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From Hustel to Inspired!

• Stella Ram • Season 1 • Episode 25

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“From Hustle to Inspired: How Chris Chopite Built a Life of Impact, Wealth, and Legacy”

 What does it really take to turn struggle into strategy and hustle into legacy? In this episode of The Stellar Talk Show, host Stella Ram sits down with Chris Chopite — visionary entrepreneur, real estate leader, and community builder — to uncover the mindset behind building a thriving real estate empire and empowering others to do the same.

From humble beginnings to becoming a top-producing real estate professional in Vaughan, Chris’s story is one of resilience, courage, and conviction. He opens up about the fears he had to face, the mindset that helped him rise, and how he’s helping others achieve six-figure success through mentorship and inspired leadership.

If you’re an entrepreneur, new immigrant, or aspiring real estate professional ready to level up your mindset, wealth, and impact — this episode is your blueprint to build a business and a life with purpose.

🔥 What You’ll Learn:

  • How to turn adversity into your advantage
  • Why courage, quality, and inspiration are the real keys to success
  • The secrets behind building high-performing real estate teams
  • How to build wealth, give back, and leave a lasting legacy
  • Daily habits and mindset rituals to stay grounded through chaos

💭 “Success isn’t just about the hustle — it’s about building with heart.”

🎧 Tune in, get inspired, and remember: Be courageous. Create quality. Live inspired.

👇 Watch the full episode on YouTube and subscribe for more real stories, real strategy, real success.
📺 YouTube.com/@StellarTalkShow


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Speaker:

Hey everyone, I'm your Stellar Realtor Stella and welcome to the Stellar Talk Show where real stories make real strategy and real success. This is the place where we go beyond the highlight rail and dive into the grind, the mindset shift, and the game plans that turn ordinary people into extraordinary success stories. If you are ready to be inspired, take action and level up your life, you're in the right place. Hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, and join our growing community of dreamers, doers, and go getters. Alright, let's dive in. Be courageous, create quality, and move inspired. Today's guest doesn't just say it. He lives it. I think it's because of this and building businesses actually matters. If you ever felt this time, I think you have to take your next step or unsure how to build something meaningful from the ground up. This conversation is your idea. Stay with us until the end. Because Chris is dropping mindset and actionable strategies that could change your life, your business, and maybe even your background. Hello, Chris. Welcome back to the show.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. I'm excited. This is the second time.

Speaker:

It's an honor to have you back. Thank you so much for your time. So, Chris, this episode, I'm gonna dedicate it to you. So we're gonna talk all about what made you the person you are today. So you told me that you immigrated to Canada when you were very young. Take us back there. Tell us all about it.

Speaker 1:

I was born in Venezuela, right? And uh we came to Canada in '92. '92, I was uh 10, going on 11. So I remember coming here, it was very cold. There was about uh six feet of snow, and it was uh, I think I don't remember my feelings around it, but I remember trying to fit in, and it was tough trying to fit in. I got made fun of a lot because I didn't speak English. So that was fun. And then if I can f I know you were going back, but if I can fast forward, when I was in grade 11, I got the highest mark in English. And that for me was a full 180 moment where I came to Canada, got made fun of for not speaking English, and then in grade 11 I got the best mark in English over all the Canadian boys and girls that were in there that should speak English better than me. So maybe that needed to happen. Maybe I needed to get made fun of so that I can have that competitive edge. Because I just believe that I know that this conversation is not about immigration and immigrants, but I think that there is an edge that us immigrants have because we have to come in with our gloves up for the beginning because it's we're we're up against the wall right off the bat, right? We don't know what we're expecting again. When you come as a young boy, you depend on your mom, right? So I was all my mom. I was just like, you're just following along and whatever mom. So the only thing I remember is I played a lot, I watched TV a lot, and I got made fun of. That's my summary for that period of time. But it wasn't long before you start to adapt.

Speaker:

Exactly. But that tells me is your mindset and how you shifted that and created something big out of it. That's what they say when life gives you lemons, make less. Exactly. And I squeeze exactly what you that's what you did there. So do you think being an immigrant, and right now you're a very reputable coach in the real estate industry and for many businesses? Tell me, has being an immigrant been an influence towards that, or was there any challenges?

Speaker 1:

I think there is a there is a benefit and it does influence it because so as well as Spanish, having multiple languages helps with being able to connect with people. Because now you have two different cultures, two different backgrounds, and you don't have blinders on to one or one way of living or or you know, a more understanding of uh accents and all types of just ethical troubles. Sorry, not ethical troubles, ethnical is what I meant to say, ethnical troubles, so language barriers and uh just all types of barriers that come from from not being born in this country, not being a Canadian city Canadian. So I think that there was an element of uh there's a benefit. I think there's a benefit, I think there's a blessing actually in being an immigrant, you can use it to your advantage in business, undoubtedly. No matter where you're from, just having two languages, it's good for business. In Canada, it's fantastic for business.

Speaker:

It's actually a superpower that you can actually outshine competition by it. The nice thing to a lot of people who are newcomers to Canada, Chris, and also a lot of people now getting into business who are newcomers. That is one of the challenges they always tell me. Like Stella, I don't speak the language, or I don't know how that uh what my background will do in this particular economy in this country. But whatever that is, you can turn it around to your advantage.

Speaker 1:

100%.

Speaker:

That's the mice. Exactly, that's what you did.

Speaker 1:

And to those people that perhaps are watching this show, I would say that you may not speak the language, but a smile is universal.

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

So a smile is universal, joy is universal. I don't have to speak to you. I mean, you walk through the doors and I just go, it's that I didn't even do it to you, and I turned around and you were smiling. So you see what I'm saying.

Speaker:

So you don't have to speak the language.

Speaker 1:

You need to speak uh joy, you need to speak love, you need to speak wanting to help people. I think that's more important, and I think the physical part of communication is very important as well. So you don't have to speak the language perfectly, but if you physically you show that you appreciate the other person, I think it'll go a long way than if you master the language, but your body language is is not is not there. Or you look cold, but you sound warm. Hey, welcome, nice to see you here. It's like, well, you said welcome, nice to see you here. You said all the right things, but the body language did not match, right? So it's like now I don't trust your business. But if you're lighting with the language, but you're like, hello, you're fighting in your accent, whatever, and you're like, welcome, nice to see you. What would you like? How can I help? Now it's a completely different hold on a second. This feels different, right? I I trust this person, this is genuine, right? So, sorry, the little coaching moment there for anybody that's new, a new immigrant that's starting a business, they have to rem remind them when you meet them that a smile is universal. So it's music and so is food. But for business, the smile, I think, is what does the trick.

Speaker:

I I while you're explaining that, one thing was running in my mind, and that's exactly what you told me when I had that same doubts when I started my journey in real estate. You told me obstacle is the way.

Speaker 1:

Oh, absolutely. That's not mine. I would love to take credit for that. But that's Ryan Holliday. He wrote that book, The Obstacle is the way, and um, I don't have the coin on me, but I carried a coin with me that says the obstacle is the way. And it just reminds me that every time I'm going through a hard time, that is the way. That if I overcome that, then breakthrough happens. So just keep going, keep fighting through it, right? So I'm uh I love that you quoted that because I do use that a lot.

Speaker:

You do, you do, and that's a good thing to actually keep in mind as well. So Chris, tell me, you when you started your journey into your career in an architecture and engineering firm.

Speaker 1:

When I graduated, I went straight into working with in a firm, yes.

Speaker:

And then you um moved from there to real estate. I did, and then from real estate, uh you then you built your team, and then now you're into coaching. So tell me what was your mindset shift? Is that your goal initially?

Speaker 1:

No.

Speaker:

Or how did this all happen? And how did you turn out to be the coach today?

Speaker 1:

The short answer is no. Where I am today, not even close. That's not what I was thinking at all. I think for me it started with uh I want to be successful, and uh I had a few key moments in my life where I saw people's success, and I was like, I wonder what it would be like to drive that. I think as a young boy, it does start with the physical, for me anyway, for me, it started with the physical aspect of success, meaning the way people are dressed, cars, and certain going to certain restaurants and things like that. So you start to so this is what this looks like, huh? This is what success, huh? You start to see that. So it did start like that, but it evolved very quickly. And uh I went to school for architecture, I graduated, went straight into the workforce. That was good, but there was no people involved in my day-to-day, right? So I tell the story like a lot of times I was great at what I did, designing and all that stuff, wonderful. I had the OBC beside me, Ontario Building Coach, for those who don't know, OBC checking certain things, whatever. Um uh, but falling asleep at my desk because there wasn't enough to keep you going, just there wasn't enough energy to keep me going. So, and I started coaching in basketball, because I also played basketball. I started coaching basketball, coaching the Bond Panthers, and we won, we were ranked 16th or something like that, 16th or 12th. We weren't ranked in the top 10 basically, and yet we still went to provincials and we won provincials, right? So for me, moving those kids, they were uh 11 and 12, moving those kids from mediocre to winners was the first taste of coaching that I ever got was in that moment while I was working and coaching at the same time, right? And it's funny, you're forcing me to go back to these moments that I haven't really had the chance to analyze and and break down. This is crazy because you're taking me back. As I mentioned to you, it's weird that you're taking me back there, but now I'm realizing that I guess coaching did happen to me and for me way back when I didn't even realize it was happening, right? To your point, right? So that's pretty crazy. So, anyway, so that's when I first got my my my first real had to go get certified and then coach these young kids. And I am the same coach today in terms of my methods that I was when I was coaching those young kids. I am not easy, I'm very emotional with my coaching, and I was the same with them. I was hard. Some of those kids threw up on basketball court because of how much I ran them and but I believe that the obstacle is away, man. I believe that if it hurts, um uh then that's pain leaving the body. That hurt no, sorry. What did I tell my daughter? I told Sienna, pain is weakness leaving the body. That's what I say to her. So I tell her, if you're feeling the pain, keep running. Yeah, because you're gonna fight through that. You're getting cramped, keep going. So even the pains of business, if it hurts, keep going because you're getting somewhere, those are growing pains, right? So, anyway, so that was my first uh state. I didn't even realize until we're speaking right now. Now I'm like, crap, wait a second. I was a coach before I even thought that I was a coach, you know.

Speaker:

So I I believe that lit that spark in you at that time, but you didn't even realize I loved it, fella.

Speaker 1:

I loved it. I couldn't wait to stop working so that I can go in and spend time with those kids and help them improve. And I was there the first one to get in there, the last one to get out. I'm really connected with some of those kids, they were incredible, and I just loved winning for them. And it was, I guess I had the bug from a long time ago. And then so, and then that stopped, and uh, I started my my life, my family, and then I realized wait a second, can't coach right now, I need to focus on raising my kids and so forth, working, and then then yeah, then I realized wait a second, I need people in my life, that's what it is. And then I'm like, wait a second, I uh architecture, people. Uh I can probably sell. And then we went into went that route, and then from sales, I realized that I wasn't selling, I realized that I was actually educating clients, and then I'm like, I'm not actually a salesperson, I'm more of an educator. Then I'm like, then the opportunity came, and then I'm like, it sounds like it's something that I could do, like I could do that, but then it was game over. As soon as I got in and I saw what I can do through people, like that I could pour into you, and then you can become something great, and that I had the opportunity to help you get there. That thing is that's I can't, it doesn't get any better than that.

Speaker:

That was your call, that's your call.

Speaker 1:

It feels really good to see others win, but to know that I helped that win happen. It's it's something that I really enjoy. And coaching for me is more long. Selling for me felt very short. The minute that I helped the person acquire a home or whatever, get top dollar or whatever, then it was like it was a very distant, I got away from them, and I'm like, oh man, it just felt cold. I often told even my wife, I said this the saddest part was when I went to get the commission check because I deposited into bank account, and it was like that was me almost signing off the relationship. I got paid, uh, game over, on to the next. But coaching is different, and no matter what, if you coach somebody for six months, yeah, there's always that connection with that individual. Yeah, you're living proof. I was with you for quite some time, and it's just that the connection will never end. I'm always going to be your fan. It'll it just like I can't. Vice versa. I can't, uh thank you. Yeah, just there's no other feeling for me. Like for me, I'm just like I'm in the stand going like this, no matter what you do, because I just feel that connection, right? So I like that.

Speaker:

That gives you the fulfillment.

Speaker 1:

Oh, for absolutely that fulfillment, that's where I found my fulfillment.

Speaker:

That's amazing. And Chris, like a lot of people they they see the spark, they see their unicorns and the butterfly. They don't see the grind and the ugly truth. Has it been an easy journey? Or has there been obstacles, the struggles that actually pulled you down, but you actually had to push hard to get back on track?

Speaker 1:

There's a lot right now. I don't think that ever stops in any business that you're in. I don't think the obstacles stop, Estella, ever. And there was the one of the major ones for me was well when my wife was going through the situation there with the with the breast cancer. I had to show up to coaching calls and I didn't say a word, and I I had to be full of energy, I had to give it all, and then shut down that camera, and then have my moments of breakdown. But I I had to show up, all right guys, you guys ready? And my wife is the hospital taking chemo radiation, whatever the hell she was she was doing. I don't know, so much stuff that pumped into her, I don't even remember. But so that was tough. And there was definitely when you're starting anything new like the coaching, the truth is that when you're starting that, here's the truth. Um, I made way more money in sales than I did coaching, than I'm doing in coaching. Now, that's not gonna be the case all the time. Of course, I do have intentions of growing, it's a business, right? So just because I love it, it doesn't mean that I'm gonna starve doing what I love. That's not it. It's a business. You gotta find the right um uh formula, the right algorithms, and then so that you can build the life that you want doing what you love, but not easy in any aspect, not in real estate, not in coaching, not in uh opening up a marketing company, and any business, right? So I think that for example, when uh I started it, I knew that I was going to not make the same amount of money. And sales, I want to get into the numbers, but I did a lot better than what I'm doing in coaching. However, it is to start to curl up, but now it's starting after five years, I'm four and a half years into coaching, I'm almost in five years, right? So yesterday I was at a presentation where I hosted and I spoke and I said that it's after five years that you really proved that you belong in business with that business that you started with. So, what am I talking about? You can Google this, but it takes five years before five years in business, 85% of companies fail. Right? And this is not like, oh Chris, where'd you get that from? It's it's everywhere. So for me, I'm at that four and a half year mark, right? So I will not, under any circumstance, fail within the first five years. In fact, I'm not failing at all, but I I truly believe that after the fifth year is when you really start to compounded effort, starts to take your business and it starts to rise. People now start coming to you. Next level. It's similar to the stuff that we've talked about, BPM, right? So you build your brand, even in coaching. I had to BPM myself in coaching, my branding, my presence, and then you know, going through to the marketing part of it, right? So the trials and tribulations are gonna be constant. I have challenges right now because I'm speaking to you, like I have challenges, and and I don't intend to stop having challenges because if I do, then I'm not growing. So I intend to be, I want challenges, throw them at me, man. I want to solve everything.

Speaker:

I love what you're sharing because what I tell myself all the time is Chris, when things happen and it's very hard to look over that uh fear, the um the pain is inevitable, but the suffering is a choice, right? So you you either choose to suffer, you or you choose to overcome that and make it your superpower, right? And I definitely see that's what you're doing in your journey and the mindset shifts that you went through during, especially with your wife's situation. You have kids, very young kids, actually. So I'm that's a huge struggle, and for you to still keep up that energy and be there for the people who actually believed in you and make that those changes and uplift them while you're also trying to uplift yourself, that is strength, resilience. I really see that in you even today, and you know, and appreciate that you bring to that every table or to every meeting or gathering that you're at.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you have to and to just cap that off, thank you for all those amazing things you said. Um you tell my kids that it just in any room that you walk into, you just breathe air into it. Don't be an air suck. Just breathe air into that room. Make sure that when you walk in, you're adding positive energy in any room you walk into, right? So, and I have to go back to that moment. But even you know, my wife is going through the chemo stuff, and that chemo ward, I don't know what they call it, but we were having a party in there, man. It was like we're coming in, we're dropping off donuts and this and that, and we're making stuff and we're talking to the people that are getting chemo on the other side, cracking jokes. I turned that place into a it was a party in there. Even the nurses were like, oh yeah, because they knew we were coming in, yeah. We're coming in, man. You guys better get ready. No sad shit here. Let's go, we can leave that out. Um uh, but you know, I think it's important to live like that. I think if everyone can can strive for that type of legacy where you know I put positive energy into any space that I came into. Oh my god, man. I think we'd have a completely different world, right? We're all like, no, no, there is no problem. No, positive. You got a problem, let's talk about it. Throw it on the table, let's figure it out. It's just always with that solution mindset, right?

Speaker:

Most Chris, I really like your core values. You always tell everybody, and you actually live by this. Be courageous, create quality, live inspired. Can you break it down for us? What does that really mean for you?

Speaker 1:

You really dug deep. This is good. Um, you're making me think here, Stella. Um, I have had many coaches as well, right? And uh one of the things that I got from uh one of my coaches, Mike Reed, he said, When you have not much time to live, let's say that someone tells you you got 60 seconds, dude, you're gonna die in 60 seconds, and you have your family and friends and kids all around you. What are the last things that you're gonna tell them? What are the last things that you want to tell them? Your top secrets, and that brought that out of me. I'm like, I got 60 seconds, so here we go. I would say, guys, live with courage. Just just don't be fearless. If you want to do something, go go for it, give it a shot so that you have no regrets, just give but give it a solid shot with bleed with courage, right? So be courageous. Then I would say, and when you do that, leave it all on the table, give it all your effort. Yes, so now that is be courageous, create quality. So anything that you do it to your best ability. If you're gonna create a podcast, do it to the best of your possible abilities. If you're going to get into a business, leave it all on the make sure that you have that if you're gonna get married, leave it all on the table. If you're gonna have kids, give it your all that just just create quality, quality, right? And then live inspired is the other piece, which is I think we ought to live an inspirational life, but also strive to inspire others to do the same. Yes, and that's where all that comes from. And then I do try to live by that. And I ask myself at times, am I being courageous? Am I creating quality stuff? So when people ask me to do things, I always ask myself, is this the best that I can do? If it isn't, then I'm I'm ignorant to my own values. So stop being ignorant and do it better. That's why I have to be careful what I commit to, because when I commit, I commit hard. Yes. And because of that, I I've had to learn to say no to things because it's like, wait, if I can't do it to my core values, I can't I can't do it because it's not right for you and it's not right for me.

Speaker:

That's right.

Speaker 1:

It's not about money, it's not about accolades and how many claps I can get. No, it's can I do it to my full potential? Can I do it with full courage, knowing that I've got I'm going all in? Can I create the best possible results for you if you're asking me to do this? And can I do it while I'm inspiring others in the process?

Speaker:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

So that's the meaning of that.

Speaker:

That itself is very inspiring. You have that's great. I mean, every time that I hear you say that, I read it in your book, uh, and I always see on your social media, you always preach based on that. Um, I really wanted to know where that came from.

Speaker 1:

Thank you very much for sharing that. That's a great question. Thank you for asking. That's uh it's amazing. Thank you.

Speaker:

Yeah, so I've seen you have inspired many lives, my colleagues that I work with, and even myself. I met you when I needed that mentorship, and it's been great. Uh and my experience has been I never had a mentor before, to be very honest with you. So that's my first relationship with a mentor, and that has been awesome. Has brought me to where I want to be. And I that, as you mentioned, it's not like six months to one year, it's a lifelong relationship because everything that you do, not only business, even in life, those coachings can still definitely have an effect on it, right? But in your viewpoint, you mentioned that you had many coaches, mentors uh in your journey. Why do you think that is important in today's uh economy and especially in the environment that we are in right now? Anyone who's trying to grow, start something or having doubts, why the mentorship is important?

Speaker 1:

There's two aspects of that, I think. Um one one of them is, and which is the common one that everybody talks about, which is oh, shortcut. If you have mentors and coaches, you get a shortcut. True. But there's another component, which is sometimes you need different perspectives. So, so because I I've had coaches that gave me perspective, but I still chose to do it my way, and maybe it didn't pan out, but it feels a lot better knowing that when it doesn't pan out, I can go back and say, I should have done it that way. So, so now perspective that I can be like, let me take what I did, let me just reform it to what my coach was talking about, and let me shoot again, let me try it again. So, perspective is is is key, but here's another thing that is true for me, and this is gonna sound a little self-centered, maybe, I don't know, but we're gonna give it a shot anyway. A lot of times, I've read books that I'm like, oh, but I I know this, but reminders, man, you need reminders of how things work because it's like, oh no, this makes I I know that already. And a lot of times I've read books that I'm like, that makes sense, but hearing it again is what keeps the top of mind, which is what makes me do it because taught me out of sight out of mind. If you're not reading it, if someone's not telling it to you, you're not gonna do. Let me give you a perfect example of a mentor of mine, love him like a father. But if he saw this podcast and he saw that I had this this year, he'd be like, How many times have I told you that that's not what he doesn't know? He doesn't not at all. And every time I have to go and eat with him, I have to like shave it down to like nothing. Like I'm like five o'clock. But this is my look. But here's a perfect example of my mentor telling me that's not how successful looks. Successful looks clean, but that's his perspective. I don't feel comfortable clean. In fact, and even if I shave half of this off, my children will look at me and say, What did you do with my dad? They don't know what else I look like. If I take anything off of anything, they're like, they have no idea who I am. So that's a perfect example of it's just perspective. And you start to understand, I'm aware, but at the same time, this is also my look and how I feel comfortable, right? And that's also important. I don't want to lose myself in the process of mentorship. But perspective, what everybody says, shortcuts, it's true. They can help you shortcut certain things. It's always good. You almost have more confidence with mentorships and coaches and things like that. You have more confidence because there's nothing better than seeing a challenge, right? And then you're like, and then looking back and then seeing somebody standing there, you got this. That's all you need sometimes, and you're like, I got this, yeah, I do have this, and then you go, right? But but the other one is you look back and there's nobody behind you, and you're like, I'm alone on this one, man. This is gonna be tough. And then now you're in your head. You have no one to bounce the ideas off of, but at least with a coach, mentor, you come back, you're like, This is what I'm thinking, man. No, don't go that way. How about this? No, no, do that one, and then you go and you do it. So it's also like that. When you push back, they push forward more, and then you move forward, then you push back again, they're like, uh-uh, that way, and then you push forward again. So it's like every time you move back, you feel like that, you then you're you're moving, and they're right behind you. You're moving, then you pull back, and they're like, uh-uh, and then you keep going. If that makes any sense visually, right? Yes, that's what mentorship, coaching, that's what it does. Yes, and it's not front facing. Most people don't value it as much because it's not front facing in the business, it's basing, it's an intangible thing. You can't people can't touch it. It's not like you do this, you get money. Coaching and training and consulting and all that stuff that happens on the back, it still requires someone like you to move forward.

Speaker:

Forward, exactly.

Speaker 1:

So we're not gonna push you forward, but we won't let you go back. Yes, you need to move forward, and we you move forward, we come up with you, right? But the minute you start pushing back, you're like that way, and then you keep going, and then we remove that's that's why it's important.

Speaker:

Exactly. And um, I I love how you describe that, that's exactly what coaching does to someone that needs that extra push to go forward. What I'm very surprised about about is Chris, when I'm talking to people, especially young people who are just finishing their teenage, getting into the real life, getting into their early 20s, they always look up to people and say, Wow, look at him or look at her. She's lucky. I don't know how she's doing it. And some no, even my daughter, she says, Oh, I want to be like her when I grow up, which is amazing. I always tell her to tell my my child as well, how do you get into that circle right now? What is there that you need to do to get into that circle so you know what they are doing? And that's exactly the mindset that anybody who's looking up to other people and saying, Oh, I need that to myself, get into that person's circle, have that mentorship. I have seen many successful people like you and many others, they actually pay to be in that circle, right? Absolutely. But when I when I'm having a conversation with someone like who don't know about these circles and coachmanships, it's like would I have to pay to get in his circle to see what he's doing on a daily basis?

Speaker 1:

They just don't get it.

Speaker:

That's experience that you're observing, absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 1:

That has happened so many times. True story, I I have spent over a hundred thousand dollars, I don't know, definitely over a hundred, I don't think it's hit 200, but deaf maybe definitely over a hundred thousand dollars. Let's just keep it there, that's a safe number. I don't know if I hit 200 yet, but in in coaching and getting into the right circles, and uh right now, my investment portfolio, which is different than my business, but my investment portfolio is taking me to multifamily investing. And I'm going to a workshop in Scottsdale right now, and that was a pretty penny to be in the room with some of these nine-figure people. And absolutely, it takes money to get in there. So, what I see as when you have success in your business and you're making money, some of that needs to be allocated towards getting in the room with the right people. It starts with some research on YouTube and Google and things like that. Once you figure that out, then you narrow it down to say, how much is it? What is it? Then you have to be very purposeful when you're in that room, and you have to talk, you can't just sit back and listen. You actually have to engage.

Speaker:

Engage, yeah.

Speaker 1:

You have to talk to people, you have to at some point you have to be a business person and talk and see where the opportunities are, ask questions and things like that, right? So, yes, it is sometimes pain to be in those circles, but once you're in those circles, you have to be able to have questions, conversations, you inquire. You can't be afraid to talk about what you don't know. You can't be afraid to talk about what you don't know, meaning ask questions. Like, I don't know about this. Do you mind giving me a little summary of how you did it? Whatever, yeah. Get some information. Exactly. So I love that. Hit it on the head.

Speaker:

I and I also believe having a mentor and you're looking for a mentor or a coach.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely.

Speaker:

It's an investment that you're making for yourself, it's a self-investment, and definitely that pays off in the long term.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no doubt about it.

Speaker:

Most uh definitely. Also, I want to talk about a lot of our audience today, Chris. They are mostly first-time home buyers or who are still on the edge, new immigrants trying to start a life in Canada for the better. So, anybody who's listening and who are in that stage, what is a good piece of advice that you can share with them in today's world and economy?

Speaker 1:

The first piece of advice is be courageous. No, I'm not going into my values, but it is true. I'm not going into be courageous, create quality of living. I'm not going into that, but I am going to start with the courage piece. Yeah. And uh but let's dig deeper into what type of courage. It's the courage that to understand that um sometimes you have to go through a little bit of pain. Be okay with that. You're coming into this new country, you can master it. I don't know who I'm speaking to, but you can master this country, you can figure it out. So seek information, and and I'll tell you, this country was built, in my opinion, was built on workers, people that will roll up their sleeves and they get stuff done. So, friends, if you have to work two, three jobs while you're learning the way, do so. Save the money and again with the courage piece of it, definitely start to invest and understand investing. This place is beautiful for that ability. You know what? My son is a newcomer to the world. He's only 13, right? But he's a newcomer to the world in theory, right? He's only been here. 13 years. And what I taught him is that he already has to have and PS none of the money that he invested is my money. He worked for it. So he has a mutual fund, no big deal. Silly mutual fund. But it's not the mutual fund, it's the idea of putting money aside and delayed gratification. If you're coming into this country, you have to delay gratification, learn as much as you can so you know what your options are, and then triple down on working hard. If you could do that, then you're gonna save the money. While you're saving the money, throw some money into an investment mutual fund. His account, it's only at $1,800, but it's his money. He worked for it, and then I told him, What do you want to do with that money? Here's your option you can invest it or you can blow it on games. He goes, No, put that money in there. Okay, okay, opened up his mutual fund, he has it in there, no problem. Today, it's been open for three years, and today that little kid has made 19% on his $1,800. This $2,200 and something. He's made, you know, I tell him this $420 is what you made in your sleep, is what I tell him. And he's like, Really? Like a so so and so information. I didn't have that information when I came to Canada. So I would say I'm gonna recap it to what I think we need to lead into the courage aspect of it. You can master the way of living here comfortably. You're gonna have to work hard, educate yourself, and there's a lot of tools out there for you guys to really build a solid life for you. But even for me, how did I start? I have to work, man. Crazy. I have three jobs too. We all start there, right? So even if you're coming in as a newcomer, maybe you're in your 40s, maybe you're in your 30s, whatever. Get creative with your partners. In some cases, if the kids are old enough, get kids. I think older people, when they have kids that are over 25, I think we need to work together now. It's that time where kids need to be part of the conversation at home, especially kids that are 25. You're not a kid anymore, man. Go get a job and contribute and build wealth together, right? So I think these are some of the important components that people need to be talking to these newcomers, right? I hope that helps. I don't know because it could be a scary. I'm trying to go back to like with my mom. My mom, the first thing she did was she got a job, and I remember she was working and doing cleaning at night. I remember because I went and changed the garbage cans with her. She took me to change the garbage cans at night with her because she needed extra money. That's the story. But now my mom is about to retire. They love her at work, she's doing well, she's got her house is nearly paid off, so they it can be done. The end can be really nice. But in the beginning, my mom came, got a job, work, you came when she was 33, I think. So she came, she got a job, whatever. And now 60, she's 65 now, so and now she house is paid, almost paid off. She's got a good pension savings for her retirement, so you can have it, and she didn't do anything special. Yes, it was very just steady, steady. Job, part-time gig, raise me, and just did what she had to do. So you can have it. You can have that, you can have a good life here, definitely.

Speaker:

That's inspiring, uh, Chris. So, what I'm gonna conclude that for you. So, what I heard is be courageous, work, work hard, be informed, do your research and talk to the correct people, absolutely, and move with strategy. That's that's the sacred formula. You got it, absolutely. Thank you very much for sharing that story with me. I've I have seen you in a lot of uh events, and I also see that you co-founded the Vaughn Investors Club as well. Um, and I do hear, and I actually believe myself as well, being present in the uh industry right now, whichever the industry is that you are in, is very important. And you actually put that seed in my brain when you coach me. Tell me, like, share with our audience today why is that important, especially in today's world where the online social media and AI is thriving.

Speaker 1:

So there is too much technology and people are longing for connection. You want to make a clip? This there's too much technology, and people are longing for connection. We need to connect physically, right? That's true, absolutely, right? And there is so much technology that now people are starting to not believe it anymore because videos are not even real anymore. You just take a picture of your face and you go that way and you do this, and then AI does the rest. So there's so much of that that people are not even believing video anymore. Now they're like, I don't believe that. Now I believe you because you're here. Yes. So now I always thought of myself there's an episode on Walking Dead where all the cars are going in one direction, and I think it's Walking Dead. It's either Walking Dead or Resident Evil, one of those zombie movies, horror zombie movies. Everybody's driving one way, don't go that way, yes, and there's one crazy guy that's like, nah, I gotta go back and get my daughter, and then they're like I I often think to myself that that's my life. When I see everybody rushing one way, I'm like, oh bye, I'm going this way. I don't want to go where the crowd is, I'm not interested. So, what do I do? I'm leaning heavily into in-person events right now, heavily into handshaking, heavily into flying to different states, and I did my talks in Mexico, I coached agents in Mexico as well. So I'm leaning heavily into the opposite. I also believe that BPM, this is another good one. I also believe that BPM is the antidote to the AI evolution. I think I think branding, someone's branding presence and good marketing campaign, I truly believe that that is how you combat this AI explosion. Because if you have a solid brand, look do you know how GPT, Chat GPT gets its information? From Google.

Speaker:

Most of it.

Speaker 1:

Watch this now. If I write an article and you ask a question, what GPT is doing is grabbing my information that I put into the world, and it's taking my information and answering your question with my information.

Speaker:

That's true, 100%.

Speaker 1:

So everything that I create online is essentially it ChatGPT is taking all the information, including my intellectual property, anything that I can come up with, and if you ask the question over here, it just takes everything here and just and just gives you, but it just shortens it up for you. So now, ChatGPT itself, you can ask it who is the king of real estate coaching and da da da. The more I brand myself in a particular area, GPT itself will tell you Chris Chopite is the number one coach in whatever if I brand myself properly. In fact, you can ask ChatGPT who I am, and it'll be the best-selling author, da da da. It picks that up from everything that I've done. And what is that? Yeah, my brand. Your brand, exactly. No, I can teach Chat GPT what to say about me. Imagine that. Yes, but you need to build your brand. If you don't have a brand, you're it doesn't even know you exist. So you need to teach the machine to work for you, not against you. So BPM is the answer. That's it. There's no other.

Speaker:

The reason I'm agreeing is right now in Google, that's an AI feature. Google AI when you're doing the search. So what I did, I Googled my name. I did this actually a couple of days ago. You have to do that. I Googled my name and I was very, you know, I saw what the Google is saying about me, uh, which was really good.

Speaker 1:

Uh-huh.

Speaker:

And then I saw that AI feature and I wanted to see what AI is saying about me. And I went into Google AI. Oh my god, it actually wrapped my life and gave me in a nice bouquet. Oh my god, anybody is reading that? I'm very impressed.

Speaker 1:

Right? So that's what I'm saying, but that's because you took the time to do a talk show to that to build your brand, your presence. You have a marketing aspect to all this, of course, it's a business at the end of the day. But you know what? That's what we need to do. BPM is the way, exactly, not only for agents, for across all businesses, in my humble opinion. Yes, I deal with specifically the real estate industry, but that concept of building your branding, your presence, and your marketing, your BPM, that is something that could be reused in any industry.

Speaker:

Even if I'm Googling saying what's the best uh Mexican restaurant in uh Toronto, sure, that restaurant that has a better branding, a better presence in the community, and a strong marketing campaign. That's the one exactly. So, yeah, this is why I say AI is not your enemy, it's something that you can use to better yourself and become the person that AI can't replace.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely.

Speaker:

So that is absolutely right. I thank you very much for breaking it down. And you actually brought back my two days ago memory because that was actually showed me the meaning of why that anybody should be paying attention to BPM, as you mentioned. And um, I read your book. Uh, you're gonna talk about your book next. Uh, but I know the BPM, it's a uh top seller on Amazon. I you know, it's amazing. That book is amazing. Um, and I actually applied that into my business strategies, my business planning, even for the talk show, because you know, my goal, my mission with the talk show is to be the number one talk show in Toronto for real stories, real strategies, and real success. And if I'm gonna do that, I need to make sure I'm doing exactly that in everywhere I'm representing my talk show. And I think we are on the right path with the BPM. Absolutely, and even for real estate, most definitely.

Speaker 1:

Well, and so your show has grown immensely, right? To over 22,000 subscribers. What the heck? I remember when we did the first one, and I just I'm like, don't stop doing it. And it's like you took this and you're like, nope, I'm not. And we are only 10 months in. Imagine less than a year, imagine that, right?

Speaker:

That's all BPM. That's crazy. And if anybody is questioning, do I really need brand process and marketing in my business or in anything that I'm doing, this is a living example that you can take from.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. No, no, the answer is yes, you need it.

Speaker:

Most definitely. So we're gonna talk about some of your best achievements that I am very proud of, and I'm I know you're very proud of as well. You have been featured on HGTV. Tell us a little bit about that, and then we'll talk about your book.

Speaker 1:

HGTV was fun. It was fun. It's one of those things that you you do it and it just as fast as it comes, is as fast as it goes. It's actually the experience is great. What can I tell you? Let me tell you actually a very interesting story that I've never told about that. Being on HGTV is what you expect, right? Your lights camera action, it's this, except the cameras are bigger, there's a guy holding the mic over you. It's just but it's just this, right? There's the director telling you what to say, what not to say, all that type of stuff is what you expect. It's TV. So that aspect of it is fun, you feel incredible, right? You're on TV and then seeing yourself on television even better. I've stayed in hotels where I'm flipping channels and I'm like, and then I see it's styled is on, and I'm like, eh, and I'm watching the show that I was on, so that's been kind of cool. But here's the behind the curtain stuff that people need to know. And here's the beauty about doing things because you love it. This HTTP gig happened not because oh, he's so great, he's a no, no, no. It was very simple. It happened because there was a person that I coached. Imagine this coaching got me the HTTP gig. Just to give you a it was a person that I coached whose name is Casey. And uh Casey was involved in television, and uh, I had impacted Casey as well through my coaching and things like that. She was on the jump program earlier on. That's prior, you know. So I had impacted her, and she calls me, she goes, Um, uh, hey Chris, there's an opportunity. I know the casting director of this thing, I think you'd be great for it. And I'm like, Really? You'd be great. I'm like, I don't know, whatever. Send me the stuff, let's see what happens. Then they called me and they messaged me, and then they're like, Send me this, send me that. I send all the stuff that they wanted, and then lo and behold, I got the gig. I was no, I was the only real estate agent that was featured twice in that season. Everybody, all the other agents are featured once, right? So they loved working with me, they love all that stuff. Now, I I want to highlight something here. I want to highlight it that came to me because I started coaching and I loved coaching to the point where I had an impact in Casey's life, and then Casey's coach, you gotta do this. You give this a shot. I think you'd be great at it. And I'm like, you know what? Let me give it a shot, right? So, all that to say is that when you're doing things and creating quality and actually pouring into people, then they give it back. What I'm trying to say here, guys, is that this was a gift that I got. This wasn't something that I'm like, I want to be on TV. This was a gift that Casey gave me, and I'm like, this is kind of cool, let me see what happens. And it went, you know. So it just goes to show you that anything that you do, man, just put your all into it, put all your effort, and even as I was there, I went, I got a new attire, I made sure that I look good, I gave me a haircut, that just make sure that everything was, and as I was on the show, they're like, You're better, like you're well dressed, you're meant for TV. I'm not men for TV, I just give a damn in anything that I do, right? I just care enough to say what is the best version of me. How can I show up to H E T V as the best version of me? Even if I'm not the key host of this thing, even if this is not my show, it's your damn show. Dress for the part that you want, not the part that you have. I was just a measly agent at the time, right? But then I came in and I'm like, I'm going all in, man. Whatever this is, yeah, I'm going all in. And if more opportunities come because of it, great. And if they don't, that's okay. This is TV, it'll live forever, and I'm putting my best foot forward. That's the thing, is that by putting your best foot forward, Casey said, you should do this. By getting this, then the network is like, we want to work with you. Because I could have had the opportunity, but because I don't have any professional shots or they Google me and I'm nowhere to be found. Once again, what came through? My what?

Speaker:

BPM.

Speaker 1:

Exactly. 100%. That's why I'm so adamant about it, and that's why I talk so much about it. Yes. Because if you have a solid BPM, I know this is like the BPM show. If we have a solid BPM, then opportunities naturally come to you. Yes. I'm living proof, I'm telling you.

Speaker:

And it's part of your day-to-day as well. No, no, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

You wake up and you live BPM. It's like, what's my brand? What's my how do I show up the best possible? That's the presence. That's a you have to live it. It's not like a you do it. No, no, no. BPM is a lifestyle, man. It's not a thing that you do and that's it. No, no, no. You have to live that.

Speaker:

And I love how you said don't dress for just for the part that you want to be in, not the part that you're in right now. Oh my god, that was very and then you pause for a second. You were like, that was so good. So thank you so much. That's everything that you dropped there with gems. Thank you very much for dropping those gems with me. Right, and let's talk about your book. This is I'm very excited about talking about your book. Uh, you know, it's one of the top uh sellers on Amazon. Um, and you're the best author that I've uh met in my life.

Speaker 1:

A million authors that are better than you, but I love you for saying that.

Speaker:

Thank you. I know that you it wasn't easy. You shared that in my previous episode as well. It has been you did that through many struggles, but you did not give up, you kept going and I wanted to, and then you became the best author, the bestseller. Tell me how you feel, like you know, with those the mindset shifts that you had throughout that journey, and when you see the outcome, what was your mindset there?

Speaker 1:

I think maybe I said it in the previous uh podcast, but one of the things that I knew I wanted to do was write a book. I didn't know what, but I did know. It wasn't like, oh, you just wrote a book. No, no, no. I actually wanted to write a book for a long time ago. In fact, I wanted to, one of the three things one of my mentors and and the father figures mentor as well, told me that it's a male figure mentor, so he said it like he was talking to a male son. So it's gonna sound very masculine, but that the message was meant to be masculine. So he said that that every man who should strive, maybe not should, because maybe they can't, but anyway, here we go. I'm just trying to be politically correct as I send this because it may not be a politically correct statement, yet it worked for me and it inspired me. And really, that's all that it matters, right? So so he said every man should strive for three things to have a son, to write a book, and to plant a tree. Because those are things that when you're gone, they stay behind, and then you essentially you added to the world as opposed to taking. You leave those three things. You leave your son behind to continue your legacy, you leave the book that you wrote behind to continue to tell stories and teach the future generations, and you plant a tree to put back because these things they provide air, they clean the air for us, they provide paper and as uh you know those are the three things that he said. He's like, you should trust strive to do these three things. That's beautiful. So I always knew I wanted to write a book. I had a son, but that's God, right? That's not me, right? So, anyway, I had a son, I wrote the book. I plant to plant a tree, and I'm not talking about a tree in the backyard. I just spoke to my wife about what I'm going to do. And um, I'm going to probably when my son graduates, we're gonna go to maybe Laskatchewan or Alberta, and we're gonna spend a whole week, and we're going for the entire week, we're gonna plant hundreds of trees. That's all we're gonna do for a whole stinking week. There's gonna be a piece of land that's gonna be trees planted, which is it's gonna be a thing that I do before he goes on to university. It's something so I'm gonna do all three, but I'm going to do multiple trees. I don't think one tree is enough for me. So I know that's not what you asked me, but I just wanted to tell you that the book wasn't a thing that I'm like, oh, I heard that someone said that it's good to write a book for business. No, I always wanted to write a book. It just so happened that I wasn't passionate about anything at the time until I found coaching, and I'm like, and I'm like, no, this is it. Then I went in, and it took me two years, right? So it was a team effort. And uh I I say this always, and I'll say it again. That's not my book. That's a whole village that it took to write that damn thing. It's a whole village, man. And that has my wife all over it, it has my my children for inspiration all over my team. I may have my face on that thing, but man, there's so many people that blessed that book in order for it to be what it is today.

Speaker:

And that's an amazing book too. And it actually ref reflects the strength that you brought to paper there. Because when you're reading it, you gotta understand what your words mean because you actually broke it down in a way that makes sense to even the common reader, and that's why it's very unique, and I don't doubt that's why it has been the number one top seller out there. So, congratulations, that's a big adjustment.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, Stella. You mentioned something really key there. I just I didn't want it to be a book that was filled with uh jargon that was so out of the swirl that the concepts were like it had people spinning, right? I wanted people to just read it and then feel that they're talking to me. Speaking of which, I am doing the audiobook and it's it's gonna come out sometime mid-next year, so that's gonna be fun. And I'm gonna be narrating myself, so so that's gonna be fun. It'll take me about three weeks. You wanna add some good stuff in there? So I'm excited for that new project. But I think that the most important thing with the book is the trials and tribulations of the book, was you do lose you do lose energy, you do lose momentum. There were maybe three or four, not four, maybe two or three, two or three times that I was like, uh maybe I'm not meant for it. Maybe, maybe I'm not a writer. Maybe this is not gonna, and then you get people like your wife had to tell me a couple of times, are you kidding me? You didn't just go away for two weeks by yourself over there, so you better finish that stinking book. Oh god. So that so it's again, it took a village.

Speaker:

And I'm very glad that you finished it, and it has become a huge success in your journey. So I'm very proud of you.

Speaker 1:

Okay, thank you. That means a lot. Thank you.

Speaker:

Chris, I wanted to ask you, you have this initiative about the give day on your birthday, and I remember exactly the year that you started it, if I'm not wrong. Um, and you would you know when I spoke to you on the phone on that, you know, before you actually went away for that, you told me exactly why that you were doing it. Yeah, and I saw you continuingly doing it here after that. Would you like to share that with the audience today?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, man, game day is so special to me because uh it's a day that I I turn what is meant to what's the purpose of a birthday, right? The purpose of a birthday is that's the day that we came into this world and we're celebrating that. So my thought is should we be celebrating or should we be giving thanks that we survived another year or that we are here? Think about that for a second. Do we be celebrating the fact that we're here or should we be giving thanks that we're here? I don't know. So for me, I chose that in order for me to remind myself every year I am fortunate to be alive another year. This is not something that we're not gonna go crazy and celebrate. We need to give thanks. So, how do we give thanks? We turn the birthday into a give day, right? So on my give day, we have started, we go to a very special place in Mexico, close to where I do some work down there as well. Yes, in uh in Yucatán. So we go there on my birthday, on my give day, and we we set up packages of food and we fill up the trunk of a car full of toys, and we go there for like a couple of hours in an area that's not as fortunate, right? And we just give. And there's been moments, magical moments, where I finish giving the thing, and before I turn around, I have to turn around quickly because as I give it, they're so happy that I'm I'm already in tears. So I have to let me like, hey, you're welcome. And then I gotta turn around and keep going because I'm already like you know, so it's become such a magical moment. I look forward to it every year. Kids love it because I'm like, here, you give that to that lady, you give that over there. Oh, there's some kids coming here, give them that, and there and in the first couple of years, they were like, What are we doing? And now it's like they're all in interconnected with these kids that some of them are coming out, they have no shoes. It's just like, and and to them, and this is normal to my kids because they're privileged. I'll say it, right? Like we're lucky to be in this country. The fact that we can afford to go and over there, there's no credit to even buy on credit. Here, at least we have credit, so we don't miss a pair of shoes. We can go and buy a pair of shoes on a credit card. Yes, over there, they don't have credit, you don't have the money, you ain't getting shoes. That's it, right? So, in that aspect, we are privileged in this country, right?

Speaker:

Chris, I have to say, like from the beginning of our conversation to now, you shared that you came into Canada as an 11-year-old young boy, you didn't know the language, you were made fun of because of that, and now you took that, you got featured on HTTV, you are a very reputable coach that everybody looks up to, including myself. And then you wrote one of the best sellers that's out there. Yeah, yes, you branded BPM, and then you are leaving a huge legacy and example by initiating the give day. So, this is a huge achievement. You should you know we need to celebrate this in the next level. And I am very proud of all the achievements that you have uh made yourself and shared with your family, and also that has created inspiration to share with everybody else that who wants to be someone like you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, thank you so much. That's a crazy summary.

Speaker:

But it is absolutely true, right? Yeah, so anybody listening right now, and if you're self-doubting yourself, take Chris as an example, and you can reach Chris directly as well and get inspired like I did. Good luck, Chris. Thank you very much for joining us and sharing your story with us. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you.

Speaker:

It's been a pleasure. Chris, your journey reminds us that courage isn't the absence of fear, it's a decision to keep moving forward anyway. To everyone who's listening, today wasn't just a conversation about reality. It was about building a live legacy and motivation. If you enjoyed the discussion, I should have any.