Recover Your Cash Flow Without Touching Your Resume with Trevor Houston

Thank you for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace podcast. I'm Amberly Lago, and I'll be sharing inspirational stories of resilience and empowering ideas to elevate your business and your life, ignite your passion, and fuel your purpose. Hey, y'all, it's Amberly Lago, and I just thank you for tuning in to True Grit and Grace. I have one of my really good friends on the show today, and we're now kind of neighbors here in Dallas. Y'all, I have Trevor Houston with us in the house. You may already know him because he's got an incredible show called Who Ya Know. It's the job networking show. I had the honor of being on his show, and it's in a beautiful studio right here in Dallas. And right after I moved to Dallas, I got to meet Trevor in person and be on his show. He's the CEO of ClearPath Wealth Strategies, and who specializes in handling 401 rollovers, as well as helping job seekers get noticed to create opportunities and regain their cash flow. And I say that, but I have seen him in action, and I've seen the community that he has built and just how he helps people with his huge heart. And so there's so much, and he's featured in Forbes, and I want to talk all about that too. So Trevor, Man, I just, I really love you. You are amazing, and I just appreciate you taking the time to be on the show. So thank you for being here.

Wow, well, what an honor. Seriously, I'm super grateful to be here, and I just, uh, I feel like we're already BFFs. This is, this is amazing.

Well, I know, because I say that because when we first met, it was instant, like, connection because we have the motorcycle thing in common. And when you, you're a motorcyclist, you meet another person, especially who rides a Harley or something, you're like, ah yeah, we're the same people. And we met when we were speaking at an event for, um, with Heather, our friend Heather Monahan.

That's right.

And it was that connection. But the more that I've gotten to know you, and you're one of these friends that we can just like call each other, and just before we even hit record, we started talking. I'm like, okay, wait, we gotta, we gotta do a show to do, we got a show to do because I want to share your wisdom with everyone. But I just getting to know you more, I was like, oh, no wonder. Like there was an instant connection because I mean, to look at you, especially on LinkedIn. And if y'all don't see his work on LinkedIn, he's a freaking legend on LinkedIn. He does a live stream. He is, I'm learning so much and just how you promote your business and everything and the community that you have on LinkedIn. But there's so much more that like a lot of people don't know. And I like to share the struggle to the success. Because if you— sometimes you hear the bio and you're like, oh, he's featured in Forbes, oh, he's got it all figured out. But you had some really tough circumstances that you have overcome to get to where you are. And so I'd like to just talk a little bit about you and what inspired you to help others and get to where you are today. What is that passion? What is that purpose that is just fueling you to keep moving forward, especially through tough times. Can we go back to a little bit of your childhood? Because to me, I think that's where we learn a lot of grit and grace. And you had a great mentor. So can we go back to that and just share a little bit?

Yeah, 100%. Yeah. We talked about that, that I would go deep on this interview because I don't share a lot of my childhood that often. And I think it's something that I am going to start Uh, sharing more openly because I know it can, it can help people. So—

And when you shared that with me, I mean, I felt honored as a friend. And I said, would you be open to sharing that with my community? And you're like, yeah, I don't share it much. And I'm like, so many people struggle and so many people have excuses that they can't do something or they won't be able to overcome it because of their circumstances. But you have proven the opposite.

Well, I appreciate that. And, and some of my worry is, as I shared with you, some of my concern was like in the business realm, you know, how is that gonna be perceived? And, you know, it's, it's that own negative self-talk that gets in there that prevents you from speaking up and speaking out and sharing, sharing that story. But, um, I, I've just determined that now's the time. I think it's all about timing, right?

Mm-hmm.

And I think that now's the time for me to start being more open about it. And, um, so yeah, growing up, things were pretty good until, you know, my parents split up. I was about, um, probably I think I was around 8 years old when they split up. My mom was kind of like heavy into alcohol, and there was a lot of arguing and drama around the house. And so anyways, my parents split up, and I ended up staying with my mom, and I didn't go with my dad. My mom ended up getting the house in the divorce, and my oldest brother went with my father, and me and my middle brother, we stayed with my mom.

And what was the age difference, and how old were you when they split up?

My middle brother Sean, he was, let's see, about 11. I was 8, and my oldest brother would have been 14. So—

That was the same age as me when my parents split. I was 8.

Yep. And So my oldest brother goes with my father, me and my middle brother stay with my mom. And my mom had gotten into an auto accident and messed up her back pretty, pretty bad. And so she was disabled and she couldn't work. And so still had a mortgage to pay, right? Still had bills to pay and 2 boys to raise. So she ended up getting roommates. And when I say roommates, I, I grew up with every kind of walk of life, um, every background, every ethnicity. Most of them were criminals. We had all kinds of people living with us.

Did you ever feel safe?

Ah, I looked up to these people. I, I felt safe. Yeah, I didn't feel like in danger.

But those kind of became your mentors? Were those criminals?

These male role models, yeah, that were in and out of the house. I mean, and I'll go deep. We had Flaco and we had Paco and we had, you know, Scarface. Literally, these are the guys' names. Scarface. I lived with, with a Scarface. Crips and pimps and in every walk of life. We had the ravers who were doing like ecstasy and had the glow sticks and the raving going on. And we had I lived with gay people, and I mean, everyone—

it was entertaining.

We had gothic people with the fingernails painted black and trench coats all black, and I grew up with all kinds of backgrounds. And you know what?

So what kind of things were they telling you were okay to do, or what kind of— what were some of the things that you started doing that may have been not so okay?

I got into the thug life, the rap music. That was the genre. Like, when I say every background in every kind of genre. I mean, I had the people that were the headbangers with the rock music and the, you know, and all that kind of stuff. I don't know why, but I liked hip-hop and rap, Thug Life. I like Tupac, was my idol. Like, that was my idol. And I became like Eminem. Like, I, I was right, I rapped, I did a lot of rap. But anyway, I started running the streets and doing a lot of criminal activity. I was Breaking in and out of cars, and I was violent. I was very angry. I got on drugs, was doing drugs with my mom. Me and my mom, we would smoke pot together. I mean, at, at, um, I was a felon by 13.

By 13?

Yeah, by 13 I was—

I just think, you know, my, my youngest daughter just turned 14, and it's like, to think you were already a felon by 13.

Yeah.

And now at this time, did you talk to your dad at all?

So yes, my dad was always there, but I didn't want him. I was angry, I was very bitter, and I resented my father for a lot of, a lot of reasons.

Even though it was your mom that had gotten into—

Oh, me and my mom were like—

Alcohol and was disabled.

And because you have to think about it, the mindset of a 13-year-old Like, nobody wants discipline at 13 years old. My dad was the discipline. That's why I didn't want him around. He would, he would tell me what to do, all right? My mom let me do whatever the heck I wanted to do. So as a 13-year-old, like, you want to do what you want to do. And so that's why I stayed with my mom. Me and my mom were like best friends. Now we don't have as close of a relationship now as we obviously did then. Like, it's kind of weird how the roles have flipped and my dad is like—

It's so— yeah, you know what, my parents were divorced and I always felt like I was in the middle. I was the one who would communicate between— and I thought when I got divorced, I thought I'm not going to talk bad about my ex-husband. I don't want— I'm just gonna— and Boy, it was not the other way around. But I was like, I'm just not going to talk bad about him. I'm going to do the best I can for my daughter. And it's interesting how things have kind of switched in those teenage years. You do— you're, you're— you want to be independent. You want to do what you want to do. Um, so did drugs start to become like a problem? I mean, obviously you were making some bad choices. breaking into cars and stuff, were you doing that to pay for the drugs or just to—

No, I, I found some, you know, I had some buddies and, and then it was just, we were, well, yeah, we weren't doing that to, to pay for drugs or anything like that. We just were doing it for kicks. Stupid dumb kids sneaking out of the house late at night. And, you know, back then it was like We were looking for the cars that were unlocked. Yeah, you know, we were just like—

Oh, back then? Yeah.

Oh yeah, we were just looking for cars that were unlocked, and, um, we ended up breaking into a couple of them. But it— we were looking for like, it was CD players and CD cases and, and subwoofers. Like, we were just stupid kids looking for a score, you know, and It was just dumb.

But well, when did it start to get to be a problem? Like, okay, the doing drugs is not a good thing, I'm not going anywhere with that. What was the point, the turning point that made you start to make better choices?

So the turning point was, again, I, I was, um, a felon by 13 for a fight that I got into. Okay, so I got in this fight and it— and it was at someone else's house and it was like a school fight. Okay, I got in a school fight, but it just so happened to be in the other person's house and they said it was burglary to a habitation. They said basically burglary to a habitation is breaking into the other person's home with the intention of stealing or hurting someone.

Right now, was this in Texas?

Uh-huh.

They don't mess around in Texas.

Oh no, they came and got me. They put the handcuffs on me real quick. They got me in school, so I went to school the next day, and here they come in, put me in handcuffs, took me off.

Wow. But wait, they came to get you in handcuffs at school?

Uh-huh. Yep.

So all your friends see you being handcuffed and taken out?

Oh yeah, yeah.

What was going through your mind at that moment? Oh, was it deep shame, or was it anger, or sadness, or fear? What was it?

Oh no, I think I was— I think I was probably afraid, but I think if I had to remember, I was also like stupid. So stupid now that I say that. I was like I don't know, pounding my chest, like, really proud.

Yeah, really.

Yeah, I was— I'm telling you, I was a different— I was a different person back then. But so I— and, and that's funny because going to jail humbled the heck out of me because I was like, I was the person you couldn't talk to me any kind of way. Like, I, I had no respect for authority. Like, I would combat anyone anytime. You couldn't look at me wrong or I would, I would fight you. Like, I was extremely violent. And then I go to jail and I'm put in there with a lot of other people like me, worse than me, bigger than me, scarier than me.

Now, were you a big guy?

I mean, I mean, yeah, at 13 I was already 6 foot tall, so I was, I was big and And then all of a sudden now I'm being put in jail and like they wanted my lunch. Like I was, you know, this white boy in jail. Like, oh, they were coming for me and it was scary. It was really scary. Like I remember juvenile detention hall was very, very scary. So I go there and I didn't just get bailed out. Like my parents didn't just bail me out or anything like that. Like I had to stay in for a little while. I think I stayed in for a month.

Wow.

Which isn't that long.

Well, you know what though? Now there are a lot of parents that do constantly bail their kids out of everything, constantly bail them out of any kind of problems they're having, any kind of trouble. And maybe that served you well, letting you stay there and getting it, knocking some sense into you, humbling you down a little bit.

Well, I mean, you would've thought, right? You would've thought it, it did. It scared me. You would've thought it did scare me.

No. It still didn't do the trick.

I went back to my mom's and continued, and I was put— wow, I was put on probation. And I think about it, let's go back a little bit. So there were years when you commit the crime, then there's like 2 years in between of court before you actually get convicted of the crime. So you get arrested, then there's court, then you get convicted, right? So there was like 2 years in between where I kind of got like, like going back and forth to court all the time. And then, and then I don't know how this happened because I was a, I was a teenager, but I pleaded guilty to it, right? I copped a plea for a lesser sentence. So that, that must have been my mom's decision somewhere along the line because, I mean, I guess I was scared.

Yeah.

Some— somebody, I I don't remember making that as a conscious decision to like plead guilty, but regardless, uh, so I pleaded guilty. So I, I got a felony at 13, and I had, uh, been put on probation. And so I was put on probation. I was supposed to go, uh, to see my probation officer like every month, and my mom didn't have a car, right? So I, I didn't go see my probation officer, and that's what violated my probation, was I just didn't— wasn't going to see him. So I violated my probation, and I, I was still doing drugs and stuff like that with my mom, so we were getting high together.

Do you think if you weren't doing drugs and getting high and stuff, you could have figured out a way to make it to see your probation officer?

I think that There's no reason why we shouldn't have found a way to get to my probation officer, um, regardless of what was going on, you know what I mean?

But also, I kind of feel like everything serves its purpose, and maybe you need—

That's true, that's true. No, you're absolutely right.

Because what happens when you don't go to see your probation officer? So then what happens?

Oh, you go back to jail. So it was 2 days before Christmas, you know, we were on Christmas break, okay? And, you know, everybody's getting high, getting messed up, and all this kind of stuff. I wake up hungover, like I'm talking hungover, and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom at the front door. And sure enough, get picked up again because I violated my probation. That was—

Mm-hmm.

They came to pick me up, take me back. So they took me back to to juvie. And I'm in there and I'm getting told that I— that I'm about to face being in jail until I was 21 because I violated my probation to this felony. And so they were gonna— they were gonna lock me away and throw away the key until I was 21. And I was like 16 at the time, right? So the alternative was I could not stay with my mother. They had already deemed that that was unfit, uh, Child Protective Services, the whole nine, that, that, that was not gonna happen and that I had to move with my father. So that was the choice that I was faced— stay and stay until you're 21 or go move with your father.

Yeah.

So I chose my father. I was like, okay, get me out of here. And that was the best thing. My dad is my savior. Like I, I just love him so much because he taught me how to work hard. He taught me how to save, how, how to be a man. Like, it takes a man to teach a man how to be a man, and he, he did that for me. I needed him. I needed him. I need discipline and structure. And so I just love my father so much. He's amazing.

Oh, he— you do need that discipline and structure. And as much as kids can't stand it, especially teenagers. They need it. And the reason I asked you, well, did you feel safe, is because I think that part of safety is like— to feel safe is very important to me. And I think that kids need that structure to feel that safety and to have those rules and to also respect authority. Um, but you didn't have a lot of good role models. So your dad became your role model, and is he the one that taught you so much about business? And like, when I was a teenager, I didn't know what a 401 was. I mean, I don't, I don't think I even knew what that was until I was like in my late 20s because I was a professional dancer. All I cared about was dance. I didn't care about saving. I didn't care. I mean, I did save. I didn't— I never, you know, even had credit card debt or anything like that. But I didn't have anybody that taught me those things. So is he the one that taught you a lot about that?

So some of it, uh, maybe not investments in 401s and things like that, but, you know, coming from having nothing, I mean, it was extreme poverty. When I say extreme poverty, like, we— there were times, uh, Amberly, I literally had to steal water from the neighbors just to flush the toilet. Okay, because we didn't have running water. Like, we didn't have running water a lot of times, or, or electricity. Um, we had a, uh, a situation where we had a flood in the house, at my mom's house. We had this flood, it created black mold, and they, they had to strip the house and basically gut the house, all the walls and all this kind of stuff. And I don't know what my mom did with the insurance money.

Okay.

But that house never got put back together.

Um, you can get really sick from that black mold. And I mean, I'm not trying to sound harsh on your mom or anything, but child services could have taken you a long time ago, just knowing, especially back then, what was going on, what was going on with smoking pot and the black mold, which is just unsafe and unfit, and all the different people coming in and out of the house. What do you think the biggest lesson that you learned from being in that environment? The— what, what is a blessing you could think of, or a lesson?

Oh, 100%. Love that question. Thank you for asking. So adaptability, right? Like, I now can speak with anyone. Like, I can talk to people and relate to people. Remember I said I, I grew up around every background, ethnicity, like everything you can think of. Literally, I, I don't think of one demographic that I didn't have in my home. We had it all, okay? And it was a cycle. We'd have them in and out, in and out, in and out. And so I just learned how to talk to people, to relate to people. I learned how to do—

I see that. I see that you have done that. Even when I see You, when we spoke on your panel at your event that you had, we had all different kinds of people in that room. And you can talk and relate, and you have this way of making people feel good. But also, I think that you have the ability to— you're very empathetic. And I also think that you have the ability to gauge the energy in the room and the energy of people.

I think about energy.

I really do. I think that you pick up on people. That's a gift. Well, and 2, you had to kind of gauge, okay, is this, uh, is this okay? Is this person safe? Are they gonna cut me up? Is Scarface gonna like cut me up, or are they good with me?

Like, you know about it. It's so funny. I just think about that. Like, I go back and I, and I literally go through some of those memories and I'm like, What was going on? Like, I still sometimes I scratch my head. I'm like, what was really going on here? Oh, it was crazy. But, and, and some of the other lessons that I learned, Amberly, was like, you were asking about my father and if he taught me how to, you know, business and stuff like that. And he did. He was a, an entrepreneur. He had a painting business. He taught me. I worked with him. I would go with him and I would work with him and work with my hands and, and transform something with my hands. make something beautiful. And, you know, he gave me opportunity, right? Like, I never had any opportunity where I was with my mom. Like, I didn't have any opportunity. But all of a sudden now I'm able to work, I'm able to save, I'm able to provide, create. All these things are now possible for me.

Mm-hmm.

And like, for me, when I see something, it's like, oh, it was like hope. I had hope. And it's like, I'm— I have to grab that and run with it because I just had no hope where I was. And I think that's why I was so angry and so bitter where I was and why I was getting in so much trouble, is because I had that victim mentality that, that I was just— it was never my fault. I never took any accountability. It was everyone else's fault, and this is that, and everybody— no, you can't tell me anything. And I was angry, and I just lived in victim mentality. And that switch to my father's house is like, gave me hope. And all of a sudden, it's— I'm accountable for what I can create, right? And I had to be more accountable for my actions in order to, to really seize that opportunity.

It's so much about your mindset and switching it from victim mentality to victor mentality, that you can do anything with your life. What do you think, or what would you tell someone who is in that victim mentality? They're like, well, but he doesn't know what I'm going through, and my life sucks, and, you know, I'm stuck here in this situation and there's nothing I can do. Those type of things run through your head when you have that victim mentality. I know because I have had that before and I had to switch it over. What would you say to somebody who is feeling like they're stuck and they're, they're the victim?

Well, here's something that's interesting is that no one cares. Like, I, I— it's a harsh reality, but whenever you're pointing a finger and saying, oh, this is why I'm here and everybody else, and it's not my fault, and this and that and the other, the world doesn't care, right?

You're right.

No one's gonna come and swoop in and go, oh my gosh, you're right. You're, you're so right. This world has done you so wrong, and I'm just gonna save you and take you off, and I'm gonna solve all your problems. No one is coming in to save you. And I know that's harsh, but complaining does nothing. It does nothing. It's not gonna help you.

It's just gonna hurt you. It's gonna make things worse. And I mean, we've all had people in our life that are complainers, and they wonder why nobody wants to to be around them. I mean, that sounds harsh too. But you know, you've got people that they're, you know, when they call, they're just going to complain how bad the world is, how life sucks. And it's like, no, you said it, Trevor, looking for the opportunity. Like what opportunity? And I think that's something that you can start to default or switch your mind to thinking is whenever there's any kind of roadblock or struggle, you can okay, where's the opportunity in this? What can I learn from this? How can— I think it's a growth mindset. And I'm telling you, even when last year when Ruby and I got hit by a car, the first thing I thought was, okay, what did I not learn from the last time I got hit by a car that I need to know now? Like, what did I not get? Like, I still wasn't going, Oh man, I can't believe it. But I was like, okay, what am I learning from this and what can I do? I think that, um, to switch your mindset— and it's not easy— but just knowing like you got to get up and save yourself.

Well, what you just said right there, you got to get up. So listen, bad things happen all the time to everyone, right? Everyone's going through something. Everybody's going through something. I think that's probably why no one cares, because everybody's got their own stuff going on. Everybody's going through something. And when you go through something, sometimes it can be extreme. Sometimes you're going through something that's really, really hard for you to handle, and it's okay to be broken. It's okay to, to cry. It's okay to, to, to feel broken, to feel hopeless, to feel worthless, to, to maybe want to pound the, the ground around you. That's okay. Those feelings are normal. Those are human feelings. And I think it's even okay to do it short, for a small amount of time. Like, like, have your pity party, right? Get it out of your system. Get those—

Oh, we've all had it. Yeah, right. Have a pity party.

Have your pity party. Like, get that toxic Out, because that's what it is. It's, it's, it's, it's toxic. Get all of that crying and screaming and yelling and freaking out— like, freak out for a day, like a day. Get it out and then get up. Get up and move forward. And because, I mean, we've all had those days, those days where you're just broken, and that's okay.

That's normal.

That's human.

Well, what are some of the tools you use to keep moving forward? Let's just say, for instance, in the entrepreneurial world where it's, it's got its own challenges, it's got its long hours, it's got its— it's a lot. I mean, um, what is something you could say to someone who maybe has not been abused or hit by a car, but It's just hard being an entrepreneur and keeping going with it. What would you say for people to keep getting back up and keep going?

Yeah, um, I remember having a phone call with my father when I got in the financial services world. I remember my first year was really, really rough, and I remember having that phone call of doubt, calling him and like thinking, what did I— what did I do? Like, I'm— and I remember he didn't really have all the answers for me, which, that was scary, you know. I was like calling my dad hoping he had this just amazing wisdom, and he didn't. He didn't really have it, but he told me—

You know what, but he was there. That's all.

Oh, he was there. He was there 100%. He's always there. He just had the belief in me, you know, that I would, that I would make it work. And but I remember having that, that day where I was crying, like, just broken. But I, I think the important thing is, is to get up. Like, I don't know how else to tell someone to get up. You just gotta get up. And in the next day, it cannot be about complaining. Literally, it had— you have to switch it to praising. Right? Praising, gratitude, thankfulness. What do you have? What is in your hands? Bring me what you have. Like the Bible talks about that. Bring me what you have. What do you have in your hand? Right? And, and God will work with it. What do you have? And stop worrying about what you don't have and what's behind you. Worry about what you have in your hand and how you can use that to to put it to work. Give it to God and he'll, he'll do the rest.

Now, when did your relationship with God become so strong? Oh, you think your dad?

Yeah, when I was living with my dad, I would say probably in my, in my 20s. Because even though I, I moved to my dad's when I was like 16, my dad had to work, work on me to get some things, get some things straightened out, because I still didn't I still wanted to be bad, right? I still wanted to run my old life that I was running. And, you know, I still got in, in some trouble, and even when I was with my dad. And, um, but I think I had another close call when I was, uh, when I was 20. So that's when I got in my motorcycle accident.

Hmm.

And I haven't shared this publicly anywhere, but that was alcohol. You know, I was drinking all day long and I got on my motorcycle and that almost killed me when I was 20. And, uh, yeah. And, and so, but I remember being alive after that and the gratitude and the thankfulness that I'm still here, you know. And I remember the euphoria of gratitude. Gratitude is real. It is so strong. And just every day looked and felt differently, you know, coming off out of that hospital being alive. And so You know, that, that gratitude is the opposite of that victim mentality. That victim mentality is everything is against you. It's not for you, right? And gratitude and thankfulness is faith. Everything, you know, is for you. It's not being done to you. It's being done for you.

So looking back at that motorcycle accident, do you think that was the moment that truly shifted your perspective And got you closer to God and got you into a gratitude practice. And oh yeah, how long were you in the hospital?

Oh, I think I was in there for maybe 4 or 5 days, something like that. Not, not too long. But I remember, you know, the couple things— I had internal bleeding in my head. And that's why I can't smell anymore. I literally have no sense of smell. I wasn't wearing a helmet or anything like that. Literally, T-shirt.

You're lucky to be alive.

All right, totally. You know, I was wearing a hat, you know, t-shirt. I had all the, you know, all the, uh, road rash, and they, they were having to scrape the pavement out of my skin. And I'm sure you know about that.

Yeah, I know all about that.

And the neck brace. And I'm claustrophobic, so they put that brace on, and man, I freaked out. I freaked out and they kept having to put me under because every time I'd wake up I'd get claustrophobic because of the neck brace and I'd freak out. But, um, I mean, I'm just— yeah, I'm lucky to be here. And I, I just— it did change my, my perspective of things.

Hmm.

And I found, found God and It just kind of changed things, uh, from that moment. It was a big change in my life, I would say.

You know, I love that you bring faith into the show that you have, and you can tell the people that, uh, you surround yourself with have a lot of faith too. Just good people that I notice on your team, everybody in your community and what you've created. But when did you start bringing people together to really help these job seekers get noticed and find jobs? And because that— seeing you help people and hearing people go, ah, I got a job! Oh, because of you and your connection, I just got a job offer! When did you start doing that?

Yeah, that's a great question. So, um, a few years ago— it's been about 6 years now— I was new into financial services, and I walked into this group that was job seekers. And I was there because someone told me to go visit that group because they said, hey, these job seekers could need your, your services for the 401 rollover stuff, right? And so I go there initially with a— to do business. And I walk in and I just saw like hopelessness. I saw people were really hurting. People were dealing with ageism. Um, it wasn't— it wasn't my, uh, generation was not in there. You know, the baby boomer generation was there and everybody was dealing with ageism and struggling to get back to work, and they were burning through their savings. And, um, corporate America wasn't hiring these folks. And they— some of them had been in the search for a year, 2 years. One guy was like 28 months, something like that. And the rejection that they get Constant rejection.

That's hard when you get constant rejection. It can't— it can be hard if you let it get to you. I mean, it can, it can like reinforce, uh, I'm not good enough, I'm not good enough. Or you can let it go. Okay, I'm one step closer to the next job that I'm meant for, right? But it's hard. It's a mentally tough game for sure.

Gosh, yeah, they, they, they go through it. They go through this and they, you know. And so I just walked in and literally, like you said something about energy earlier, you said I'm, I'm really good at like sensing energy. And I did. I felt that energy in the room and there was a lack of it, okay? It was a negative energy. It was very, very just kind of depressing. Hopelessness is what I felt in the room.

Yeah.

I felt hopelessness. And so I walk in there and I'm like, okay, well, I gotta really think about what I'm doing here because I can't go in here, hey, you want to do a 401 rollover? Like, hey, you know, like, I don't— I was like, I'm scratching my head, like, how do I even approach this? It was just a very, very strange situation to be in. And so I was like, well, let me just be a fly on the wall. Let me see what's going on here. What is actually happening here? And so I would— I attended these meetings and would would go to them. And every time someone would tell their success story, when they landed a job, they would tell their story. And it was always connections. It was always networking is how they got it. And, and so I was like, okay. And I also noticed some other similarities that I was just got into business myself. I was learning how to network, how to connect, how to build relationships, how to do all these things. And that's what they were having to learn how to do. So I was like, okay, wait a minute, there's something here. Like, they're, they're learning the same things I'm learning right now in the moment. And so I was like, well, why don't I teach them, right? Why don't I teach them? And so I started to sit down with job seekers on a one-on-one basis. We would just sit or sit down, have coffee, get to know each other. And I would ask them what their challenges were, what they were going through, and I would just figure out how to actually solve the root problem that they were going through. Because, you know, people don't care about how much you know until they know about how much you care, right?

Mm-hmm.

They, they, you know, so I would solve their problems, the, the root problem. And some of them would come work with me on the other end, on the financial side. We help them holistically with their money, right? It's about helping them get back to their cash flow, but not neglecting what they've already done, right? So it's been an amazing journey and it's still— it's changing every day. Like, it changes right now with— with what's going on since the pandemic and the great resignation. And it's, uh, it's just been an amazing journey, uh, helping the job seeker community. And I love them. Like, I literally love them.

I know. I can't— I mean, I say I know, I— because I've seen you in action and you can see the love. You go over the top with everything you do with these people that you've brought into the community. You know everybody's name. You've even reached out to me and said, Amberly, what can you do for our friend over here? We need to get the— like, you are truly an incredible connector. But it is true, it's because people want to work with you because they, they do know how much you care, and it really shines through. And I love all that you're doing, even on your show. I mean, y'all go check out his show, The Who You Know Show. And I mean, you can see it live, you can see the replays, you can catch it on Spotify, Apple. But you have interviewed some of the world's top leaders, authors, motivational speakers, business leaders, CEOs. I mean, you name it. You have interviewed them and your job, I mean, your show just keeps climbing and climbing and climbing where more and more people have heard about it. But you're huge on LinkedIn. Is that your main platform where you find most of your work?

It is right now. And I think that that's, that'll, that'll start to shift as well. But yeah, it is because you think about the job seeker, right? Like, that's where they're at. They're on LinkedIn trying to find a job. And I remember one of the initial things that I did when I got into this market, like right fresh into it, I was like, well, I'm just gonna go connect with a bunch of recruiters. Like, I don't know how to help, but if I, if I build a network that can help, then I can just connect the two. I can be the person in the middle that makes that connection. And that's what I did. And so I went on LinkedIn and connected with a bunch of recruiters and started building relationships with them so that I could bring them to that group and facilitate that introduction. It's been amazing.

Yeah, you are a great networker, great connector. I mean, even when we start, you're all— we get to talk and we're like, okay, who can I connect you with? Okay, do you know this person? Do you know this person? You know, and it's, it's amazing. But you know, Uh, there's a lot of people that don't have that gift of connecting, and you do because you're a giver. I mean, you're always giving and so kind and generous. I mean, y'all, I was a guest on his show, and here he's like, I created this video for you and sent me all this stuff over. So I'm like, well, here, we're going to Tony Robbins together.

Let's go, let's go!

Tony Robbins, he's probably listening to this episode right now. So if you're listening, Tony Robbins, we'll be there at your show if you want to pull us up on stage or anything like that.

I mean, I mean, we'll probably make the event better. I'm just saying.

Yeah, I'm just saying, you know, just saying. That's right, we could totally do that right here.

And I, I'll just kind of COVID it, but I've got a few email addresses right here, and they all end with, uh, tonyrobbins.com. So I've got just a few. Um, I'm gonna be reaching out.

And, um, that is incredible. That is incredible. That, that is how it's done, my friends. You— it's all through relationships, don't you think? Relationships, they're— that's how you build Any success is with relationship. Hard work and relationships.

Away from everything that you want. Like, I don't think people really understand the power of that. Like, anything you want in life, someone's already been there, done that. They've, they've paved the way, okay? And if you can go build a relationship with that person, they can show you the way. They can guide you. They can help you get there much faster than it took them. Okay, you get—

I am a firm believer in that. That's why even though I'm a coach, I have a coach. Even though I'm a mentor, I have a mentor. I have a mastermind and I am involved in a mastermind, and I am about to invest with someone that I've always dreamed of working with. I haven't even told my husband about it yet, but I'm going to do this because I want to take my business to the next level. And so you're exactly right. You're one relationship away. So the important thing is picking someone who has paved the way.

Correct.

Because there's a lot of people who've said they've done it or how they get— you can get there, but you have got to pick someone who you know has already done that thing that you want to do. The proof is in the pudding, I tell you.

Well, that's so true. And the other thing to realize is that whatever you want, make sure you get the expert in that field. Because just because they're an expert, let's say, I'll just use an example, social media marketing. Okay, so let's say they're a social media guru. That doesn't mean they're the relationship guru or the finance guru or the— right? So make sure you're getting your information from someone who's been there, done that, right, and can give you good advice in that area. Some people, they go to one person for all their source of information. They go to that one person and they're asking the person that's been, you know, divorced 12 times for relationship advice. Doesn't make sense. Go to the person who's been there, done that, got the track record in that area for the advice. Um, I think that's important too because I see it a lot. People will get advice and recommendations from the wrong people.

Yeah, and nowadays there is so many people, and I think this happened— this is what I heard a lot in Clubhouse too— people that say that they're the expert and blah blah blah. And it's like, no, I want to really see— like, I, I do my research and I really like research and go, wait, who's this Who's this person? Let me learn from them and see what's going up. And so that's why— or going on. That's why I think it is really important whether it's a mastermind, because even masterminds, you can pay anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 to be in a mastermind. And I myself have made the mistake of investing in a mastermind that I thought was going to be a mastermind. So a smaller group of people brainstorming. And then I get on the Zoom and there were— and I invested a lot of money in it too. And I was like, I got on the Zoom and there were like 150 people. And I'm like, this ain't no mastermind. This is like a bunch of people. This is group— this is called group coaching. This is not what I signed up for. Yes. So you got to really do your research. Yeah.

Because you're not going to get the same value Right, out of 150 people, you're not going to get your questions answered. You're not going to be like, like what you were saying about mastermind. It's a small, intimate—

Exactly.

Right, where people can really pour into each other and really help each other grow. And that's the goal, is everyone's there to help each other grow. It's got to be small and intimate. 150 people, that's not going to happen. Yeah, coaching.

Yep.

Yeah, not going to have the same result.

On LinkedIn, now I'm interested, you said that that's going to shift. What do you mean by that? What do you think? How do you predict it's going to shift?

Well, for me, I feel like, uh, YouTube is going to be, um, a place where I, I spend a lot more of my energy. Not that, not that I'll get away from LinkedIn, but I just feel like YouTube— and I'm, I'm, I'm testing out some other, you know, social media platforms to see if I can grow, uh, an influence on, on some of these other platforms because there's people everywhere, right?

Yeah.

It's about getting the attention. And right now LinkedIn has been going through some major changes, and I've had some really good growth on that platform, but there are other platforms where I think I can get a little bit more bang for my buck. I'm seeing career coaches right now, which I am not a career coach by the way, but I'm seeing career coaches who are talking about job search stuff crushing it on TikTok. And I'm like, man, I missed out.

Oh my God, yeah, TikTok is unbelievable. Now, I have never gotten a job from TikTok, but I can post a video on TikTok and get 600,000 views. But do you know where I get most of my jobs? Are through Instagram. And so as you were also— yeah, so as you were— and that could change too. So I'm, I'm trying to be a little bit everywhere, but I'm not as much on like Facebook and LinkedIn or TikTok as I am Instagram is my hub. But as you were saying that these job seekers are looking for job on Instagram, you know what one of my thoughts was? I thought, no, they're probably depressed or something and looking, scrolling through Instagram or shopping through Instagram. Like, because I know when I've been like depressed or down myself, I tend to scroll. I know that's not a good thing to do. I know that you gotta—

We all do it. Come on now.

But you know what? A lot of job seekers, I'm sure they scroll through Instagram because it's more entertaining, I think, than LinkedIn.

Oh yeah.

So you, you start doing some reels on Instagram get those suckers going viral and tell people how it's done. I'm just saying, I'd like to see your IG growing over there.

I, I'm gonna do that. I'm definitely gonna do that. And one of the things, and I'd like to hear your feedback on this, just, just a quick question, is with Instagram, I've noticed that, and maybe it's because of Clubhouse, I think this is because of Clubhouse, as I got real heavy into Clubhouse and I started following a lot of very, very successful people Very Clubhouse. From— yep. So from Clubhouse to Instagram because they connect, right? So I started following a lot of really, really successful people on Instagram, which is actually a great kind of level-up trick, is follow the people that you want to associate with. Just go start following them. And, um, but anyways, so I started following a lot of really successful people. Now my newsfeed on Instagram is, is a lot of success. Very, very, very, like, a lot of success. And so it can almost— you don't want to compare yourself to other people, right? I know that's not a smart thing to do, but sometimes if you're just— if, as I'm scrolling through Instagram, sometimes it like doesn't make me feel good. It actually makes me feel worse because I'm not where they're at. And I know I'm not supposed to compare. I know I'm supposed to be thankful. I know I'm supposed to be grateful, right? I know all these things. But I still can't help the way it makes you feel when you see all this stuff. It's like—

Oh, well, I think that's human nature, and I think we all feel that way. I mean, look, I did a Reels today on Instagram, and I was posting about how it could basically be a bad country song. Like, my dad just got out of the hospital, my dog had surgery, like, my, my daughter got thrown from her horse, I didn't get the speaking job I was on hold for. I sat on my reading glasses so I can't even see. Like, anything that could go wrong, like, it was going wrong, you know?

Murphy's Law.

And when you start scrolling through Instagram and you start seeing all the things going right on the highlight reel from Instagram, it can make you feel like, oh, depressed, I'm doomed. That's when I know that I need to take a break, get outside in nature, Go work out. Like, seriously, go call somebody. So I knew yesterday I was feeling so crappy and depressed and like really down that I knew, okay, I need 8 hours of sleep tonight. I need to wake up. The first thing I did was get on my knees and pray. I mean, I literally rolled out of bed, got on my knees, and prayed and thanked God. And then I did some reading and I did some journaling before I open up Instagram, before I do anything. And then I, you know, drink my, my energy drink. So I'm into my supplements. Um, and then I called my mom. I had a 45-minute break and I called my mom. She said, what are you doing? I said, I have a 45-minute break today, so I'm going to work out. And she knows, she goes, oh, well, that's good because she knows how I am and working out is— makes me feel better mentally and physically. So I think we all have moments where life is not going easy for us. It's really kind of hard or even shitty, you know. And scrolling through Instagram and seeing everybody's highlight reel is not the thing to do.

You have to limit it. You only want to be an intentional consumer. You don't want to be a consumer of social media, right? You actually want to be a producer of social media.

Exactly.

You want to be a producer 80% of the time and, and be a consumer 20% of the time. But when you're consuming, consume it with intention. Like, why am I actually here on this platform? Why am I consuming right now? Am I consuming because I'm learning trends? I'm trying to figure out how to grow and how to become better? Am I here because I'm trying to make a connection? Do I need to send a message to somebody, to send them a DM to try and connect and build a relationship? Like, why am I actually here?

Be intentional about that. That is important. I think intention is everything. And so if you're just getting on it because you're bored, and I think we've all done that—

zombie.

And I mean, come on, everybody's used the bathroom scrolling, okay? Like, yeah, we've all done it. Come on now. Um, but yeah, I think getting intentional about it. And now I think that Instagram is up on that too because they're like, they have time limits where you can actually set time limits for yourself.

Oh wow.

And I have friends that are— they've admitted they were addicted to it. So if you feel like that, it's like, okay, really time to take a break from it, you know?

100%. And it feels good. It feels good. Like you said, so you were having a bad day and, and I actually posted a video about this. What's interesting is I posted a video video about Murphy's Law, and I notice that whenever I'm going through having that really bad day where it's like a domino effect— like you said, you had that day the other day where it was like nothing was going right. For me, I noticed that when that happened, it is my energy level. I am tired. I'm literally physically exhausted. Something's not right with my energy.

Mm-hmm.

And it starts from when I wake up And everything just gets slowly worse and worse and worse. So I noticed that and it's like, okay, I have to shut it all down. Literally, I got to shut everything down and go get some rest.

That's what I do.

Yep. I have to shut it all down. What's so funny is I posted that video and the day I posted it, I was experiencing it. I literally was going through Murphy's Law. Everything was going wrong that day. And so I said, you know what, I got to take my own advice here. I shut it all down again. And, uh, yeah, it helps. You got to get some rest. And for me, when I sleep and wake up, it's like a new day, right? And I can restart.

Yeah. And I'm so glad that you brought that up, just the importance of rest, because I think so many people think you just have to hustle, hustle, hustle. But it's not just about the grit, it's about giving yourself grace.

Hold on.

Oh my goodness.

Where's my mic?

Hold on. You're so awesome. Thank you so much. I want people to find you. Tell them the best place to connect with you and all the goods. Like, I know I want them to see your show, I want them to see you on YouTube, everything. So tell them the best place to go.

Thank you for asking. So I would say LinkedIn right now. Again, that's my number one platform, so go connect with me on LinkedIn. Um, And then YouTube is— you find all my content there, Who You Know Job Networking Show. And then our podcast, you know, I'm being real intentional right now on growing the podcast side of things because we're a talk show or TV, it's more, um, visual, but, uh, we repurpose for the podcast. And I'm like, I, I really am trying to be more intentional on that. Go check me out on all the podcast channels. It's Who You Know Show. And we would love any feedback, any ways we can improve. Send me a DM, or if you just want to connect, I'd love that as well.

Yeah, connect with him, Trevor Houston, on LinkedIn. I'll have his name, his show, and his podcast, everything right there in the show notes. So if you're out running around, you can get to find those in the show notes. But Trevor, thank you for sharing your wisdom. And y'all take a screenshot of your phone listening or on YouTube screenshot Tag Trevor Houston and Amberly Lago on Instagram and Amberly Lago Motivation on Instagram. And when I see it, I'll share it in my story. But show him some love, connect with him, and let him know you heard him here, right here on True Grit and Grace. And I just thank you for listening in, and we'll see you next week. Thank you, Trevor.

Thank you.