You’re Chasing Success… But Missing Life

Most people spend their lives chasing success… money, status, recognition. But what if the things that actually matter are the moments we’re overlooking every single day?

In this episode, we dive deep into friendship, culture, identity, travel, and the realization that the best things in life are free. From growing up experiences to seeing the world beyond your bubble, this conversation will shift how you view success, time, and what really matters.

🎙️ In this episode:
• How we actually met (and don’t even remember it)
• Starting in sales → transitioning into real estate
• Taking the leap into a new career with uncertainty
• Culture shock moving to the U.S.
• Colombian culture vs American culture
• Why people stay stuck in their “bubble”
• Traveling the world (Colombia, Greece, more)
• The power of perspective and experiences
• Why the “rat race” isn’t everything
• The importance of being present in life

🧠 What you'll learn:
• Why authenticity is your real brand
• How travel changes your mindset forever
• Why most people never grow (and stay comfortable)
• The truth about success and fulfillment
• Why time is the most valuable thing you have
• How simple moments become your greatest memories

⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro
00:45 How We Met (Kind Of)
02:00 From Security Sales to Real Estate
03:30 Taking the Leap Into Real Estate
04:30 “Everyone’s a Realtor Now”
05:10 Sales Background & Early Hustle
06:30 Moving to San Antonio (Culture Shock)
09:00 Identity & Finding Your Place
11:30 Growing Up Between Two Worlds
13:30 Traveling & Seeing the World
15:00 Greece vs The Hustle Culture
17:00 Being Present in Life
18:30 The Best Things in Life Are Free
19:30 The Moments You’ll Miss One Day
21:00 Chasing Success vs Enjoying Life

📢 About the Podcast
Anything & Everything with Matt Reyna is a podcast where no topic is off limits. From life lessons and real conversations to culture, mindset, and personal growth—this is where authentic conversations happen.

📌 Connect With Matt Reyna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattreyna2023/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.reyna.12
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattreynaspodcast

#podcast #anythingandeverything #mattreyna #lifelessons #mindset #success #realtalk #selfimprovement #motivation #culture

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Um, I I don't even remember us becoming friends, right? I don't I don't remember. I yeah. I I think uh did we meet at Gold's? No, or did we meet out and about?

SPEAKER_01 0:12

We met uh I don't remember either. Yeah, my memory is just um but I think it was just through um through mutual friends. I think maybe just through mutual friends we may have just met and like just kind of kept on running into each other, right? Maybe it was through gold's actually. Maybe it was. You know what I have you say is not like as you working though at Gold's after maybe just going to the gym together and maybe just kind of running into uh through us, maybe, maybe like through Ryan, maybe or something like that. I think so. I know I didn't meet on anybody else, uh like Zach or Drew, or of course your brother, anything like that. I think you were one of the first ones that I met, and then from there that kind of played its part. Um yeah, I think it was through the gym actually. Now that you talked about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

You know what I have you uh saved as? I think I know security, apex security. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

So that was security, yeah. Whoo, that was 2015. Okay, 2016.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

You know what? That's right, because I was at Gold's, but I would still go to Bandera. Yeah. And you were doing security, and you were like, hey man, hit me up if you need the security. Yes, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

That's how I originally started, honestly, in real estate was through uh through the home security. Uh so prior to being in real estate, I was uh owner of a um home security and a home automation company. Really? And e just security and automation was my own business, and I ended up doing that. But before that, used to do the same, same industry, but ultimately was um, you know, started off being in contact with realtors just like us through basically like a referral program. Sure. And so people are doing that now, but that was back, you know, 10 Jesus, like 10, 11, 12 years ago. Sure. And it was just a whole like the trifecta, you know, like okay, you close on a deal and then you know, refer me to your client, and then, you know, of course, I'll take care of them and in lieu of you doing this. And it was just a communication that we had on a partnership ultimately. And that was really cool. I mean, I I think uh that's really what kind of sparked that idea for me um in real estate was that idea of how impactful uh the realtor or the real estate agent was in that specific moment for the family or whoever the client was. And ultimately from there, and just things that played out, I was just like, man, I I kind of like that. And to be honest, my mother, man, my mom, when I was young, man, I was probably like probably like 15, 16, she would call me and she would be like, Meoto, you know, you should look into like, of course, in Spanish, right? She was like, Yeah, wow. And I'm like, what is real? Like, vender casas, yes tú lo otro. And you would think of it as just like um like a dream ultimately, because you would you you thought of real estate as being like high profile. It wasn't a thing for us. And it wasn't, yeah, for sure. And she always put that in my mind. And then, of course, once I got into security sales and then started actually working with um with realtors and agent real estate professionals and and also industry partners, right? Working with title, working with lenders, working with them, of course. Then I was just like, Man, this is kind of cool. You know what? Like, I might actually look into that, you know. And then boom, ended up just you know, going through it, getting a license.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

And well, yeah, at that point, though, you had a decision to make 100%, you know. Um, it's kind of like a plunge that you take. Yeah, you know, because you don't know if it's gonna work out or not, especially at that time too. Um, I think we were kind of getting in real estate together like around the same time. Um really me a little bit before, I think, because I did new home sales.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

But I mean in general real estate, correct?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah, I think in general, I think well, no, I got licensed in COVID. Oh, okay. Yeah, I got I just recently well, I mean it's six years now, but I yeah, I think I got licensed like uh a year before that. Okay, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, because I do remember when you when I met you, you were at Almadilla homes. And then soon after that, you ended up going into uh real estate, and then I literally backdoored. So I think it was I remember when you were doing your classes, right? Yeah, yeah. I remember that cool. That was insane. Man, I was doing classes during COVID. Literally, I literally got license while the world was shut down. I remember I actually went into the garage and was like locked in there basically, just grinding my face off now trying to get that license.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

What I wanted to ask is when you were kind of set with that proposition that you gave yourself, yeah. What made you say, or what made you kind of have the confidence to be like, I'm gonna jump, I'm gonna do this. Yeah. Because it's not like it is now. A lot now it's almost trendy. Like almost it really is, right? Yeah, it kind of sucks too, because when I tell somebody I'm a realtor, and they're like, Oh, you too? Cool. So is my grandma, bro? Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Oh, that sucks.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

You're like, you can do anything else? You're just like, oh, talking to uh to Burns Bradley about that. Oh, yeah. I was talking to Bradley about it, man. And he was just like, Oh, yeah. I mean, weren't we at the party? And he said the other time.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

He said, uh, I don't even say that I'm a realtor. I say that I'm uh a real estate investor.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Yeah, I tell people I'm a developer, not a skinny.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah, seriously, man. Well, bro, when I came up, man, I was at Gold's. I sold, well, Radio Shack, Verizon, Gold's, I sold cars. I Radio Shack. Oh, bro. That's saying my age right there, brother.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Wow. Everybody would come in for an adapter, too. They'd always ask like that. They'd say, I mean, uh, I want to get an adapter. I'm like, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Here we go with an adapter.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Like that. You don't even know how RCAs hook up. Hello. You know what I was selling at Radio Shack? Check this one out. I was selling converter boxes. Converter boxes? Yeah. I remember converter. Are you talking about it? You don't you don't even know what a converter box is.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Like a coax from uh like to from phone to coax?

SPEAKER_00 5:41

No, so a converter box, it would uh take the analog channels or whatever from the from the air. Yeah. And it and they started running those like there was no TV antennas anymore. Right now, now but you needed a converter box okay to convert those. Right? Am I saying that right? Something like that. Dude, I don't even know what a converter box is. Yeah, bro. I would sell them at Radio Shack. They were like 50 bucks. Yeah, so our pitch was hey man, throw away those those TV, those, those money antennas, get yourself a converter box. It's almost like you had a cable box, but it was just regular channels. Right, yeah. So now the the the channel free, yeah, yeah. The channel waves or whatnot, they went through the converter box or whatever. I know we're kind of backtracking just a little bit, but whenever you came to San Antonio, was it a big adjustment period? Was it a culture shock? Was it uh massive? It still is. Uh really oh day and night.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Really? Okay, I mean, it's just you know, I I think for a lot of people, they may not know that because they may have not had the same experience. Yeah, if you talk to someone that's maybe been in the military or was a military um prior to commander, um yeah, like basically like a military spouse or military kid, or you know, or was in the military themselves, or they grew up as a military family and they had to move from base to base, they can relate or attest to something of what I'm talking about. Um, but if you're from here and you've been here and this is kind of what you know, then of course, you know, you're not gonna really be able to relate. But man, massive, huge culture shock, huge um adjusting, trying to kind of fit in, you know, and to the point where I realized that I'm not gonna fit in, you know, and I'm not supposed to fit in. What is he said? Don't fit in, fit the F out, you know. That's LeBron. And uh I realized that, you know, I realized that, you know, I just you know, it just wasn't like that, you know. You know, it's okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

You know what I tell people that I I thought or this saying that I love that your authenticity is your brand. You know what? You're a hundred percent right on the money. And that's what that's what I've always I've always been interested in. Your stories, the things that you have to say. Whenever how often do I tell you that I want to go to Colombia with you?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Oh man, all the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Yeah, every time I see it, every time I see it, every time I see it, every time that you go, and man, that stuff interests me. The things that are apart from the norm that I'm interested, that that I'm used to because I'm brought born and raised here. Yeah, I I love it here. All my family's here, you know, all of that, which I love San Antonio, man, and I love the Spurs, you know, I love you know the South Side where I'm from, all of that stuff. I have a lot of pride, but at the same time, and I feel very fortunate and lucky to be here. All my family's here, you know, I could go on and on. But a perspective from somewhere else, you don't always get that. And a lot of times people just want to live in their bubble, yes, you know, definitely, and they don't want to hear that uh this may not be the best place to live, or people may be a lot cooler somewhere else, or um, the way that you tell me, the way that people are, the way people interact with each other, the way women are, the way their relationships are, things like that, like it's a whole different culture, it's a whole different thing. Yeah, it's like uh I know a lot of people are like, yeah, man, I'm gonna go to Colombia and get me a wife, or or whatever. You know what I'm saying? It's like because yeah, for sure. What would you say is the kind of the the the big thing that was the biggest culture shock or what? I I think um just the what was the big I feel like people assuming you're Mexican?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Um for sure. No, no, huge. Oh, yeah, yeah, no, for sure. People definitely assume you're Mexican, or that if you spoke Spanish, you were Mexican, um, which is nothing against that. You know, I didn't have an issue with that, right? Because to be honest, when we first came to the States, my best my dad's best friend um was also Amber. That's what his name was, and he was Mexicano. The people that opened the doors to us and the and these in the United States were Mexicanos, man. Yo me crié con Vicente Fernandez, con lo que es Pepe Aguilar, lo que es Elena, lo que es toda la cultura mexicana, you know. So for me, I love Mexican culture, but it's not Colombian. Yeah, you know, and it's not that it's not my culture because I feel like just like Colombian culture, just like Mexican culture, it's for everybody. It's for everybody, right? That's for everybody. You don't pick and choose when you're gonna have guacamole or tacos, you're gonna have it all the time if you could, right? And to be honest, like I feel like the uh the biggest thing is just that it was really difficult for me to find a sense of identity because there was not another Colombiano, there was not another Mompaisano, is what you would call it. You know, you run into somebody that is from the south side, clicked up all the immediately, right? Where you grew up at? Oh, I grew up here, boom, instantly. I say, you know this and that. Oh, I know him. Oh, that's my boy. Boom, boom, all of a sudden you guys are cool, right? And I think that that was the biggest thing for me because did I find people that spoke Spanish? Yes, for sure. But did I find people that had that same dialect or maybe had the same background, or even more so, we'll get a little deeper, actually knew what it was like to live in a third world country. And I think that that's the biggest thing, and I feel like that's gonna be forever the biggest blessing that I had or that I have is the fact of being able to know what it was like to live in America, but also be able to live in Colombia. And I did that since I was 10 years old. I would travel to Colombia by myself, not accompanied, not with a chaperone by myself. I would get on a flight, I would wear a big freaking like license plate ID badge with my head shot on it, and I would literally go travel to Colombia every summer, my whole youth, like literally, and I would spend the whole summer in Colombia by far the best experience that I could ever have. There's nothing like um taking a shower with bone-breaking cold water, and there's nothing like um sharing a meal with six different of your family members, one meal amongst everybody, and having the best of times. Um, you know, playing, you know, with kids there, you know. I literally would collect um clothes, toys, old uh game systems. Me and my brother, we would literally do that, and I would collect all these items year-round. And it was honestly probably one of the best times of my of my youth was being able to give that to people over there and to have them just be like, oh my, like literally from another planet. No, it it no, it literally is you said it, it was literally like you were from another planet. I mean, I'm talking I would travel to Colombia and I would have my family members waiting outside the doors, and the doors were reflecting uh mirrors, and so you would see yourself, and then when they would open, when people would come in, it's like that, and you would see them. God, there's just no better feeling, you know, and okay, you know, the the the thing with you know Colombian culture, again, it's nothing against any other culture, but and you'll see it now, right? It's cool now, right? Everybody wants to be a Latino, everybody wants to be Colombian or Puerto Rican, everybody's big papy, this, this, and that, because of music, because of what's going on now. But you know, that's been something that I've been preaching from the beginning of time, you know, literally. And um, to be honest, it there's nothing like being able to go out there and explore a different culture, a different uh covenant, you know. People they're just it's just warm. It's warm. You know, the el calorumano is literally a uh um a saying in Spanish that the people are just inviting their they're inclusive, they're they'll open the doors to their home. They'll you know, they'll just make you feel like you're right at home, you know. And so as far as uh finding a wife and things like that, you know. You can do that anywhere, you know. It's not just about Colombia, it's you can do that anywhere, but I think that that's the that's the premise behind this is really just keeping an open mind um to the fact that there's such a bigger world out there, you know. I mean, I've I still 2026 I know people that have never taken a flight. I know people that have never left San Antonio, people that have never gone outside the state of Texas. It's just like okay. Yeah, you know, and and and and but then they'll they'll sit there and and and argue on the fact of you know how good wherever they're from is. And it's like you're right, you know. They have no point of reference, they have zero idea of really what's going on out here. You know, I I went to Greece and had the blessing to go out there, went to Athens and was able to see the um the pant Pantheon and the Acropolis and and just explore, you know, these over 2,000 year old um, you know, just places out there. And you're just you're just in awe. Like you're literally in awe. Like I I was speechless. I've never in my life. I mean, Colombia is de lo mejor, you know, Mexico, uh even here or Grand Canyon, you know, of course the Niagara Falls and Um Where's been your favorite so far? Greece. Easy? Hands down. Wow, there's just if it wasn't for the fact that obviously I'm Colombian and I have my ties and then I, you know, I have you know property, my family, everything out there, then I would say, you know, Colombia. But if anything, Greece. Wow, just the people, the culture, the food, the cleansiness, the style of living. Everybody's there.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Like, if you're like hustling, bustling, you know how I was gonna say how people are just like a like a rat race here. Right, there's no rat race over there.

unknown 15:08

Nothing.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

They look at they actually they will be like, chill out, bro. Yeah, that could easy. Okay, like they will literally slow you down and make you understand that and enjoy it. Just hey man, just take a breath of fresh air, man. Yeah, and you know the cool thing about over there, and uh you know, I don't want to talk too much on it, but um I would love to, but um, if you're in Athens or if you're actually anywhere in Greece, and no, actually, if you're in Athens, that's yeah, no, for sure. If you're in Athens, um all you gotta do is look up and boom, it's right there. Acropolis. Oh the like the the Coliseum, the Acropolis, like just look it up and you'll see like you you literally just look up, just look up, it's right there massive, just massive. It looks like it's fake. It literally looks like it's not real, and it's a huge. Um the the basically like I was back in you know the Greek times, you know. This is talking like you know, the the what do you call the Roman times where they they the Romans were the ones that built the Coliseum over 2,000 years ago. That's insane.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

This is like a trip, right? I tell I tell Xavier, uh, I was just telling him today that when I see things like that, or when I I'm like I say, that's impossible. You know what I'm saying? Because I I tell I told him, if you would have told me somebody did that, I'd be like, the way that I am too, I'm very hard-headed, right? I'm like, nah, they they they did that some other way, or or something like that. And I'm like, that's impossible. And I would think I would go to my grave thinking that unless I physically saw it.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

So the only way, honestly, to have some sense of understanding for it is just to believe in a divine intervention. To be honest, that's the thing, man. I think that it's just there's no other explanation but just the power of God, to be honest. Sure. If you look at the the architecture and the design on these um structures, you're just like, God, like, how is this possible? You're you're honestly in you you just feel grateful, you feel very appreciative of the of the gift of being there in that moment, and you can feel it, you will feel it.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Xavier talks about that a lot. He talks about wanting to be in the moment more. Right now, we're in the moment, huge, and I love that. I love trying to capture that feeling because it's fleeting, you know what I'm saying? You're always on your way somewhere, you're always late somewhere, you always got this and that to do. We're doing a job after this. Yeah, we did a job in the morning, went went home, ate, took a shower, came over here. We got to go back and finish it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? This right here, man. I love it because we do this, we don't talk to each other as much as I would like to, but um weekly basis, you know what I'm saying? And I love these moments, yeah. You know what I'm saying? And I wanted to catch them and I wanted them to document them just in case, man, because um, you know, some of my best friends aren't here anymore. Yeah, you know, and uh man, I need I it it's these are the things that um kind of motivate me, keep me going. Give me the energy, put the battery in my back. When you're talking about all of those things, you know, that you're able to do for your family when they saw you. Um you know what was coming to mind that I kept on wanting to say? Would you agree with me that the best things in life are free?

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Oh yeah, 100%. And and I think we don't take advantage of those things, you know, and I think a lot of times time is something that we very much take for granted. And I would say that, you know, as being younger, you don't really understand that, and you're constantly wanting to just, you know, just you know, you're you're you're you're wanting to kind of rise to this this this uh this vision or this idea of goals and like this just huge wins, man. And and you really just have all this time pass in mind. You you don't really just kind of stop and smell the roses, yeah. Stop and smell the roses, yeah. You don't stop and just really take advantage of those moments, man. So and that that's I think I agree with you, yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Best scenes alive. So Xavier, um, he started his his company, John Calling, right? Yeah, not the most glamorous thing to do, but we did it, but yeah, we did it, and uh, we're doing it now, help him out. And um, bro, sometimes we get up, right? We're gonna go do a job, it's gonna suck. Yeah, we're together though.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Oh man, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

And we get a coffee and maybe some tacos and we go, yeah, and we talk shit about the job while we're doing it. It sucks, and we're trying to figure out how if if the if we're gonna uh if it's gonna fit, we have to go to the dump, we have to do this and that, we have to pull the tarp over, and we can't get it, and it's stuck, and it's like I'm gonna kill for those days in the future. I was gonna say that.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Those are the best days. God willing, you know, we we are here 20 years from now, and you maybe have you know two different three different fleets and a team that do that, right? Uh, you're gonna want to go back and do that. You're gonna want to, you're gonna think about it, you're gonna laugh about it, you know, you're gonna miss those moments. Yeah, just like we were talking about the hide and go seek, the man had these these games, you know. Like, man, I miss those times, man.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

This he's gonna know exactly what I'm talking about. What are those tacos, Xavier, that I talk about in Corpus that we used to get whenever we did construction in Corpus? What were they? The bee steak. No, they were the picadillo ones.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

So so bro, how do I like have this memory that's so vivid and I could taste them, right? Yeah, they were the best tacos, right? Because we were doing this job in Corpus, and Xavier had gotten me on there. I was like 14 years old, and we were doing construction in Corpus for Yeah, that's crazy. Bro, we would wake up in the morning, and I wasn't used to waking up like that. Like I'm talking about 4:30 a.m., 5 a.m., right? So, you know, we would go and I'd be looking forward to these tacos because this was gonna be the highlight of the of the day. And this old lady was selling these tacos, bro, out of like an ice chest, and they were the best picadillo tacos I've ever had in my life. I remember them to this day, bro.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

I got something like that too. Yeah, I remember those.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

So it's it's crazy, you know what I'm saying? Like um, the things that you start thinking about. This comedian was saying the other day, look, man, he's like, you know, he's like, You're gonna you're gonna be a success. He was saying, just stop wanting to have it so so much, man, because it's gonna come, you know, it's gonna come. You're gonna be 50 years old, 60 years old, you're gonna be successful one day, and you know what you're gonna want? More than the success, you're gonna want your youth back.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

And I'm like, I've heard that before.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Isn't that the way that life works?

SPEAKER_01 21:46

You know what I'm saying? It's like, I mean, you see anybody on their, you know, you know, God forbid, on their dying, on their deathbed, right? They're not, you know, give me my Rolex, have me my trophies, my Rolex. Where's my medals? They want the people that love them around them. Mm-hmm. And that it love is free. You know, and that's why I'm I'm always about just doing the right thing and really just to be intentional, man, and just to be a giver. Give you a giver in the world, man, because you know, that's honestly um really what you're gonna be remembered by. I think.