Is God Your Business Partner? Learning to Lead With Peace Instead of Hustle

Alex, is God your business partner? And the truth was, it wasn't.

Today we explore what happens when peace becomes the strategy, not the reward.

I've always been a ready, fire, aim type of guy. Right. Jump off the cliff and build the wings on the way down.

So wait, wait, wait, wait. Did you go from education to entrepreneurship?

There was a job in between. Three months into that job, Betsy, I was like, I don't think I'm built to work for somebody. I want to create something. I want to impact people.

What practices have you implemented or tapped into to connect with the Holy Spirit?

I've had to step back over the course of the last several months and say, okay, well, I need to slow down in order for God to speed me up.

The Bible talks about the peace that surpasses all understanding. But living that, that's a whole other story. Today we explore what happens when peace becomes the strategy, not the reward. I'm sitting with Alex Pardo, who is learning to walk with God as his business partner in decisions, relationships, and in creating an impact. Let's explore together the courage to lead with faith in full view. Alex Pardo is a seasoned entrepreneur, business mentor, and longtime podcaster who has helped countless leaders build wealth and stewardship through self storage, investing. And today we're exploring the deeper shift in his life and lean into what it looks like to truly make God your business partner. Let's do this. Welcome.

Thank you, Betsy. I'm looking forward to this.

So excited to have you.

Thank you, my friend.

I know I introduced you, like, the formal way and whatever, but you are also a dear friend. Our relationship started in a very interesting way. I'll let you share that. But, like, you've become my friend. Like, you're. You're someone I care about. Your family, your wife. Like, I love, love, love having you in my. In my life. Because in addition to us being able to geek out and share things about business, you also are a man of faith, a man of family. And I love to surround myself with people who are aligned with my values. It just makes life a lot more fun and smoother, you know? So thank you for being here.

Thank you for the invite. I was sharing with Diana. This is a God incident to me because of the season of my life that I'm in. And I'm sure we'll get into it.

Let's do that right now.

Yeah.

First, tell me a little bit about you and your life and what you stand for, and then we'll get into that.

Faith has been a big part of my life. Ever since I was a kid, my parents instilled in me to believe in God, to trust God. And so I never had a fork in the road moment in my life where something happened to me that led me to God. I feel like early on in my journey, God's been a part of my life. Now in my adult life, I've gotten a lot closer to Him. When I was a kid, church wasn't really a thing for us. We would go inconsistently. I didn't spend time in the Word in Scripture, but as I've gotten older, I realized that God is the center of everything. You use the word stewardship, and that's how I view myself. Like, literally everything he's given me. It's because I need to be a good steward of that. My gifts, my talents, the relationships. And so, yeah, fortunately, fast forward, I met Nati, who obviously is a dear friend of yours as well. And we've been married 12 years, God bless us, with two beautiful girls, Arianna and Alessia, 8 and 10. And, yeah, I've been in business since 2005. And it's very interesting we're having this conversation because over the course of the last year, year and a half, I feel like I haven't been aligned in terms of my words and my actions. Meaning I had a conversation with a business coach of mine that I've been working with since 2018. This was about a year ago, for perspective. And he asked me, he said, alex, is God your business partner? And I immediately, like, split second, said, yes, absolutely. And then we started to unpack it in the conversation. And I realized that, am I including him in my decisions? Am I having a meeting with him? Am I spending time in prayer with him, listening? And the truth was, I wasn't. I've always been a ready, fire, aim type of guy. I see something, it makes sense, it's aligned with my goals. Go for it, right? Jump off the cliff and build the wings on the way down. And that has served me in aspects of my life and business. But lately, I'm finding that things are more of an uphill climb. It's not flowing, it's not as effortless. And so when I got the invite to be on here and I had the conversation with Diane about what does this look like? Like, what's going on? I said, we need to talk about incorporating God not only in my life, but in my business. And is he my partner or is he my CEO? There's a big difference to me. And so, yeah, I'll kind of pause There. But this is. The timing is perfect.

So wait, wait, wait, wait. First of all, I'm a little upset with your coach because I thought I had made that up. I thought I invented God is my business. Like the Holy Spirit is my business partner. At least he said God. I'm not Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is my guy. My guy. So I'm a little upset. Cause I'm like, what? He's taking my intellectual property.

You're right.

Why? I love it. I love it. And second of all, I wanna. Like you said that you've been in business since 2005. And I'm just curious. Cause I don't know this about you. Did you go from education to entrepreneurship? Was there a job in between? Like, how did that happen?

There was a job in between. So I met your husband Align in college. And during that time, I had the desire to climb the corporate ladder. And if I'm being honest, it was an ego thing. I started working for General Electric. Three months into that job, Betsy, I was like, I don't think I'm built to work for somebody. I want to create something. I want to impact people. But I had made a commitment to that rotational program. So I finished my two year stint with GE, decided to go backpacking around Europe for three months to try to figure myself out. I'm 25 years old. I was going to be moving back in with my parents. That's not how I drew it up. And so I said, I need to figure things out. And so I started to immerse myself in personal development books. I started reading Rich Dad, Poor dad and the E Myth and all these books that led me to real estate. And so when I was in Ibiza, this was summer of 2005, a friend of mine invited me to join like a boot camp, learning about real estate. And without thinking about it, didn't include the Lord in that decision. I said, I'm going for it. I went and like three months later, I did a deal and replaced my income at ge. So ever since then, I haven't looked back. That's just. I've been in business for myself. And so, yeah, I had a short little stint as an employee, but I wasn't. I wanted to create something. I wanted to impact people. I wanted to provide for my family in a different way that I felt working for corporate America wasn't going to allow me to do.

Okay, and before we get into the season, because I'm excited for that, but I want, I want you listening to. To know. Alex, tell me about your Family, like you wanted to provide for your family. Like, tell me about what your family represents in your life. Like how business has been built according to that priority.

The same coach that I referenced earlier, I learned a principle from him that has changed my life. And he taught me, Alex, design a vision for your life based on what God wants for you. And then go about building a business that supports that vision. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs flip the equation. You look at their calendar and it's business meeting and it's all about business and making money and then they try to fit life in. So early on in my journey, I said, what do I want my life to look like? And now I'm asking a different question. What does God want my life to look like? But we'll get there. So in my vision, I started with what my life to look like and then how can I build a business that supports and enhance that vision? And so part of that vision, it starts with faith, then family. So I think of the success, it starts with faith, family, and then so on. Finances, fun, friends, etc. And I always knew that I wanted to get married and have kids. Like that was ever since I was young, like that was a part of my vision. God put Nati in my life. Couple years after that, Ariana, then a couple years after that, Alessia. So yeah, for me it starts with faith as the foundation, then family.

You are a man of family and faith. I've been able to witness that. And to me, it's so safe to work with someone like you, because you're always going to lead with integrity, you're always going to lead with love, with the best interest of the client in mind. And to me, that's why I want to surround myself with only those people, because I want to trust. I want to know that I'm safe with whomever I'm working. So tell me about what happened. Like what shifted? If there was no fork in the road, no big event, like sometimes we wait for like a big adversity to then have this aha moment. And it sounds like for you it was an inner knowing. It was that divine wisdom within, like where you were led. What happened?

You taught me something about, I don't know, a couple years ago.

Let me tell you what I did not teach you, to have God as your business partner. I'm a little jealous of this guy you enhanced. And I like him. I like him too.

But one of the things you taught me. So let me backtrack. I met you through a dear friend of ours, Cynthia My wife and I at the time were going through some challenges, and Cynthia is Nati's best friend. And Cynthia said, you have to meet Betsy. She can help you guys. She's incredible. She's aligned with your values and everything. And so you and I hopped on a phone, a phone call, and you weren't. I don't think you were taking clients.

Or I was not.

Maybe it was a sales thing. I don't know.

No, I was not.

Okay, so you were not taking clients. But when I commit and I find something, I go for it. And so I played the align card. I know align from college, and we're connected. And so.

And you said, oh. And I prayed about it, and it has to be. You play the God card on me.

It wasn't a card. That was the truth. I prayed about it. I saw a video of you and your family, and I'm like, this is our person. And so we built a relationship. We started working together. You helped us out a lot. And I remember one of the things you taught us in our session was, if it's. If you're at peace with a decision, it's probably God led. And so going to sleep and then waking up and does it feel heavy or light? And that was a big catalyst for me now starting to ask myself, am I including God in my business decisions? Because I was including God in my life. But when it came to business, when it came to joining a mastermind or a coaching program, if it made sense, I would just do it and figure it out. And I think it has served me that mentality. But when my business coach asked me that question, I said, I don't think. I think there's an incongruency. I'm saying, he's my business partner. But what's the proof and evidence of that? I'm not praying about business decisions. I'm not including him in certain things. I'm not praying over my clients and my business. And so this has led me, over the course of the last, I don't know, year, year and a half, to really ask, why am I not being congruent with what I'm saying? And then there's been two or three things that have happened over the course of the last six months, including this invite, by the way, that God's been stirring up in my heart. Hey, slow down. Like, slow down. Because things are feeling like it's an uphill climb, and I'm just in a season where I'm going and going and going. I got an invite about three months ago to be the MC at an event of, I don't know, I think it was 300 plus people. And this is the who's who of my industry. And so it was a big opportunity. I have never been an emcee. I've spoken on stages before, but different, a little bit different skill set to be an emcee. And I was nervous about it. I was praying about it. I'm like, I said yes because again, I'm a. Say yes and figure it out. And the morning of, I got word that a gentleman was going to be leading a Bible study. And this was half an hour before I had to get mic checked to go on stage. And I was thinking about that. I was consumed with that. Something told me, go to that Bible study. Even though my mind was on prepping to be an emcee, I went and the conversation was about, God has given us this platform, our business. Are we using it to spread the message and bring people to God? And I walked away and I said, this can't be a coincidence. I've been thinking all this time, is God my business partner? And he's given me so much. Am I leading people to God through my business? And the answer was, not really. I've been more open about my faith on the podcast. I've talked about it, but am I being intentional about sharing the message and using my gifts and talents? And I recently got a coaching client who had success within the first 30 days. Now, to give you perspective, Betsy, to buy a storage facility typically takes six to 12 months. It doesn't happen overnight. He found success in 31 days from when we started working together. Why is that important? I asked him. I said, hey, Jeremy, can you come on our community call and share how that happened? You know what he told me? He said, yes, but only if I can give God the glory. I get chills as I say that. And that was the sign for me. And that happened. This was September 5th that he joined. October 6th, we had that conversation. He was under contract. That was the sign that I'm like, I need to amplify his message through my business. Now I have more questions than answers. I don't know how storage as the vehicle fits into me bringing people closer to God. But when I got the invite to be on this podcast, I'm like, there's too many things that are happening that God is like, I feel yelling at me through a megaphone.

I love that. Okay, okay. So why haven't you done this already? Like, why is this something new? Like, if you've if you've always been a man of faith, why were you not leading with faith in your business already?

I think I just wasn't being intentional about it. I don't think. It wasn't that I was not leading with faith. I just wasn't thinking about God in my business. I was thinking about God in my life, in my decisions, with my wife and with my children, but I just wasn't bringing him into that space. I wasn't being intentional about it. It wasn't that I was purposely trying to keep him out of it. There was a part of me at a time, Betsy, where I said to myself, when I started to feel these feelings, if I talk about God on the podcast or in coaching calls or with clients, there was a part of me that was like, does that turn people away? Am I going to lose business if I'm being, like, brutally honest? And I felt that, and I'm like, why would that come up for me? If God is what I'm saying is most important to me and he's given me all this, why should it matter if it turns people off or if I lose business? And I prayed on that. I thought about it, and I'm like, it doesn't. It doesn't. God's going to open the doors and put the right people in my life, and he's going to turn away the ones that I'm not meant to serve. And so over the course of the last, I don't know, three months, I've been, like, more loud about my faith through my business, through my podcast. And there's a. It's a freeing type of feeling, if that makes sense.

Absolutely. So I went through that, too. I used to do psychology, and I would sprinkle faith, especially with private clients. And then when I went through my loss and I realized faith saved me and allowed me to rise more than psychology did, even though I think both are important. But ultimately, faith was it. I remember wanting to be intentional about, like, even in my marketing, saying, like, hey, I'm combining these two, rain or shine. Like, if you. If you don't want to talk about God, I'm not your girl. And I remember talking to my coach and being like, what if that turns people away or turns people off or, like. And you know what happened, Alex? That more people came, more business came, more success. Because now people who share these values are like, I trust you already. Right? Like, so in marketing, they say you need to get the know like, and trust. Like, I had the know like, and trust just by Just by saying I came from this place, like people feel safe because being a person of faith suggests that you have certain values and integrity. If you live it, that you. That that is universal. So I believe that the same is going to be true for you.

You know what's crazy is I believe authenticity and transparency. That's the most valuable currency. And yet. And I preach that. But then again, here comes this incongruency. If I preach that, why was I holding back? Because I felt that business wasn't a place to introduce God. And it, the way I think about it now, it doesn't make any sense, right? But that's what was going on. That was the mental warfare I had. And I don't think I was intentionally trying to hold back. I just wasn't like, surrendering and letting it go, if that makes sense.

I hear you. I hear you. Okay, so now you decided to be intentional. And you have, you have been listening to the whispers and now the microphone, you know, like the screaming. What, what does that look like now? Like how, like, I resonate with you a lot because I used to identify as a go getter. Let's go. God put it in my heart, so I run with it. And what I've learned is that whenever God put something in my heart, I could recognize it. I have that deep sense of knowing. Like, God asked me to do this and I obey. I'm very obedient and I don't mess around. Like, I remember my business coach asking me, like, why did you do that? Because you said so. Like, I just, I obey and I just make things happen. You're coachable, but very coachable, but also a little accelerated, like, little accelerator.

I get it.

And I, and I, you know, I think something and it's already done by the time I'm done thinking about it, right? Like, I don't, I don't spend time on thinking energy and dwelling on it and trying to plan it. I build a plane while it's flying, right? And that got me in trouble too, because God would give me something, a revelation, an instruction, something. And I would do it, but I would do it on my own. It was almost like, I got the download okay, God, you have, you know. Yes, But I ran with it. I hired the people I thought I needed to hire. I did the things I thought I needed to do. Because I know so much, you know, I've read all these books and I know so much about business, and I didn't include him step by step by step. And that got me in trouble. I had, I have a lot of epic failures in my business. Same because I just ran with it or it was hard and frustrating and I was trying to control the outcomes which I have no power over until I was like, success, manifestation, transformation, happen at the speed of surrender. The sooner you surrender and the sooner that you be still and wait for guidance, the faster things happen. So I was, I was in a rush. And I remember like the analogy that I always thought about was like, I just ran with it and I got to the finish line before there was a finish line. Like the balloons, everything was missing. Like, I'm like, wait, where's everybody? I'm ready to sell this and people are not ready to buy it. Like I was, I was going too fast. I was. I live with a sense of urgency and that's really good in some ways because I'm. I don't want to waste any living minute of my life. But when you do it on your own and based on your own capacity and wisdom, you're limited and you don't experience the same process. Because I think the journey is a lot smoother and, and more fun and joy filled and it's also not the same outcome.

Yeah. And look. And I'm very much on that journey, Betsy. Like I think I'm in a place now where I'm doing my best to discern. Is this a decision that's a selfish desire that I'm now asking God to bless or is this what he wants me to do and I'm gonna be obedient. Right now I'm praying for discernment in those areas. Cause just cause it feels good doesn't necessarily mean I should do it. I mean, we all know that, right? In life and business, just cause something feels good doesn't necessarily mean that's a God led feeling. I used to default to think, well, why would I have these thoughts and desires if he didn't put them there? And so right now I'm asking for discernment. Like, is this a selfish desire that I want? Right. Do I want an eight figure business or does God want me to have an eight figure business? Why is that even important? And so I'm just drilling deeper. And so I'm very much on the journey right now. Like I don't have anything figured out. At least that's how it feels. And I'm asking a lot more questions than I have answers. And I'm surrendering to the fact that. And having faith that those answers will come whenever it's his time.

Quick pause. Do you feel like you're called for more? Are you looking for the opportunity to serve others while glorifying God? If yes, I want to invite you to check out our faith based coaching academy. Just go to faithandgrowth.com and now let's go back to Alex. So I encourage you and you listening if you have this same question of does this come from God or does it come from my mind, my ego? The episode that aired on November 11th answers that question. It just gives you like the guidelines to understand what comes from who. And I think it's going to support you in, in this journey. But I want to, I want to ask you, what practices have. I know like the mindset has, has shift shifted, but what practices have you implemented or tapped into to connect with the Holy Spirit, with God as your business partner, to seek guidance? Like, what does that look like?

I did it this morning. I put on a little bit of worship music, right? There's a few Christian artists that I really like.

Who are your favorite?

Matt Mayer, Forest Frank. Those are two that I often default to, particularly Matt Mayer. He's got a song, Lord, I need you that anytime. It gives me chills. I heard it this morning and so I'll put that on in the background and I'll just, I'll just try to sit in prayer and look, I want to be so authentic here. Lately my prayers, I feel like, are a minute to two minutes. And it's like, it's so surface level and I'm like, how do I think about building a relationship with someone where all you do is talk but then you don't listen? Like it sounds, it sounds ludicrous. And yet that's what I'm asking God to do right now. And that's what I've been feeling. It's like, God, I'm talking to you for a couple of minutes, but then I'm just running to the next thing I have to do. And so I've had to step back over the course of the last several months and say, okay, well, I need to slow down. Yes, I have this thing at 9 or I have a packed schedule, because we all have packed schedules. But I've come to now believe that if I slow down, things are just going to open up for me. Right? And I'm starting to experience a little bit of that. This morning was a perfect example. I said, you want to know what? I'm going to clear my schedule this whole morning just so I can be intentional about what we're doing here. So clear the meetings. It's important, but it's okay. And so I think I'm starting to feel more at peace with just surrendering. So back to your question. Worship music, prayer. I'm now going to ChatGPT and I'm saying I'm giving it a prompt. Like, give me the top five Bible verses around.

Wait, Chad, GPT. Why don't you go to Betsy Bot?

I should go to Betsy.

You have Betsy Bot. Go to Betsy Bot.

Okay, I'll go to Betsy Bot next time. But what I'm doing is, hey, give me the top five Bible verses around finances or around trust or around whatever I'm feeling. Then I'll take those Bible verses. I'll go to the Word, I'll go to the Scripture and journal. My process used to be two to three hours. Lately it's been like 30 to 45 minutes because I feel like I have so much on my calendar. But I think what I've come to realize is that I need to slow down in order for God to speed me up.

Amen.

If that makes sense.

It did totally make sense. So for you listening, and for you, Alex, go to the episode in October of 2025. Check it out of the Finding God in Silence. Because I think, like, what you said, like, you're. You're connecting with God, but you're not necessarily creating the stillness and the quietness that allows him to speak. Because God's voice is like, like low and subtle and kind. It's not like, chaotic and crazy and sense of urgency. Let's go. If you don't do it right now, it's not threatening. It's very kind. And because it's so kind, it cannot compete with the voice of anxiety and rushing. And you got to do this immediately and right. Like, so it is important to create silence, to be able to listen to. To what he's trying to convey and what he's where he's trying to guide you. So I think that that's one of my favorite episodes because the practice of silence is one of my favorites to connect with God.

You know what I'm thinking? It's if you don't carve out the space for silence, how do you hear him now? I do believe that God will speak through people. Like, you are on a very short list. You, my business coach. There's six or seven people that I believe God has.

Six, seven. Oh, six.

If my daughter's here, they totally appreciate that. By the way, they're gonna laugh when they watch this. That's six, seven. I can't Wait for it to go away. So, yeah, there's a six or seven people that are on my list that I think God has put in my life to speak through them to me about faith, about growing spiritually. And, yeah, I just. I feel like God speaks to me through certain people. And aside from that, I think it's silence. You have to create the space for him, because I've been trying to build a relationship with God and being intentional about that, but not creating that space to actually listen to Him. So then I default to making decisions that I think are best for me and my business, when in some cases I think they are, but other cases, if it's frictionless and I feel peace, I feel like God is at play. When it feels like a struggle and I'm trying to put a square into a circle, then that's when I think I'm starting to get in trouble.

You know, my husband and your wife are really good with silence and stillness. And you and I will take a podcast to the shop and shower with the podcast on.

Exactly. Right.

You know, because we want to be learning all the time and we want to be growing, and the best way to grow it through is through stillness. I've learned. So I like. I think it's important for you listening that it doesn't have to be 45 minutes, an hour of silence. If a minute is all you have, a minute will do, and then you can extend to five minutes, and you're going to get. Become obsessed with silence. So then before you know it, you're going to be at 15 minutes, 45 minutes, whatever you have, whatever you have available in your schedule, but you get to schedule it first. I started with five minutes, and now I go to the Blessed Sacraments and I practice silence for 45 minutes. And it's already scheduled in my daily agenda. So creating that space really has served me, and I trust that it will transform your life, too.

I have no doubt. The other thing I think about, Betsy, is if I feel like I don't have five minutes to give to God, that means I need to give him five hours.

Yes. You know how they say that in meditation? Like, if you don't have 30 minutes or 15 minutes to meditate, you should meditate for an hour.

Right? Exactly.

It's the same concept, I think. You know, I practice meditation, but it's called centering prayer, where you consent to the presence and action within of God within you. And yes, if you're too busy, that's when you need most the space to be still.

Yeah.

So thank you for sharing that. I think that's going to support many. And tell me what. What, like, what does peace look like? How do you. Like, what is. What is that? How's. How is that experience going? Like, you talked about, like, things flowing more easily about feeling peace. Like, what is that peace test that you run things through to discern?

You know, it's interesting because I don't think peace is the absence of adversity or struggle. I think you can still experience peace in a storm, in the midst of chaos. I mean, let's be honest, life in business, we're going to have struggles, we're going to have challenges, we're going to. It's going to be a roller coaster at time, but we can. I think what I believe is that we can choose to experience peace knowing that he's going to take us through one way or the other. We're either going to win or we're going to learn. That's my mindset. He's. We're going to learn something. He's going to teach us something. But I think you have to have an open mind, open heart about being. Being ready to receive the message or the lesson or whatever he wants to share with us through whatever we might be going through in our life. Whereas before, I used to think peace was like, I'm good, money is good.

Nobody's bothering me.

Nobody's bothering me. Relationships are strong. Like, I used to think peace only existence if there was no adversity. I've come to realize that, no, we can experience peace at any point, no matter what we're going through. I think that's something I've learned from you. I shared with Diana that, you know, I've been to Emmaus and.

So what is Emmaus? And by the way, Diana is our producer for people who don't know.

Yes, yes, yes. 100%. She's a rock star. She's amazing. I feel like I've known her forever. Emmaus. You introduced me to Emmaus, so it's interesting. Let me. Let me take a couple of steps back. At times, I used to feel like I was a spiritual mutt. What do I mean by that? That sounds weird. I was raised as a Catholic, but I was put in a Baptist school. And growing up in a Baptist school, I never went to confession. Yes, I went through the sacraments, but I didn't connect with a Catholic church. I went to a Baptist school. And then I started to grow a little bit more in my faith. At one point, I started attending vue. Church, which is non denominational, very different. I started working with you. I think the Holy Spirit was working through you in me. You told me, hey, my husband is leading in Emmaus, which is a spiritual retreat through the Catholic Church. And I said yes without even knowing what it was. You're thinking about it because that's my tendency. Say yes and then figure it out. Yeah, figure it out. It'll get unpacked. I went through that and it was such a transformational moment. Not just because of the people I met and the relationships I built, but I saw God show up in numerous, numerous instances through people's testimonies, things that I couldn't even explain. And you're like, that can only be God. But I walked away from my mas experience feeling I'm not. I don't have a story to share because I'm so blessed and fortunate that I haven't been. I've had challenges and struggles like anybody else. At one point I owed 140 grand, I think, to the IRS. I wasn't really making any money. This was early on in my, in my entrepreneurial journey. But that's just money that comes and goes. I've never experienced something that really, really rocked my world. And yet I was at Emmaus listening to people's testimony about things that would make like your skin crawl. It's like, how, how do you have the strength to deal with that? And I walked away feeling like I'm so blessed. I can never complain. I don't have any excuses. And the pendulum swung so far the other way that I'm like, I don't have any adversities to share. So like, who am I to complain about the smallest little thing? And I almost became a recluse when it came to my faith because I'm like, I didn't feel worthy to speak up or share because God's blessed me in so many ways. Like I have everything, health, family, a business, like all the things that people would view you as being successful. And I'm fortunate that I hadn't been through something like that. And I asked God, I'm like, I don't want to go through something like that, but if I did, would I be strong enough to carry through it? And so that got me asking myself, well, how deep is my faith if I don't even know if I'm strong enough to deal with losing a child, a loved one, like anything like that? And, and so, yeah, it's just, it's brought up a lot of questions. I think it's forced me to go deeper in my faith and trust and know that, look, I'm going to hit a storm at some point in my life and I need to have faith. I need to have faith that like I just said, I can still experience peace in the midst of whatever I may go through.

You know, there are a few things that I want to bring up. From what you said, I know what peace and adversity looks like because obviously I did go through something very excruciating and I there were moments that I'm like, how did I do that? Like how did I how? And I know it was the indwelling God giving me the peace that surpasses all understanding, which is how we started this podcast. So I know that and I also know, Alex, that you don't need to experience adversity to have a story. And I think I hear a lot of people, especially in the speaking world, share like no, my story is not as good as yours or it's not as powerful as yours. And what I know for sure, having supported thousands of people both in my private practice and in my speaking career, is that your story, the non story that you think is your story is exactly what certain people who were assigned to you need to hear. You have shared with me adversities. Like there's little adversities and there's capital letter capital A adversity, right? Big T's, little T's, big troubles, big T's, little T's. Yes, that's right. So there's, you know, you've had adversities and challenges and struggles in business and you know, I call you whenever I have a business problem and I'm like, oh wish should I do? And it's and I'm like, you know exactly what to say because your story has equipped you with the wisdom, the knowledge that then is able to support me when I'm going through those adversities. And by the way, nowadays my adversities are mainly business related, right? Like that I the same struggle. Like is this coming from me? Is it coming from God? Or the, you know, when is this outcome going to be revealed to me? I work so hard for it and maybe it's because I'm attached to an outcome and it's different to the one that God dreams for you. You said at the beginning something so beautiful you said, you know, I've been thinking, I go, does this work for me? Is this what I want? Is this my vision? I go for it. And now you're looking for God's vision for you and I once heard Oprah saying, live the dreams. God dreams for you. And I heard you say that, you know, you're looking to dream, to live the dreams. God dreams for you. Can you imagine how amazing that would be the best if we actually, like, surrender to that? So thank you for sharing and for you listening, I just want to reiterate that your non story, that thing that you think is not worthy of others listening to, is exactly the answer to people's prayers. That's exactly what others need to hear. So please, please, please share it and touch people with your stories so that they may become better and they may be blessed by it. So tell me, like, what would you want to share with, like, the person listening, like, what message do you want him or her to leave with?

There are so many people that come to me because they're struggling with finances or business and they want a different vehicle. They want. They want to generate more cash flow or build wealth. And one of the things I always start with is, what is your purpose? What is your why, and what are the gifts and talents that God's given you? And, Betsy, I'm not surprised anymore, but so many people are not aware or in tune with what their talents are. In fact, I often hear, I don't know that I have a talent. And I push back and I say, look, you are living, you are breathing. God made you. He gave you gifts and talents. And I think a message for a lot of people is get to know God and he will reveal your gifts and talents. What are the things that come effortless to you? What are the things that come natural to you? Dan Sullivan from Strategic Coach, he's got something called the Genius Zone exercise. I don't know if you've ever done it.

Yes, I haven't done it, but I've.

Okay, so it's an email template. You can Google it or ChatGPT it, and you send it out to 10 to 20 people who know you, colleagues, friends.

I filled that out for you, didn't you?

You did, Yeah, I sent it. So I've done it three times because as you grow and evolve, like, you want to see what changes. And essentially it's what are the things that come natural to you? Like, what are the things that Betsy, that you see in me that I may or may not see in myself? And it was revealed to me going through that exercise that people say, I'm a really good connector, I'm a really good listener, I can be a good communicator. And those are things that I Don't know that I recognize in myself. So that was inspiration for me to say, hey, I'm going to launch a podcast in 2016 is because people think I'm a connector. And I have a genuine desire to want to help and impact people. And I think a life worth living is a life of service and giving and impact. I selfishly get more joy out of knowing that I had a conversation with you or with somebody, and I think I had a little bit of an impact on that person's life in a positive direction than me getting any amount of money or me winning. Like, that is me winning. And that is why I think God created me to be a coach and to share a certain message. So I think the message for people is, find out your gifts and talents. Like, figure out why God put you on this earth, and how can you amplify your gifts and talents to serve his people? Because we are God's children. And I've come to learn that business is to help God's children, and that's wholesome, and that's good. Now, I used to think business was just for profit, but what I've known is profit comes from helping God's people.

You know, sometimes we think that only the coaches, the therapists, you know, only those careers can make, can help people, can do God's work. But it's in everything.

It could be the waiter at a restaurant.

Yes, they make your experience better. It could be the person cooking. It could be the person cleaning. My. You have no idea how much love I have for Uber Eats. Deliverers, like, people who deliver do delivery. Like, when they bring me groceries from Instacart, I'm like, I love you. Thank you. Like, you're the answer to my prayers. And we think it's just doing, quote, unquote, meaningful work. But that is meaningful work, and you do. So my husband is a financial advisor, and he never thought of it as, like, I just help people manage their money. No big deal. And the other day, he was like, baby, I do more than just manage people's money. Like, I help them experience peace. I help them prepare. I help them support their family. I help them. He started realizing, like, especially peace. That was, like, the main thing that he emphasized. And his clients are, like, his friends are, like, the only person they trust in the United States because he has a lot of international clients. And I'm like, yeah, like, even managing people's money is a very meaningful work.

It's huge.

And you do meaningful work. Tell us what. Tell us what you do. How People, I want to hear everything. How can people find you? Like, you are their person. If right. Like, what is it that you help people with that they can recognize today? Like, oh, I need to communicate with Alex. Like, God put him in my path.

The people that come to me, Betsy, they want more financial freedom in their life. They want to generate more cash flow, build wealth. They're interested in real estate and. But they don't know that self storage is a vehicle to generate cash flow and build wealth without having to sacrifice your life. Remember earlier I talked about designing a vision for your life and then building a business. That is why I'm so passionate about this particular vehicle, because you can build a business that you can run and operate remotely without having employees and dealing with traditional headaches of real estate like tenants and toilets and trash. And it's changed my life in many ways and it's connected me with people. What I've come to realize is that this is a business and a vehicle that God has given me to share his message. Now, again, I don't have it all figured out, but what I know is that what's being stirred up inside of me is that on our coaching calls just recently we talked about not just using the money that Self Storage provides for us, but how can we use that money from that business to impact other people. And so we talked about service through the business, not just about, you know, being selfish to generate profit. So, yeah, people come to me are interested in real estate and they just, they, they want more without necessarily having.

So passive income.

Yeah, passive income is a way. That's a word that's often thrown around. I, I tend not to use it because passive income for a lot of people thinks like you press a button and money just comes as with anything, you got to put some time and energy into it. But it's an incredible vehicle if you want, if you value your time and you want to buy back your time. Going back to our friend Dan Martel here.

Absolutely, yeah. So how can they find you?

StorageWins.com Storage wins. Storage Wins. W I N S and then I have a podcast called Storage Wins where every single week I release two episodes. Have a YouTube channel.

You rebranded or is it a brand new.

No, I rebranded. So 2016, I started the Flip Empire Show. And August of 2025, just recently, I rebranded to Storage Wins. So now I have one clear message, one clear person that I help. It's all about self storage. And, and I think you're going to hear more of my faith injected through the Podcast.

I love that. So, Alex, I have one last thought.

What.

What do you. What are you looking forward to the more most now that God is your business partner and that you are slowing down to be sped up, like, what is the vision now?

So I'll tell you this. I'm viewing God more as the CEO of my life in business versus a business partner, because there are business partners who are silent. I don't see him as silent in my business. So think of God as a CEO and me as a coo, and I'm like, carrying out the mission, the operation. That's how I'm thinking about. About it. What I'm excited about is just what he has in store for me. Like, I don't. I don't know what the next.

What he has in storage for you.

Oh, and I see what you did there. What he has in storage for me. Exactly. Yeah. Look, I'm even asking the question, like, is this the vehicle that he wants me to use to bless his people and to help people? I think it is. But instead of me defaulting to assuming it is, I'm just going to do my best to sit in silence and surrender and incorporate that more into my daily practice and just trust and have faith that, you know, whatever he has in store for me is the right path for me.

I cannot wait to meet again for part two and like to give you a little more time to be in this. In this stage of surrender.

I'd love to.

To see how your business has transformed, because I wholeheartedly believe that your business will reach a success and will thrive in ways you cannot even imagine.

Thank you.

So I'm excited for you. And then it's also, like, more peaceful, more joyful. Wayne Dyer says, let your will be my desire, Lord. So I think it's really cool to understand that when you live the life God dreams for you, his dreams for you become your desire. His will for you becomes what you are excited the most about.

Super powerful.

So it's not like, oh my gosh, let me obey. It's like I get to obey for, like, this master plan. So thank you, thank you, thank you for being part of this. I really enjoy this. I trust that it's blessed many people and for you. Remember to connect with Pardo and follow him on his Storage Wins podcast. And bueno. Let's do this. Sometimes. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is slow down enough to listen. So if Today spoke to you, share it with someone who's walking their own faithful path and who is also like building planes while they fly. Keep your heart open, your spirit present and be courageous to surrender. I love you. Bye.