was no fix. Like
we're these people living. Sorry. These people have been waiting for this the whole time. And now
it's here and it's jacked up. So like the big iterations along the way, we built a shop, made it into 15
countertops a week. So we were doing 15 kitchens a week. And then 2008 hit. It's like, oh, crap,
nobody needs granite countertops. You guys went through that in the building. And so we didn't feel
it right away because we had a lot of new builds. And so people were already started. They were,
you know, they had to finish them. And a lot of times our clients are well-heeled. So, you know,
they're, they're working on a $2 million project down in Bellevue or It's a car or whatever, and
they're just paying cash for it. So it doesn't really matter, but it hit us in June of 2009. Like it went to
half. That. And I'm like, oh no, what just happened? I literally was thinking, well, maybe, maybe
we're sort of immune to this. And then we weren't. And so it just kept getting crazier and crazier as
a, as a, like something that would be an encouragement to your audience. So I, you know, like it's
my business. I'm personally guaranteed all over this thing, land buildings, inventory, You know, it
was crazy.
Chuck Weinberg:
[12:09] And as it was starting to really get evident that this is like, this is probably not going to fly like
you guys were on your $15 minimum wage, right? I'm like, I said to my wife of that time, it would
be, well, 15 years ago. So, um, 25, 25 years. I said, Hey, just, you know, if this crashes, we're
starting over. Like we're, we're starting at zero. Like I didn't know how far below zero, but we were
going to at least be zero because like my name is Amazon, all of this stuff. And like this fast, she

said, you need, you need to partner like this. She said, well, when we got married, we didn't have
anything and it was okay. So you just go do what you can do and it'll be funny.
Chuck Weinberg:
[12:54] And so it, it took, it took about another eight months for that to end. And it ended pretty, I
would say ugly because my former partner did whatever was legal for him to do. And so we left with
all that blood, sweat, and tears of the company, like the countertop company that I actually built.
Like he didn't really do any of that. That I built, I handed the keys over to him with zero, like literally
with no money. Like I didn't have, I didn't have a loss, but I, I had all the loss of, you know, that, that
10 years and of all the blood, sweat and tears and, you know, you know, no, no paychecks for
months on end and those kinds of things. So then hopping into real estate, there was a, there was
a time of like, well, now what do I want to do when I grow, when I grow up? Right. Yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[13:49] And how old were you at this time? I mean, you were like mid fifties?
Chuck Weinberg:
[13:51] Well, so yes, 50. Yeah. 51.
Rachael Novak:
[13:55] 51. Okay. 51. So you're at, you're 51 years old, you're at zero. Yeah, we have a super cool
house that we built. You're right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[14:06] And, but a payment that we really couldn't afford. So like I started having to take distributions
off my retirement that I had built just to make it because like that was a big nut and now I have
nothing. So I did a bunch of different things and, you know, just trying to find, you know, like some
synergy of like, hey, I really want to do this.

Life Lessons from Business Struggles
Chuck Weinberg:
[14:26] And that I actually went back. It was, I would say it was humbling and good at the same time.
I went back and had an ownership stake at the, a local Les Schwab store, which is really unusual.
It's super good privilege. And, you know, like I'm not, I was not nearly as fit as I am now, but I was
fit enough. And like, I, like I want to work, I want to help customers. I don't want a big, long wait.
And at this store, like we really couldn't get a bunch of people that actually wanted to work hard.
And so I was there for a whole year and I said to the owners, I really appreciated the opportunity,
but I said, listen, in 12 years, I'm going to own 50% of this company, which is like, again, thank you.
Rachael Novak:
[15:10] But in five years.
Chuck Weinberg:
[15:11] I'm not going to be able to walk because last Monday when we did $19,000 in sales, I did

12,500 of those. And like, you know, there's days when you're just doing a rotation and there's no
money that comes up, but like, literally what is one of the oldest guys in the store doing 60% of the
business like and like how long is that sustainable and it was an hour drive there and an hour and a
half back traffic and so I just said this is this is dumb I got to do something else went into cars and,
Cars was fun and not fun because I always felt like I can't really help. So in car sales, for me, it was
like, if the dealership wins, that means the customer is going to lose. Right? So if the dealership is
really going to make a bunch of money, that means the customer is going to lose. And then
conversely, if the customer gets a really good deal, then the dealership doesn't win. And then on
both of those, my paycheck is dependent on that. So into real estate, it was like, Hey, I don't have
any inventory. I don't have any employees. Like I don't have any accounts receivable, you know,
like at Les Schwab, I had a million dollars accounts receivable that I had to, that I had to manage
because like, those were all accounts I set up.
Chuck Weinberg:
[16:32] And so, and in real estate, like, I don't, I don't have any of those negatives, but I also have
the positive. If, if I help somebody win as a buyer or a seller, I still get paid. And on the other side
they win right so like everybody is happy sometimes everybody is less happy and they still win right
yeah yeah that's still a win sometimes yeah but but everybody it's negotiated up front basically
what we're going to make and so everybody knows what the deal is when they go into it so for me
it's really freeing because like i can just go help these people and i can help them like i can swing
for the fences for them and like i the the people with 14 like they're just like we we had no idea you
could actually get this done for us and they got in with their va but they got in with zero money out
of their pocket they got all their earnest money back incredible right that's incredible no wonder
they're happy well and they had a whole bunch of money and i said like how about if we just let you
keep it um and your payment will be a little bit higher, but it's not that much. Um, so just keep all
your cash and, you know, so like, that's the really fun part when you can get creative and help them
win.
Rachael Novak:
[17:42] Yeah, exactly. Totally. Yeah. So when, I mean, I love that trajectory and you can kind of see
the progression of, you know, management ownership, then back to, no, I, I know the difference
between wanting to hold accounts receivable, wanting to be responsible for employees and then
getting into real estate, which is 100% dependent on your output, right? Like your output will
determine your input. And so it's a freeing kind of industry in that way, but it also presents a lot of
challenges. Hold on a second.
Chuck Weinberg:
[18:13] I do want to say, because I started with this thought. I, I do think that a lot of people, not
everybody, but a lot of people, maybe they're not high enough D to, to pull this off, but there's a real
fear of starting over.
Rachael Novak:
[18:29] Like they're going to fail.

Chuck Weinberg:
[18:30] And I heard, I heard something the other day that the, the young males in a, in the U S one
of the biggest problems we have is they're so afraid of failure that they won't try anything. And so
for me, like trying all those things, even as I was a kid, you know, I did a whole bunch of things.
Like you can, you literally can start over at 40 and you can start over at 50.
Rachael Novak:
[18:53] I'm proof. Exactly.
Chuck Weinberg:
[18:54] So don't be afraid to take this. I mean, they're similar, you know, like countertops and house
sales are similar. Like there's some connectivity.
Rachael Novak:
[19:06] Yeah, of course.
Chuck Weinberg:
[19:07] But they're also like some, they're really different, right? But don't be afraid to jump off. Like if
it's something you want to do, like go do it. Like the worst that can happen is you're starting over
again. Exactly. Like who cares? If you know how to make money, you're going to make money,
right? Right, exactly. And don't stay in the place, like for me, a bunch of my friends, love them, a
bunch of my friends stayed in at that tire business for their whole careers. And a lot of them, their
bodies are shot. They gave everything for the company to then like retire to not be able to do
anything. And like, why?
Rachael Novak:
[19:52] Yeah. That diminishes the quality of life later in life. Right. Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[19:55] But I just want people to know, like, I am proof that you can totally start when you're old and
do something new. You totally should.
Rachael Novak:
[20:05] I love it. Is real estate what you expected? Does it feel the same as when you were first
considering it and getting into it? Does it feel the same that you expected or is it different in how, if
it is?
Chuck Weinberg:
[20:16] Yeah, I don't know. I didn't have a bunch of expectations, I guess. I expected to come in and
work hard and have to talk to a bunch of people. You know, like I was, I was on a, a name, I'm not
going to name the name because everybody in here, everybody who listened to this would know
the person big big team and like there was some you know like overselling of what was what was
going to be happening and that's fine you know like that's that's just life it's business i think what i
was expecting was maybe more support i had less support um not that people were not supportive
right as much as as an example my, at that time, when I first started, my team leader lived a block

away, like literally a block away from me. And I had two offers to write on the same night, which like
first world problem.
Rachael Novak:
[21:14] Yeah. It's a blessing. Yeah, exactly.
Chuck Weinberg:
[21:16] But I didn't know jack about what I was supposed to be doing. Like we didn't have this offer
writing SOP, you know, like you got to send, submit your practice offers. We didn't have any of that.

The Reality of Real Estate
Chuck Weinberg:
[21:25] And so I told my wife, I said, Hey, you got to give me like four hours.
Rachael Novak:
[21:30] Yeah literally because i fumbled my way through this i was scared to death like i don't know
what i'm missing like i've never written an offer well and isn't that like that is one thing that when i
talk to people who are considering coming into the industry or people who are new to the industry a
lot of people team leaders you know like broker owners will kind of sell this as easier than it is and,
they say oh just go through school and then like you know you're you're a licensed agent like it is
the lowest barrier of entry of any industry that i know where you can make this kind of like that has
this kind of upside potential right and income and so people coming into the industry, getting your
license doing that 90-hour course teaches you almost nothing right about the actual day-to-day and
business generation and actual execution of like writing contracts and negotiating so it's that that
for me was like a big like expectation shift where i went through the course and i was like i learned
absolutely nothing that i was hoping to understand so now i gotta go get a coach like i gotta go now
learn yeah yeah how do i how do i negotiate.
Chuck Weinberg:
[22:38] This offer what is a good offer writing strategy you know like how do i help this can i have
one right now how do i help this contingent offer person like how do i help them navigate like is it
better to do some kind of bridge loan or is it better to like try and get pre-approved with both of their
houses, all the things, you know, like there's a bunch, there's cost, right? What makes the most
sense for them? You don't learn any of that. And if you don't have a bunch of kind of ballers around
you who are talking about, like we talk about offer strategy all the time and what's the market feel
like to you guys? You know, like now we do pre-inspections on every listing. Well, if you don't do
that. And we see the ones that don't. And so then you, I tell our buyers, well, we can, we can do
pending inspection. And then if you like, you literally is going to give you like five days to decide if
you like this. I mean, it's going to cost you 500 bucks to get it inspected, but you, you can walk
away. And, you know, so like, we don't, we don't want to take, we don't want to have that as a
reason Billy for people to get out of a contract. So we do that up front, but you don't learn any of
that. But that also makes it so like when we're dealing with the the young chucks, right, who this is
their first offer, like there's a bunch of opportunity and there's a bunch of frustration because they

don't know jack squat. And so like they're putting their in this case, their buyer in peril because they
don't know anything like they don't know what to ask or to write or anything.
Rachael Novak:
[24:02] And that's what I've seen, especially in the last five years, is that is the biggest struggle in
our industry that I deal with and that I see are the agents who aren't surrounded and have support
and who like you're almost having to coach the other agent, a co-broker on the other side through a
lot of the transaction, which like is tough because you want them to be looking out for their client,
but you're looking out for your client.
Chuck Weinberg:
[24:26] So you.
Rachael Novak:
[24:26] Know there's a balance for sure there what is your favorite part about real estate like what
do you just love about it what what fires you up about real estate.
Chuck Weinberg:
[24:34] Well i would guess like home tours with like the family of 14 like knowing that we can help
them win yeah like not just well i i just went to you know this i just went to a memorial service for a
gal who's 43 and she passed away and she was one of my clients i think i sold her a house five
years ago i was her first, like major purchase after her losing her husband to cancer.
Chuck Weinberg:
[25:01] Like, and Teresa always says, Teresa is my wife. Teresa always says that I have to have
some kids that I'm working with. Like, I, I literally tell them if you were my daughter, this is what I
would tell you to do. Like, so that makes my heart happy is that like, I'm really, really protecting
them. And so like my family of 14, I would say like the mom is my age. Um, she wasn't on the
contract or anything, but the mom is in here. And I said, like, if, if your mom was my sister, I would
say, do this. Or I said to them, you, we looked at these four houses, but honestly this, like I wanted
him to move to our area. I said, but like the only reason that it's as high on the list for you guys as it
is, is because it has a big backyard and you have a dog. And I said, this is going to sound really
weird, but how old is your dog? And they said, well, like nine. I said, what kind of dog is it? And it's
a big dog. And I'm like, so like, I'm not trying to be rude, but you are, are you really said like you,
everybody has said this is a long drive to work, everybody. And so are you setting yourself up for
some.
Chuck Weinberg:
[26:08] And discouragement later, disappointment later, when the dog finally passes away, like
nobody gets off the planet alive, including dogs. And so sooner or later, your dog's going to pass.
And then you're going to be thinking, we bought this house because of the dog that we no longer
have. You know, it's like just being able to be like really transparent and truth telling with them. And
like, I'm not trying to be mean, like they're they're emotional about this house. And like, I want to
sort of separate that emotion with here. But what about this?

Rachael Novak:
[26:39] Yeah, that's that's such a great point, because I think like one of the unspoken superpowers
that we have as real estate agents navigating people through these transactions is the ability to
separate the emotion and pull the emotion out of decisions for them. Like obviously there's there's
a time that you want to capitalize on that emotion right and my capitalize i don't mean take
advantage of but i mean use the momentum and the motivation of that emotion when they walk into
a house and love it like that's when you make quick decisions and you get in there and you write
the offer and you you know get them on a contract and then there's times that you slow it down and
you say well let's let's challenge your thinking a little bit in regards to these couple of things and of
course they then took your advice and gladly so Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[27:18] So my, my contingent client sent me a couple of houses and what, so they looked at Joe's
house first and they love Joe's house. Joe's house is way out, um, 10 acres surrounded by woods.
Can't see any of the neighbor's houses. And, and he is, he's a Lieutenant at Everett police. And so
he, he's like, I love this. This is like, I'm way out in the middle of nowhere. Like there's nobody
around me. This is so peaceful. And so that one of the houses that they sent me today to go look at
literally the first picture you can see the neighbor's house right here and i'm like hey time out.
Rachael Novak:
[27:55] And I'm just like.
Chuck Weinberg:
[27:56] I'm totally happy to show you this house. Like, I like touring with these people. They're fun. I
said, but is this really going to get you what you want? Because literally there's not even a tree in
between. Like, there's about 50 feet based on the pictures in between your houses and not even a
tree. Like, are you sure you want to go see that? And she's like, hey, thanks for pointing that out.
No, we don't.
Rachael Novak:
[28:17] Want to see it. Totally. Yeah. I mean, being able to say like, like, remember the details that
they tell you at these showings. Remember what they liked about different properties and then
bringing it back up. Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[28:25] Yeah. So like, I like being able to, you know, like at the end of the day, we're problem
solvers, right?
Rachael Novak:
[28:31] Yes, exactly.
Chuck Weinberg:
[28:32] And so solutions providers. So yeah, that's the part I like.
Rachael Novak:
[28:35] Yeah. How do you cope with, deal with mentally, you know, find strength through struggle in

a commission only career? Like how do you mentally kind of balance that with the realities of
needing to make money?
Chuck Weinberg:
[28:51] Yeah. Well, I mean, first off you have to have a lot of belief that you're good enough to pull
this off.
Rachael Novak:
[28:57] Right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[28:58] Um, you have to have some reserves. So like you, like when you're, if it's getting down to the
end, you're going to have commission breath. So like, if you don't have very much reserves, then
maybe this isn't a great career for you. I've had a lot of people actually say, there's no way I could
do that. And the people that come from a nine to five or a corporate job that, you know, like I, I
came from at the tire dealership before I moved into the actual ownership. Uh, like literally I took in
a, a $70,000 bonus check into the bank and I said, can I actually just cash this? Like, and they're
like, yep, we know it'll be good. And like, okay, that's like, that's security, right? Like all, all of
everything is paid for where in, in our world now, like nothing is like you, you eat what you catch.
Chuck Weinberg:
[29:53] And so, I mean, I think that if you're timid or you're a bit of a nervous Nelly, it's going to be a
harder jump. If you've got somebody in the background who's, who's got financial assets that can
support you and, and you can just do it at whatever level you want, then I think it's fine because
then you can, you can ball or not ball as much as you want but as like in my world i am the the sole
income earner in our house and so like you got to make hay when the sun shines and like we know
right now it's three times the work for half the pay and so but that just means that you gotta work
exactly yeah and so if you're afraid to work well that's a problem yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[30:40] You're not you're probably not gonna make it you're probably not even listening to this
podcast if you're afraid to work yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[30:43] Yeah, so I mean, but it's also having people around you that are supportive, like
collaborators, encouragers of, hey, you just got to keep going. Life is hard. And I mean, this is kind
of dumb, but a couple of years ago, I ran a marathon. And when I got to the, I'll get choked up
again. When I got to the finish line, all my grandkids were there. And Teresa said, just a couple of
minutes ago, they were all crying. I said, why? why and she said well because they saw all these
people finishing and how much they were suffering and they said they didn't want to see papa
suffer and i said part of the reason that i wanted to do this is so they could see that suffering isn't
bad right yeah so like like it's it's like when you lose like you're in you're in competition season you
know so like you're you're doing something that's really hard that almost nobody is ever going to do
if you lose 50 pounds if you lose 100 pounds all those things look like those are really good Dave
Goggins calls them like his cookie jar things like yeah I'm so I ran a marathon at 60 and I started in

basically in February and I did it in June from scratch at 255 pounds like okay it wasn't fast it
doesn't matter if it was fast yeah you know people ask yeah people ask me what my time was I
said I finished yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[32:10] I have no idea.
Chuck Weinberg:
[32:11] No, I do know.
Rachael Novak:
[32:12] But it doesn't, it doesn't matter because like.
Chuck Weinberg:
[32:15] Uh, like I'm not a runner. Yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[32:17] Like, no, I'm a Jack grandpa.
Chuck Weinberg:
[32:19] Jack grandpa's shouldn't be runners. Um, but like the, those kinds of things give us like
confidence to do other things. So we talk about domains all the time. If you're, if you're struggling in
this domain over here and you get through that, you know, that it's going to help you over here in
these other domains.
Rachael Novak:
[32:37] Right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[32:37] So like, if you're winning and if you're winning and telling yourself no and like in your fitness
like telling yourself no you're not going to eat that like that that is a discipline discipline equals
freedom well that that freedom then translates over here into maybe balance when you wanted to
take a nap but your wife wants you to do something else right so like it it all goes in together and i
think that a lot of people before we came to warrior it was it was okay to win in one or one and a
half domains um but for us now it's like no like that doesn't mean you have to be ascending we talk
about mastering yeah you have to it doesn't mean you have to be ascending at the same rate of all
of all the domains at the same time but you it it drags all of them up when you're winning in these
other things.
Chuck Weinberg:
[33:32] And so, you know, I think the struggle is really helpful in life because, you know, like getting
through. So to answer your question differently, our son, when he was 17, was 40 minutes without
his own pulse. That was early in 2008, March 22nd of 2008. He was 17 years old, six foot one, 185
pounds, MVP of the soccer league, total stud athlete, 4-0 student, like heartthrob of all the girls and
40 minutes without his own pulse. And so like going through, like as a parent, like what just
happened, right? What is, what is God trying to tell us? And then ironically in September of 2008,

2008 happened. And I told Grant, well, sorry, bud, you part, part of the reason that you had to go
through that is to get us ready to go through that, um, to go through the next thing, you know? So
like, here's a, here's a balance kid, you know like parental part over here is business they're not
really linked and they're totally linked absolutely yeah and so like your your guys's struggle in 2008
helped you in 2017, that then helps you today right in all the things so i mean i think that the
struggle is really good even though most of the time when we're right in the middle of it we hate it.
Rachael Novak:
[34:59] Yeah exactly yeah it's It's like every struggle that you deal with in any domain prepares you
mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually for dealing with bigger struggles in any other domain,
right? Like just because we had like business issues, like that's the mental toughness and the
resiliency and the grit that we had to exercise that we had to build through those really tough years
in business translate really well now to going through prep. And the mental struggle that it is every
single day, not taking one bite off plan, making sure I get all my meals in, prioritizing the workouts,
right? It's a lot. So that totally makes sense. When you think about somebody who may have
experienced real estate, so we kind of spoke to new people, right? Thinking about coming in. But
what about the people who have maybe experienced some level of success, especially in the fun
years, the 2020, 2021, when the buyers were plentiful

Navigating Industry Challenges
Rachael Novak:
[35:55] and the market was insane and super fun, everybody's getting paid left and right. And who
are now maybe silently struggling like maybe they've they've kind of hit this wall where they're like I
don't know if I can make it anymore in this industry like what what kind of advice would you give to
that person to kind of get through this season of struggle.
Chuck Weinberg:
[36:12] Yeah. Well, I mean, so Rachel knows us. So right now a bunch of my bandwidth is going to
our being domain with church and school stuff. And like, I don't really love it. And it's, it's where
God's got me right now. So like for, for somebody who, the reason I bring that in is you have to
make the main thing, the main thing.
Chuck Weinberg:
[36:35] And so a lot of times people want to like say, well that really isn't the main thing so for me
right now i have i have a lot of things i have a lot of capacity not as much as mike but i have a lot of
capacity and i'm i'm i'm burning a lot of hours and like that's that's who i am that's not who my wife
is it's totally fine i don't want her necessarily we don't need more of me or mike's or or you we got
we got plenty of us yeah but but we do need us right like the world needs us crazy people and we
also need the people who are more calm right and so it it really depends on i think on their
personality type i mean it's we can get discouraged you and i can get discouraged it doesn't feel
like mike can but we can get discouraged because we're higher i maybe and so like we're a little
more connected with people emotional um yeah um so we can we can get discouraged and but if
you're um if you're a high d if you have a higher d um and you've had success well then it's just it

literally is a decision yeah d um it's a decision of like do i want to make this the main thing and if
you don't want to make it the main thing it's totally fine i already said start something else but like at
the end of the day like where are you going to make this kind of money like are you are you willing
to put in the work to do this or not.
Rachael Novak:
[38:01] Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[38:01] And if you don't, you're going to keep having the same exact things as you do. So for me, I
really need to take some of my being. My domain calendar slots off of off my calendar because i
need.
Rachael Novak:
[38:17] To focus on business yeah and so like i have to make the main thing the.
Chuck Weinberg:
[38:21] Main thing because it is way harder yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[38:24] Yeah you go through seasons where you have to prioritize a domain maybe a little bit more
accentuate a little bit more a little bit more energy into it for sure yeah it's like you know when it
comes to the the mentality of staying in the industry or not i think where people where it starts to go
wrong is considering other options right like the second that you if you've been in real estate for a
while and maybe you're struggling right now maybe it's you know the market is really tough it's
really tough it's still going it's still possible it's we're still selling houses yeah but it's much much
more difficult to your point it's you're doing three times the work for half the pay right now, which
that's just the market that we're in. But the second that you kind of go, what else could I do or
consider this as an option instead of the main thing? That's like the first tiptoe into potential failure
in this domain. You know what I mean? And so like it's for us, there's never a question like this is
the main thing, right? And we continue to make it the main thing and we continue to prioritize it and
treat it like the main thing. And by funneling that energy consistently into there without waffling on
the decision keeps us all going right keeps our business running.
Chuck Weinberg:
[39:35] Yeah. So you could, to your point, I mean, it is the, the tiptoe off of the, off the path is like,
it's, I've, in my mind, I had a slip and slide on a hill in mine, right? Like, you're not going to get very
many steps and you're going to be, you're going to be slamming the back of your head against the
grass and you're going to be flying down this hill. But it's your choice, right? It's your life. And so
don't waffle on it. Decide, okay, I have to double or triple down over here to make the same amount
of money. I literally talked to a gal. We were in a transaction together last fall. And she's been an
agent for 20, I think she told me 20 years. Solid agent. And like was really, was great to work with,
was really looking out for her clients. You know, like it was really good. She knows what she's
doing.

Chuck Weinberg:
[40:27] And she, towards the end, she's like, man, this has just been a really tough year. It's super
hard. And she said, I'm thinking about like doing something else. And I'm like, time out. Like it has
nothing to do with me. Like you, it's your life. It's your decision. I totally get it. But let's just pause
here a second. You're you're selling she's not on a team so like maybe that's part of it you're selling
a house that's seven hundred thousand dollars you're going to get a check for two and a half
percent of that and you don't have to split it with anybody so tell me where are you going to go that
you can make what is that seventeen thousand sixteen thousand dollars where are you going to go
that you can make sixteen or seventeen thousand dollars in one month mm-hmm, You go get a job
somewhere. I'm totally not trying to talk you out of this, but if you go get a job somewhere and you
make 25 or 30 bucks an hour, let's say you make 30 bucks an hour, that's 60K a year, quick math.
And then you're going to have all of the deductions. So you're going to make 50. You have to do
three and a half of these transactions for the whole year to make that money.
Rachael Novak:
[41:35] Such a good perspective. Like, yeah. I said, like, I get it.
Chuck Weinberg:
[41:38] It's super hard, but like, are you going to just be able to jump over and make $150,000
somewhere? Probably not. Maybe, like maybe. But I mean, she's been a real estate broker for 20
years. I don't know where she's going.
Rachael Novak:
[41:50] Right.
Chuck Weinberg:
[41:51] That she's going to make that kind of money. And so like, it really is like looking that gift
horse. The gift horse for us is real estate. And like, yeah, I mean, it sucks that it's way harder and
it's going to eliminate a bunch of people.
Rachael Novak:
[42:05] Well, you know, when you have the mentality, like we do, like on our team, it's just like, it
takes what it takes. You know, it's not like it takes my best or it takes, you know, everything. It's like
it simply takes what it takes. Like if you remove the emotion and the feeling of it being hard and the
feeling of not wanting to and the feeling of what used to be easier and it should be a certain way,
remove the emotion completely from the equation and simply recognize that in this industry, it takes
what it takes to get the results, period. So whether that's one year where I sold 52 homes and I
made 54 phone calls for those and boom, we're good. Or now we're making thousands of phone
calls and

Redefining Success
Rachael Novak:
[42:49] we're closing half as many deals. That's just what it takes. And so having that mentality
really can kind of get you through that. So, all right, as we wind down, walk me through how your

perspective on success has changed throughout your life and what is success the same to you
now? What does it mean to you now as it was 20 years ago as a tire guy?
Chuck Weinberg:
[43:09] Yeah, I mean, that is kind of a funny perspective shift, you know, especially as you have kids
and then grandkids, right? I remember as, so I, I came into the tire business, started at the bottom.
I was in the restaurant business before that. And I was probably one of the youngest people at the
restaurant and I was the assistant manager. And I'm still actually friends with the owners of that. It's
not that restaurant anymore, but we're still friends. and like.
Chuck Weinberg:
[43:41] To, for him, he said, I have that it thing. Like, I didn't know what that really meant. You know,
like, like I'm, we're just different. Right. Um, and he could see that. And he still sees that today. He's
like, I don't have anybody that I can give the keys to meaning I don't have anybody who is, who
actually wants to take on this responsibility for the financial benefit even today. So, but I left that
pretty good position and a really favored position because like he, he saw me as his all-american
kid and i mean he he was a train wreck he still is a train wreck um but but he's a smart business
guy and knows how to make money in restaurants so like i had i was in a good spot and i was just
like i i see this lush wab thing and like they had they they paid for retirement like i'm i'm 19 years
old like what am i thinking about retirement for me um and so at that time i literally left um that good
thing for this good thing starting from the bottom you know like and in a really hard way to to make
a living and it was super fun.
Rachael Novak:
[44:44] Very physical it.
Chuck Weinberg:
[44:45] Was fun um because it was fun because we had a really good team right and there was
some craziness but um i remember thinking because i was i was friends with the manager just like
i'm friends with the novacs right like he was he was the guy um and i was one of the youngest guys
on the team and like Like, I didn't really care. Like, I liked him.
Rachael Novak:
[45:06] I still like him.
Chuck Weinberg:
[45:07] I literally, I had breakfast with him when we went to Arizona, you know, and he's older than
me. But we talked about going RVing when we retired, like getting in an RV and like have our two
RVs and we're just going to go drive around. Right. So like that seemed like a successful thing. And
then as we moved to be a system manager and a manager, I remember taking Teresa to Gig
Harbor to a Street of Dreams thing, which in our area, they have like. Just kind of crazy houses.
Rachael Novak:
[45:39] Yeah.

Chuck Weinberg:
[45:39] And we did a bunch of them in the stone business, ironically. But I remember touring these
houses and I said to her, we're going to have a house like this. And like, I thought it was going to be
with Les Schwab, right? I thought it was going to be part of, so like in my head, that was success,
you know, like just go up the ladder, you know, be a sys manager, manager, zone manager, like
wherever it goes. But this tire business is going to get me this, this big baller house. So like, I guess
that was in my head, you know, like security and cool house. And then when I started in the stone
business, we actually built a really cool house. And I just posted yesterday, like, it's weird. You've,
you've done this very recently. It's weird when you design and build your own house and then you
sell it. Like you can't really appreciate that until you do it. And so like Teresa didn't want me to build
this crazy house because she's like, we don't need this big house. And I'm like, well, I want to do it.
And so I was doing it while running the granite company.
Chuck Weinberg:
[46:46] And it was super fun, really challenging. It turned out amazing. Exactly. Like I, like I almost
wouldn't change anything. And she, she walked in, it was two and a half times bigger than our last
house that she said that she didn't even want this house. And she said that one was fine. And she
said in one month, she felt like the big house, as we call it, was home. And it took her like three
years to say that at the little house. And I'm like, hmm, okay. So like we had that success. And then
while we were, you know, so like in real estate terms in 2021, it was just, right um that 2005 2006
2007 was like the same in the stone business yeah like it was crazy yeah um like we like.
Rachael Novak:
[47:34] Those builders that's i mean.
Chuck Weinberg:
[47:35] It was plentiful yeah i mean and and we had a really cool niche because i would actually
travel to these other countries handpick the slabs put them in a container deliver them to our shop
um we were we were like first rate like it was really cool. Um, and so my, my idea of success then
would have been to like have more locations, you know, like, uh, okay. Like what am I doing driving
over to the tri cities where my restaurant friend is like, wouldn't it be cool just to have a, like a, an
airplane.
Rachael Novak:
[48:06] You know, like fly over for the day.
Chuck Weinberg:
[48:07] So you just like all of a sudden think, okay, here, here's what success looks like is like, uh,
like I'd like to have a private jet. And then all of a sudden God says, Hey, time out, 2008 is going to
happen. Might want to have a little check on that. So that like, I mean, that's a really humbling
restart. And it's like, okay, then it's a priority. Like, okay, what is really important? I think I've told you
this story. These people haven't heard the story. So one of my clients in the countertop business is
a builder, was a builder. And the husband had never done anything but build houses for himself. So
kind of like Mike was before 2008. Like this was the only thing he'd ever done. And in 2004, 2005,
2006, they were buying countertops from us and like selling these houses. And she was a real

estate broker. So, and she's like, our life was just amazing. Like we didn't, we didn't even look at a
budget. We didn't have to budget. Like we just did things and money just kept pouring in. Like it
was nuts. And she said, and then 2008 hit and she's like, oh no. And they had the same experience
as you like start zero. His mom, owns manufactured home park down like in Kent. He's up here. He
went to be the handyman, the maintenance man for that park.
Rachael Novak:
[49:27] Oh, wow.
Chuck Weinberg:
[49:28] And she went to work at Walmart. Okay?
Rachael Novak:
[49:30] Like from doing all the things.
Chuck Weinberg:
[49:33] From plentiful to humble. She did the exact same thing that you guys did. They were building
their dream house right in front of their mother-in-law's house. Like, so like in this lot right in front
and they lost it. And so every... Holiday, they have to drive by that house like that they were building
and they lost it. She's like, but that isn't the crazy part. The crazy part is, is all of our friends, all, like
all the people that we hung out with as couples either committed suicide or went bankrupt or
divorced. And she's like, except us. And she's like, it's so life-changing. And so like now we step
back and think, we were, we were stupid. Like what were we doing? Right.
Rachael Novak:
[50:20] Because like you have all this money and you think like.
Chuck Weinberg:
[50:23] This is the thing.
Rachael Novak:
[50:24] Yeah. And it's like, that's a pinnacle of success.
Chuck Weinberg:
[50:26] Yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[50:26] And it's like, okay.
Chuck Weinberg:
[50:27] But like, what are you, what are you doing with that money? So then as, as like, that was a
really good perspective change. Teresa's comment about like, we started, we literally started with
nothing when I, I mean, I remember going to the Olympic game farm in Squim and it hopped into
our car and there was no credit cards back then. I mean, we got married in 83. This probably was
before we even got married. So we just went on a day trip. And I think I probably had like a hundred
dollars, like a hundred dollars and thinking, I hope my car doesn't break down because we're
driving like three hours. And like, okay, things have changed a little bit. Right. You know, so like now

what does success look like? It really is like setting setting up my kids and grandkids for success
later you know so like i mean we get to travel and our grandkids some of them are pissed when we
go on vacation without them which like that's that's great like at least they like us right but you know
like looking at your kids and thinking, wow, we did that.
Chuck Weinberg:
[51:38] And you know, my kids, they're not perfect, but they're doing it so much better than, than we
were doing it. And so like, if I make money, that's great. Like I get to support them, but like, that's
like, what do you buy with that? Right. And so like, yeah, we get to, We get to go on fun trips and
we really work our asses off in all the domains. We do. But at the end of the day, like, you can have
a whole bunch of money and...
Chuck Weinberg:
[52:11] Those kids and grandkids are where it's at um so like they don't i i have a i'll say a friend i
have i had a client at in the counter or in the actually he was in the countertop business as well but
at in the tire business and he was a pilot for a private guy so this guy owned a the bayliner brand
before it sold to brunswick he was one of the owners he got 400 million of the 500 million so like
they sold it and so this guy you know he has a wealth management company that sits at his hangar
you know like we actually he toured me through the hangar uh like this is like baller lifestyle like
whoa when the world and he's like you know it's it's really he's like i i finally had to quit and i'm like
why did you quit that deal he's like well i mean things like uh he wants to go to Fiji and at
Thanksgiving. And this guy has a family and he's like, and his family doesn't want to join him. And
he literally will pick them up in his $25 million private jet and take them and fly them onto the
helicopter to spend time on 165 foot boat. Like that's everything is done for you. And he's like, and
they don't want to join him. And he's like, did he win?
Rachael Novak:
[53:33] Right. Is that You know, so, like, the saying.
Chuck Weinberg:
[53:36] He who dies with the most toys wins, really? Like, that guy didn't win. You know, so, like, we
talk about in Warrior Code, like, if you're, so, like, that guy totally won in business.
Rachael Novak:
[53:48] Totally.
Chuck Weinberg:
[53:48] Right?
Rachael Novak:
[53:48] Yeah. Like, grand. Hundred millionaire. Yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[53:50] Yeah.

Rachael Novak:
[53:51] Grand's, like, yeah.
Chuck Weinberg:
[53:52] I mean, literally now, if he's still alive, he's a billionaire, for sure. Like, that money didn't just
go away.
Rachael Novak:
[53:57] Right. But he...
Chuck Weinberg:
[54:00] I don't know, know him, but he lost in balance for sure. Right. And I don't, I saw a couple of
pictures of him. He, he's losing in body. And so like, okay. To, to win, to get an A in one domain and
to get D's, C's, F's in the other ones, like he didn't win. And so my, I mean, even in the last six
months, my idea of success has really even changed. My perspective has changed with Warrior.
And I know we talk about it a lot, but it really is a game changer.
Rachael Novak:
[54:40] Love it. Well, is there any final parting words that you want to give any encouragement, any
inspo? We've gone through your whole journey. We've gone through the ability to start over and
create a successful career and dominate each domain after 50 years old, which is incredible.

Final Thoughts and Encouragement
Rachael Novak:
[54:59] Very encouraging to a lot of people, I'm sure. Any final words?
Chuck Weinberg:
[55:02] Like, are these people on Warrior?
Rachael Novak:
[55:05] Some maybe, but I think I...
Chuck Weinberg:
[55:07] I mean, if you're not on Warrior, I would definitely do some research into that. I mean, it
really is. I mean, I think that we were all running at a higher level than most, not everybody, but
than most. And then when Mike started and then the rest of us started to kind of... Peering under
the hood of what he was doing. We were like, this is, this is different. And I mean, it was a pretty
serious level up from already a high level. I would say, you know, like it's not as big of a decision as
like, where are you going to spend eternity? But it's a pretty big decision like to, to leave a bunch of
things on the table when really all, all you have to do is to face the facts and to start being truthful
with yourself and then saying, okay, what am I going to do about what, where I'm at, I think is a
really helpful process for, I don't know anybody that can't benefit from it.
Rachael Novak:
[56:08] Yeah, I totally agree. So what Chuck's talking about is the warrior movement, our warrior

agent coaching company. And then I have the wartime CEO mastermind for the ladies as well. So
yeah, it's, you know, it's, it's been kind of the game changer in our business and in all of our
personal lives who are still on the team to really be able to live with incredible intention and
proactivity and not live in a state of reactivity ever just about it's been it's been.
Chuck Weinberg:
[56:34] Yeah and then we we've talked recently about like it's it's exhausting to be working on all the
domains at all the time to be trying to level them up because i think for most people you know you
get to a place of homeostasis so like this is this is what i do all the time and and like that's a
comfortable place and people like to be comfortable. Like when you go home, you like to be
comfortable. Even, even us drivers like to be comfortable at times. And so for a lot of people, it
really is a stretch, but if you want to really like experience, I think more of what you're supposed to
be doing in life here. Um, like I have, I have never seen anything that is like this. And so again like
i'm i'm not getting paid for that i was gonna say thanks for the shameless plug yeah but but it really
is true and um it it's a lot of work just like real estate's a lot of work and it's not bad like do the work
yeah.
Rachael Novak:
[57:36] Do the work love it well thank you chuck this has been fun this has been really enjoyable uh
we will see you next time on the growth drivers podcast.