YesTalk-178 - FROM MILITARY TO BUILDING LIFE AS A REALTOR - INTERVIEW WITH THE BEST: SERGIO NAZZARO - KEVIN WARD

Welcome to Kevin Ward's Yes Talk for Realtors. This is Kevin Ward. Hey there, it's Kevin Ward, the founder of yes Masters Real estate success training, bringing you another edition of Interviews with the Best, where we interview some of the best agents in the world who are committed not only to be in the best of the world, making a lot of money, but also in adding value to their clients life, helping them get the best results and having a life themself. And today is an interview that I have looked forward to for a long time because Sergio has become a good friend of mine. He is one of our coaches at yes. Masters and is just now finishing his second year in the real estate industry. And he has been an amazing story from the beginning to today. And Sergio, we are excited to have you on today. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sergio Nazaro from Denver, Colorado with 8 Zoo Realty. How are you, my friend?

I'm doing great, Kevin. Thank you so much for having me here.

Yeah, it's so exciting to have you on. Now you've been in real estate now for how long?

Two years. So I've been two years.

Been full time for two years. And we started talking about six weeks ago. I think I put this challenge out to you of from the day you started. How long would it take you to make a million dollars from day one? And I probably. We didn't have the conversation early enough because it was like, what would it take to do a million dollars in your first two years in real est? Make a million dollars? How close are you? Do you mind sharing how close you are at two years in?

Yes, I'm $150,000 in commission away from making a million dollars in my first two years.

Okay, so you're at 800 and you're in the first two years. 24 months. And it's 24 months right now, right?

Correct.

As we record this. So this is January, January 2020 as we're recording this. And two years in real estate, you made how much in GCI your first 12 months as a rookie agent?

Yes. 330,000.

So $330,000 in commissions as a rookie, which is pretty fabulous. I've only had one coaching member ever make more money than that in their rookie year. I mean, that was 330,000 is insane. Not. Probably not one in a thousand rookies. And maybe not one in 5,000 rookies make 330,000 their first 12 months in the business. And now in your second year, you did. You passed that in your first six months. Your second year and now you're at coming over 850,000 in GCI, and you'll be hitting a million here very quickly.

I mean, you laid down the gauntlet. And so, I mean, once I get that challenge, I get pretty motivated to compete against myself.

Yeah, and you're competitive. So tell us a little bit about your background. Tell us about. Because you can sense, and everybody can sense when they talk to you, that you're an extremely driven, passionate, competitive kind of guy. So tell us a little bit about your background and where that comes from.

I mean, it all start. I grew up playing sports. I played hockey growing up in high school, tried to play when I went to the Air Force Academy, ended up playing on their club team instead. But once you get into the military, especially at the academy, you're around some of the best of the best in the country. And that just starts to breed a level of competitiveness, and it starts to breed a level of greatness because everybody's competing against each other, whether that's for a job, when you get out of the military, for pilot slots, you name it, there's always a level of competition in that environment where you're trying to be the best of the best, whether that's in sports or academics or military or leadership, there's a continuous. Just focus on being the best version of you. Yeah, that's where it all started. I think that's where it really started to calibrate. High school was the foundational stuff because I loved sports. But once I got into the Air Force Academy, that's where it went from, you know, I'd say varsity level to, you know, the next level when I was trying to really compete against my peers and against myself.

Okay, now you're just kind of a natural athlete. We're going to talk about that in a little bit because I think you're like six, five, weigh 280 pounds. You were like a bruiser. You crushed everybody, isn't that right?

I think you got those numbers, 5, 6, barely breaking 165 if I'm soaking wet. But I carry myself, like, I like to think I carry myself around 6, 7.

I can remember the first time we saw you. I'm like, you know, you see people, you're like, I thought you're shorter than I thought. And I was like, sergio's small. Way smaller. When you see the guy and you hear him and you talk to him and all that, this is not a big. Physically a big guy. And yet the accomplishments that you've done, not just in real Estate, but in your life, defy being a small guy. In other words, your physical size. And I think this is important message for people is to understand your physical size or whatever, your physical attributes do not define who you are or what you can accomplish.

No, not at all. I mean, I've been fighting. Fighting this battle my entire life. You know, people not expecting less from me because I'm smaller or, you know, having to prove myself when I was in the dating world to, you know, the opposite sex, because, you know, they say they want somebody who's tall or there's somebody who's funny, but they mean tall. Right? So, like, I've been trying to overcome this my entire life, and it's been. It's fine. And now I just embrace it and I love it because in different environments, people don't expect a lot out of me. And when I get to show them that that's not me, I love that. That's my. I love that opportunity.

So you're not too short to attract a perfect lady.

I mean, I'm engaged now, but it took me 18 months to convince her to go on a date with me, so.

Yeah, well, he did not. And guys, he did not. He did not swing small. I mean, he swung for the fence. Because you're. So, Lizzie, your fiance is okay if I tell him what her background is?

Absolutely.

So she's a retired.

What?

Retired.

She's a NFL cheerleader, and then she was also an NBA dancer for seven years.

Yeah. So, you know, she's just like the. The perfect. Like, this is what every guy would look at. Go like, wow, that's kind of. Sergio won. That kind of person. And. And that. It's a reflection of what you can kind of. It. You know, I would just say Sergio's a good salesperson to be able to attract somebody like that into his life. But it's just part of who you are. So tell us. Take us back and tell us about your background. You mentioned the Air Force Academy, so obviously you mentioned sports. You mentioned military. So tell us a little bit about your journey.

Yeah, so let's see. When I was, I want to say, 12 years old, we were living down in Houston, Texas, because my parents had moved me there from New Jersey, and we had been renting for a long time, and we were finally getting ready.

To buy a home.

When we went to buy that house, at the time, it was stated income. And whoever was helping us at the time told my parents to put down whatever income it was to qualify for this home. Well, the lender Ended up doing unemployment verification, and they found out that my parents were making money, and my dad was fired from his job, and we lost the house. He lost his job. And we were broke. We were broke as a joke. And it was hard to watch. And I don't know if my parents will be happy with me sharing that story, but needless to say, like, I remember watching my mom console my dad. And that was, you know, as a kid, that's hard. That's hard to watch. So we moved to Colorado, and we were dead broke. Like, we didn't have a lot of money. My dad would do whatever it took to make money. My mom was, you know, working her tail off. And that's where I started to see that when you have a dream, and they are big dreamers, and they allow me to dream, but when you have a dream, you do whatever it takes, within reason, right? Not nothing illegal, but to accomplish that dream.

Right?

And, you know, after 9, 11 happened. That was kind of my calling to go to the military. Like, I wanted to get in the arena and serve my country. And more importantly, my parents couldn't afford college, so going to the Air Force Academy was my only option. It was either that or I was gonna have to go into the military. And I got really lucky. I got to the Air Force Academy with a presidential nomination. And I got. I was very fortunate enough to graduate from there and then serve for six and a half years in the military, with my last tour being to Afghanistan, where I called them because I wanted to go, because I joined to get into the arena and not sit on the bench. And I got into a little bit of trouble for making that phone call. But I'm so grateful that I had that opportunity to deploy and have that experience, because I think it shaped me and into seeing the world very differently, and it allowed me to grow a lot into the person that I am now. When I got out is when I started to pursue different. I was just lost. I was really lost. Right. You go through this. This moment where everybody's telling you what to do. Your life is so structured, and you have this identity as an Air Force officer, and when you get out, you lose that. And for years, I was lost. I helped start a CrossFit gym where I was a personal trainer. I enjoyed that.

How long have you been out of the military now?

I got out in February of 2013.

Okay, so you've been out for seven years? Wow.

Yeah.

Seven years. Okay, so you got out and you were lost as you. Just. As you just describe it.

Absolutely.

What do I do? What's my next mission? Okay, so then you started a CrossFit gym. You got into CrossFit. So what was the timeframe on that?

So I got back and I didn't know what avenue I wanted to pursue. And one of my friends asked me if I wanted to help start this gym and be a head coach. And so I was a personal trainer from 2013 until 2019. So I did it for a long time and it was great. I was able to help people. I was able to help people push past their limitations, grow into who they wanted to become a achieve their goals. And it was so rewarding. But that just wasn't the end all. That wasn't my final calling. And so I was doing this while I was in graduate school. So I was getting my master's in business administration with a focus in entrepreneurship. And I knew that I wanted to continue to serve people, but I didn't know in what capacity. And so I took a job, a 9 to 5 job working in tech. And I did that for about two and a two years.

This is after military, this was here in the last five years now.

So 2013, 2015 was just CrossFit in graduate school. 2015 to 2017, I was working as in a tech company, as account manager. And it was a great opportunity. I learned a lot, but I was tired of people telling me what to do. So I quit. I talked to Lizzie, I was like, I think I'm gonna quit. And she was so supportive. But I just quit my job to pursue becoming a full time real estate agent. And that happened in October of 2017. And that's when I came to your event. That was my first event, Real Estate Vortex training camp.

And you had not even started at that point.

I have, I done two deals and they were personal deals. Like I bought construction for myself and for my family, but I mean, that was it.

So you went full time right after that? I did in 2017. So you came to Olsa Vortex training camp?

Yeah, so I actually had our 10 year anniversary that year or 10 year reunion for the Air Force Academy. And Jacoby at the, at the reunion and he knew I was getting into real estate because I had reached out to him and he's like, hey man, there's this event coming up, you should come. I was like, I have nothing to lose. He's like, I'll give you a ticket. I was like, okay. So I went to Real Estate Vortex in October of 2017 and I remember sitting in that back row being like, what did I just. What is this? And, you know, you walk in, people are jumping around, everybody's friendly, people are you. I mean, you have a very large personality. And I learned so much. And by day three, I remember just calling Lizzie be like, well, here we go. This is it. I found it. This is what I want to do. This speaks to me on the way to grow your business, because it's all about relationships. I get to use what I'm good at and connecting with people. And from there, that's when the fire lit.

That's awesome. So Jacoby, you mentioned Jacoby. So for those of you that are watching this, Jacoby Kendrick is also one of our inner circle members. And by the way, I didn't mention Sergio is also one of the inner circle coaching members with yes Masters, which he's been in for. He got in really fast because he made so much money so quickly. So Jacoby Kendrick has been one of our longtime inner circle members and is definitely one of the best in the world. Just became a world champion in jiu jitsu, which is just. It's a reflection of how the people that we're talking about, how we play is, if you're gonna do something, be the best in the world at it. And that's the kind of people that you ran with. And we're gonna come back to that. When you went to the Air Force Academy and talked about getting in that environment, that association with competitive drive, and being around the people that are the best anywhere, what they do. And so you, you made this transition from the military and in Afghanistan now you were like in the combat officer or.

Well, I was. I was an officer over there, and I was working with the army, and I was flying around northern Afghanistan to different bases around northern Afghanistan. I never was in any type of combat, but I was around combat situations fairly frequently over there enough to see.

Stuff, see stuff and experience stuff that has dramatic impact in your life.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's no doubt about that. I never had to raise my weapon. I never had to pull my trigger. But it doesn't mean that the things that I saw and the things that I experienced didn't have a long lasting effect on my life and my development.

Yep, yep, for sure. And then when you came back, you got out of the military, you retired from the military, went school, personal trainer, started CrossFit as a trainer and a coach, and then worked for a couple years in a job and said, I wanted to have my own business. And you got into real estate. So tell us, tell Me about being entrepreneurial and running a real estate business. How you see that connection and how that worked for you as opposed to working for somebody else, for somebody that's never been, you know, most people, most people get into real estate have never been business people. They've been employees.

Yeah.

How do you make that transition from employee mentality to entrepreneurial business owner mindset?

I mean, it runs in my family. So being an entrepreneur runs in my family. My grandparents on my dad's side, they owned a restaurant for my entire life out in New Jersey. I mean, so they were running their own business. My grandfather on my mom's side, he ran his own company where he was selling different types of materials to people down in Texas. My dad's an entrepreneur, he runs his own financial planning business. And so success leaves clues. I just saw what the drive that they had, I saw that how they built their business around relationships. And to me I was like, that's how I want to do it. And so going from a 9 to 5 to becoming my own boss, I kept asking myself this question at the end of every day, did I earn the paycheck that I received? And to me, that's a pretty good litmus test for me to understand whether or not I was adding value and doing enough work in my own business to receive the paycheck and the commissions that you get in this industry. And so going from having somebody tell you what to do for 11 years in the military to have tell you what to do at a 9 to 5 job, I've always just been a self starter. Like I know I get motivated once I get clarity on what I want to do. And for me, having some structure around creating my day is really when I was like, okay, this makes sense, this is how I'm going to do it. And you know, it just helped me kind of grow my business in the way I wanted to.

So what would have to shift if I'm an employee, but I want to get into real estate, but I've always worked for somebody else. Somebody else telling me what to do in all this. What are some things, what would be some expectations I would need to have or know coming into real estate that is different than being an employee. What do I have to do to make this work for me when I'm used to being told what to do all day every day?

Yeah, I mean, first things first, you're going to have to work really hard. This is the hardest job I've ever had my entire life. I'm tired. I mean, there's no doubt about that. But I'm excited. And I would say that when you come into running your own business, you have to know that your life is going to be unbalanced. Your social life and other parts of your life are going to have to turn off for a little bit in order for you to build something that has longevity, more importantly, has something that has a strong foundation. So I would say, as you make that transition, just realize it's going to take more work than you can imagine. And on top of that, everything is your fault. If something goes wrong in your business, it's your fault. If you didn't call somebody back and they went with somebody else, it's your fault. Everything when you're an entrepreneur is your fault. And I think being able to hold yourself accountable and be responsible when it comes to that is something that if you don't have, that's completely fine. But just realize you need to stay an employee instead of being an employer of yourself.

I love that. Guys, I'm going to repeat what he said, because everything is my fault. If I succeed, it's my fault, or you got to own it. If I fail, it's my fault. So everything that happens, for better or for worse, is my responsibility. And I think that is so powerful. And I'm hearing you say there's no shortcuts. You're going to have to actually work hard, harder than you expect.

Absolutely. So, I mean, nine to five, right? When I was doing the account management job, there was times maybe where I work maybe 45 hours a week, I would come home, I would check out like that was it in this job on average. And anybody who's in my life is a testament to this. I mean, I'm pushing 75 hours a week, and the only way that I can do that is to have my support network of my family and Lizzie and my friends. But more importantly, is to be able to have very clear vision on what I want in my life. But more importantly, love what I'm doing. Like, this, to me, is not only fun, but I mean, this, for me just makes sense. This is the first job in my life that makes sense.

Yep. Love it. That is awesome, guys. And I want to just because I think this is so critical of understanding that when you start a real estate business as a new agent, the way that you did Sergio, is you're building something from scratch. When you get hired in a job, you're not building anything from scratch. The job was already there. The revenue stream from the corporation that's going to Pay you. It was already there. So the money's already. Everything's already in place. You're just coming in and you do. You do a job and you're going to get paid. When you start a real estate career, you're starting something from scratch, and you got to build it from scratch. There's no momentum. There is nothing. There's no pool to draw from. I mean, it's all starting from scratch, and then you got to put the pieces together the way you put it together. Sergio was leveraging relationships. You came to the real estate vortex training camp. Whole concept of the real estate vortex is building relationships that will draw business to you. And so how did you. What were the strategies, the key things that you did that allowed you, as a new agent to get people that you knew to give you business?

I mean, I, being from Colorado, I have a lot of relationships here. I want to tell a story about the first. The first transaction that I ever got to be a part of with somebody that wasn't a family member. And it was one of my best friends. I was in his wedding. I'm the godfather to one of his children, so let me just paint that. And I had to convince him as we were driving up to go skiing why he should go with me. He's like, listen, you've never done this. He's like, we want to make sure that we're being taken care of. And I had to sell myself. And I told him, I was like, listen, there is nobody else that is going to take care of you the way I'm going to take care of you. There's nobody else that will go to bat and will stay up at night to make sure that whatever it is that needs to happen, that you and your family taken care of, that I will do. I had to sell myself, but I was confident in myself. I knew that no matter what it was going to take, I would do. I would figure it out, I would ask for help, and I would do everything to prove to myself, but more importantly, prove to him that he made the right decision. And so that took a lot of work. Selling the best friend to pick me. You would think that would be, hey, let me help you out. But it's not the case. You have to believe that you're good enough, but more importantly, you have to make them feel like they can trust you and. And make sure that they believe that you have their best interest at heart, and you can make sure that it happens.

That's pressure, man. You got to believe it. And then you got to convince them to believe it.

Yeah, there's a lot going on there, especially as a new agent. I mean, full transparency. I didn't know what I was doing. What did you.

No new agent. Really? You can't know what you are doing. You can know, you can know what to do, but you don't know what you are actually doing. So how would you answer somebody that says, man, that's a lot of pressure. What if you mess up? What if, how would you answer that concern that a new agent might have? And the reason I'm let me frame the question. I've worked with hundreds if not thousands of brand new agents and they watch my YouTube videos and they comment and all this kind of stuff. They're afraid and they tell, they have their friends and family. People say, well, you know, you're brand new, you go out and prove yourself and then I'll use you and then I'll refer you. You did not let that stop you. What would you say to somebody who goes like, well, that's a lot of pressure. How do you, you know, what if and how do I know that I can do this? How would you respond to that?

The only way to kill doubt is to take action. And you're not going to know what you can do until you try. And so you might fail. Like that could have gone any direction. I could have completely failed at that. But the lessons I would have learned from that would have made me so much stronger so that the next family or friend that I was going to work with, I would be that much better. You just have to be okay with family, but you also have to know that you have to give it everything. You've got to know that when you go to bed that night that you didn't leave any stone unturned. So to me, if you're afraid of that, I would say step into the ring and take your first at bat, whatever analogy you want to use and then just realize that there's no such thing as a failure. It's an experiment. You have to learn by taking action.

Yep. And you took that responsibility. That's all you can do. You have to take, you have to totally take responsibility for what you're doing and what you're going to do.

And I would say that pressure, that pressure forced me to have a level of attention to detail and have a level of focus, hyper focus on that to make sure that I didn't mess up because I wanted to take care of them. I mean, his family was on the line. That is a lot of Responsibility. Yet that is where I felt for me, that's where I was able to thrive.

Totally. And that's part of the pain you had with seeing your parents not have a great agent when they that experience where they bought a house that they shouldn't have been able to buy, losing his job and all that kind of stuff. So you got all these, you got a lot of relationships and a lot of people have a lot of relationships. Some people don't have as many and some people have more, but all of us have relationships. How do you get them to give you business? What is your strategy for prospecting, marketing, whatever it is. How do you get people that you know to give you business?

I try to add as much value into their lives, wherever they're at in their journey, to let them know that I'm thinking about them. I constantly stay in touch with them and it's sometimes it's about real estate, sometimes it's just about building the relationship, but it comes from a good intent and in doing that, I make sure that they know that I'm there for them when the time does come. And so I'm consistently just, you know, I follow your framework in the real estate vortex to stay in touch with them. Right. I call them, I text them, you know, I deliver value to make sure that they know that when the time does come and they're ready that I'm here for them. I also make sure that I celebrate their wins. So when they get into a brand new home, you know, I make sure that they know that I'm excited because I am excited.

Right.

You know, I'm not afraid to ask them to, you know, or should I say refer me to other people or introduce me to other people. And it's just one of those, you know, things where I feel confident that I'm here just to add value. And knowing that I'm doing that is going to create business.

Awesome. So do you ask for business?

I do, I do ask for business. I ask if they know anybody that they could introduce me to that's, you know, thinking about buying or thinking about selling or even if they have just a question about real estate, just to know that I'm there as a resource. I'm not, I don't try and sell anybody that doesn't want to buy a home. But if they are wanting to buy a home or if they want to sell their home, I want them to know that they have somebody in their corner that will go and fight for them when they need it.

Yeah. Alright, so I'm trying to figure out, how do you explain Sergio Nazaro's success? Because you're not the only new agent that's worked hard. You're not the only new agent that's come in and, you know, talk to people they know. But you succeeded at a level that is very, very, very rare. How do you explain why your work. Because you put in the effort. No question. Why is your results different? And I don't know if you know the answer to this, but this is an important conversation that at Agent Mastery Live this year, our event, we're going to be. And by the way, Sergio is going to be one of our speakers at. One of our main speakers at the event is we're going to be diving into why do some people work hard and succeed and other people work hard and don't succeed? What. How do you explain success? So this is partly, for me, discovery as well. How do you explain your success?

That's a great question. And the first thing that comes to mind is mindset. I believe that if I'm consistent with the work I'm doing and I'm intentional about the relationships that I have and I stay in the flow of real estate, that success will come. More importantly, I. I believe that I'm worthy of the success. Now, for me, this is a tough question to ask, but I think it really comes back to just knowing that. I think about what happened to my parents. I really do. I think about back to how that impacted our life. And I just don't want that to happen to anybody else. I don't want. I mean, I'm grateful for the opportunity, what happened, because it shaped me. But nobody deserves to go through that if they don't have to. And if I had control of every situation, I would make sure that nobody was ever taken advantage of or nobody ever received a level of service that they didn't deserve. And for me, that's the driving factor. I think it's.

So as an agent, you obviously feel a deep sense of personal responsibility for the outcome that you get for your clients.

I do.

And that it's your job to guide them and lead them through that process.

And I know that's the case because I lose sleep over. I have a hard time compartmentalizing that. I felt such a level of empathy for people who are going through their struggles. When they call me, they're like, hey, our home's been on the market for five months. Our last real estate agent told us to go get a rental because they said it would sell on the first Weekend. Now we're paying our mortgage and our rent and we're shipping into our savings. And now we have to declare bankruptcy. That type of stuff eats. Eats at me.

Yep.

So, yeah, I feel a very strong pull to take care of the people that need it the most.

Love it. And then you mentioned effort that you put in the work. It just flat out takes the effort to do it. You said that you were all in the business. Like your mind, everything is in real estate. I mean, it's not. You're not double minded. This. You focus, you got right in there. And like everything I'm looking, it's all real estate. Who can I help all day, every day? Is that right?

Add value. And eventually, even with the, with the vortex, you know, with that model, it's all about creating these relationships. And so real estate, every, in my opinion, every conversation can come back to real estate because it's such an integral part of people's lives. Yep. So when somebody has a baby or when they get married, like that to me is so great. Like, I want to take a vested interest in that and, and make sure they know that I'm thinking about them. And so it's just, it's constantly just looking at people and being like, I'm so happy for you. Or like, if they're struggling, how can I help you? Or if they started their own business, how can I promote you? Like, I just want to add value to people. And I think it always comes back to level of real estate. I really do.

And it totally shows that you care. And they'll saying, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care is in today's day and age, people are skeptical, they're jaded. They're like, what? You're in it for yourself. You know, that's. People are always. They have that fear that somebody's gonna take advantage of them. And when you can your values convince them otherwise, then the loyalty from that is huge. Okay, now let's go back to mindset, because the very first thing you said on that is that to explain your success is you. It was mindset and some of those included. But then you said, I just believed that I was worthy.

It took a long time for me to get there.

Let's talk about that, because that's, you know, so many, especially at all levels, New agents, seasoned agents, all that, they're like, I don't know, like, I'm afraid, you know, they're not worthy of the luxury market or they're not worthy of Sellers or they're not worthy of their personal circle, the people that they know I'm not worthy to ask them for business, and if I do, I'm going to come across as desperate or whatever. How do you get that belief? How did you find the belief in yourself that you could do this, that you were worthy?

A lot of it was the power of association. When I joined the inner circle, Kevin, I was. I didn't believe that I was worthy to join that. And I remember having that conversation with you, and you looked at me and you go, you need to do what's best for you. And I talked to Jacoby and I talked to Jerry, and I was like, you know, I told them, and they're like, listen, man, you're worthy. That's what they told me. They're like, you're worthy. And it was at that moment, at that, when I joined the inner circle and I started to be around people that are operating at a very high level, but more importantly are just really great people, that I started to realize that I, too, and worthy of success, whether that's in real estate, in my personal life, whatever it may be. But being around people and being able to see them and how they carried themselves allowed me to recalibrate how I carried myself. And so coming back from that, I really started to evaluate the relationships I had in my life. And I surround myself with people that I want to be like, and that's helped me a lot, create the mindset, because I didn't know what that looked like for a long time. Being around those people has allowed me to get a lot of clarity around that, and that's helped.

Now, this was not the first time you got around the best. I mean, you got around people that were great at what they did. You said the power of association. So that started way back. So let's go back now, because one of the. Early on in our conversation, you said about when you joined the Air Force Academy.

Yeah.

That it changed how you thought, because now in the. In athletics and all that is what you were getting around people that were the best in the country and so forth. That's also association. And that in that. How does that. How important is that and how could. How would you recommend people go about getting that kind of association?

It's a great question. I think you really need to figure out where you want to go, and you need to make the decisions on who you want to become, not who you are right now. And that's a hard point of introspection, to figure out where you are right now and figuring out that gap between where you are and where you want to be. And there's people in everybody's life where you look up to them as either a mentor or a coach or a friend for whatever reason. And it's getting around more people like that because that person, whoever they are, hangs around with people that allows them to be at that level. Nobody just gets there on accident. So I would say if you're looking on how to capture that and create your own power of association, look at the people in your life that you're like, hey, I want to be like him, or I want to be like her for whatever reason. And then hang out with them and know that you're there because you want to make yourself better, but you also want to help them be better.

Yep. Love it. So I'm just going to dive. I'm going to kind of re emphasize this because I think you really hit on something. And I try to explain it. I study and I look at my coaching members that are the best and the ones that grow the fastest, like you and that are like, had this massive success. I'm like, okay, what are the characteristics? What are the behaviors? What are the things that they do that is different from the others, from the ones that have very little success or always struggling, from the ones that have mediocre success, and then from the ones that have meteoric success like yours? And I'm like, what is differences? And one of the biggest things that we see is people that achieve at this high level, they tend to have a different. They tend to have a background of different people they've hung out with, they've had a different association, and they have a different mindset. I think more than anything else, those are the case. And unfortunately, most of us, like myself, did not grow up with a strong, self confident, I am worthy mindset. You didn't grow up with that. Is that correct?

It wasn't that I didn't feel like I was worthy. I mean, I come from a. I'm very grateful and very fortunate to come from a family. My parents and my sister and my entire family was very supportive of my dreams, helping me live and to be my best version of myself. But it was because, you know, we just got to a point and it was. Maybe it was because it was so impactful that that's what I remember the most. That's when I started to live in a level of just survive.

Okay?

And so it was there, but it was buried.

So you did have some good sowing of seed into your mind that you were worthy, which a lot of people don't have. So now the question is, how do I take and get that? If I didn't have the belief and if I don't have the association, I'm not used to that, I don't feel worthy of that. What do I have to do? And I'm asking the question I'm kind of probably going to answer a little bit too here, because this is a conversation with you, is you have to make set the intention. Because this is my story was I looked around and my goals, my dreams, and they were way out there. And then I looked around my friends and I'm going like. Because I heard somebody say, you become like the people you hang out with. Power of association.

Right.

And so I've always said for years, I've taught my coaching members. You look at your friends, you are looking at your future. So if you want a different result in your future and you want to become. So you said, first figure out who you want to become and then find people that you can get around that are already there and they can help you get there. And a lot of it's just by the association. So when you went in sports, you went to the academy, you automatically were around people at a higher level.

Absolutely.

They play better and you instantly get better. Right. So we have to set the intention. One, what do I want to become? As you said, what do I want to become? And then two, who is there out there that is there that I can get around? And you have to set the intention. I am going to hang around with those people.

Yeah.

To bring that into a real estate context. If you're a new agent, do not hang around with other new agents.

That's a very good point.

And do not hang around with agents that have time to talk to you because they're not having the success that you want. Find the agents. And that may be in your office. It may not be a lot. I mean, the agents that you hang out with most now are not in your office. They're in the inner circle. And I don't mean you hang out with them physically and all that, because they're all over the nation, all over North America, But. But they're the people we talk to every week. And you're associating with and all that kind of stuff is you've got to find other people that you can hang around with. And you just start by setting the intention. And what my wife and I did was before we started this coaching company, eight Years ago was we're like, here's our dreams, here's what we want. We got to get friends who like that. And we looked at all of our friends that we were hanging out with, and we're like, none of them are going to help us get where we're going. And none of them have dreams like we have. And so we literally said, we got to change our friends. And we set the intention. We're going to find people, mentors and friends that we can hang around with that will. That are at the level we want to become. And over the last seven years, over the next two years, when we started that, the people that we brought into our life and their friendships that we form fought to earn because I felt totally like, I got people that I want to hang around with. They're multimillionaires. And I'm like, you know, we lived in a. We owned a little 700 square foot apart, a condo that I'm like, I can't invite anybody to my condo. It's to like a piece of crap. But I mean, it was in. It was in Hermosa beach, but it was still, you know, piece of crap. So we were like, these people have big 4,000 square foot houses and stuff like that. So it was a struggle, but we fought to get around the kind of people that had the lifestyle we want. And we forced us to think at a higher level and to perform at a higher level. And it sounds like that's what your experience.

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think for me it's the relationship. I mean, I have some incredible friends and I just never peeled it back on the power of association with them. I mean, Lizzie and I look at, you know, our friends and a lot of them haven't changed. Even after I met you, I got. I was again, I'm very. I feel very, very lucky, Very, very grateful for the people that are in my life. But I start to look at the people that are in my life, I'm like, oh, they have a great marriage. Oh, they have a. You know, he's doing great in his business. Oh, he's giving back to the community. You know, in my office, I feel very grateful to be around agents who are just top notch. They operate at a high level and then in the inner circle. And so I look at, you know, I benchmark different things. Like, oh, that's. There's just different aspects of my life that I benchmark against and not like compare, but I'm like, hey, they're doing it right. And there's A lot of things that I can learn from them, but there's also a lot of value that I can bring to their lives as well.

Yeah, for sure. It's. It's always two way.

Yeah.

So let's dive into the struggles that you've gone through, because it's not just been success for you.

No.

Tell us about what have been some of the biggest struggles in your business and in your life that have really been tough, that at times maybe have stopped you or whatever. Tell us about some of that. Some of the dark places that you've had to go and things you've had to deal with and how you dealt with them, how you overcame them.

Absolutely. Real estate wise, you know, the hardest thing for me was I didn't sell a home for the first six months I was in real estate. And there's a lot of doubt in my mind on whether or not I made the right decision. And this happens. I remember hearing you talk about this. You know, I was in month two. I hadn't sold a home, I hadn't done. I didn't know what I was doing. I was prospecting, but I wasn't. I didn't know how to prospect. And I pulled out my resume. I was like, you know, I got to go back and get a job. And I talked to Lizzie about that and she's like, is that what you want to do? I was like, no. And she's like, okay. And I remember laying in bed that night and I was thinking, I was like, this, this is hard. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. Like, I got to find out, do I need to drive for Uber? Do I need to go back? You know, did I make a mistake? And I deleted my resume that night off my computer. I was like, you know what?

Burn the ships.

I was like, f that. I'm sticking with this. And that's when I was like, I need to get focused. I need structure. And that's when I was intentional about what I was doing every day. When I really started to create my schedule, my rituals, from 4am until noon. It's very sacred to me. And that's when I started to see things get, you know, start to gain traction in my business, start to gain traction in my life. And I knew once I had that framework and I was able to add some structure that I had made the right decision. But there is months of darkness and months of self doubt. And that was when I had to really go down and do a gut check on who am I? What Do I want and figure that out? And once I had that clarity, that's when I knew that I had made the right decision.

So this was before you really went full time?

Yeah. So I. It was probably from August. Even after I came to Vortex, I was still, you know, I didn't have any money. I didn't. I couldn't. I signed up for coaching, but I, you know, I was putting on the credit card and yeah, it was.

It took a while, so it was really January. So you had your license for six months before you really took off?

Yeah, I had. I mean, I had it for a while before that. You know, I was doing. I was practicing real estate full time for six months, doing nothing.

Right.

And then February hit, and that's when I started. I mean, I put five homes under contract.

And that's when you started.

Yeah.

Okay. So. And this isn't, you know, I said I didn't know that part of the story, that you actually had your license for a few months before you really started doing stuff.

Yeah.

And not that you weren't even putting in some effort. So the last two years, we talked about going from zero to a million or zero to 850,000 in 24 months. That really wasn't the first five months that you were doing it. It's just when it started clicking.

Well, I mean, that's when I went full time. Right.

When you went full time, and then, boom, you were committed 100% all in. And I think it's an important for agents to know that they come in, they're like, I've been trying it for two months and I've had. I haven't made any money. And if you don't, it's tough to can maintain the belief, focus, the mindset. When I started real estate, same way, I had nothing. I had no savings, I had no experience. I didn't have any relationships. I just moved to a new town. I had no choice but to just work my butt off. And failure was literally, for me, not an option because I didn't have any fallback position. This was it. I was 100%. I think I never imagined not succeeding. And it took me three months before I closed my first deal. And I was full time the whole time. I mean, I was prospecting every day. I was just like, going, but you have to make that commitment. And then you got to just go all in. And I'm never going to quit. So what has been your biggest breakthrough in the last two or three years? Real estate or in life? Just what has Been the things you built. This was my biggest breakthrough.

So April of 2019, I had a heart attack. And.

Now you are in.

Sorry, go ahead. I'm not sorry, but you can go ahead.

You're not, like, unhealthy.

No, it doesn't run in my family. It was just the cards I was dealt. And so I had a heart attack in April after I went in for a stress test and found out that my main artery is clogged for whatever reason. And when they did the angiogram on me, I almost bled out on the table. Doctors had to hold me down and stop that, stop me from bleeding out.

And.

That just gave me a different. It gave me a different perspective. It wasn't one of those things where like, oh, I need to change my life. But if anything, it clicked. I was like, you know, people say when things like that happen or something traumatic happens, and you're like, what would you change? What would you change in your life? And I remember laying in that bed, and I was by myself because I told my family and Lizzie to go home. I just kind of wanted to be by myself. And I was laying in that bed, and I was like, I wouldn't change anything. All I want to do is be better at being a better friend, better fiance, better son, better brother. But my life, I love it. I absolutely love what I'm doing. And I just knew then that I was like, now is your chance, Sergio. Like, prove how you're going to recover, because that could have ruined me. And I was laying in bed, I mean, you were talking about self doubt. I was sitting there thinking, like, is that the end? Like, what am I? Do I need to go find something else? Like, is it. Is what's going on? And I remember texting you, and I was like, you haven't seen anything yet.

Yep.

And that.

That.

That changed. That was it. I was like, you know what? Put your money where your mouth is, Sergio, and prove everybody. Nobody was doubting me, but prove to everybody what you're made of. Prove to yourself what you're made of. And that moment was when I was like, all right, now I'm really. Now I really have clarity.

Yeah.

So.

How'D you get just coming out of that? They were just like, I'm going to. No doubts. No. 100%. All in.

I mean, there was months of darkness, a lot of self doubt.

Physically.

Yeah, Certainty. And I just took the framework that I did in my rookie year, and I just focused on that. And day after day, I was just consistent. And I didn't see anything for a while and then it just started to click. It kept going and kept going. I was like, okay, you start to receive results and then you get motivated and then you get motivated and you get steam. And then once you get steam it's like, get out of my way because now I'm going down this track and nothing's going to stop me. And I feel like that since.

What are you most excited about for your future now?

I'm excited to marry my fiance. I'm excited to continue to grow this business and just, just change people's lives. Like help people achieve their dreams and at the same time getting my own dreams done. Like, you've helped me dream a lot bigger. I've been in survival land for a long time and getting out of that has helped me dream and start to put together a vision board. Lizzy and I are actually doing that tonight for a date night.

Sweet.

I can dream. And I'm so excited for what the future holds because this is just the beginning. It's just the beginning.

Dream bigger, my friend. Yes, sir, 100%. So how has yes masters, specifically coaching being in yes masters, how has that helped move you forward?

It's given me framework to create a business that has longevity, create a business that has let me do it in a way that lets me show off my strengths through relationships. It's given me the opportunity to meet people, agents and learn from them. There's a lot of great agents in this community, both in, you know, in the inner circle and just in yes Masters that are doing some amazing things all across the country and I've learned so much from them of stuff that I can take and implement it into my life and into my business. And then it's just being around you. I mean, you're a very, very likable person but you've been a great mentor and a friend to me and you truly care and you've taught me how to truly care about everything in my life and to focus on what matters and to build a life that I'm proud of and that's what you've helped me do.

Awesome. Alright, so let's. I want to, at the end here, our conversation, I wanted. There are two groups I want to talk about because based on your background, new agents. Because you're still a new agent, relatively speaking. And military. Active and retired soldiers. Military. So first, what would you tell a new agent? Things that 24 months ago you wish you had been told. If I'm a brand new agent, what would you tell them? Is most important for them to do or know right now.

Find a coach. Find a coach that can help you get clarity on what you want. Help you build a framework so that you can start to create a business that is repeatable, gives you things to do so you know that you are tracking your results, you are tracking your metrics. You don't need a coach. It is just going to take you a lot longer. So you can either get good quick and start to create some business or you can stretch this over 10 years and then start to figure it out. But I would say find a good coach or a mentor and work with them and just put the time and the effort in. I know you asked for one thing, but the second thing I would say is be patient. If this is truly going to be your career and you want to have longevity to it, don't worry what the score is in the beginning. Don't worry about what's going on. Just know that you're taking the right steps to put points on the scoreboard, as you say, and that things will pay off. But you have to do the work and, and you just have to be patient because the results will come as long as you do the work and you're intentional about it.

Would you recommend they get a coach sooner or later?

As soon as you can? I think that's going to be the fastest way for you to start to build success and the fastest way for you to become the best at real estate so that you can serve your clients and show up in your life the way you need to.

Yeah, yeah, of course I'm a coach, but as you know, I also have coaches. You're a coach too now. So Sergio has been one of our coaches now for how long? When did you join us as a coach?

September of 2019.

Just last four or five months ago, he came on and joined us as a coach. He is part time as a coach because he is still building his business and all of that. But we just take people that we are like. He has a passion for coaching. Personal trainer, CrossFit. It is just something he has done in his life. Air Force officer and he is like, I love coaching. And I am like, all right, I love that you love coaching and I love that you win and you can share what you've done. So he's become one of our great coaches and so we're very excited to have you in that, in doing that. I believe that the difference between people that win and people that lose at a big level, if you're going to Go pro is the coach. It just when it comes to performance, in things that matter, that performance is how you get paid. The best have coaches and amateurs.

Me on the first time we met in the first event, is every top athlete, Tom Brady, you know, Tiger woods, you name them. They've had a coach their entire life. And so if you want to be the best, you have to have somebody that can see the full court, help you address your blind spots and help you become better.

Yeah, 100%. So love that military. Somebody is in the military. Was in the military, getting out of the military. That's looking at real estate. Thinking about real estate or getting into real estate. What would you. What advice would you give for somebody that's active, retired military about real estate?

One of the best parts about real estate is that you can create your own structure. So in the military, we thrive by having things to do every day, whether that's a checklist or a routine or whatever you want to call it. That's where a lot of military thrive, myself included. And so having a framework in real estate will allow you to take the skill sets that you developed, the attention to detail, right. The motivation, the drive from the military, and take that skillset, which is very transferable, and put it over the top of real estate with that framework. And I think if you have that along with a coach, I think there's no stopping somebody who's willing to put in the work. And I would say that anybody that I've met, the majority of people that I've met in the military, are willing to dedicate themselves to a craft, to become their very best, because they know once that they get there, they can help as many people as they want.

Yeah, well, as you know, Sergio, I have a big heart for our military. I'm a. I am the ultimate patriot. I'm an American. I love America. And I believe, you know, I have a tremendous appreciation for, for soldiers, for veterans, for military, because that's how we became a free country, was people that are willing to give their lives, just defend our country. And to this day, that is still the case. And so because of that, we don't. We haven't really promoted it, but we also for retired active and retired military who are getting into real estate for new agents, we actually have a scholarship program where you can get, as a active, retired military, getting into real estate. You can get one of our online courses called Agent Power Launch, and we scholarship that to you, along with a bonus tuition waiver to one of our live training events. And so if that's something. If you are watching this and you are active, retired military, thinking of getting into real estate or new in real estate, you can email us@supportesmasters.com and, and they'll just basically get verification of your military service and then they will. We, we have a scholarship for you to help you get started in that. And Sergio is one of the ones that is in there as a coach on the agent power launch and in there answering questions and helping you guys as you get that started. So I just wanted to throw that plug in as our gratitude to those who have served in the military, including yourself. I'm going to add one other thing because you and I know one of my best friends is retired, a retired Green Beret. And one of the things that I've found that I love about real estate for people who are soldiers is when you're in the military, there's always a mission. Yeah, it's the next mission. And one of the challenges of military soldiers who come back and they go into a job is they have a job, but they don't really feel a sense of mission. And for you, you found your mission in helping people, buying and selling houses. And it was, it's not just a job, it's your mission. And it's like, what's my next mission? Well, if you're a soldier and still a soldier at heart, so to speak, but a civilian, this I believe real estate, there's nowhere else that you can find something that is more mission based, where this becomes your and every client you get a chance to help, that's your next mission. And I just think it's really such a great fit. And we've just seen military, retired military folks like yourself that they tend to crush it in real estate because of the discipline, the skills they bring in, the mindset they bring in, and the commitment to a mission that makes them super successful.

That's awesome that you offer that. I think a lot of veterans if, when you're watching, take advantage of that. It's a great place to start. And then you get to come to an event and see what it's all about. But it truly is a mission and it helps with that transition, especially if you're thinking about it.

Yeah, 100%. And you can come to our next event, Agent Mastery Live, and you can get a hear from me and Sergio. Just we're gonna be training agents how to become the best in the world and help put points on the scoreboard and dollars in your bank account for sure. So Sergio, what do you see what's next. What's next for you? Now you're coming up on your first million dollars in income earned. What's next for Sergio over the next few years?

This is just the beginning for me. I think that's a major milestone to hit that. But my sole focus is to help as many people as I can. That's going to be helping them buy and sell real estate. That's going to be through the coaching that I'm doing with you. It's really just adding value to people's lives to let them know that I'm here for them when they need it, in whatever capacity that is. But my commitment and what I want to do over the next few years is just to give back as much as I can and build a lifestyle for my future wife and our future family.

That is awesome. So first, just thank you so much, Sergio, for joining me today and for doing this interview. For all the value that you brought, sharing your story with us and the secrets of your success, and I'm looking forward to what's next. Dude, I'm just. I'm so stoked, personally, to be working with you, not only as your coach, but also as a running mate in the building of our company and the building of your dreams. We love having on our team people that I consider to be the best in the world at what they do. And you say you're not there yet, but you are certainly in that rank of the elite, and I know you'll only continue to get better. If somebody wants to get in touch with you, how was the best way for them to get in touch with you?

Yeah, the best way to be. Go to my Instagram account. My name is Shodio. I'll spell that out. S H O W D I O. It's a running show. Yep. Shodio. But that's the best place to get a hold of me. You can send me a message. I'll be happy to respond there.

So is that a play on Sergio became Showdio.

My friend's father meant to say, show Sergio, and he had a Freudian slip and said, shodio. And I was like, what? They just kind of stuck.

All right, there you go. So they can find you on Instagram. Showed you and they can message you there? Yes, sir. All right, sounds great. Well, again, Sergio, thank you so much for joining us. For those of you that have been watching, thank you big time for joining us today. If this video has been helpful for you, give Sergio a big thumbs up on the video. Subscribe to the channel if you have not yet done so. And if you have questions or comments for us or for Sergio, put them down in the comments. He'll be checking it out and answering questions you guys have. But again, Sergio, thank you for joining us and all of you guys, thank you for joining us. Play to win and always expect yes. Thanks my friend.

Thanks Kevin. Appreciate it.

Hey there, it's Kevin. I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Are you tired of getting no after no when you're out there trying to get listings and trying to inspire sellers to say yes to you? Then I'd like to invite you to you to download a free copy of my no BS Listing presentation. This presentation will guide you through exactly what to say that will have motivated sellers saying yes to you over and over again. Stop getting stumped with skeptical seller objections or the famous we need to sleep on it, eliminate the resistance and have sellers ready to hire you and give you the listing before you even finish your presentation. To get a complimentary copy of my proven listing presentation, go to yes masters.com download again. That's yes masters.com download to download your free copy today.