Dragon's Gold: The Magic of Mindset

From Combat to Capital: Shelon Hutchinson’s Mission to Own More of America

• Justin Mills • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Episode Summary:

From the hills of Jamaica to the cockpit of Marine Corps aircraft, Shelon “Hutch the Marine Investor” Hutchinson has lived a life of vision, grit, and transformation. In this powerful episode of Dragon’s Gold: The Magic of Mindset, Hutch shares his deeply personal story of resilience, leadership, and legacy—from a barefoot schoolboy to a veteran investor helping others own more of America.
 

Key Themes: 

  • Growing through trauma and finding purpose
  • The power of self-control and self-awareness in leadership
  • What it means to "bloom where you're planted"
  • How Hutch helps veterans create financial freedom
  • Leading with integrity, legacy, and love


What You’ll Learn:

  • How Hutch transformed childhood adversity into servant leadership
  • A powerful mindset shift around using “later money” to invest now
  • How his military career shaped his approach to wealth-building
  • Why legacy begins with inner healing and family-first values
  • Practical insights for veterans and high-net-worth individuals ready to invest with impact

Tools & Weapons Mentioned:

  •  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – The book that kickstarted Hutch’s leadership journey
  • Think and Grow Rich – A mindset classic and source of Hutch’s belief in manifestation
  • Measure Backwards – A concept from Dan Sullivan that reshaped how Hutch sees growth
  • Guided Visualization – A transformational moment through Nick Santonastasso’s meditation
  • Quote by Viktor Frankl – “Between stimulus and response, there is a space…” (Hutch’s personal mantra)
  • Family Systems & Rituals – Monthly date nights, special moments with kids, and intentional legacy-building 

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About Gold Dragon Investments:
At Gold Dragon Investments, our mission is to bring joy to others by helping them win the game of investing — helping every client become the hero of their financial journey. We believe that wealth is a tool, but joy is the ultimate outcome.
Through meaningful partnerships, we strive to empower our investors to create freedom, and build lasting legacies of purpose, fulfillment, and wealth.

Join Us on the Adventure:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to another episode of Dragon's Gold, the magic of mindset. Today we have a true hero, Shalon Hutchinson, co-founder of H Squared Capital and host of the multifamily real estate experiment. Hutch, welcome to the show. Thank you so much brother for having me. truly a pleasure, my friend. Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence, my friend. And I want to say this open and immediately, thank you for your service. I'm honored to serve, man. And now we dissect a little bit in the journey as far as why I feel so privileged that I get the opportunity to serve this great country. You know what mean? So we talk about that, you know? So honor is mine, brother. I love it. dive in. start at the origin story. where did it begin for Hutch? man, it begins really deep when I said deeper meaning the value, but it goes a little bit deeper. Right? So when I was born, I was born in the Kingston public hospital Jubilee hospital. And however, my mom lived in a small community known as one the bonus. And if you pitch a one, the bonus one, the bonus is on the side of a mountain and it's almost at the bottom of the mountain. And what's really cool about one, the bonus is that. The name is pretty cool. However, the culture in that environment and the serene environment that we had right and you wouldn't believe that this place was once a coffee slave plantation. And it's probably one of the most tranquil place that you will ever visit in the on this earth. I probably could be biased, but that's where the journey begins right in a small hillside or mountainside in Jamaica place called one debolus oldest coffee state plantation, you know, so. From there, I immigrated to America in 1998. you know, we'll talk about this a little bit more as you ask these questions, but what I'm doing now, it's really interesting to see how a small seed that was created, and maybe it's time traveling, or maybe it's just this weird tapping into universal intelligence of predicting the future, right? You know, I had an epiphany when I was in the third grade that if I ever go to America, I want to join the military, right? And I want to work on aircraft and that thing happened. So I'm here and 26 years plus in the Marine Corps and still working around aircrafts and do some real estate as well. That's amazing. That's amazing. love that having that vision and you said third grade. Yeah, you see unique store, right? So imagine yourself. I was sitting there. Probably was bare feet, right? Because when I lived in one of all us, most of the time that I went to school or walk to school bare feet, it was not a far distance. The school was less than a quarter mile from my house. Right. And, you know, so I had a Sunday shoes and your Sunday shoes used to wear to Sunday school to go to church. You know, so a lot of times we walk to school, walk to school, bare feet. But I remember sitting there in the third grade and we were reading what's what used to be the children's own. which was mandatory reading for school age children. And there was a hometown news of this young man that was in America. He was in the military. I forgot what branch of service he was in. However, he was aboard a ship and he was working on aircraft. So he was sitting there in the third grade reading that article. And I remember telling myself that if I ever get a chance to go to America, man, keep in mind, Justin, I did not have a telegen until I was about 13 years old, right, or consistently, right? I used to go to the neighbor's house and every now and then and watch a TV. We watched some kung fu movie like Bruce Lee. We watched, we watched Matlock and a couple different other TV show, prominent TV shows from the in eighties. However, getting a deep understand of what the US military is and what the United States is like, you know, I had limited preview. However, I told myself if I ever go to America, I want to join the military and I want to work on aircraft, you know, and fast forward, you know, from third grade, you know, I graduated high school in Jamaica. Then I came to America when I was 18 and less than two months later, I was standing in yellow footprint, yellow footprint becoming a Marine. That's amazing. I achieved your dream. That's incredible. Well, I think that that story alone is inspirational for many. But I want to, I want to peel it back even further and, kind of ask, you know, beyond that moment, the leap of faith, the, the moment when you knew that you were destined for something greater, when, when did you know that? And how did you feel? What action did you take to achieve those dreams? Yeah, I want to get a little bit weird with my answer, right? It's like really, really weird. And this is a this is something transformational that happened recently. Right. I went to the race fast conference in twenty twenty four out in out in Phoenix, Right. It's hosted by our first Phyllis Dita, Hunter Thompson. And. He had. Nick Stantonasto came there and talked to us. And Nick took us through this meditation, an amazing meditation where he plays the meditation music and he want us to listen to his voice and he want us to get comfortable. And he say some words, say get comfortable, say some more words. The music is playing in the background. And then he said, said to walk, he said walk into your childhood bedroom and see yourself sitting there and then have a conversation with yourself. And I could tell you, Justin, I felt as if I time traveled. And this ties right in, right? I felt as if I time traveled. And I remember sitting in the conference room, my body was there. However, my mind, spirit, and everything from the spiritual realm was really in the bedroom of my childhood. About 10 years old, I was sitting there talking to myself and really dissecting all the things that I've grown through from that point. and letting that young man know that everything is going to be okay. And the crazy thing happened and the reason why I say it felt like time traveling because it felt so real. Additionally, to the question, you know, when I really think about growing up on the mountainside in Jamaica, I didn't really feel out of place, but I always felt as if that was not That was like a temporary place for me, right? Like I was destined for something outside of my small community. I didn't know where, and I also didn't know how I was going to do it. However, some small steps when I got to high school, I moved to Kingston with my mom, and then I joined the army cadets at my high school. And that really taught me some deep resiliency, right, of what hardship is. and what it is to feel like to get punched in the face, punched in the chest, kicked in the chest, kicked in the back, all that good stuff, right? Let's build in resiliency and toughness, right? And functioning on the pressure and being inoculated in some environment where you can function in a very high stress environment. So it's amazing how, and I really do think I was preparing for future employment, for future, whether it be combat action or something, of like life that's gonna really challenge me, right? I didn't know why, but I was going through the grind. And when I look back and that transition, that transformation that Nick Santanasto took us through, I saw it all came together. And I had to let the young man know that everything you're gonna grow through is worth it. And I remember, I to, man, I couldn't compose myself, It was like tears, you felt. everything is like, I embodied that emotion. And it has been the most transformational experience that anyone that I've ever taken me through and what it did for me, Justin, he helped me like really helped me to find meaning in everything that I've gone through. And, you know, Dan Sullivan talks about talks, talks a lot about measuring backwards. And that was the epitome of measuring backwards. This is the concept where A lot of us, especially the beginning of 2025, a lot of us we're thinking about setting goals, right? And all these futuristic things that we want to accomplish. And a lot of time that can be challenging. It can be maybe not so much depressing, but it could be overwhelming at times, right? But what Dan Sullivan talked about is if you really think about your journey and where you came from and you measure backwards and how far you've come, then the future becomes super interesting and not overwhelming. You know, so that transformational exercise that Nick Santanaso took us through, you know, it really helps me to put things into perspective and all the things that I've done over the years that lead me to this point exactly in my life where, you know, past several years I've been a part of over $130 million in real estate acquisition, being able to lead, mentor and mold, you know, thousands of young men and young women from all different corners of the world. end of the country, know, different background, whether it be wealthy background, poor background, abusive background, you know, and relaxed background. And it's just, it helps me to really put all that into perspective. that my friend really helping you find purpose, Looking back, having a vision and looking forward and wanting to experience something, but being able to go forward, achieve your dreams, look back and reflect and see that all of those twists and turns, all of that pain in many cases that you experience, emotional, physical, joy as well, but all of those experiences come together in a culmination for what is your life. and to see how far you've come and all of the things that you've overcome, all the trials and tribulations, the things that have come through and that you were able to achieve, to succeed beyond. When we talk about trials and tribulations, I call it the gauntlet. What are some of the moments? What are some of the experiences that you had, that you had to overcome to become successful? Yeah, so I think most people that grew up in the environment that I've been exposed to, know, whether it be rough times in Jamaica where, you know, shots fired and everyone ducking on the nitty-bitty bed running inside the house, you know, to the point where you're a teenager now and you are now numb to those situations where shots fired, you know, you have not done anything to anyone. you you waited for the shots to stop firing. Then you go, you go look at the effect of those, of those gunshots in it's your neighbor or, you know, close neighbor or a foreign neighbor, right? We were the shots fire and that person is no longer with us. And we become so numb to that environment that it happened like, you know, almost every week, you know, at least once a month, you get to, you get to see all these, you get to exposure to death at a young age. And I think a lot for a lot of people, what that tends to do is put them in an environment of a lot of stress and that created called disorder. Right. And I really think, you know, to the point I was trying to make earlier, all those things was prepping me for the resilience that I, that I needed, right. Whenever, whenever the time come, you know, so I could, I could really talk about some of those really struggles that I've had, but Justin, when I, when I go back, when I go back, the only things that I can find is value. Right? I remember one of the most. One of the most challenging things that I, that I can't really accept. However, I'm really wrestling with it. I remember I was probably about six years old and me and my good friend, we were sitting in church and we were banging their feet against each other. Right. And then somehow this, this news get back to one of the elders that me and my, me and my, me and my friend was doing karate. in the church, right? So imagine two young men doing karate in the church, very disruptive, right? It's a holy place and all that good stuff. And I remember being removed from my Sunday dinner, had a nice chicken leg and some rice and some mixed vegetable in my plate. You know, I think it probably took maybe two bites of my chicken leg and it never went away from me, my chicken thigh. And I remember being taken away from that table and got whooped really hard. with some electric wire, right? I never forgot that experience and because of the nature of what happened, I still cannot find value to that one. That one really messes with me. However, I really want people to understand that when you go back to the struggle in your life, it's really important that we find value. But they're gonna be those where you're gonna be like, what the heck? What was the meaning of that? I cannot figure it out yet. Hutch, when I think about that story as you share it, as sad as I feel for that poor kid, you you, when you were younger, like to be pulled away from that, I can't help but think about the clear communication is kind communication, right? In a situation where a small thing was blown out of proportion, that game of telephone, right? As it goes through and as a story can, it snowballs and grows and becomes this, it becomes this beast of its own, right? And it gets back to somebody that that now reacts to this story, right? Not to the facts, not to the reality, but to what they have been told and what they believe to have happened. And so and and and here to fast forward still to someone you who takes so much value and so much opportunity growth from all of these stories, having yet still to try and find some value in that experience. I think that despite the fact that you have yet to find the value and I think in time with reflection, you will, but, I think that the listeners can take value in that moment and recognize that don't always believe everything you hear, right? Trust and verify. And, sometimes instead of just reacting, maybe all the times, instead of just reacting, respond, take a moment. Discuss the issue. Look at the problem or the situation, the relationship, whatever it is. Look at it from all angles. Try to understand what it's like from each person's perspective and come at it with a more educated and responsible, caring, compassionate reaction or response. think I got it. I think I got it right because isn't the reason for doing these podcasts, right? Is to be able to share those, share those dragons with others, to be able to help them to understand. I think you really summed it up because as a father and as a leader, something that I've done recently, and I really think that that really ties into exactly what you're talking about is I'm a trust that you've seen the movie Inside Out, part two. Right? So watch those with my children. And my wife gave me angry, sadness and joy. She gave me those three as a balance. Right? And what happened is my son, he bought all of the other characters. So now I have all those characters on my desk. So every Marine that I interact with, right? I understand that we get to be all these different personalities, right? And to your point of not you know, jump into conclusion, take time to understand, right? What the story is, ask question, ask clarifying question, and sometimes even ask probing question to get a better understanding before one, we give advice or before we actually take issue the punishment that is necessary. You know, so really appreciate that, man. I think I might be able to have closer on this one. Well, that's that that makes my heart happy. That's really thank you. I appreciate you. Sharon's Sharon's stories like this is the entire intention of this podcast is to inspire rights to help people to be able to come out of whatever their moments are and recognizing they can achieve anything they put their mind to. Right. And I think that that's the biggest thing in so many cases is fear. Right. So many times people don't understand something, they fear it or they're afraid, they're comfortable. And they don't want to lose whatever that opportunity is. They're afraid. Or, as unfortunate as this is in many cases in reality in our world as a whole, but they're afraid to be, and you mentioned the comment about gunshots, right? How lucky and blessed are we here, the vast majority of locations in the United States of America? That's not something that we have to deal with on a regular, right? And I think so often people lose sight of the opportunities that we have here. And I think so often people don't realize how great they really have it. And when we talk about perspective, when you look at it through a different lens and you see it through someone else's eyes, you suddenly find so much more value in the things that you took for granted before. In regards to the gauntlet and those trials, those tribulations, oftentimes there's a moment in our lives. And I call this the darkest hour. There's a moment very commonly that in someone's life before they, they achieve the success they they're taken and laid low, right? Is there a moment in your life where you thought you were going to quit throwing the towel and you were just done with the aspect of entrepreneurship or trying to achieve your dreams. Yeah, so let's talk about where that, whether that true growth really started. Right. So in 2015, I took on a responsibility in a leadership position in one of my units. Right. And I am an all in guy all in. Right. So the level of my commitment didn't sit well with everyone. Right. And It was at the point where you grow through the rank, corporal sergeant, staff sergeant, gunnery sergeant. When you are gunnery sergeant, you are the freaking man, right? However, I got promoted, but I still needed to grow. I still needed growth. And it was to the point where I was about two years from being looked at for the next rank. And as you go from gunnery sergeant to master sergeant and master gunnery sergeant, there is a transition that needs to be made because your influence is enlarging. Also, your communication has to be improved. So we cannot treat everything as if they're a nail with a knife hand and different aggression, right? So I was given the opportunity to be the leader, to be the director of the non-commissioned officer professional development course, the PME, professional military education school in California. One of the things that that did that put me in a place where I had to grow to a significantly higher level to be worthy of the Marines that I was entrusted to lead. Right. However, before that, I had some leaders that I wanted them to change their approach and understand the level of commitment that I that I had. However, I've quickly learned that if you want the world around you to change, right, you have to start with you. The only thing that you can control is yourself. So been placed in this environment as I was getting ready to throw the towel in because I had a conversation with my wife at dinner, right? And she told me that I was telling her like, look, I'm getting out of Marine Corps, know, F this shit, all that. Sorry. All that good stuff, right? I am done. I'm done dealing with these people. I'm done feeling chest pains at work. I'm done stressing out. done being done taking accountability for people's action, even when they're not in my environment. Right. I was done. And Athena asked me, she said that, do you value yourself as a leader? I said, yes, I do. Do you think you bring value to your Marines as leader? I know I do. And she asked me when I reenlisted, what were your goals when you reenlisted? And I said that I want to retire from the Marine Corps. And then she asked me, she said to me, why are you allowing external factors? from push to push you away from your personal and professional goals. Right. And me understanding that she is a part of this entire, entire picture, right. Cause I only got one life, right. And she's a part of it. Like a lot of the things that I do is for her is for my children and quitting, right. When she brought it to me, it's like, I see what you're saying there, right. Quitting is not an option in this environment. We're going to stick to the goal. And then I got reassigned to that position. And I realized that I needed to some growth and I started to do a lot of reading and that reading have not stopped since 2015. I got hundreds of book in my audible that I listen to all the time, tens of probably hundreds and thousands of podcasts that I've listened to over time. I'm always in this mind frame of developing and getting better to ensure that I don't go to that level and also to ensure that I have the tools to be able to communicate effectively in my environment of the changes that I want to see and be able to impact some of those changes as well. So good, Hutch. Wow. So good. There's so much gold in what you just said right now. You know, I think about one of the things in particular, the idea about in this moment, wanting to quit, wanting to step back, not wanting to deal with all of these other personalities, these people that didn't have your same level of commitment or same level of vision. And it can be emotionally draining to be around people that don't support or, or Understand or see your perspective to go and want to throw in the towel to have the love of your wife Athena to have the support and and to have a little bit of the tough love that she brings to you right to be able to share with you and say like is this are you gonna let them let you fail like let you quit let out your external Factors make your choice for you, right? Sometimes it's just putting it back into perspective and letting you see what you saw before all the muck right before all the stuff came in front of it. Yeah, 100%. So one of the things that I noticed, Justin, is that a lot of those things that I was growing through is really wasn't the command. It was my interpretation. Right. And and a lot of time our interpretation of our environment, whether it be your work environment, your professional environment, your personal environment, a lot of it is directly correlated to your level of growth. Right. So when I started reading and I started learning myself better and how I can show up better. and how I can be better representation of myself on the trajectory to become the best version of myself. Right. I learned that it wasn't really the people around me. It was me that really need to grow to a different level, right. To be able to add the value that I want to add as a master sergeant, master gunnery sergeant, you know, so the command was good. Did amazing things. However, I needed time to grow so I can be ready for the next next advancement. And it was good, man. Worked out. I love that brother. So grateful for you, Sharon. You you talk about the level of commitment and so often I think that everyone wants the shiny object, whatever it is, the goal that they expect or think that they deserve. But so often when trying to achieve it, when trying to attain it, they realize, this is a lot harder than I expected, right? It takes a lot more effort, a lot more time, and it gets a lot messier. It's not a straight shot. You got to go down many different channels and avenues and different levels of growth that you have to experience internally. When you talk about that growth and that experience and then reading so much and being so exposed and then suddenly finding this passion for becoming the best version of yourself. I think that as with any type of entrepreneurship, the people that make it are the ones that find exactly what you're talking about right there. finding that moment and pushing through and then, and the constant growth, the, the forever student, right? The mentality that there's always something more to learn and, it's not, and this is something that, that I feel that I've learned my own self, but it's not just about being in competition with anybody else. It's about being in competition with yourself and being the best version of yourself and becoming better every day and constantly stretching those boundaries to, to, to become. whatever vision that you have of yourself at the end of that. And sometimes you don't always end with exactly what you thought, right? Oftentimes it's something even, even more powerful or unique because you could never have had the vision of what you were going to become because you didn't have that perspective. You didn't have the vision of that. So what I did mention is that from the ability that I got placed into, I got promoted because of the evaluation that I received in that leadership leadership community, being a director of that leadership Academy, you know, so sometimes you cannot really see why we don't start to see around corners. Right. So it was a lot of the things you can't really plan them. Right. The God just puts you God environment, whatever we pray to. Right. It puts you in some place that you need to be. to get to the place that you really need to go. It's up to you to take action on it, right? Yeah, in the Marine Corps, say bloom where you planted. In the Marine Corps, we say bloom where you are planted. My friend, I'm gonna ask, you already spoke of such an amazing person, Athena. I'm gonna ask in addition to her or to build on that, I call this the fellowship, right? The mentors, the allies that go on this journey with us because it's not a journey that we take alone. Who would you say was inspirational and helped you on your journey? And how did they help you? Yes, it is a lot of people. And if we really want to, if we want to talk holistically, I was talking to my commanding officer recently. We were walking, you know, picking up, we call it Fod walk for an object debris on the on the flight line. And, you know, I was just in my knowledge, we went deep on the conversation. And one of the things we were talking about is, you know, just just some of us, we carry a. A burden with pleasure, right? And I want to talk about the holistic nature. So we started off with where my journey started, which was on a coffee state plantation. I still see a responsibility to carry that burden, to ensure that all the suffering that happened on that plantation was not in vain. Right. So when you think about, you know, my four parents being slave on a plantation to become the owner of the plantation to where, you know, all the owners of the plantation right now or, you know, direct descendants of slave. So the things that I do on a daily, weekly, yearly basis, my goals is to ensure that all of that was not in vain. And that is a burden that I carry with such great sacred, like a sacred part of me that I hold true to. Right. And I think it's important for me to never, ever forget that. And I talk to my children not to be disgruntled about the pain and suffering that happened there, but understand the possibilities of the future and our responsibility towards that end. So when I came to the States and I joined the Marine Corps, it was at a very transformational time in the late 90s. I joined in 1998 and a lot of things were happening. A lot of the older guys, they had a whole different level of leadership and of course they were still getting out of there. You know, we have blossomed into a beautiful place as far as the way we communicate with our Marines nowadays. You know, so I had this one gunnery sergeant, Klein. He was like a grandfather to us, an amazing individual, right? And at the time that I met gunnery sergeant Klein, he had a wife but no children, and he treated us just like his own. So he was like the father figure. that all of us really needed because we all came from different walks of life and we were in Hawaii away from all of our parents, right? So he brought us in, we went to his house, we had dinner on a monthly basis. We go off to the beach, we do camping, we do different cookouts. So it like it was our family away from our family. So Gunner Klein really showed us what it was like to belong and really showed us what it's really mean to be Marine. No Marine left behind. It really showed us what it means to be a servant led leader. And he retired several years later, but we keep contact up to today. know, however, gonna client is the guy that no matter how much you mess up, no matter how big you mess up or how small you messed up, he always take time to articulate himself without using any kind of profanity, without putting a knife hand in your chest or in your face, without calling you out of your name. Right? But he has a way to make you feel that big. It's kind of like disappointing your grandfather, right? And your grandfather tell you, come sit on, hey, here, here, Come sit on the porch next to me and they share a story with you and show you things and, you know, help you to realize that you know better. There's a better version of you in there and you can do better. Fix yourself. You know what mean? And Gunnar Klein really, as a servant leader, was a major, major catalyst to my development. as a leader and I always go back to I want to be like Gunnar Klein, right? And I'm slowly getting there. I'm not fully there yet, but Gunnar Klein has been amazing, amazing to my transformation in the Marine Corps. And even though he has retired back in 2003, I think it was 2002, 2003, his character and his leadership still sticks with me 20 years, 20 plus years later. amazing. Yeah, his legacy lives on, right, through you and through all of the other Marines that he helped to inspire, right? And I love that he was able to see things in you that sometimes you don't even see in yourself, right? That experience and there's no substitute for experience, right? And the idea about lift one up. So he sees in you and helps to lift you up to achieve the knowing that you still have yet to achieve the best version of yourself, right? And ultimately, I think that there's, I think there's so much value in the fact that servant led leadership, right? Literally just giving, giving you make others life richer. And that in turn enriches your life. It's amazing how that value add occurs, but it's so true. I can tell you just from my own experiences, I completely see it on a regular basis. And there's nothing that's more fulfilling than seeing when you've helped somebody and seeing that change and seeing that growth. And it doesn't happen immediately, right? The time that it takes time and experience and reflection, right? And, and through that, that growth, So the idea of plants or say it again grow where you planted. where you planted. Yeah, Tupac talks about it. Tupac talks about the rose that grew from concrete. You know, it's possible. know, so, you know, we could be a victim or a victor. That my friend I love you can be a victim or Victor. It's all about mindset. It's all about perspective, right? So speaking of perspective, I call this the Dragon's gold. I talk about the mindset, the achievements that you've experienced in your life. And of course, monetary or material, but, but mindset, right? The things that the real gold, the values that have helped you throughout your life. and hopefully by sharing can help the lives of the listeners. What would you say your Dragon's Gold is? Dragon's goal. I would definitely say self-control. believe self-control is our superpower. If you think about it, every relationship that is ruined is because of lack of self-control. leadership in most cases when they're ineffective is because the lack of self-control or self-awareness as well too, right? So there's a famous quote when I went on a journey of aspiring to become the leader that I know that I could be to add a lot more value to people. The first book that I read was The Seven Habits of How to Effective People. one of the I made this quote mine. And I'm paraphrasing because it's mine now. is how I find use into it. I find purpose into it and value. It's a quote by Viktor Frankl. And Viktor Frankl have experienced some of the harshest condition that a human being will ever experience, being a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. And Viktor Frankl said, between stimulus and response, there's space. So if you think about when I tell the story earlier, and I talk about all the things that I was reacting, right, to that was happening around me, right? That was what I perceived to be my stimulus, right? And my response was not always the greatest, right? So when I read that quote, and Steve, you put it to my attention, it gave me more self-awareness. It said between stimulus and response, there's space. And in that space, you have the freedom to choose your response. In your response, you'll find your happiness and your growth. And there's not a day that I don't go by where that quote or that dragon gold means more to me every single day. Because when you start talking about self-control, everything, every day, your self-control will be challenged, whether it's by external factor or by your own decision-making. So valuable, Thank you, Hutch. Really, I resonate, agree completely, and I love that you shared that. And I think that's super inspirational for everyone listening to this right now. So thank you. My friend, I talk about the Hall of Heroes, this is passing the torch, leaving a legacy. When you're gone from this plane of existence, this world, if someone was to walk through and see a statue of Hutch and a plaque below it, what would you want that plaque to say? thing I would wanted to speak to the person who was reading it. And I don't, I don't, I don't call on this phrase, but really just that when I'm dead and gone, I'm dead and gone. Right. But the living sometime needs to be empowered. And one of our famous mentor always say in all of his speech, when he's empowering people to take their life, to take their power back. You always tell them you have greatness in you. Right. Because when I'm dead and gone, the statue is there. However, we still got people that need to keep this machine running and keep this machine running effectively with good people. Right. And everyone need to know that they have greatness within them. I love it. Super inspirational, brother. Thank you for that. What's next? What's the next adventure for Hutch and for H squared capital? So I sat down, wrote my goals out because my wife told me, my wife told me I needed to and I'm just played. But every year we do goal setting as a family and then we revisit them at the end of the year and see how what we did. Also, we have accountabilities. I mean, a group of calls and conversation throughout the years to see how well we track in on our goals. So for this year, the goal for H squared capital is to raise 10Million dollars to purchase apartment syndication. However, We also looking to bring some more diversity to our investors. Additionally, I started with real broker as a real estate agent here in Hawaii. And a part of that goal is to do $10 million in transaction when it's not really hard in Hawaii. That could be, that could be five transaction in Hawaii, because things are pretty expensive. I hear so that this couple of goals. Now, when you talk about in the household Athena, now we have a date, we have dates two days a month. Right? It's non-negotiable. They could be dates where we go out on the town or it could be dates where we, you know, get our dinner, we go out to the backyard and it's uninterrupted by the children or anyone. That's our time. No phones and nothing like that. It's our time. So mandatory two dates per month. And then my children at least one special moment. This means we spend a good time, good quality time together, but at least one special memory moment every single month. Right? We have a lot of opportunity. So those those one one of the goals that I have, I need to call my mom at least once a week. She's in New York. I'm trying to do two times a week. Right? Or at least a text to make it three connection per week. And then, man, I was, was thinking recently, Justin, there comes a point in time when we, we stop learning from our parents for some strange reason. Right? And I was doing some reflection recently and I miss. I miss that. I miss mom. You know what mean? And I really want to learn more from my mom. So I think all these book smarts and all these financial wealth, wealth smarts and all this military smarts, it pales in comparison to the vibration that comes with hearing your mom's voice. And we all know that at one point we're not going to be able to hear a mom's voice anymore. Right? So for 2025 and beyond, my commitment is to hear my voice, my mom's voice a lot more. You know what mean? So we got this financial goal. We got this family goal, family goal, mean, family goal to ensure that I definitely stay grounded with, because all these money don't really mean nothing, If the family is deteriorated, you know, so the goal is to continue to strengthen that, right? Athena and I, wake up at four in the morning. We walk down to the gym. We have beautiful conversation because I tell her that I want to live to see 123. That takes me into the next millennium, which means she needs to live to see 121, right? With two years apart. know, so we have some living to do, which means we have to continue to take some action. And one of the actions we've taken is continuously invest our capital into real estate to get to our rat race number to where, you know, when we are 55 or 60, we don't have to rely on a paycheck, right? Or a job to sustain a lifestyle. And also we have different system where if we die earlier, then the ease of transfer to our children without going to probate and things like that. And the most important thing is ensure that our children understand what we're creating and their responsibility going all the way back to the days of slavery, right? And the responsibility we have to make sure that we continue growing, their responsibility to continue to grow. the family's wealth. It's a long answer. No, but it's a valuable one and I appreciate it and I love that you shared it. I think there's so many pieces beyond that. The idea about spending time with your loved ones, whether it be your children or your wife or your parents, living those moments. Wealth is a tool, but joy is the ultimate outcome. It's the experiences that we make, it's the memories that we have, it's the things that we can help. with other people to bring joy to them, right? In their heart or to help with them with lessons, right? Our children teaching them things that are not always easy. They're not always fun, but it's things that we need to do as responsible parents to prepare them for the rest of their life, right? Because we won't be with them forever. And the time that we are here, let us be inspiring to them. Let us help them. And in turn, as they age and grow, they will do the same for others. Right? And And if we did our job well enough, they'll do it better than we did. really that's the goal man that that is a goal that is the goal I really want that to give you put it in the perspective right so my dad he was a farmer right he was a farmer in Jamaica when he came to America he worked on the farms in New York picking apples pears and different different fruit different crops and then you know I came and then I joined the military I started working on aircraft now my son is going to college to become an officer so so kind of a former To an enlisted man to an officer, right? And then my son's goal is going to be the pilot. So it's already showing us that the trajectory, we're on the right trajectory. And my daughter's daughter's wanted to be want to be a an attorney, you know, so I'm really hoping that they're significantly better than than we are. Right. So it's a long time that I was really pissed, really upset with my dad, like really, really upset man. And And when I had a conversation, this was part of the transformation as well. We had a conversation several years ago and man, he helps me to find value. Like all the things that I was really pissed off about and him not being there and getting beaten by aunties and uncles and cousins and stuff. know what mean? So, and dad wasn't there to defend me. He mentioned something recently. I mean, a few years ago, he was like, he said that the father that he was not, right, I've really contributed to the father that I became. You don't mean and immediately man, I don't think I cry, but I think I got like, little tingly nodes because in an instance, right? It was like a weight lifted off of me. Like. That is the reason why I had to go through that. You're right. You know, I mean, so, um. Yeah, and it was such a transformation conversation and he didn't really have to apologize for anything. Right? And I think you see that and I think a lot of a lot of time us. fathers have a way of of articulating some things without saying I'm sorry and all the good stuff right especially when he's speaking to you to your to your sons right let's father have a really have a really unique way of saying sorry but don't see I'm sorry you know mean you know by the same here's a lesson that you needed to learn and this way you should take care of it you know you know you can move on from here You know, mean, because there's value in the things that you've grown through. And I tell you, that was such a transformational, and such a, such a weight lifted off my shoulder, right. Or you off my heart. That was, that was amazing. You know, so I really appreciate it. Like the father that he was not, you know, shaped me to the father that I became. Yeah, that was good. Yeah. Super, super valuable buddy. didn't know, I didn't have a real father growing up. And after my mom died, I wanted to find him. I was 20 some years old and I, I went and hunted him down. I mean, I say hunted. I mean, I was doing cold calls and finding them. And, and after like a hundred rejections and people just hanging up on me, I had a woman say Justin, and it was my grandmother, my dad's side. And, three days later I flew out to Minnesota and I met him for the first time. And I'll tell you brother, don't feel, okay, so I'll say it super simply. My wife says that I'm cocky. I say I'm confident. Apparently I just walked the line a little bit, right? So whatever. the point, yeah, yeah, that's it. But the idea behind it was simply that I found when I was on this plane, I was like, man, I'm nervous. We're gonna like this, like, you all these emotions start coming back. Like I've never known the guy and like, and my point in bringing this up at all is not, just to say thank you because the perspective you just gave me in that moment and what your father said to you, it just helped me too. So I want to say thank you for that. But I was in this escalator and I'm going down and I'm like, man, am I going to recognize him? What? And there's this sea of people. And there's one man that stands head and shoulders, like almost seven feet tall. Like one man says head and shoulders, but everyone has got a big goofy grin on his face. I'm like, that's my dad. Yeah. Yeah. It was funny, but it was really great to be able to, to, to get to know him a little more and have that experience. And, you know, he, and he's like, sorry, I wasn't around, you know, and he had his, his stories and whatever it didn't matter. But I realized that, that him not being there did absolutely make me all the more. want to be a father that my children could look up to and to be there for them, to be inspiring to them, right? And I don't know that I would be, I'll say it differently. I know I would not be where I am today if I hadn't had the experiences that I did, right? And so I'm grateful for all of the messy, hard issues, right? All the stuff, like, and it's just made me to be a better man. Yes. Yeah, I really do think if everyone in our society, 1, well, 1, self awareness, self control, right? Measure backwards and finding value in your past instead of becoming a victim of your past. You know what mean? I really do think that we would not be. live, we won't live in a fear based world. think a lot of us are when you start looking at social media and you start looking at the mainstream media, it's fear based on a whole different level, right? Religion, news, politics, you know, the rich against the poor, you know, the smart against the rich, the light skin against the dark skin, all that good stuff, right? So I think if we, you know, become aware, self control, you know, measure backwards, I think and find value in the things that we have gone through. we would be a lot happier society. And isn't it funny too that all of those require you to look inside? All of those require what you can control, right? Wherever you go, there you are. Wow. You know, I've heard that before, but I've never had the perspective that I just had when you said that to me right now. I've never thought of it in that fashion, but that's right. Wherever you go, there you are. Interesting. I have never thought of it on that level. Thank you so much value. You know, can I tell you, Hutch, I never experienced, let me say it differently. I knew that by doing these podcasts, that it would be inspirational. At least I believed it to be. And I wanted to share people's stories because I think every story has some goal. And I wanted to share these so that other people could be inspired. What I didn't expect is how much I would get from it. And I don't know why I never thought of it, but I never did. I never thought about the fact that I would gain so much value from doing these. And I have. It's been amazing. And this is a perfect case in point. So I love it. And I'm super grateful, Yeah, when we started podcast, probably a year or so after after we started the entry podcast, I sat down with a potential investor and he asked me, why do I do a podcast? And I tell him selfishly to be mentored by people that sort of pay them thousands of dollars. You know, I mean, when he asked him what it's kind of podcast and they're willing to sit down, sit down with you for an hour and you can get to ask them any question you want. Right. At the same time. You know, when they get other podcasts, some mentee is paying them ten thousand dollars a year to ask him the same question, right? That you get to ask them. I think there's some value in that. Right. So I told the investor, you know, invest with us, the potential investor at the time that that's a selfish do it to be mentored so I can learn more. Additionally, if I have these questions, I'm pretty sure other people have these questions as well. So. I get to share it with them so we all get to level up together. know what mean? yeah, podcast interviews, has been transformational to myself as well. You know, get to speak to great people like yourself. I love it. You're awesome, man. So grateful to have spent this time with you tonight, brother. Thank you for taking the time with me and with our guests. Hutch, if our listeners want to reach out and connect with you, how can they best connect with you? Yes, some very prominent on LinkedIn. You can shoot connect to me there or and shoot me a DM if you shoot me. M.O.A. M.O.A. That is a more a more which is the acronym for own more of America. I will send you this. was then you were sending to this. It's a. It's a guide that I've created for military veterans. However, if you transition between careers, it's a unique guide that will help you to own more of America. I'll email it to you. So DME, O-M-O-A, and I will send you over a early copy. In the next couple years, in the next several months, I will put this into a course, right? And at that point, somebody's gonna have pay for it. But for the meantime, if you connect to me on LinkedIn, I'll send it to you for free. Awesome. Hutch, thank you so much, brother. Appreciate it. So Hutch, one of the things I like to talk about is tools and weapons, things that we've experienced or used in our life, whether it be books or whatever resource that might have helped you that perhaps you can share with our listeners that may help them on their journey. I think the power of manifesting, like really, like anything you really, anything you want, you can really have it, right? Napoleon Hill talks about, right? Whatever the mind can conceive and believe you can achieve, right? Which is a powerful statement. However, he also caveat that you can get anything you want in the world. The caveat is you're not allowed to prevent others from getting theirs. So don't enter into any deal. Right. That is not a win win win solution for for everyone. Right. You know, so I would say the power of manifestation because everything you want to create in a personal professional life first starts in your brain housing group. Sometimes you mentioned this earlier. Sometimes this starts in a brain housing group of somebody who sees the greatness within you and ask you the right questions to elicit that out of you. And the way they ask it, right, you now phrase it in a way because you now kind of create it in your brain housing group before you put it into words. And then if you go to write that down, now you get to see those words. And then now you get to put yourself in a in a in a position to take the actions necessary to realize or bring it bring it to bring it to life. Additionally, when you start telling people about the things that you're committed to. Right? You'll be surprised. My business partner, Dr. Jones, he said, I'm not sure if he coined his phrase, but he mentioned it in one of the live, one of the one of the presentation was given and said, don't say, don't be surprised how the world conforms to the things conformed to you when you make a decision. Right. So you manifest it, you make a decision that this is what I'm going to do. You get the right people around you. talk to the right folks and like, voila, before you know it, all your dreams came through. That didn't come through. You created that and you executed a dream. You know what mean? So the power of manifestation. completely agree and I love that. And I think that anybody listening to this, anybody who truly wants something, you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Napoleon Hill did say it best. Anything the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. That belief is so integral. You have to truly feel it, you believe it, you have to know that it's going to exist. And the opportunities suddenly... start sprouting. It's amazing. They present themselves. And again, it's up to you to take advantage of those opportunities and never to the detriment of others, right? Always, as you said, Hutch, always a win-win situation. And when you focus on that and you constantly go through with eyes wide open and the intention to help others, but also never taking your eyes or vision off of your dreams, recognizing you can achieve it, magic happens. Yes, lot of good things happen. Yes, sir. I it. My friend, I'm gonna ask one more question and I'll tell you this is my favorite one to ask. If you could be any mythical creature, what would you be? Oh man So you and I talked about this earlier, then there's no, mean, there's something beautiful about rising from the point where you think you're broken and you can't really see a way out, right? Just like the Phoenix, right? A lot of that build a lot of resilience within us. However, I think the mythical creature that I want to be is the husband of Athena. That's my reality, right? I am the husband of Athena. Right? So my wife's name is Athena and my son, because of my wife's name, Athena, he started reading a lot of books about Greek mythology. Then he started calling himself the son of Athena. So like, shoot, that makes me the husband of Athena. So the mythical creature I want to be. is really the husband of Athena. It has been one of the most spiritual, healing, balancing, fulfilling things that I've done in the past. This past December, we celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary, right? And it has been such an amazing thing. And I wouldn't want to be anything else other than the husband of Athena, because there's so many things that talks about that. that comes with that, right? And I think if you're like me, Justin, one of the things that we look for in most of our life is peace, right? And Athena brings me so much peace and so much peace to this household that it's something that I could never have predicted or imagined. You know what mean? So I want to continue being a mythical creature as the husband of Athena. I'm so grateful truly for you taking the time this evening to share your story with me and with our listeners. I know it's been wonderful for me and I know there's a lot of people that are going to gain a lot of value from listening to this. So thank you. Yeah, appreciate you having me, brother. My friends, thank you for joining us once again on our quest to inspire, educate, and empower you to turn your dreams into reality, one mindset shift at a time. We'll see you next time.

People on this episode

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Justin Mills

Host
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Aaron Iler

Producer
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Shelon Hutchinson

Guest