TRP102: Fear and Passion, What Drives Your Success? With Rod Khleif!
October 6, 2020
Transcription
Randy:
Get it going.
All right. Hey, I want to welcome you to today’s episode. Boy, we are… I can’t even tell you. I’m ready to jump up out of my chair and run around the building. We’ve got an exciting episode here today for you. I’ve got a great friend of mine, Rod Khleif, and he needs no introduction just because of all that’s been accomplished. But I want to just share a little bit. Of course, you probably know him from the Lifetime Cashflow podcast, over 6 million downloads. He’s one of the leading real estate investment company and/or persons here in the country. A good friend of mine from a mutual mastermind. And of course, he also has his own mastermind that focuses on helping real estate investors gain financial freedom. I’m going to let him share some more also of his background. But Rod, we’re super excited to have you on the show today, and I know our listeners are going to be mega blessed with our conversation.
Rod:
Oh, thanks, Randy. It’s great to see your face, my friend. It’s been way too long. And ego aside, we’re actually over 9 million downloads, which is [crosstalk 00:01:06].
Randy:
Whoa. Awesome.
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
Yeah, Praise the Lord.
Rod:
It just blows my mind.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And the power of social media is just truly staggering. I just found out my YouTube videos got watched for 30,000 hours last year.
Randy:
Wow. Wow.
Rod:
[crosstalk 00:01:21]. Yeah. [crosstalk 00:01:22]
Randy:
That’s amazing. Well, it’s exciting to see what God can use in a positive way with the technology, right? Because again, both yourself and myself, intentions are to really impact people in a positive way to help them gain the freedom. And I know you’re going to share your story. But it’s like there’s enough junk on the internet and through technology, where you’ve got quality stuff like yourself, or myself, or others that are helping empower people. And then the exciting part is to hear and see how that has just expanded, right? That’s just great.
Rod:
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve also got the largest, multifamily Facebook group now in the world with 35,000 people, and it’s just like…
And I will tell you the secret to all that. If you’re thinking about creating reach in some fashion is really just adding value, being consistent. But the name of the game is just adding value. And that’s the approach that I took on this, and it just took off. In fact, early on in my podcast, I used to say, “I’ll never sell you anything.” And now I’m a liar, but [inaudible 00:02:24] … by design.
Randy:
Right.
Rod:
I never planned to.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
I just wanted to share my message about my story and the impact that it had on me and other people. And I hate asking for money. I knew I was getting back into real estate, and I thought, “Well, that’d be a great way to get investors.” And of course, the minute I mentioned a deal, my dance card is full.
But it’s been a real gift. My father was an educator, and I never thought that I would be. I really didn’t. In fact, I was fairly introverted, wouldn’t even raise my hand in class, and now I speak in front of thousands of people a year. And it’s been the greatest gift of my life. In fact, I’ll show you behind my green screen here, there’s some of the hundreds of “Thank you” cards I’ve gotten from people [crosstalk 00:03:03].
Randy:
Oh, wow. That’s awesome.
Rod:
I’ve only been teaching for, I don’t know, maybe two and a half years.
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
But let me tell you my story.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Because I hope it’ll inspire your listeners-
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
… if they haven’t heard it before.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
I immigrated to this country when I was six years old with my mother, [Savantia 00:03:20] and my brother, Albert. I was born in Holland, in the Netherlands. And I ended up in Denver, Colorado. We lived there for 30 years, and we grew up with very little. In fact, I remember my mom, we bought day-old bread because it was cheaper. We ate expired food. Powdered milk, because she thought milk was healthy, so we had powdered milk. I wore clothes from the Goodwill and the Salvation Army all the way through junior high school till I could get a job and go buy my own clothes. And you know? Let me say this. We had love and we had a roof over our heads, so I know there are people, especially with what’s coming right now, that have it harder than we did or are going to have it harder than we did.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And the only thing I circle back to is the fact that I knew I wanted more. And you know? Luckily, my mom was an entrepreneur, so we’d have enough money. She babysat kids. We always had a house full of kids. And with her babysitting money, not only did she invest in the stock market and actually make money, but she bought the house across the street from us, so when I was 14, for about $30,000. Now this is back, this would be 1974.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Well, when I was about to graduate from high school, she’d told that she’d make $20,000 in her sleep. And I’m like, “What?! Forget college, Mom, I’m getting into real estate. I’m going to be rich in real estate.” So I went and got my real estate broker’s license right when I turned 18, which back then you could do with education. Now they got smart and you need some experience.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
But I was a broker right when I turned 18.
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
So I could have my own company and everything. Well, my first year in real estate, I maybe made about $8,000. My second year, maybe $10,000. But my third year, I made over a hundred thousand dollars, which back in… What is that? 1981-
Randy:
That’s great.
Rod:
… was a pretty decent chunk of money.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
So what happened between year two and year three? Well, what happened was I met someone that taught me about the power of mindset and psychology. In fact, I worked for him for a while. And he taught me that 80 to 90% of your success in anything is really your mindset and your psychology.
And since then I’ve spent 20 years following Tony Robbins around the planet. Of course, he’s the best in the world at that. And so fast forward to today, I’ve owned over 2000 houses that I’ve rented long-term, multiple apartment complexes. And in 2006, my net worth went up $17 million while I slept. And I thought I was a real estate god. I could barely fit my head through the door. I thought I could do no wrong. And you know?
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
If you do the math on that, it’s about $8,300 an hour over a 40 hour work week.
Randy:
Yeah. Yeah.
Rod:
And of course, I did and bragged about it.
Randy:
For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Rod:
Right. You know when that happens, God or the universe will give you a nice little-
Randy:
You got to get chopped down a little bit.
Rod:
Yeah. Yeah. That’s exactly what happened.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And so that was 2008. I lost that 17 million, and triple that. I lost $50 million in 2008.
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
And so one of the things that I enjoy having some dialogue about, Randy, if you’re interested is the mindset it took to have 50 million to lose in the first place, and then the mindset it took to get back to the success that I’m blessed to have today.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
So happy to go there if you’d like.
Randy:
Yeah. No, absolutely. I think it’s… You know? One of the things I look at that is to see is that so many times, and this is a critical point for people, too, that… And there’s a great quote, too, from my favorite book. It says that the haughty’ll fall, right? And so it’s like when you start to get puffed up in your own accomplishments, it’s not before long before you’re going to take a fall. And it’s if you look at that, and it’s universal, right? You can see it in people. In one way, shape, or another, that happens. And it’s like because ultimately I believe that God is an instrument of helping us create that wealth, or to create that success, and we’ve got to have some form of acknowledgement of that and at least some form of humility as we go through that journey.
So I’d love to hear, and I know our listeners, too, will love to hear about just what that looked like for you. And walk through the process. Because I’m right there with you, too. The mindset, I just shared with another guy yesterday, that’s the critical thing. He asked me about like, “What’s been one of your keys to success?” And it’s like that’s exactly it, is having the right mindset, the right beliefs, and really cultivating that on a daily basis.
Rod:
Yeah. If it was just knowledge, there’d be a bunch of wealthy librarians and college professors out there.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
It’s the do. And it’s the keep doing. It’s the getting back up when you get your nose bloody.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
You know? So it really is.
By the way you cut out for just a second. I don’t know if that’s going to show up in the recording.
Randy:
Okay.
Rod:
And I don’t know if it’s on my end. My internet did go out yesterday.
Randy:
Ah. Okay, yeah. [crosstalk 00:07:52]
Rod:
So the world has changed in the last few months.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And we have to do this live stream. Actually, I could have driven up to Tampa,
Randy:
I know, right?
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
We’re like literally 40 minutes apart from each other here.
Rod:
Right, right.
Randy:
Sarasota and Clearwater. And you know? It’s funny how he’s like we haven’t seen each other in, good Lord, probably six months. But it’s like another friend of mine, too, and it’s like we’re that close, and then we’d see each other at meetings. Right?
Rod:
Right.
Randy:
It’s like we’ve got to cure that.
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
So I’ll have to make a drive down to Sarasota.
Rod:
Well, I’d love to see you, my friend. Well, so [crosstalk 00:08:23]-
Randy:
For sure. So talk about it. Yeah.
Rod:
Yeah. So you know? The key here… And let me just back up for a second.
So I used to do live events, and every one sold out, one after another. And I was scheduled to have one in May of this year in Orlando, 800 people. And of course, we all know what happened with that.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
So I went to live stream, and we had 900 people at that May event-
Randy:
That’s awesome.
Rod:
… this year. It was our highest grossing event ever. It was fantastic. But one of the first things I teach at my live events and to my students is this goal setting workshop on steroids. So I’d like to take five minutes and just describe it.
Randy:
For sure. [crosstalk 00:08:59]
Rod:
Because I think it’ll really add value to your listeners, Randy.
So what it is, what the key here is, you have to know what you want. How the heck are you ever going to get it if you don’t know what it is? So if you’re listening or watching… I don’t know if you put this on YouTube or not.
Randy:
Yeah. For sure.
Rod:
Okay. So if you’re listening or watching, take some notes for this, because I think it’ll really be powerful for you when you implement it. And I’m sure if you’re listening to Randy that you already do your goals. But trust me, this process is much more powerful. So humor me for a minute.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
So what you want to do is you want to pick an hour when you have a lot of energy, okay? Make sure you’re well-hydrated, as I get a drink. Don’t do it right after a meal. And sit down and write down everything you could ever possibly want in life. Okay? All the stuff. Houses, cars, boats, jet-skis planes, watches, all the dumb stuff and the things. We all want things. We like things. We deserve things. Nothing wrong with that. Write all that stuff down. Write down how much money you want in the bank, say in a few years, and then maybe in 10 years. You know? Your security bucket. Write down how much income you want from your investments, be it passive or active, in real estate in, say, a few years and then maybe in 10 years. Write down all of…
Also, write down all the things you want to do in this lifetime. You know? Maybe you want to write a book. Maybe there there’s a place you want to go. I’ve got a travel vision board behind me on the desk here of the places I want to go, or the places I’ve been that I definitely want to go back to. Write down all the… You know? Maybe you want to climb all the mountains in the world, all the high mountain peaks. Or I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane I think right near the last time I saw you, and I will never do it again.
Randy:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Rod:
But I did it. It’s off the bucket list. So write down all the stuff you want to do. Then also write down everything you want to learn in this lifetime. So again, we’re talking big things, little things, everything. This is not just the top three things. This is everything. Write down all the things that you want to learn in this lifetime. Maybe learn a foreign language. Maybe learn a skill. You want to learn multifamily? I hope you’ll come see me. I don’t know when this will air, but I’m going to have a bootcamp October 17th and 18th.
Randy:
Oh, yeah. This will be out.
Rod:
Livestream, two full days.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
It’ll be before that?
Randy:
Yeah, absolutely.
Rod:
Yeah, okay. Yeah, it’ll be two full day. And I don’t sell anything at all. It’s $97. No, I think it might’ve gone up to 147. I’ll tell you what. If you use the code RODFRIEND, you can get it back down to 97.
Randy:
There you go.
Rod:
RODFRIEND, one word. But it’s multifamily, virtual bootcamp.com, two full days of training, not selling anything. And it’s a no brainer.
Randy:
That’s awesome.
Rod:
But if that’s the skillset you want to learn.
Randy:
Sure.
Rod:
And one last one last little plug. These are the manuals that you get at that event. Okay? I mean, it is drinking through a fire hose.
Randy:
That’s awesome.
Rod:
But anyway, so… But even maybe you want to learn another skill, whatever it is. Maybe you want to do single family, wholesale, flip, whatever it is, or some other vehicle. Those are vehicles. And what we’re talking about here is mindset. Okay? The vehicle can be anything. It can be starting your own business. It can be investing passively in a deal. It can be investing in the stock market, whatever. That’s the vehicle.
Randy:
Yeah. And I’d just interject there, too. There’s no limit to it. I think immediately as you said, that I had a guy that was a co-worker when we owned the money management practice. You know? Stockbroker, RIA. The guy’s 42. He went back to school to become a doctor because he wanted to become a medical missionary.
Rod:
Love it.
Randy:
So he genuinely like at 50-whatever, he’s 50, like 42, 43. He’s like 50 years old. He graduates, and then does his-
Rod:
Love it.
Randy:
… internship, and becomes a medical missionary. So it’s like when you’re saying that, and I love that. Because it’s like don’t… Your mind says, “Oh, you can’t do that.” No, no, no, no. Yeah, no. Anything is possible. Put it on the list. Anything.
Rod:
And I’m really glad you reminded me of that. You’ve got to take the lid off your brain guys.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
There is nothing you cannot do, be, or have. I mean, I love to look at Elon Musk. He’s from scratch, started three billion companies. I mean-
Randy:
Like “We’re going to go to space,” right?
Rod:
Yeah. And now we’re going to go to space. He’s going to bore underground between Las Vegas and the convention center.
Randy:
Yeah. That’s awesome.
Rod:
And he’s got rockets that land by themselves now. And the [crosstalk 00:13:12] –
Randy:
They’ve just got a huge contract, too-
Rod:
Right. Right. That’s right.
Randy:
… to break out two of the other main providers from nothing.
Rod:
Right.
Randy:
Five, six, eight, six, seven years ago.
Rod:
And I mean, forget Tesla.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
With the solar company.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
I mean, you know? Again, the guy’s a real inspiration. But that’s just an example.
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:13:27].
Rod:
The point is there is nothing you can’t do, be, or have. You just got to want it.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
I mean, really want it. The main thing is like Napoleon Hill says in his book Think and Grow Rich, “You have to have a burning desire.
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:13:37].
Rod:
Okay? So you have to be real clear on what it is that you want. So anyway, you’re writing down all the stuff. You’ve written down all the things you want to learn, all the things you want to do. You also want to write down who you want to help.
Randy:
Yes.
Rod:
Because we will do more for others than we’ll ever do for ourselves. And you want to use this because all of this is the fuel to get you to get up early, stay up late. Whatever you do, whatever the heck you have to do to make this happen for yourselves.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And it takes energy. And you’ve got to have that passion. So you’re going to write down who you want to help. You know? I bought my parents a house here in Port Charlotte. Well, you know what that is, Randy.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
On a canal, and bought them a car, and took them on cruises. Who do you want to do something for?
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:14:17].
Rod:
Write that down.
Okay. Now, once you can’t think of another thing, there’s a couple more steps. I need you to put a time limit on each one of these goals. Okay? Put an number as to how many years it’s going to take you to achieve it. And if you’re analytical, please don’t stop and overthink this. Just guess at a number. Put a one, a three, a five, even a 10 or a 20. Okay? Because people will overestimate what they can do in a year and massively underestimate what they can do in five, 10, 20 years. I’ll give you an example of this. And this is a good example to help you take the lid off your brain as well.
Because when I was 18, I lived in Denver, but I knew I wanted to live on the beach. And I would visualize the beach, and the Palm trees, and the sand, and the surf. And there’s no beach in Denver. Okay? But 20 years later, I built this mansion on the beach here in Casey Key, Florida. You know? 8,000 square foot, 10 million dollar… Or so I’m sorry, 10,000 square foot, $8 million house, Gulf to Bay. I own the beach on one side, I had my boats on the backside. And that was unthinkable when I was 18.
Randy:
Yes.
Rod:
Okay? So again, take the lid off your brain. If you can… I don’t care if it’s a private island, a jet, a yacht. Whatever it is, a public company, write it down.
So you put a time limit on each goal. Next thing you must do is you have to pick your number one goal.
Randy:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Rod:
That goal that when you get it, it is life-changing, it’s like, “Oh, my God. This goal, this is amazing.” That goal, put it on another piece of paper. Then I need you to pick your top three one-year goals, put them on another piece of paper. And leave some room in between them because there’s two more steps.
The next thing. The goals are important. Honestly, at this point, you’re ahead of 99.9%-
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:15:58].
Rod:
… of the people on the planet that do a New Year’s resolution that’s forgotten by February. Okay?
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
So you’ve got clarity. You’ve got some clarity. But the big step is the next one, which is you have to write down why each one of these goals is an absolute must for you to achieve. Okay? And here’s what’s important. You want to use emotionally charged words as you write the description of why it has to happen. You know? Words like “Beautiful,” and “Amazing,” and “Incredible.” Because words are very, very powerful, and you want to use them to help drive you.
So you might so say that, “So I can show my kids what success looks like. So I can show my husband or wife what it means to be successful, or retire my husband or wife. So we can live the life of our dreams. So we can have the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want, wherever we want, go wherever we want.” Whatever it is. Whatever’s going to juice. You write it down.
Now, once you’ve got a positive reason why, and there might be some similarities between the reasons why for all the goals. But do a paragraph, a few sentences for each one. Very important.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
This is the fuel, guys. This is the fuel to get you to push through fear, to get you to push through limiting beliefs. You know? Along with certainly the religious dialogue around that, as well. But this is the impetus.
And the other thing is comfort. So many people are comfortable. And the comfort zone’s a warm place, but nothing freaking grows there.
Randy:
No.
Rod:
Okay? And so this is what gets you to get uncomfortable.
So you’ve got your top four goals. You’ve written why they’re a must. You have to take it one little step further. I want you to put some pain in there. I want you to make it painful if you don’t achieve the goal. What happens if you don’t achieve it? And make it painful. Things like, “So I don’t feel like a failure. So I don’t live a life of regret. So I don’t fail my children. I don’t fail my spouse.” Why? Because it’s human nature that we are more inclined to avoid pain than gain pleasure. And you want to use this, again, as a driver to get you to get up early, do whatever it takes to make this happen for yourself. Because if you’re willing to work like most people won’t for a few years, you’ll live like most people can’t for the rest of your life. And so you know? That’s why I’m hoping to inspire you to do this.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
Okay. Then lastly, once you’ve got your… And I’ll tell you something about regret. There was a nurse in Australia, Randy, named Bronnie Ware, and she was a hospice nurse. So that meant she helped patients transition from this place to the next place. And she asked the patients that she had a question. In fact, she wrote a book about it. But the question was, “Do you have any regrets?” And the book is The Five Regrets of Dying. And you know what the number one regret was, Randy? It was not living the life I could have lived. Living someone else’s life. Not doing what I was capable of.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Guys, we do not want that. Okay?
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:18:50].
Rod:
So this is the fuel to keep that from happening.
Randy:
I want to interject right here, too.
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
You just hit something that just… It’s a golden thread right there. Right now, so many people are living a life that was intended to please somebody else.
Rod:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Randy:
Right?
Rod:
Very common.
Randy:
They conditioned their mind into it. Now, whether it was, “Okay, I became an attorney because my dad’s an attorney,” or whether “I became a teacher.” You know? Whatever it is. So oftentimes, we comport to what other people’s expectation for us is, and we call it good. And so I want to just… This was a breakthrough for me years ago in this same process, where when you’re going through this process, it’s not about what you think other people want you to want.
Rod:
No.
Randy:
It’s not about what you think God wants you to want. It’s about what’s genuinely true for who is inside of you and the innate desires that are created within you.
And so, again, like I go back to the guy that was a stockbroker that became a doctor. Everybody, including myself thought, he’s crazy. Right? Like, “Dude, what do you…? I mean, you’ve got a successful business, were managing millions upon millions of dollars, and da, da, da.” But it’s like that was him. He became a stock broker for other reasons and it, really, his passion was medicine, to help people.
Rod:
[crosstalk 00:20:10].
Randy:
And so that’s the thing that like… Not only as we live out our days and not comparing ourselves, but it’s like shake off that thing. And even if it was, again, too many people are constrained by that. I meet people all the time like that and it’s like, “Well, how did you get into that?” And it’s because, “Well, my parents suggested it was a good thing.”
Rod:
Yeah. Sure. Sure. That pressure. And you know? And that’s one piece. The other piece is not taking action and then having regret at the end of my life for not doing the things that… Because there’s truly nothing we’re not capable of doing.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
I mean, this is just the way the… God works. So let me see, where was I in my little soap box speech here?
So okay. So the last thing after you’ve got your why’s written down. And again guys, why’s, that’s the fuel. That’s the fuel. Get pictures of your goals. Get pictures of them. Go on Google and look for pictures that resonate with you. It may not be exactly what you’re looking for, the wrong color vehicle or whatever it is. But if you look at and you’re like, “Mm, that feels good,” download it. Go to Walgreens or CVS. I could show you on the walls here around me. I’ve got vision boards here behind me that I use when I’m when I’m praying and visualizing and manifesting.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
There’s my travel one right there.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
And so this stuff, this stuff works. And let me give you some examples of being able to manifest things in your life. A great one is Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey, if you Google Jim Carrey check, you’ll see that Jim Carrey wrote himself a check when he was flat broke. By the way, for those of you millennials listening to Randy, a check is something we used to use to pay for things.
Randy:
For sure. Paper thing, you’d write out. Right?
Rod:
Yeah, right.
Randy:
Yeah, yeah.
Rod:
Anyway, he wrote himself a check for $10 million, and that’s so much money he made for Dumb and Dumber. He used to go up when he was broke, sit by the Hollywood sign, and visualize cashing it. And I’ll give you another more recent example. Oh, darn it. I’m going to forget her name now. Oh, gosh darn it. I do it all the time. She’s a singer that was kind of a nobody 10 years ago. And she declared that she was going to sing in the Super Bowl, and she’s sang in this last Super Bowl. She’s Latin, and I can’t remember her name now.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
But anyway, if you look, you’ll see who it is. But I’ll give you some personal examples for me, as well. When I was 18, I became a broker in real estate, and so I figured I had to have a four… I was going to be rich selling other people property, or that’s what I thought. Anyway, so I got a four-door car. It was a four-door Grenada. Piece a you-know-what, ugliest thing you’ve ever seen in your life.
Randy:
Yep. I remember the Grenada.
Rod:
Right, right, right, right.
Randy:
Sure.
Rod:
And so back then, I worked with this guy that had two Corvettes, and he let me drive one.
Randy:
Ooh.
Rod:
And that’s a key piece, too, that experiential piece.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And so you know? I got a picture of a Corvette out of a magazine, and I taped it to the visor of my four-door, bone-ugly Grenada. And so every time I sat in the car, it was right there in front of me. Within a year or two, I had a beautiful Corvette.
Now, I’m going to give you some other examples. But I want to pre-frame the rest of this by saying this is not me bragging. Please understand that. When I talk about that house on the beach or what I’m going to tell you now, it’s not meant to show off. It’s meant to hopefully inspire you as to what’s possible. That’s it. Because the things I want to drive, describe here really don’t even interest me anymore.
So actually, this is the time the TV show Magnum PI was out. A detective movie with Tom Selleck. I think he was in Hawaii. Well, he drove this red Ferrari 308. And I know now your ears are perking up, Randy. And I thought that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.
Randy:
For sure. Yeah.
Rod:
And so I got a picture of that car, put it on the visor of my Corvette. Within a year or two, I had a Maserati that looked just like it. Okay?
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
From the front, at least.
Last example, another car example. I’m the guy that always wanted a Lamborghini, and I used to have posters. There was the Lamborghini Countach growing up, with the bikinis, and the girls, and all that business.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
Well, what’s interesting is my son collected models of exotic cars. You know? I’d gotten him excited about exotic cars. He had a model the exact same color and style Lamborghini that I ended up getting, which ultimately I wrecked here in Sarasota. But that’s another story.
But anyway, pictures work, guys. In fact, let me show you something. This is my planner. It’s on today. Okay? I use a paper planner.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
I’m a bit of a dinosaur. I’ve got due receipts because it’s tax time. Anyway, in the back of this thing, I’ve got pictures that have been in here for 20 years. I’m not exaggerating. They’re in plastic. You can see the edges are all dog-eared. Well, the first pictures are my gratitude pictures. Okay? These are the pictures of my kids when they were very young.
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:24:48].
Rod:
Because guys, everything starts from a place of gratitude. It is the foundational emotion that you need in prayer, in visualization, whatever vehicle you’re using to manifest these things into your life. So I’ve got pictures of my babies when they were babies. Okay?
Then I’ve got pictures of the things that I wanted. Now what’s interesting is I had that house on the beach. I had 80 feet of 10-foot high glass. You can see this picture. This is before I ever built this thing, travertine floors just like this top picture. It’s crazy. This looks like the view from the house.
Then what’s even crazier, and you can see this below me, Randy. You see these bottom pictures? Again, this is 20 years ago.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
That you can see the white walls in both those pictures. I think there are different balconies.
Randy:
Wow. Yeah, yeah.
Rod:
I’m sitting as a picture of my backyard. Look at the wall behind me.
Randy:
Yeah. Crazy. [crosstalk 00:25:36]
Rod:
Is that crazy? This is 20 years ago. This is the compound I live in now. I live in a compound now. I’ve got six buildings. I’ve got a giant main house, a beautiful guest house on the water, a media building with a… What we’ve now created a video studio, a giant exercise facility, on and on and on. Spectacular home.
Randy:
That’s crazy.
Rod:
It’s two acres. And because God’s got a sense of humor, I lost that old house back in all the craziness.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And I can see it across the bay. It’s right there in my backyard. It’s hilarious. But anyway.
And then you know? Other stuff that I wanted, stupid stuff like watches. I had a few hundred thousand dollars worth of watches. You know? Stuff I thought was important. The Lamborghini before I ever got it.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
You know? The Rolls, the Bentley, all this stuff that I got because I had pictures. So guys, [crosstalk 00:26:17]-
Randy:
I want to interject something here too, Rod. Because a lot of times, sometimes… And I don’t want to say, “A lot,” and “Everybody.” But people get jacked up over stuff. And what I want to say to this. Like look, especially sometimes Christian people and other do-gooders, and people that, “Oh, you shouldn’t have this.” It’s really about the journey of becoming.
Rod:
Thank you.
Randy:
And these are items that are-
Rod:
Thank you.
Randy:
… to you, it means something you.
Rod:
They’re tokens, really. Yeah.
Randy:
And it’s as you become the person that receives and achieve these things, you’ve also become the person that’s delivered value to help other people because that’s how you receive those things. Like the truth is, like in my journey to some of the similar things, it’s like we’ve helped more and more people become wealthy. We’ve helped more and more people achieve financial freedom. I had to grow as a human being, and as an entrepreneur, and as a giver in order to be a receiver. [crosstalk 00:27:17]
Rod:
Let me give you my example. Let me give you my example of that, buddy. It’s a great… I’m really glad you brought that up. It’s never about the goals. Okay? The goals aren’t what’s going to make you happy, and I’ll give you a perfect example of that right now. It’s like you said. It’s who you become on this journey, and it’s a lifelong journey. But I remember two months after I built that house on the beach I was telling you about, that testament to my ego, which is really what it was. It was to prove to the world I was good enough.
Randy:
Yeah. Yeah.
Rod:
It’s embarrassing to admit, but that’s the truth. I built that place to prove to the world that I mattered. And two months after I’d built it, I worked for this thing for 20 years, okay? Two months after I moved in, my family’s sleeping inside, I’m floating in the pool looking up at this giant, like I said, testament to me going. This house was magnificent, okay? It had a giant waterfall from the second floor balcony into the pool. The pool was in magazines. It had an elevator, and a big, giant, giant spiral staircase up to the middle. Again, I had the beach on one side. It was a slice through an island. On the second floor, I’ll land the plane with this. On the second floor, I had an aquarium that curved around the staircase that cost me almost $200,000. So this gives you an idea of the house. Well, two months after I’m floating in the pool at night, it’s changing colors because they have fiber optic lighting, and I got depressed. And I don’t mean just bummed. I mean, really bummed. And I was like, “What the heck is going on? I’ve just achieved success like times a thousand.” And I mean, I was really hurting.
And what I discovered, Randy? Well, there was several things happening, and your comment triggered it. One was, you need a vision for the future. Like the Good Book says, “Without a vision, the people perish,” or something along…
Randy:
Yes. Yes. For sure.
Rod:
And I’m paraphrasing. And I didn’t know what I was going to do next.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
So that’s number one. Secondly, it’s never about the goals. It’s about… Happiness comes from continual progress and growth in all areas of your life.
Randy:
Yes. For sure.
Rod:
Your relationships, your health, all of that. It’s about progress. But the big thing was, I’d been totally focused on myself. Rod, Rod, Rod, Rod. Show the world I’m big enough or I matter.
Randy:
Yep.
Rod:
And that was the year I met Tony. I saw Tony at an event in Fort Lauderdale, and I found out that he fed families for the holidays. And I’m like, “Wow, that’s really cool. Do something for someone else. What a concept.” I’m embarrassed to say it was 40 before I got that memo.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And so I went home and I fed five families, Randy.
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
And the third family changed my life. We went up to this house. It was this lady in this… It wasn’t even a one bedroom. It was like a crappy one bedroom. And she had five kids.
Randy:
Wow.
Rod:
And so what we did is we got big baskets of big… Actually, boxes of food back then, we do baskets now. But boxes of food, and it was for Thanksgiving. Got her a frozen turkey, and all that, found out she had kids. We called a church, found out who really… Said, “Who really needs help? Who’s really dire straits?”
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And we got these five families. Well, this lady comes out, and she sees the stuff on the porch, the boxes of food, the toys, the frozen Turkey. She starts crying. Her kids come out, the older ones start crying. I start crying, and I’m hooked. And I’m blessed to say now, Randy, I think we fed somewhere in excess of 80,000 kids over the last 20 years.
Randy:
Wow, that’s amazing.
Rod:
We’ve done tens of thousands of backpacks filled with school supplies to local children in Sarasota. Even in Hillsborough, up by you. So Hillsborough, Sarasota, Manatee counties, Pinellas, tens of thousands of backpacks. It’s just astounding to me that we live in the greatest country on earth and there’s kids that don’t have the basic school supplies.
Randy:
For sure. Yeah.
Rod:
But anyway, I won’t go on that tangent. But then you know? I’ve done thousands of teddy bears to local police departments for their officers to keep in cars when they encounter a child that’s been traumatized. And again, please know this is not me bragging. This is me hoping to inspire you to give back in some fashion now. Don’t wait till you have the money to do it.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Because I’m going to tell you, it will help you be fulfilled. I was successful, but I was unfulfilled. So I was achieving, achieving, achieving to be happy. But if I’d have been smart, I would’ve been giving back right from the get-go and happily achieving.
Randy:
Well, you know? An interesting thing, too, is you said, and I want to unpack it a bit, too, for our listeners. It’s just so powerful. So in 20 years of doing, doing, doing for yourself, you got to that moment of pinnacle. And then after you went through the reset and then really kind of a mindset change, and a focus of now a bigger focus of giving beyond yourself, that took maybe 10 years to even ellipse that. So half the time and greater results than what you’d achieved and greater fulfillment. Because then again, I know you personally, and it’s like as a humble person, genuinely wanting to give and help other people. [crosstalk 00:31:49]
Rod:
No, I mean, it’s insane. I touch about a hundred thousand people a week now.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
So I mean, that’s just insane to me. And I mean, it’s the greatest gift in the world. And so no, you’re right. And that window was much shorter. That evolution, and… Yeah?
Randy:
And here’s the… I would say this. And this is so crazy, because like it took me a long time to get ahold of this. It’s like the old Sunday school thing that you heard: “Give and it shall be given to you.” Like right? And everybody rejects that.
Rod:
Oh, ten fold, a hundred fold.
Randy:
It’s like, “Oh, yeah. No.” Because by nature, we automatically look to ourselves. Like that’s like we kind of… That’s a natural thing that we want to look out for ourselves. And it’s like I remember hearing that in Sunday school, and it’s like as you grow up, and you’ve got to fend for yourself, and my background’s not too dissimilar to yours. And it’s like but then you come to understanding it’s like that’s a core, universal truth. That it’s like, “Wow.” When we embrace that, and begin to focus on beyond just ourself, the things that we desire, and what you put out through the goal setting is spot on. It’s like you’re now opening the doorway for those things to come into your life because it’s not all about you.
Rod:
Yeah. I will tell you, human beings have a basic human need to contribute. And candidly, if you sit and think about it carefully, anything in this universe that does not contribute actually, or certainly on this earth, gets eliminated.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Everything contributes in some fashion. We have a need to contribute, and but a lot of people… But it’s one of those needs that’s not used as much as it should be. And I know you’ve got guys listening to your show that are probably young, and blood dripping from their teeth, they want this success so freaking bad. They see the exotic cars, and they want all that stuff. Guys, I’m here to tell you, give now.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Adopt a family now. Because you’ll get your success much faster because of what Randy just said.
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:33:46].
Rod:
What you give you get back. You want love? Give love.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
You want happiness? If you’re unhappy, give happiness to other people. You will get it back, you’ll become happy. It’s just the way God works, the universe works. You know? And so you’re spot on with that. [crosstalk 00:34:03]
Randy:
Right. It is. Well, you know? And I would just say, too, that this really just… I mean, this nails it right here to say, “Okay, look. How did the journey for Rod to becoming the number one podcast, the number one Facebook group, one of the elite investors in the country, how did that happen? It’s right here.”
Rod:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Randy:
It’s unpacking this mindset to begin to one, self-identify where I’m at and being honest. And being honest with yourself to where you were, and then being willing to take the steps of change. And then being okay to begin to embrace these things and really apply them. And you know? I think that you’ve just really nailed it with having clarity of what you really want, what you really want, and then attaching the motivation and the why to it. So that it pushes you, and drives you, and even pulls you through those barriers, through those challenges. So that when you’re getting punched in the face by a circumstance, that you’re able to get back up and keep going.
And then you know? This is something that’s key, that people… Like I’ll make posts about this and people love the Ferrari picture, but not the real thing that got you there. And it’s like having the ability to string it together day after day after day after day after day.
Rod:
Yep.
Randy:
Just having the motivation to do it, regardless of how you feel about it.
Rod:
People see the success. They see the trappings of success, and they want the pill.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And guys, it’s hard work.
Randy:
[crosstalk 00:35:38].
Rod:
It’s hard work. It’s when you get your nose bloody that’s… Let me give you a success formula I learned from Tony Robbins. The line to success is never a straight line. So but you have to know exactly what you want. You have to know your outcome. You keep it in your mind’s eye. And when you hit that roadblock, you just change your approach. With your outcome in your mind’s eye, try a new approach. When that doesn’t work, you change your approach. And keep your eye on that goal, and change your approach. And you rinse and repeat that, I don’t care if it’s a thousand times, as long as you don’t give up.
Randy:
Absolutely.
Rod:
And I’m going to tell you, if you’re listening to Randy here and you fear failure, I’m going to encourage you to pivot and fear regret much, much worse. Because I’m telling you, it’s a whole lot more painful than failure. I have failed my way to success. I’ve built 24 businesses. I call them seminars when they fail, by the way. I had a $50 million seminar. Well, I built 24 businesses. Several have been worth tens of millions of dollars. Most have been spectacular flaming seminars. Okay?
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
You know? I met Sarah Blakely, the billionaire owner of Spanx at another mastermind that I belong to. And she told me that her dad used to ask them at the dinner table when they were kids, “What have you failed at today?”
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
Is that not an awesome question to ask your kids?
Randy:
That is exciting, right? Yeah.
Rod:
Not to fear failure. I love that.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
Well, too many people… Again, it blocks your progress to the success you desire because of the unwillingness to take that step and that risk.
Rod:
Yeah.
Randy:
Because, “Oh, I might fail. What would people think about me? What about this?” And it’s like, no, it’s a mind block. That it’s like hey, look. You and I are here today, you who are listening are listening to it. So the things that you were scared of, even though you thought it was going to kill you, didn’t kill you.
Rod:
No. [crosstalk 00:37:20].
Randy:
And the failure that you experienced didn’t stop you. You’re still here today.
Rod:
You’re stronger, as well.
Randy:
Exactly.
Rod:
And yeah. By the way, on my podcast I do a little clip every week. Even if you’re not interested in multifamily real estate, I do a little clip every week called Own Your Power. And it’s five minutes of inspiration. I’m certain that’s why I broke 9 million downloads. Because people don’t remember what you said, but they remember how you made them feel.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
And those really make you feel. So if you know, you might check it out.
Randy:
For sure.
Rod:
It’s called Lifetime Cashflow Through Real Estate Investing. And again on the multifamily front, if you’re interested in that, please come see me at my bootcamp. It’s $97. It’s like a duh. It’s a no-brainer.
Randy:
Oh, of sure. That’s a great thing.
Rod:
There’s nothing being sold. Nothing being sold. It’s just pure content.
Randy:
Awesome.
Rod:
I mean, it’s drinking through a fire hose. I will say that.
Randy:
Yeah.
Rod:
But that website is multifamily virtual bootcamp.com. Or you can text RODLIVE to 41411. Now that’s one word, RODLIVE. And then again, if you use the code RODFRIEND, I think it’s 147 now, it’ll bring you back down to 97. Yeah.
Randy:
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Rod. I mean, what a great… Just a great time together here.
Rod:
Likewise.
Randy:
And super valuable for our listeners I know. And again, all that we’ve talked about here today, just spot on will change your life if you do it. So I want to encourage you to take the steps of action. Do the goal workshop. Do it now. Do it this week. Do it today. Don’t delay. And then by all means, connect together with Rod. He’s a fantastic guy, and really has a heart towards wanting to help people.
Rod:
Yeah. Thank you [crosstalk 00:38:52].
Randy:
So Rod, thank you so much for coming onto the show today. And folks, I want to thank you also, too, for tuning in today. You have a blessed and victorious week, for this is the week god has ordained for you.
Rod:
Nice. Thanks, brother.
