The Mindset That Actually Builds Freedom

The right mindset can turn a lost start into a life you’re proud to lead—and we show you how in this conversation.

We sit down with a first-gen immigrant, Marine veteran, and now independent insurance agency owner to unpack what it really takes to build freedom—personally and professionally. From a small Nebraska town to Afghanistan to launching a relationship-driven brokerage, we get specific about the habits, leadership moves, and systems that actually compound.

You’ll hear how military discipline became “life’s Adderall,” why the independent model is beating the big brands, and how to scale without losing your soul. We get honest about divorces, resets, hiring young talent, and building a team that holds each other accountable at one big sales table—no ivory towers, just real work.

We also pressure-test the future: AI’s role in service businesses, what should be automated (and what never will), and how to protect the human edge—trust, speed, and genuine relationships. Along the way we talk generational progress, immigrant grit, and the quiet power of podcasting to build real partnerships.

📌 Key Topics:
 ✅ From Marine Corps lessons to leading a civilian team with clarity and trust
 ✅ Why independent insurance is winning—and the real economics behind it
 ✅ Turning “big goals” into daily actions with backward planning and accountability
 ✅ Balancing tradition and innovation so tech speeds you up, not thins you out
 ✅ Hiring for character, coaching for skill, and letting people learn by doing
 ✅ Mindset shifts that create freedom: discipline, consistency, and earned confidence
 ✅ The future of AI in service industries—and how to keep the human advantage
 ✅ Relationships as a strategy: lending, real estate, podcasting, and community

Listen in, then pick one system, one habit, or one relationship to strengthen this week—and watch your freedom compound.

Chapters: 

00:00 Introduction and Guest Background

00:28 Early Life and Joining the Military

02:01 Military Experience and Personal Growth

03:49 Transition to Civilian Life and Insurance Career

06:02 Building an Independent Insurance Agency

08:16 Challenges and Strategies in the Insurance Industry

18:28 Leadership and Team Development

20:59 Applying Military Lessons to Business

33:37 Reflections on Life and Generational Progress

35:52 The Immigrant Experience and Entrepreneurship

37:51 Challenges and Realities of the Insurance Industry

43:16 The Importance of Mindset and Hard Work

47:23 Balancing Tradition and Innovation in Business

52:44 The Future of AI and Its Impact on Industries

01:02:32 The Value of Relationships and Personal Connections

01:04:10 Podcasting and Learning from Experts

01:05:03 Final Thoughts and Consistency in Success

Transcript

Let's go. Jr. Appreciate you coming through. We actually never officially met before today, so I reached out to you on Instagram, your local guy, and, uh, have a podcast yourself and had some similarities and figured, uh, get in and let you tell your story and get to know you a little bit better. So, appreciate you coming through.

Why don't you, uh, just kind of start off and, uh, tell us about your hometown and everything about you and, uh, what you're doing now, most importantly. Absolutely. Well, thank you Ryan, for, for having me in the first place. I really appreciate the invitation. Um, yeah, I mean, I've been, so my JR Rivera was a.

Born in Mexico. Actually, I'm a first generation immigrant, came here in the United States when I was a, a child, and, um, grew up for the most part in a small town, west Point, Nebraska, that's about 3000 people. Uh, just about an hour north west of, of Omaha. And, um, growing up, um, you know, immigrant parents trying to figure things out.

Uh, graduated in oh nine and, uh, as of then there, my grades weren't the best. You know, like a lot of us, uh, um, not, hadn't really figured what I wanted in life. And, um. I, I was ambitious, but I didn't have a sense of purpose and I felt like the direction that I was going was definitely not a correct one, and I'm glad that I caught that.

And the, I, I always say that the thing that really saved me was the, I don't know, I don't even remember exactly what triggered it, but another person was joining the, the Marines and um, and it triggered me to say, Hey, f it, why not? Let's give it a shot. I joined the military. I went off to boot camp and, and, and tried that out, not knowing a single thing.

I had no idea there was any swimming in the Marine Corps. I had no idea that there was, I was so naive. Didn't understand how things worked really at that, at that point in my life. But I knew that I wanted to do something significant. I just had no idea how to get there. Mm-hmm. Or what that was. So I, I joined, uh, the military, experienced that, you know, hopped around obviously from training to training.

Trained in Fort Knox, Kentucky, um, as a tank mechanic. Went back and got stationed in 29 palms. Good old stumps, you know, sounds tropical, but it's the middle of nowhere, California. Uh, a little bit of a hellhole. Uh, but I, I learned to love and appreciate the people that you're working with. Uh, I heard it saying the other day, I think it went, I'm probably chop this off, but I think it was, uh, you, you don't necessarily love the circus, but you, you do miss the clowns, you know, and it's a, it's a little bit of that, that mix of people that were talking a little bit before the podcast, the melting pot.

Yeah. Different cultures, ideas, individuals, but that don't really, at the end of the day, worry about that individualism. You worry about the mission, you worry about each other, you worry about the team. And, uh, I learned to love that. I really learned to love that. So, um, you know, I was in the military for a while there.

I did one push to Afghanistan, uh, as a completely different billet, different job, different with the same unit, but different different position with motor t. And, uh, when I came back, uh, we got put in a, as a training, NCO, so, you know, pretty quickly leading Marines as 20 years old. So, so definitely a, a.

Game changer. I think in my career it kind of started, I feel like my career in business because, um, as, as weird as it sounds, there's so much, so much of the same stuff that you learn from that, from those experiences being in charge of people, helping people, dealing with personalities, trying to figure out yourself at the, at the same time and, um, you know, making the decision of what's next.

As I was transitioning out it, it was a kind of a daunting task to figure that out. But first things first, I had a kid and I decided to get married pretty quickly after, so the decision was where was I gonna go after that? So I decided to move back here to Omaha, Nebraska. Um, with my now ex-wife, had a kid, uh, start a family and I was, I was back into, into, uh, the Nebraska environment and got into insurance out of kind of coincidence.

It was, uh, just, I was working, uh, as cashier part-time as I was doing the GI bill, using the GI bill, going to UNO, getting my business degree, and met, uh, kind of a OG of insurance here in town. Good friend of mine, still a State Farm agent, gave me an opportunity and I started working for him pretty, I mean, he offered me, I think it was a Sunday, that next Monday at 7:00 AM I was at his office.

He didn't open until nine, but I was there at the parking lot, just waiting. I had no idea. Even the dress code or anything. Yeah, I showed up in cargo shorts and you know, button up thinking, I was like, all right, you know, let's figure this out right now. Uh, but I think he liked the, the purity and the, I guess, naiveness and said, Hey, there's something to this guy, you know, he wants to do something here.

And, uh, coincidence, I had the same last name as him, so maybe that helped. I don't know. But, um, started insurance then. That was in 20, early 2015, so now about 11 years. And so that kind of started the career in, in insurance and, uh, few different developments. Now, you know, I have an insurance agency, access insurance, and we, for the most part, our agency focuses on providing services in a little bit different manner than the traditional agency.

We're not the normal, I would say. Um, big brand name, you know, let the company logo do the selling for us. We're very proactive and relationship based, so we're really intricately entwined in the real estate transaction, which I think sets us apart in the way we talk to clients and the way we approach the sale and the pre the way we provide the services.

And, uh, and then, so our team also operates at a little bit different pace. So, so what, uh, why why'd you transition to that way of doing business versus, I assume you were with State Farm for a while, staying with State Farm, letting the, the State Farm, the Allstate, the whatever big brand, do the marketing for you and people just show up and knock on your door.

Well, I saw the number one, I saw that I was losing a lot. You know, you see that? The, the, the writings on the wall, if you know, you wanna say it that way. It's, you see the market changing, the industry changing the industry shifting it. It used to be that those big brand captive companies, as they're called in the, in the industry, they used to hold, uh, really large portion, well over 50% of the market.

And now it's backwards to where the independent side is controlling the majority of the market and they're, you know, shrinking every year. And I think it's the number one. There's, I think the other side of the spectrum, the assurances, the automated, everything online for different personalities. You're gonna get people that prefer that.

The independent individuals, the ones that like the tech, the app, and don't wanna talk to anybody else. But I think there's still a large portion of the population that still wants to hold somebody accountable, maybe have somebody to talk to, maybe ask for a suggestion, ask questions, and on a situation base, you know, have somebody to go to.

And, uh, not only that, but maybe provide multiple options at once, which, where the brokerage model really comes into play. And so that space has really grown over the last few years. So I saw the writing on the wall, I saw where things were going. Not only that, but you know, the, the pricing too. I saw their pricing really going up and up and up and having, having had a lot of trouble really getting.

My footing in the industry and to where I was losing a lot to the independent agents. So I was like, all right, that's the way to go, you know? And when I decided to jump and kind of create my own career, as I stepped away from that other agency, I knew that that was the direction that I was gonna head, and I took it.

That was 20, 20 19. So, so you started in your, your new business in 2019, or did you just kind of go more independent from there and just so I, I, I partnered up with a real estate operation. Okay. Right off the bat. There was an idea, a good friend of mine, uh, that's also in the industry, you know, big agency guy.

We all kind of started, uh, from the same some place. He was actually related to the agent that I was working with. He is, uh, his son-in-law. And, uh, he great guy. We, you know, he was, he was phenomenal what he was doing with State Farm himself. And when he jumped, he decided to open up his own independent office.

I was like, what you doing bro? What you guys got going on? You guys are awesome. You guys have your stuff together mean, obviously they're figuring things out themselves. Uh, because it was a brand new, you know, brand new waters. You kind of have to figure things out and there's no support. You gotta stay farm behind you all.

Stay American family. They have huge support systems. The independent, nobody, it's, you figure it out. You know, you work with these carriers, but it's not the thing. Is it very much relationship based? Like if, you know, if I'm a carrier, you and I have a better relationship, or you do more volume on my carrier, you get a little bit better deal.

Or how's that work? It, I mean, getting the, it's a lot different market now. Uh, back then it didn't really matter. It was kind of a open market. You could get the appointments pretty easily. That was before the big storms of 21, 22, 23, you know, and, and definitely 2024. But, um, it wasn't so much that. I think it was just, uh.

Um, I think really it's the approach, how you get the deals was the biggest hurdle. Okay. And the one thing that I realized that annoying people and just cold calling and saying, Hey man, Ryan, can I quote your home in auto insurance? Doesn't, you know, doesn't, doesn't go well with most people. So the approach was, have to be different.

I knew that to win and to get to more people so that they didn't sound, nobody wants to be sold. Instead, you look for a trigger. And what the trigger we found was the real estate transaction. Mm. When people are buying a home, there's an opportunity, there's a necessity for it. Most people are buying it with a mortgage and that where the requirements is to get that homeowner's insurance.

So that's where we step in. We create the relationships with the lenders, with the realtors, and we provide that as a service for the clients. Creates like a little ecosystem, you know? So our approach is different and because of that, the relationship with the client is different. We get to be more of a service instead of a sales.

That creates a lot better longevity, a lot longer, uh, relationship with the clients. And, um, which means a lot in a industry where residual income and book of business matters, because that's kind of the industry that it is. We don't make a whole lot of commission based off, you know, the initial sale. It's really the, the longevity of the client that makes us, that residual base is the book gets bigger and bigger and bigger from an industry, from a business standpoint.

Gotcha. Uh, what, so, so you went independent in 19 with. Partner or whatever, kind of under somebody, what made you step out and do just say, Hey, I can do this myself. Yeah. So I kind, I kind of got sidetracked there, but No, you're fine. 2020 2019. 2020, I think it was 2020, actually, the beginning of 2020. Uh, right as COVID everything was happening.

Um, yeah, I mean, it was a, it was a crazy time. I was actually going through a divorce at that time. Uh, a lot going on. You know, I started, you know, tr learning how to be a single parent. Um. Everything was, uh, with COVID was happening. I think it was a big transition too, in the industry, uh, for a lot of industries.

I think it was COVID And, uh, the opportunity arrived about, you know, the, this idea of partnering up with a real estate operation. They had an idea of bringing the services, uh, as a ancillary option for real estate operations around the country. And I thought, well, you know, I can definitely give this a shot.

Let's see if we can make this happen. And so I was kind of in charge of making, like, figuring out the systems and processes for that. And so I partnered up with those guys to see, okay, let's make it work. Well, we learned a lot. That was probably the most learning I've ever done. The biggest growth in my professional career was during those three or four years, four years that I was there.

We, um, we, man, we created operations with relationships in Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina. It was like nine different states figuring out, you know, what they needed, what the market. Required, the competition, the opportunities, the failures, you know, and everything else. And you know how to really do things and what doesn't work.

You know, we figured out that working in spaces like Scottsdale was phenomenal. The people were amazing, the relations were amazing, and the transactions were there, but the premium was very low because there's, there's no weather there. It's so cheap. You might have a million and a half dollar house for $900 a year for homeowners.

Mm. It's like ideal for the clients, a deal for the transaction. But when you're making commissions, you know, it's, you know, maybe twice the work for a third of the price. So, you know, so you have to put that into your calculations, into your projections, into your, you know, what you do. And a lot of that was done as you go.

So there was a misalignment, I feel like, and it was a lot of learning, but eventually that kept being the, the goal of the operation. And, uh, the vision was not aligning with my vision. I really wanted to focus on Oma. I felt like it was being left behind. So I, I had a ton of relationships here and I felt like, well, you know, I really wanna focus on this.

And, um, and eventually it, it just decided, we kind of just decided to part ways and, and step away. And I decided to go off on my own, which a couple of the agents followed me and we decided to kind of get, kick things off with accident insurance. That was in spring of 24. So realistically we're fairly new, but in the market, I've been here doing this for 11 years now.

Gotcha. So you started off going on your, finishing up your second year, if you will. Uh, what's your, your goal as far as this? So, like we were talking before, like insurance is one of those things. Like if you're aspirational, I mean, you can just sell, you know, a couple little. Pieces here and there and not ever expand your book of business, or you can expand your book of business and really do well for yourself.

What, um, what's, what's your take on that? Are you just trying to stay, I don't wanna make Omaha sound like, it's like you can't, you can't do anything here. 'cause I mean, we both have businesses in the area, but is it basically you just wanna serve an Omaha area, uh, and go and it's actually amazing timing because that's the question that we've been, we've been, you know, it's been on my head since the day we started.

Because if anybody can do it, it's gonna be me. You know? Mm-hmm. I, I really believe that the amount of experience that we gathered by doing what we did, copying and pasting, and figuring out processes and all these different areas of around the United States has created a good amount of understanding of what is required, what works and what doesn't work.

And now with the market that we have in today's world, one thing that is very clear to me is that the industry sucks. It, like blatantly, there is not a lot of good competition and it's, it baffles me everywhere I go and I start talking about, it's really about rates and weather. That's really what I believe is standing in the way of opportunity in this industry.

Because if you understand the systems and how to make a successful agency work. You know, and you are willing to take in that risk and go through the first couple of years of misery, is what I call it. In the beginning of, of the, the stages. Then the opportunities is just about, is there for you to just copy and paste.

That is my true belief and that's what I, I have as a goal for our agency. We are now growing in this space. We're doubling over the first year. We had a pretty good year, but it wasn't anything substantial and I, I doubled that the second year. Mm-hmm. So now the goal is for this third year to continue to double that.

Uh, which now our relationships have grown and we we're, you know, projected to do that. And I've done it over and over and over before with other agencies. So I know exactly how to do it. Now it's just about application, uh, because I've seen the writing on the wall and I know the, the process of how to make that the business grow that way.

It's just a matter about matter of doing a good job with the relationships that you have and then doing what you said you're gonna do with the clients that you're taking care of. That's really it. It's not that sim, it's not that hard. It's pretty simple, unfortunately, that, you know, but, but fortunately for us, you know, we don't see that really being applied in insurance very often.

Like I said, most people are still doing that. Old stu have that old mentality of, well, you know, the residuals coming in, I'm doing pretty well, man, I'm just gonna go hit the golf course and we'll, you know, we'll be all right. You know, it's gonna, we're still bringing in 200, $300,000 a year when the opportunity in the market is growing evermore every single year for the independent side, and they're not seeing that writing on the wall.

They're not seeing that opportunity just dangling there. So. We'll come in and, and, and do it. You know, we'll tell, we will come in and take it. It's just about us getting in front of enough people. That's really it. And operation obviously has grown. We, you know, little bit of a, of a thing with our industry that we do have to hire a little bit ahead of time.

Mm-hmm. Which is not anything that I've done before. It usually allowed myself to have that flexibility of hiring when I need to. But in this case, because I know about how, how the industry works already, I've done it so many times, it's, uh, it's been easier to say, okay, it's about time right now. You know, time it up just in perfectly to be ready for that next, uh, couple of relationships that come in to handle the, that business.

Awesome. You started off, you, you were talking about high school and you said you were aspirational in high school, but you weren't necessarily focused and you, uh, it was a struggle for you. Or it could you, it could have led a struggle, so at least you went into Marines. Do you feel like that has honed you?

Like, uh, trying to make analogy to like the A DHD, like your scatterbrained a DH, adhd mm-hmm. And it just helped you focus. Was that like the medicine that helped you and got you on the right path? That was my life's Adderall. Yeah. That was literally it, man, because it's, it's hard to describe how much I feel that the Marine Corps, uh, saved, I guess my path and, and directed me in the way that, you know, you never know.

They, you know, I could have figured, you know, gotten my hat out of my rear, you know, and, and, and got my stuff together. But it kind of expedited that process by bucket of cold water, slap in the face, get your shit together, kind of. Yeah. Uh, the, my, the biggest thing is that I always. Used to blame myself, like, oh, you're not, I'm just not that smart.

You know, I'm just not that, that good. You know? My middle brother, um, is a year and a half younger than me. Phenomenal at everything, you know, just that, you know, crushing it in school, doing everything right. Um, and I used to be like, man, this guy's just so smart and he's just so good at what he does. And, uh, as I got older and I started realizing like, no, he's just applied.

Yeah. He just puts in the effort, he puts in the work. And that's what was missing in my life. The, the, I guess the sense of understanding in life that it doesn't come cheap. It doesn't come free, it doesn't come easy. And if it does, it's probably not worth it. And as long as you, you understand that, I feel like whatever it is that you apply that to, as long as you're not an idiot, have the wrong, the wrong kind of.

And even if you have the wrong kind of plan, you can redirect and, uh, you know, re try it again. So, um, that was really it. It was the lack of application, the lack of. Discipline. And, um, it rearranged my, my nain to be like, Hey, man, do things with a little bit more sauce. You know, otherwise you're not gonna do shit.

You know? That's really it. A lot of people bash the military be like, oh, I was a tank mechanic. I was a, uh, you're monkey. Yeah. What, what, whatever it is. I was a, a grunt. Yeah. And they get out and they're like, I don't have any skills. And me, I'm just like, now knowing what I know, I'm like, dude, you do not realize the entrepreneurial skills that the military gave you talked.

By 20 years old, you've gone to Afghanistan, you're back, you're training NCO, like the level of responsibility they give you. You're leading, man. We were talking before like you're, you're training NCO leading 28-year-old people that have been to war multiple times and you're, you're leading up like, 'cause they probably outrank you.

Mm-hmm. They've got way more years, you know, like they're probably 10 years, you're two years into the service and, but yet you have to lead up and you have to get outta that comfort zone and you gotta help them get ready for the next appointment. And just the breeding ground that I think it is, is, well it's, it's a hidden secret to people.

But I mean, kind of like I said, we talked a little bit before about this, but kind of go into some of your experiences with that and how it's helped you. Well definitely the people skills, man, figuring out how to make. People move, uh, you know, you, it's not as easy as it sounds. And I think the, the greatest challenge is, is probably that that space where you got these people with enormous egos that, you know, in, in a very high testosterone environment that, um, but yet the mission has to be completed and it's on you.

You know, how, how are you gonna do that? How are you gonna, it, it starts about relationship building. You know, it's all that, all those skills, relationship building, um, uh, communication skills, everything is developed during that, uh, during that huge amount of, uh, of stress. 'cause I mean, that's how I felt like it was, it was, it was a stressful environment, but being able to figure that out on a person to person basis, I mean, um, I, I can't tell you how valuable that is now.

I mean, it's like. A patty cake. Now, you know, you're working with individuals and nothing is that serious. There is no life and death. You know, it's just different, you know, like Jocko willing says, you know, it's not necessarily your li you're dealing with people's lives, but you are dealing with people's livelihoods.

Mm-hmm. And that, I mean, that's one of my favorite books that, you know, with, with Jocko, but it's, uh, it, once you take that and you still take it seriously, but you apply all that knowledge that you gained in the military, um, I, I feel like there's a, a level too that you can beat the average Joe because you simplify things a lot easier.

There's no reason to overcomplicate things if you break things down and make people, um, I, I forgot the gentleman that was here before we were talking about the, you know, just. Be in charge of a single thing. Mm-hmm. And have a certain level of responsibility themselves, even if they're pretty new. That small unit leadership mentality alone, that is something that you can be useful in any kind of unit or organization or team.

Uh, but that, that sense of responsibility will build up an individual so that they can experience the same level, level of ex of, of, uh, of growth that I did. Maybe, maybe not to the extent of extremes, but they will experience some level of growth and that's ultimately my. I feel like my job today as a leader, besides leading the company to the goals and achieving everything that we wanna achieve, is individually improving those individuals as people, as professionals, you know, and we, we focus a lot on that individual aspect.

Self-development, you know, we have team meetings, uh, every day, and then especially on once a week as a, as a team for accountability purposes and also as a individual growth factor to say, okay, where are we at? What are you guys doing? How are we doing on things? Obviously with our one-on-ones on a monthly basis as well, but more of a personal level, you know, seeing, okay, what are, where, what are we doing as a team, but what are we doing individually to get.

To where we need to as a team, you know, checking those boxes individually, if that makes sense. So it's just going individually first and then getting to the end result based our individual action. Um, it's not as complicated as it sounds. Ultimately. We all have that big goal, but if you break it down to small little baby sections, it's really, really simple.

And I think that's one of the biggest lessons that the military teaches you, is how to break things down into very simple, you know, edible bites. Yeah. I, everything starts off with a big goal. One of my, when I first got into real estate, one of the podcasts I was listening to, uh, Brandon Turner BiggerPockets podcast, they were talking about this guy had to sell a car.

It was, you know, his personal car. He is trying to sell it. He's like, I don't know how to sell a car. He's like, but what do I do know how to do? I know how to take it to a car wash and wash it. Okay. So he drives through a car wash and he washes it. Step one. Oh, well the inside probably needs to be vacuumed.

I need clean it out and vacuum. Step two, like you are already two steps into selling your car. He still probably doesn't know how to sell his car, but he knows what the next step is. He knows what's possible. And so it's chunking everything down. Like we look at business, oh, I want have a million dollar or, or a hundred million dollars business.

Okay, well you got nothing right now. What's the, how do you, how do you chunk, like it's great to have the goal, the big goal, but you have to chunk everything down. What's, uh, what's something that you've been able to do to make it, make the goal seem more attainable, I guess? Well, I like to really keep my focus on the immediate.

Media task at hand and, uh, backwards planning is, is all we do. I mean, we obviously start with the, the yearly projection goal. Uh, we have a yearly goal for individuals as well, like I was talking about. So everyone has their individual goals, professional and, you know, and, and, you know, personal and uh, and then we break down.

Not to stop you, but do you make your agents have a personal goal as well? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we, we, we all, um, we kind of mesh things into, and we're very into, I guess, close team. It's only six of us and, um, you know, we really focus on helping each other out. We work very as a team. In comparison to a lot of other agencies where each individual agent is their own agent mm-hmm.

We're more of an operation. So I think that sets us apart from most agencies as well, to where everybody works on cases. You know, everybody has their own clients, but it's all kind of given because of the relationships that we have. So it's not like they're going out individually getting things that creates a very kind of, uh, team environment, which then all of us are kind of in each other's businesses.

You know, what are you doing to get better? Pushing each other, going, setting up times for going to the gym with each other, you know, setting up lunches with, you know, across. The, the table, and even in the, our setup, we have a big sales table for our sales team is, uh, is all sitting together instead of individual office.

I designed it that way. I didn't want individual offices. Number one. It gets kind of boring. I, I like the interaction aspect of it, but number two, the sharing of ideas and the accountability aspect is, is, is pretty legit. You know, you kind of level up, you're talking about like what are other things that you can do Well, you can hold somebody accountable and you can hear 'em.

Hear their conversation and it's like, Hey, next time don't say that Next time, maybe try saying this. You know? And we're very direct, we're very personable. We all understand that it's for the right reasons. We're trying to make each other better. Um, and, uh, we have a lot of open conversations about that.

So we do have those end of the year goals. And those end of the year goals get broken down into months, and those months get broken down into also into weeks. And those weeks get broken down into days. And, uh, and, and we also understand what it takes for us to convert, how many calls, how many conversations, and, uh, and how much premium that turns into equals commission and commission.

Well, depending on the lifestyle that you wanna live, but ultimately it's about creating the right kind of flexibility in their lives that makes the most sense. Right now we have our youngest guy that is still full-time at UNL and somehow making it work full-time with us as well. You know, we're very flexible with the time, but as long as the mission is completed and it doesn't interfere with anything, to me it's like.

Make it happen man, and we will do the best that we can to help you achieve that. Um, his other goal is to make it to, uh, a trip to Japan. And, uh, we're making that happen at the beginning of the year. So that's all these kinds of things. It's, it's about keeping the right balance between our successes and the goals that I have and expectations I have for them.

Holding them accountable to the measures that I, I expect and I, I want for the office, uh, while at the same time pulling them and making them grow. It's a difficult balance. Again, it's a beautiful dance that we all learned in, in the military, and I think we just overcomplicate it in our head. It's just about taking care of people.

Yeah. That is ultimately, if you want to put it Barney, that's literally it, you know, taking care of people, truly caring about the individuals that are carrying the weight and carrying you on their back. And that's, that's ultimately what it's about. I, I think what you just said is, I mean, not to overinflate it or whatever, but it really is a business masterclass, what you just said.

'cause like if you take care of the people, I always call it commander's intent, like going back to the military. Like I'll use whether you agree with it or not, I neither here nor there, but the operation in Venezuela, like the intent was to go in and get the guy and the policy makers in Washington hands off at that time.

Yeah. Like they gave the intent of it. Then the military operated 150 aircraft, 20 different locations, Delta Force, CIA, boots on the ground. Like they, they just, they masterclass it and like, that's what the military does. And so like, you come from that and so you, you see it on your own little, you know, small group level or whatever, but you start amplifying that out.

And I, I think what you just spelled out was like a masterclass of. Business like we overcomplicate so much stuff and like, give the commanders intent. That's what I always say. Like, I'm gonna give the commander's intent, like, we're gonna record this podcast. Yeah. And I need to post it, you know, on this date.

And like, that's, that's it. Like I step outta the way after, after I'm done hitting record and post it online. Yep. But the intent is there and they know exactly what to do. And just if we let people execute, you know, you're talking about 20 years old, leading, uh, you know. The training, like they got outta your way.

They said, Hey, we need you to do this. And they got outta your way. And I just think we as leaders, as entrepreneurs, we think we're the only person that can do this one task. And we don't trust people to do it. And that's, uh, you're hitting the nail around the head. Getting out our wrong way is half the battle.

Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to wrap our head around that crap, man. 'cause uh, we wanna own things and we wanna perfect things and we wanna do things the way that we think it should be done. But a lot of times we have to let things happen. We have to let people make mistakes too and allow for that, calculate for that.

Even, you know, the, the kid that I was talking to you about, he's 20 himself. He just turned 20 like six days ago or something like that. So it's like he's, he's a young guy. I got him when he was 18, fresh off of high school, 4.0 student. They're really different than me, you know, had his stuff together, but.

Um, you know, he had, you know, a full ride scholarship, all this stuff. And, um, but it's, it, to me it's not about academic anything or it, I, I hire 1000% just based off personality skills, all that crap. Everything can be taught, you know, and, and it, he did passed insurance test on the first try, which is pretty impressive.

Is that all right? You know, you are, you, you know, you are about it. Uh, but at, at the end of the day, you know, it, it's about the, the personality who they are inside, and if it, I call it the salsa, you have that fire, you have that, that thing that. You can kind of see in certain people, you either want to do it or not.

And I, I feel like that's a part of it. Just a, an aspect of being a man, being a person, being a human, and who that, who you wanna be in life. You know, they say that what you don't want to be is look, be, you know, at the, your deathbed look back and say, well man, I should have tried that. I should have done this, or I should have done that more.

Or I, you know, any of that. And that, that can play into your personal life, that can play into your business, that can play into whatever life aspect of your life. But I've always been the kind of person that thinks, you know, as, at least as a level of moving the needle forward, every generation. Moves. I, I see there's a ladder.

Every generation moves the needle a little bit. And it's, it's your job to figure out how big that next step is gonna be, how far you're gonna move that next generation forward. I, you know, I don't consider myself being where I started as the base, like, because of me, you know, that was because of my forefront, was my, my dad making that move and saying, I don't know anything about that country, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

You know, and then his parents also moving from, you know, southern Mexico and doing everything that they did. So everything has, you know, consequence. And what, what are the consequences based off my decisions and how is that gonna affect the next generation? I have two girls and I, you know, number one, you know, to mention that we don't want to get into politics too much.

And the reason is there's just so much negativity, so much confrontation in that we're in that. Space. You know, it makes it kind of, it's depressing to think about what the future is gonna look like for, you know, the next couple generations. But at the same time, I feel like if I can just do a good enough job at what I can be to be a good person, to do the best that I can and, and teach them that hard work and discipline and the right kind of action, being smart about your failures, all that stuff, makes, makes you a good individual, good human.

If they can just learn that from me and create their own step, um, I feel like I'm gonna be a successful man at the end of the day. So, um, I don't know where I got sidetracked there, but, but, uh, but yeah, it's, it's, it is about taking care of people and, um, I, I do think that, you know, allowing them to make those mistakes and, and, uh, allowing the flexibility for them to create their own experiences, create their own relationships, create their own.

Mess ups, you know, all that is part of the game and they learned because of it. Yeah. You mentioned Mexico, I gotta say, like you mentioned your dad in Mexico, I should say. Yeah, but like, it intrigues me. People come from there. So I was in Mexico two days ago and I, so I, I went from Cabo, Mexico where it's 80, 85 degrees and then I come here in the snowing last night, you know, and I'm just like, why?

How do, like, just the immigrant mind, I guess is what I'm getting at. Like, I'm going, I see a better opportunity in this frozen tundra of Yeah. Of Nebraska and, um, make the jump. So it's, it's crazy man. And I, I kind of conti, I contributed almost like a similar feeling as a entrepreneur getting into the business world, not knowing shit.

Yeah. You know, especially in an industry that you don't, you're not very knowledgeable about, uh, your industry. You just kind of stepped into an industry and just kind of, but you knew systems, processes. Kept things pretty basics and just kind of ran things the way you think you thought it should be ran and, um, you know, efficiency, effectiveness.

Right. Um, to be honest, when you jump into entrepreneurship, it's kind of like that. You don't see the whole thing. It's like being in the trenches. You're not looking at the whole map and see how the war is, the battle's being fought, right? You're, you're in the trenches. You're fighting one man at a time.

That's how I see a lot of life being to where you don't get that luxury to look ahead. You don't get a luxury to look you really, the biggest luxury is looking back and talking to individuals that were close to you and seeing how far you've come and having a conversation about all the stuff that you've achieved.

And if you played the right cards, man, you, maybe that's the conversation that'll be, you know, worth it. And, and uh, and I think that's what life's really about being successful. I think that's what it's about. It's not about the ones and zeros in your bank account, it's the, you know, what you end up doing with your life and, and how, you know, flexible you have your life and how, um, you know, how much freedom you develop because of the decisions that you made.

Uh, that's one of the reasons why I'm in the industry that I am, because that residual factor in the insurance industry creates that freedom, that flexibility in the future. You know, it's based off a book of business and that residual pays you every month. Once you get that machine going, now getting that machine going, it's an SOB, you know, it's a, it's a, it's a hard task and even though you know everything that you need to do, it's still a lot of work and a lot of dedication and a lot of stress to get things moving.

I think in any industry, but especially in an industry where it's, you know, the payout is so small and it's over time, you really gotta bet that your systems and processes are good, otherwise people will leave you. Right. Real quick, you know, people aren't loyal anymore. Like they, they used to be. You know, it's not like, you know, 15 years ago, I remember everybody, you know, at least what I used to hear about insurance.

Oh, I've been with State Farm for 16 years. I've been with farmers for 25 years. You know, it's, uh, there was a loyalty aspect to it. 2026. We gotta understand that's not the reality anymore. People are, people are going to be in a place that understands them, in a place that makes sense for them. And because of that, I think the shift in the industry is happening and you have to be able to do a good job enough, enough so that the, those clients stay in your world.

Do you think back in the old days, people didn't know there was as many options and so people didn't have to treat them as well. And now that they understand the options, you almost have to be. If you have to treat the, the person more, like, more like a person, I mean, lack of a better word. Uh, do you think that is necessitating the shift in, uh, not only your industry, but I think industry as, as a whole?

I think that's part of it. I mean, the internet, uh, you know, things have really changed, uh, more options that, I mean, it hasn't just been that people weren't aware. There's just been more options created in the last 20, 30 years. So that level of competition has really pushed for, um, kind of a, a, a fork in the road and, uh, to where people have to make that decision and say, okay, where, where are the pros and cons of me staying with this company?

Are they gonna have my back? And I think that used to be more of the, the reality. Those companies having people's back. And now when people are maybe getting screwed over or seeing and hearing about bad experiences, they're not so sure anymore that there is really any company that's gonna have their back, truly.

Mm-hmm. So it's better to just find the best situation for their, their specific situation, you know, the best company for their situation and find the best, um, maybe agency that can help them and advise them and, you know, help them. Find the right product for them. I think nowadays it's more about finding the right product that has the insurance coverage that they need at the right price and mitigating the risk as much as possible, rather than just betting on a company and hoping that they're gonna have your back at the end of the day.

So we believe in that. We believe in the relationship aspect and also communicate in 2026 level, you know, we're not faxing things and they're trying to do things as as fast and efficiently as possible. Yeah. Talking to people how they want to talk. So yeah, I always find it interesting. I think people take the security of a job a little too serious.

I don't think jobs or as secure as people think they are, and the company's gonna make the best choice based on the company. And I don't mean it to sound negative or whatever, but like I. If you have 20 people working for you and I have to let one person go in order for the other 19 to survive, like, that's just the decision, you know, like you see people cutting the visions or doing layoffs in the specific sector, but it's, yeah.

So they let 200 people go, but it's so the other 800 people can continue to have a job and the business can stay fruitful for the most part. You know, sometimes it's, there's the exceptions to everything, but yeah, I just, I good. I wish that people would have a, a different mindset when it comes to, uh, a job, so I agree.

I just had actually a personal experience with that. My, my mom, she got let go. Well, she was working for a large company, I won't say the name, but just a really large company for 18 years or something like that. And, you know, the, her experience was that the same mentality of, uh, you know, there's security behind working a long time for a company that you trust and then shows up to work one day.

Factories closed. You know, they, they were phenomenal, phenomenal company and everything. But just decided one day that, that, that place, all of a sudden, I don't know how many, maybe a couple hundred people that were there from one night to another, it was closed and sold to another company and, uh, it was gonna be some severance pay and whatever.

But that was it. Sorry. And Thank you. You know? Mm-hmm. We appreciate you guys' last 17, 18 years. And, uh, it just kind of hits you. Like we're talking just kind of bucket of cold water. Like, okay, now, now, but I thought they were, I thought they had my back. Mm-hmm. And that's not the case that at the end of the day, every company's for profit, not, I still consider 'em a great company, but at the end of the day, they're gonna do the best that is in their interest and not so much every single employee.

Yeah. So I think it's a great segue to mindset. I know you got a podcast that's Yeah. Named Mindset. Mindset. So what. Talk to me about your mindset shifting. Like you said, you were a little lost at 18, didn't know where you were gonna go, and your mindset had to change multiple times along this path. So talk to me about how important you think mindset is in life and just in general.

Yeah. I mean, I think that it's important to mature well as, as you mature, you know, you develop kind of what's important to you and, uh, having the right kind of focus. Is, is essential for achieving your goals? Um, I think that's on, that's what we're talking about. The biggest lessons that I, uh, that I got from the, from the military was being able to really engage and, um, dive into what I wanted to achieve and figuring out that I had to put in the work to, to get there.

So my mindset really changed at that moment, saying that, man, maybe I'm not that dumb. Maybe it's just about me not being applied. And so I turned around and went to college and, you know, you would know getting my bachelor's 3.9 GPA. All of a sudden it's like, alright. This works. It's just effort, bro.

Mm-hmm. You know, get to work. And I put in the, put in the extra work and I was working nights and working everything that I could to make ends meet. You have mortgage, you have kids, you have all this stuff to take care of, right. GI Bill covers some stuff, but not everything. So, um, so I think the mindset of, hey, hard work makes, does pay off.

Uh, but again, maturity. So there's a new generation coming along right now, a new generation that is thinking the opposite. Thinking that my generation, the millennial generation, that hard work and working your face into the dirt is the right way to do everything. It's stupid. There's a new generation thinking that maybe a couple of smart tiktoks is gonna get me to become a millionaire.

You know? And maybe innovation takes. The approach, the right approach, it takes the lead in your approach and the mindset's more about being creative and being innovative and doing something that's a little bit different outside of the norm and just doing it the right way that hits the right market and doing it right, and maybe with a little bit of luck, right?

The, the old millennial generation thinks that that's stupid. That's, that's, no, you gotta work your ass off. And I think there's a happy medium. Mm-hmm. And I think there's a, a, a space there for a lot of us to learn, because I don't think that necessarily you're gonna get hit the, the lotto every time by doing the right TikTok.

However, you can't be naive to think that you're gonna work your face into the dirt and always be successful. You gotta, you know, there's great books out there that talk about this, how to optimize your time and create your own world of flexibility. The Four Hour Work Week is a phenomenal one by Tim Ferriss, I think himself.

No, um, you know, there, there's, there's some great people doing the leading the way. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, but you might. Need to share that wheel with a different industry. And I feel like there's a lot of industries that are lacking in that. And if people could really shift that mindset and apply a lot of that, maybe some innovation and some creativity into what they're doing, man, the success.

I always think about blue collar jobs and if they could apply a lot of the sales tactics and operational systems and processes that the white collar jobs do and just apply a little bit of that, a little bit of extra customer service, instead of being so crafty and amazing at what they do, more people would know about how good they are and they could take their business to another level.

But it takes somebody applying that, putting that pressure and clicking on that button saying, Hey, select all copy paste. And it takes that and it not, it's not always happening. And I feel the opportunities there for a lot of people to do it. And once they figure it out, they usually make phenomenal companies probably like yours.

Yeah, I was about to say, I mean, that's exactly what, what my playbook is, is. How do I take a company that's been around for 19 years that does everything on pen and paper? There's no systems, no processes. Everybody's, I mean, lack of a better term, everybody's playing the hero. They're doing a couple million dollars a year, they're doing well.

How do I take that and compete without changing? 'cause I, part of what makes that company good, Macintosh good is it is the small town feel. It's not like we, we don't have an AI robot answering the phone. We, we have a person answering the phone. Yeah. But how do we use the systems and the processes and technology around that person to make his job more efficient?

So like, one of the things we're looking at is if he's on the phone and he misses phone call. How do I keep you engaged? Yeah, well, we're gonna send a text message and be like, Hey, we were on the other line. We're gonna, we're gonna get back to you quickly. Well, how can I put AI into that? Okay, what are you calling for?

So now AI can take over little simple things. What, what are, what are you calling for? I got a plumbing leak. Can you take a picture of it and have it? So now when he gets out the phone, we have a picture of it. We know it's a plumbing leak. Yeah. And you still got the personal side of it. And they didn't go over to the other plumbing company and, and uh, you know, we, we lose out.

I mean, it could have been a small job, could have been a huge job, but we don't wanna lose out on that. So how do we do those little small things but still keep it personal, still get, you know, our guy to answer the phone and give you that one-on-one? I, I don't care what they say about ai, it will never be I agree, the, the human aspect, like it doesn't have feelings.

It doesn't, it can't, it can't be real with you. So I think that's a hundred percent true. And how do you provide. Is the next, again, excellent example because how do you, how do you do that intricate dance between the two sides? Uh, on one side, you're right, you don't wanna rip out the soul of the company.

You, you wanna make sure that it's still the company that it was and the great company that people got, were used to connecting with. But how do you also not stay in the dust? Mm-hmm. And to keep up with the, with the, you know, the reality of 2026. Uh, you don't have to be the high tech, you know, everything automated.

That's not you, you know, but how do you step ahead? How do you continue to move forward without falling behind? Now, some people say, oh, if you're not at the very top of the game, you are falling behind. I don't think so. I think there's a, there's a. Big balance that you can play in the middle and be very successful, uh, and, um, uh, without ripping the soul outta the, the company.

And, uh, I think that that part, that soul, I think that's part of sometimes the c so certain companies success, especially in and companies or industries that people expect a personality. And I feel that there's so much blue collar operations, uh, in that space and blue collar operations. I feel like they have to have a little bit of a soul, otherwise it just doesn't feel correct, doesn't feel right.

Um, now maybe that'll change over time and things will start, you know, being more and more automated. But I agree with you. I don't think the AI's forever gonna, you know, just take over one day. Yeah. I'm really bullish on blue collar work. Like AI can take over a lot of the white collar stuff. Yeah. They can start writing programs and they could start, you know, obviously it taking over a lot of insurance.

Really? Yeah, I could see that. I could see a company figuring that. I'm sure they're already working on it. You know, the big companies, and again, you can't take all the personal feeling. There's a level, I guess, of what we do that is not tangible, you know, that you need to have trust in somebody. But I feel that maybe 50 years down the line, maybe a lot of that missed that need for a physical aspect that that trust in an agent might become less and less important.

Yeah, I mean, they should say that we're looking into software for our inventory management. And so you can have, so you got five different, um, similarity for you, like different, uh, whatever you call it, like insurance companies that go to carrier carriers. So say, so we have five of 'em and we need a quote for, uh.

Whatever the port is, a hot water heater. Sure. So we'll send, Hey, we're looking for a, um, hot, a 40 gallon hot water heater, natural gas. Uh, and it will send to all five of 'em. Yeah. And then they'll all come back and tell us this is the cheapest one and it will auto select based on, you can put criteria in there.

I, I'm pretty sure you can do both. Delivery date and uh, price and all that stuff. And then it'll auto select. So I'm sure there's probably something. Somewhere in your, yeah, your area A We have a rater as well, so we have a ton of different options and, and those are all sifted through with a, a rater system that kind of pushes out the information to all 'em at the same time, we can then dissect and see what's best for their situation, um, for the individual that, that we're working with.

Uh, but yeah, I mean that's, that's a lifesaver and I think that's probably gonna take even a step further. I mean, if you start just thinking about AI in itself and what makes our in, you know, me as an individual special, well, number one is my voice. Number two is my experience and expertise. Number three is my personality.

Now what's something that AI can start is starting to do is it's starting to replicate my voice. It can replicate my voice already, shit. It can actually replicate my face. And if it can replicate my face and my voice and it can learn what maybe the most important points of an insurance agent are, and, uh, you know, I guess some of my knowledge base, maybe not to the exact 100%, uh, you know, experience and maybe the, the human factor will be out of it.

But, uh, I think it can get pretty damn close to being replicating an agent. Uh, now when it comes to actually regulators and, you know, department of insurance and regulations, all that stuff, it gets kind of tricky because how do you regulate an AI system? I don't know. But that's still to be determined and whatever company can figure that out and replicate 50 jrs to do what I do, man, that'll be the day that that will be the unlock key to where.

They think somebody thinks it's, it's that good that it thinks it's me and it's actually talking an AI version of me. I think that's it. Maybe I just wrote up a million dollar idea for somebody, but, uh, I'm, I'm surely these companies, there's no way they're not having these conversations and have been for the last couple of years.

Um, I'm sure there's industries that are already dabbling in it, and I think it's more than the legalities more than anything. And because the AI systems themselves are becoming ever more better. I mean, ev every three months it feels like there's a new one that comes out and you're just like, holy crap.

When they got Maduro, the dancing memes and everything that came out of that, I was just like, oh my God. It was so real. I lost my mind. They had, uh, I watched a few of them. Yeah. 'cause these in the same Joe as P Diddy. Dude, I watched those videos no matter what layer. It's like, oh my God. When people, dude, funny.

But, but it's, it's so real, man. It's like eventually you'll, I mean, if this has happened, I feel like the last three years, maybe the last two years, really imagine in six years. Yeah. Holy crap man, where are we gonna be with this technology? So I think it'll take over a lot of those, you know, non-tangible, well, you can't go fix a water heater.

Mm-hmm. You can't lay, I, I mean I, at least I don't know how they would've figure that out, but there's still a physical aspect you're gonna get in a lot of industries that you can't touch with ai. Uh, so I think a lot of those industries are safe. But yeah, a lot of administrative stuff, a lot of little, you know, it's just, especially when it comes to creativity and marketing, a lot of that stuff's gonna be gone.

Do you think it'll take the creativity aspect out of it? Uh, because like. I'll go back to the P Diddy and uh, right. Maduro. Like someone still thought of that. Yeah. Do you think AI is gonna start coming up with ideas like that or, no? I think it that, I think there's already an aspect of that. I think you could already, I mean you could already ask, I already asked chat, GPT, uh, hey, create me seven different ideas for this and it'll do a lot of that creativity, uh, uh, the job for me.

Mm-hmm. So I think there's a level that I don't think it'll ever be as human, as a human, but I think it could get damn close. And, uh, it's scary to think, you know, how that will, that world will look like. I mean, I couldn't even imagine seeing what we're seeing now five years ago. If he would've told me five years ago, I'd be like, I don't know, man.

Maybe 10, 20 years from now. But it happened in a couple of years. Felony. Well, it's crazy 'cause like when I was a kid, Terminator two came out. Yeah. And people were like, oh, that'll never happen. And then the Matrix came out. People were like, oh, that's never gonna happen. And now we're like, crap. Not Elon is coming up.

What's coming? Yeah. House robots and stuff. Maybe it already happened. I don't know. No, I think he's trying to sell it for like 20, $30,000 a pop for having a little maid. It's uh, it's crazy, man. I mean technology, but I, again, I don't think it'll ever. Take away fully human aspects. Uh, uh, I take it back, I just, previously, I said something about like, marketing, you know, it'll completely take over.

I think there'll still be a sense of management that'll have to be mm-hmm. You know, present. Um, but I, it'll definitely thin out the amount of labor requirement that's out there for a lot of these industries. It might just be one individual. We already see this to an extent. We see this with, uh, remote workers and, uh, um, VAs, you know, to where instead of having 30 specialists here in, in America, I mean, a lot of people are doing that and utilizing, uh, virtual assistants from other places to find things more affordably.

Yeah. And, um, and where instead of working, um, with, you know, 10 people and paying them us salaries, you're working with 20 people in another place, paying a quarter of that, and then just managing everything that the, that you're putting them to do. And that's kind of, I feel like the idea behind ai. Uh, now I think AI does take things to one level higher and to where that creativity aspect is starting to be applied by the AI itself.

The, you know, the systems themselves are starting to be creative and understanding and thinking for themselves, and that's where I think it kind of gets a little scary to where, well, if they can think of, I guess, creative ways to do this and this and this, and you can ask it, you know, I don't know, you, you can just go right down a rabbit hole with that, but, uh, where that ends, I don't know.

You know, who knows? I just think it's gonna be an interesting world watching technology develop over the next eight, 10 years. Yeah. It's, uh, yeah, it's changed so much in what's been two years roughly since, since Chat GT came out. So, uh, I, I wanna hear more. I, I mean, I know a little bit about your podcast, but.

You kind of have a different interesting take on it. And, uh, like you said, you gastro and whatever. I'm not gonna try to say the word, but, uh, you know, you had like, stuff like that on there and, uh, I mean, I have to, honestly, I have to look up some, some stuff before I met up with, uh, the doctor because I just didn't wanna sound dumb.

But, um, yeah, I'm gonna try my podcast, my 7 52. Uh, it's all about bringing in different thought leaders and business owners and, you know, professionals and, um, just, I just high level individuals and whoever I can bring in that has an interesting story and can talk to me about how they've applied, uh, discipline to making themselves in, you know, effective individuals in life.

And, um, some people have, you know, it's all different kinds of people. I've had, uh, Rosendo Robles, which just recently opened up the entrance for. Bud Crawford at this last fight. Um, he was there a couple months after. I was like, holy shit, you're, you know, you, you're on that stage. It's kind of cool, you know, after he was on my podcast, that was pretty legit.

Uh, two other individuals that are professionals like the gastroenterologist. Mm-hmm. Uh, he was phenomenal. I mean, the in information that he was talking about, some of it was know, flying over my head. But it's, uh, it's cool having those conversations with individuals that are just so into their craft and understand things at such a high level.

They're experts. There's sincere experts at what they do. And Lisa Thomason, the owner of, uh, title company, unity Title, uh, phenomenal individual, been in the business for, for, for years and understands their craft just to the t um, you know, a real estate professionals that are just crushing it. Uh, one guy using his, uh, influence with, uh, TikTok and Facebook and Instagram, crushing it on that side and using that.

To, uh, create search engine optimization for his business and just crushing it also on that side of, and so you, you know, you see the opportunities in every single aspect of these guys', different careers. And it just, that, to me, it's motivating, it's exciting. It creates a level of, uh, I don't know, just, uh, excitement for the future.

You know, the, that people are still getting after it and, and making things happen and working their asses off to make, uh, make ends, uh, not just meet, but, you know, going above and beyond. So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you've listened to other podcasts. Yeah. Outside of yours, what is better?

Sitting down at a table, one-on-one, having a podcast and building the relationship or listening to the podcast? I personally like the individual aspect. I'm a very individual, like in or. Interaction person. Yeah. I like having that fluid relationship conversation and getting to know you on an individual basis.

It's how I treat my business. We're talking about how do you separate yourself from the, the process as the CEO, you know, as a, as a business owner, as a leader, to make the, in the process work better for your company. That's how it starts. You gotta separate yourself. You gotta, in essence, fire yourself from the operation to be able to grow and hire somebody and expect them to do the, the job equally, hopefully as as good as you did.

Um, and if you find a good person, you know, fuck let him, don't let him go, you know? Yeah. Uh, but if, you know, at thinking of that, in that sense, and thinking in that way, I think, uh, you know, you can. Uh, my relation, my business has grown the most when I have stepped away and really focused on what makes our clock tick, what makes our, the needle move.

And that is relationships. And because of that, I have a soft space in my, in my heart to, uh, creating relationships is really the driver of everything in my business world. So to me, going and meeting somebody face to face, having a conversation or maybe virtually, but having that conversation with that individual and interacting information, getting to know the individual, getting to know at the human level, I feel like that's the best way that I can figure out how I can serve and we can figure out a way to collaborate.

You think podcasting does that for you guys, or, I think podcasting definitely, uh, creates a great, um, space for you to meet this individual, uh, create an understanding of what they're doing. Also it meshes spheres, you know? Mm-hmm. The sphere of influence that you have, and I have, it helps with a lot of that growth and to where maybe I can help somebody else that is in your sphere, you can help somebody else that is in my sphere, whether it's just by the information that you're giving in the podcast itself or by the products and services that you provide.

So, I mean, there's an array of things, but I do think that relationships make the world go round. And as much as AI is in the middle of everything and all this technology is, is ever more advancing, really, relationships is what makes things, things move. And, uh, that's why I really appreciate the podcast side, because you get to individually know somebody a lot more, you know, intimately.

Yeah. It's not just a little snippet, it's a full understanding of how they talk, how they communicate, how they carry themselves, and what they've done to apply themselves to become the person that they are. Yeah. I, I agree completely. Like the more I think about it, the more I. I watched a lot of podcasts, but I truly think, and maybe 'cause I just have to pay attention more, uh, having a conversation.

'cause like podcasts just playing in the background, I can kind of doze off and yeah. Not pay attention, but like I get so much out of these and, um, it's, it, it just gets my wheels turning. Yeah. And like, oh, he's doing this well, how can I utilize that in my business? And just little things like that. It's so useful.

It's, it, it is, it's so useful. It just opens up everything. So I know you gotta go get your, your, uh, daughters here in a little bit, but, uh, what. We kind of talked about your podcast, you meant dropped the name a couple times. Where, where can you find it? Where, where, how can they find you? What's kind of the Yeah.

Story there? So it's at M 52 Podcast Mindset 52 is the name Mindset 52 on YouTube. What's the 52? 52 is 52 weeks out of the year. Okay. So just staying consistent and working through, again, one week at a time, doing what you do, um, the values that you hold dear and near and what makes you be who you are. I feel like you have to do that consistently.

It's not just a, you know, three month project that you're done. I mean, maybe in certain situations, perhaps, but I think it's a consistent thing and uh, you gotta keep it going. Um, and I think only the, when you look back and you look at people that you feel like, man, this guy's crushed, or he is doing good, or whatever it is, there's a long story behind their success.

Um, I've learned to really understand and appreciate that that typically overnight successes are not overnight. And what people see on the, on the front comes with a ton of work and sacrifice and effort that nobody ever high fived them for, you know? So to me it's a appreciation of that in essence, and that those 52 weeks, man, you gotta make every single one of those count.

Uh, sometimes, like we talked about, you do have to step back, give yourself grace, allow yourself to breathe so that you can come back a little stronger. And, uh, that's part of the process, I feel. Uh, but you know, you have to be able to create that space in the first place, and that comes with a lot of work and a lot of the right, the right mentality because you know, you will be innovative again, talking about the differences in opinion and how to become successful.

You do have to be innovative. You do have to try things. You do have to go through all these battles and fail the most to win. Uh, but you also have to be smart about things and do the right, learn from those mistakes and create the right approach. 'cause if you just, you know, the definition of insanity, do the same thing over and over and over and over and over you.

You don't wanna be that individual that just keeps failing. You gotta be able to learn from, from the, from the mistakes. I think that was a great saying. I don't remember who said it, but it says, um, if you, I think it was Patrick and David, it says, uh, if you're walking through a field and you step on a piece of a pile of shit when you just, a guy stepped to the pile of shit, but on the way back, you step on the pilot sheet again, then you're just a freaking idiot.

You know, you better be able to learn from those mistakes, man. So, um, I love Patrick. So yeah, some of those, uh, you know, some of those things that you learn, you hear from other individuals can be easily attained as well, and through other podcasts based on the experiences. Many, it's a, it's like reading a book.

You know, you can find out pretty much anything if you just read the right book. Mm-hmm. And, uh, it's, it's already been experienced. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, listen to the right person, take those shortcuts and learn from those other people's mistakes. Yeah. Well sir, I really appreciate it and appreciate getting to know you this past hour or so, hour, 15 minutes that we've been going.

Um, yeah. Look forward to uh, getting to know you better over the next period of time and I really appreciate you coming through. I appreciate Ryan, so Thanks sir. Absolutely.