Alvin Hope Johnson - Building A Multifamily Empire

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Welcome back to the Casey Adams Show. Today we are joined by Alvin Johnson, the CEO of multifamily Monopoly. Thanks so much for coming on the show, Alvin.

Casey, man, my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Of course. So we are here at Blue Wire Studios in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel. And I know you flew out from Dallas, so I appreciate you coming out here, man.

Man, how cool is this? I love to go places where I'm invited.

For sure. For sure, man. I've been. I've been looking forward to this. You know, I. I think that, you know, every interview I do, it's so unique. And diving into your story and how you've become this real estate mogul has been super fascinating and I'm super excited to dive into it, dive into it today. So to kick things off for people that may not know your background, who you are, I'd love for you to just give them a high level overview of what multifamily monopoly is and really, like, how this journey of real estate began in your life.

Yeah, no problem, man. So again, Alvin Hope Johnson. The hope in my middle name came because there was a day where all I had was a hope and a prayer. So we hoped for a whole lot of things. So I said, hey, that'd be a great middle name. So that's where that came from. I'm in my mid-50s and I've been in real estate my whole life, man. Casey I started out as a painter. Well, first I started out cutting grass. That was the first introduction to real estate. But then from a painter to a painter's helper, a painter's helper to a painter, and then a paint contractor, gc Because I had to fix your house before I could paint it. And all of this, man, before I was 21 years old, kind of, you know, like you.

Yeah.

Except you've had a whole lot more success than I have. So excited for your, for your growth and to watch what you're doing. But this whole multifamily monopoly thing. So today that's our education platform that we use to teach people how to build and develop apartments or build their dream. A lot of people want to be in real estate. They don't know how to get started. So we use that. We have masterminds, we have a 12 month developer apprenticeship course. And it was all around the mindset that I've always had an education goal to teach people how to do what I do. So I was in the mortgage business for about 15 years in a way that I won most of my customers was educating them on a process of what a mortgage was the best one for them. So I've always enjoyed helping people. So quite naturally, God gifted me with something that, that I get to share. So it's really cool to be able to do that.

Very cool. Yeah. What led you down the path of getting, you know, building apartment complexes? I know it's a very. It's different than, you know, just being a broker as a realtor or doing like single family home flips. Like this is a next level of that. So why did you focus on that and how, why has that been, you know, a major focus over the years?

Well, cool. That's a good question. I remember back in 2008, I was in the mortgage business and the market had just crashed and I met a gentleman that had 16,000 apartments. And yeah, when you hear that, yeah, a lot of net worth in that organization. But I knew that he had something for me. So I told him I wanted to volunteer to help him. And literally he said, oh, okay, I'll help you. Well, three weeks he answered my calls and then for about 49 weeks after that, he didn't answer me anymore. 49 weeks. I was consistent in calling and showing up like you said. Right. And so finally he answered my call and said, alvin, I'm tired of you calling me. If you want to know what I do, come up here and I'll show you. So he introduced me to the apartment industry. And 13 months after meeting him, he died. And I became the president of his foundation that has 16,000 apartments.

No way.

Yes. Just through service man. And trying to help make somebody else's dream come true.

So when you met him, that's fascinating. When you met him, did you go meet him in person? After calling him for 49 weeks, what did that relationship turn into? Right, because it.

Oh, it was a Father son relationship. He took me in as a member of his family, treated me like a son. And he was only 12 years older than me, so not that much difference in age. But he treated me like man, like. Like my father really never did. And he opened up a whole new world to me. And by doing that, he not only has the impact in my life, but we have had almost 3,000 units of apartments. We're going to build 20,000 units in five years. So look at the downline of all the people he's affected by helping me.

Wow.

Yeah.

So that's incredible. And I'm sure just hearing that, you know, that lesson that you learned firsthand is what you're instilling into the, you know, the aspiring entrepreneurs that you're teaching in your programs.

Absolutely. And, you know, methods of many principles. A few methods always change, but principles never do. Tenacity is one that shows up. You got to show up all the time. You said it.

Yeah.

Hey, man, I traveled all over the country showing up. I was 17 years old, and look where four and a half years has led just from that consistency. And that's one of the things that we share. I didn't go to college. I barely finished high school. My mom was a school teacher there. So they said, man, let's get this guy out of here.

Where'd you grow up?

In Beaumont, Texas.

Okay.

Yeah. And so she probably won't see this.

We gotta send it to her.

But after going through 12 years of high school, getting in trouble as a young kid, and no college, all I had was my trade to fall back on. And a lot of people say, well, my backup plan is my college degree. Well, I didn't have that. So all I had was my work ethic, and I had to show up. And so if all you got is a fart, then you're gonna go dig a hole or eat or do something with it. And so my mouthpiece has been one of my greatest gifts, but also one of my greatest curses.

No, for sure. Did you have any siblings growing up?

I've got one brother. He's eight years older than I am. And it's funny to have the relationship that we have today. I don't know what he thinks about me, but.

Got it.

I know what he used to think about.

Yeah. So when it comes to real estate, that you're working with all these different people in the industry, do you mainly buy apartment complexes in Texas or are you all over the country?

Our goal is all over the country, and so we're not buying Any more older apartments? Two and a half years ago, I got to a place where I didn't come from a lot of money. And so I had to make relationships to get partners interested in what we were wanting to do. And it was really hard for me to get people interested in a 1970s built apartment complex that was in the hood that needed a lot of work, even though we've done that. But I got to a place where we couldn't pay $100,000 a unit for them anymore, like a lot of people still are. And I said, if we can do this at 100,000 a door for a 30 year, 40 year old asset for 150 a door, I can do this. And it's brand new and It'll last me 50 years. And so that's the thought process behind the developing. We wanted to do newer assets, cleaner assets, assets that are better for our health because with the strut that we're building with now, if you're next door to me, I won't get Covid from you if you have it. Because these envelopes with the structural insulated panels are so airtight. No air goes between unit to unit. So we just wanted to do something that was eco friendly, near net zero and great for everybody's health. And so we put a lot of time into finding the right partners to help us do that.

Totally. So it sounds like, you know, you guys are very vertically integrated. Right. So you guys do it from the bottom up. So when did that change occur? And how do you recommend entrepreneurs to identify that in their own organization, whether that's real estate or whatever? Because I think it's, you know, for a lot of companies. I have a tech startup called Media Kits and you know, we think about partnering with different companies and there comes a point where it's like, hey, why don't we just do this ourselves and vertically integrate? So it's like, when did that realization come to you and you know, how do you advise entrepreneurs make that jump?

Well, I'll tell you, it came to me when we bought our first property because it was, it was really distressed and we could not make any money from cash flow, so we had to start our management company. Oh, we got our own management company now. And then we got into a place where we had to start renovating the units. And I've got a big background in construction and I'm getting bids from all these clowns that are telling me how much this stuff costs.

Yeah.

And you know, I know like, okay, now we're gonna start our Construction entity or our, you know, around our. And just doing it all ourselves.

Yeah. So just came to you organically.

Just organically? Yeah. Opportunities.

Yeah.

Yeah. I heard somebody say that creativity promotes. No, what is it? What is it? What is it, Casey? Commitment promotes creativity. So if you're committed to your craft, you get backed into a corner, you're going to come out because you're committed to it. And so we were committed to having a business that would last long after I was. And the only way that we could do that was to look at developing new deals that'll last 30, 40, 50 years.

Got it. Very cool. So where do you spend your time on a daily basis and how do you, you know, maintain your schedule with, you know, you guys are looking to get 20,000 apartments over the next five years. That's a big goal to hit. So how do you manage your time?

I don't know. I'm working on that. But I'll tell you, I spent a lot of my time on the phone calls, a lot of emails. I travel quite a bit. But I've got a dynamic team behind me. So I've got four or five ladies in my office that, that literally keep the wheels on the bus while I'm out here doing this kind of stuff. We've got our engineering team now that is doing all of our entitlements. We've got a design team now that's working on all of the. Designing the apartments for the maximum efficiency. I get to be the guy that says, hey, we're going to do this or we're going to do that. And I don't know how it happened, but here I am.

Yeah, that's incredible. Outside of. I love to take tangents here in the podcast. Where do you spend your time outside of work and passion projects, family? What does that look like in your life? Because I think as an entrepreneur, it's super important to not only identify that, but talk about it outside of work.

It is. And I'll tell you, that's the hardest thing for me. I was asking one of my buddies last night, what do normal people do after work? I said, I know we're not normal. Yeah, but, you know, if I come home at 8 o' clock after working all day, I don't want to just turn the TV on. So what do normal people do? And he said, well, we become couch potatoes. I said, well, how do we not do that? And so I'm literally trying to manage my, my time in blocks of 15 minutes and setting aside an hour in the morning for this, and then just on down the day, and I'm gonna see how that works.

I love that.

I don't know. Just. We don't see.

Yeah, for sure. What was the. Because I know, like, being in the real estate industry versus, you know, building a personal brand. You do very well at social media, and you've. You've done a great job at just building this incredible personal brand. When was that switch for you? Or when did you start prioritizing that and why?

About almost three years ago, man. I went to the first. My first growth con with Grant Cardone.

Yeah. Which one was that?

That was the one that was. It was at the big hotel in. In Florida.

Okay.

No, it was out here.

I went to. I went to one in Vegas.

It was here.

I don't know how many years ago.

That one was about three years ago.

Yeah, I think I was. I'm pretty sure I was at that one.

And I went. You know, I did the whole backstage thing and the vip, and he looked at me and said, well, I asked him, I said, grant, are you running for president? And he said, why would you ask me that? I said, well, Trump's campaign manager is one of your speakers, and you got your university just like he did. And he said, no, it's too soon. So that resonated with him. I saw him on Clubhouse later, and I said, grant, you remember me? I told you that. But what he told me was he said, alvin, the reason you are not where you want to be or have what you want to have is because nobody knows who you are or what you do. And I said, oh, well, I know how to fix that. I'm gonna call Hans. And so I'm a big introvert. I hate the camera. I don't. I love people, but I don't like people that much. But I love people. So, man, I had to get out of. Out of my own way and get out of my comfort zone. Even doing this in front of cameras and lights, and as much as I.

You're natural.

It's a necessary. It's a necessary positive. I won't call it unnecessary evil.

Very. No, very cool. No, it's funny because I. I've had drown on the show before, and a lot of the guys from that. I believe that Growth Crown, like Bradley and Andy Vercella, all those guys, they're great. And, you know, for me, as someone that's younger, like, going to those events has been the backbone of my initial days of building a brand and networking with people. And I know you talk about your story of like being consistent with picking up the phone. How has a network and people played into your success over the years and how have you maintained that over time?

Well, I'll tell you, without the relationship piece, we wouldn't have a business. Right. We're in relationship. So the key thing for me has been relationships. I try to make them. My biggest downfall, I think is I treat people the way I want to be treated. And sometimes we get stepped on by that. But when you're really transparent and authentic and people can really see who you are, they get to know like and trust you. That has been the biggest piece to allowing us to build this business. You know, we've got people from all over the country helping us with these apartments and there's no way that would have happened had I not been able to be authentic. They see people, they could see a crook coming a mile away or somebody that doesn't have their best interest at heart or the team's best interest at heart. So my authenticity and just my love for people allows me to build relationships that go further than I will ever be able to go by myself.

Yeah, I love that. When you think about this, like five year game plan, you said 20,000 units. That's the goal. What's like, what's the strategy to get there versus I'm sure there's real estate, like real estate, you know, individuals out there listening. Because that's such a big number. Right. Like when we talked about it earlier, you said that the guy had 16,000 units and that just like blows your mind. And I think a lot of people listening can relate where it seems so unattainable if you're not in the industry. So I'd love for you to break that down of like, what the year looks like, what a quarter looks like when it comes to getting to that number. Because I think, you know, how you break that down and how you think about it could be very impactful with how people should be thinking about their businesses.

It's kind of like eating an elephant. Right? You can start at the trunk or the tail. One bite at a time though. So 20,000 units is only 100 developments with 200 units in them. So when you think about it like that, it's like, oh, it's only 100 developments.

Yeah.

So we believe right now, this year we'll start about 1300 units. Next year we'll start over 3000 units because we've got land projects that will stack up to start next year. And then I believe that in 20, 24, we will probably start 5,000 units and then 8,000 units in 2025. And that'll put us right at 20,000 units.

You guys are dialed in.

But it comes from making relationships. So I'm sure that people are listening to me right now or will be listening to me right now, and they'll want to know how they can become involved in some multifamily projects. They may own land. Yeah. They may have money. Hey, call me. And that's the only way we're going to make this happen, is to help make other people's dreams come true.

Yeah.

And that'll make mine come true.

Do you guys get a lot of deal flow through social media?

Most of it comes from social media or brokers reaching out to me all the time. Yeah.

Very cool.

Yep.

And you guys, will you guys raise. You guys raise money like through accredited investors or how does it typically break down? I'm just curious, in terms of, you know, the deal flow that you guys have.

Yeah. So my first five or six deals were done because one of my partners was a CPA by profession. So he had a lot of high net worth individuals that work that he did their taxes or tax planning.

Yep.

And this year I did my first syndication deal without them helping me. And we raised it off a clubhouse. Believe. No way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We got a lot to dive into on that.

All of the partners came from Clubhouse.

No way.

Yeah.

Oh, my. When did you get on Clubhouse?

December of last year.

Okay.

Of 2020.

Got it.

So I've been. Today was the first weekday that I hadn't been on no way. In over 13 or 14 months.

Wow. Because. Because I wanted to ask. Because I. I got on Clubhouse, I think, like around the time you did December, November 2020, when it was like that early energy days where I was spending like too much time on there, you know, looking back, Covid, quarantine, the whole thing. But I loved it. And it was a great way to meet people and. But hearing that, I'd love to hear sort of the strategy there. It's like. Because I think for, you know, whether that's my podcast or you raising a syndication deal, like, not only is social media powerful, but it's powerful in different ways. Right. What I do on Instagram DMs to land podcast guests is different than what you did on Clubhouse. You know, raise capital. How did that go down on an audio based app? Because I think a lot of people can leverage that in, of course, different ways.

Again, I think it comes from the authenticity people knowing, like and trusting you. 14 months on people hearing my voice and literally just being consistent about what our goals are. And when I talk about 20,000 units, it's not. Yeah, I'll be a benefactor of that, but it's not for me. 20,000 units represents. 20,000 households. It represents. I can't tell you how many workers we will employ building 20,000 units. Yeah. And one of the big deals that we're going to do, so we're setting up our own structurally insulated plant to build our own wall panels in Corsicana, Texas. And we're gonna go to the Texas penal system and take parolees that can't get jobs and train them to be entrepreneurs to build our wall systems and to go build our apartments. So when I talk about 20,000 units, I'm representing all the people that were like me that would not have a chance if I wasn't in business.

Yeah.

That's what that's cool about. That's what it's about.

Incredible. For sure. So do you still. I love this Clubhouse thing. Do you still use Clubhouse on a daily basis?

Every day, except today.

Okay. I've done a lot of hosting on there as well. It's super fun. Do you. Have you tried Twitter Spaces and all these other audio platforms or.

I haven't.

You haven't?

I have gone live on Clubhouse, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all at the same time, but predominantly. And Zoom. But predominantly just doing it for the Clubhouse audience.

Got it.

Yeah.

Very cool. What have you noticed in terms of the change of behavior on Clubhouse? Cause I think someone that's spending so much time on any platform but Clubhouse, specifically this new social audio segment. Like, what's been a. Your experience? You've had a great experience, it seems. But what's been your experience and how have you seen it change? Because I can say I used to spend a lot of time on it. I haven't that much anymore. I probably spend more time on Twitter Spaces nowadays, like hearing people talk about crypto and NFTs. It's a lot on Twitter, but I love Clubhouse, but I haven't used it as much personally, so I'd love to hear your experience and how it's changed.

What I've seen change over the last four or five months is a lot of the early adopters have left, like you and a lot of my real estate buddies. And I have seen a lot of people try to be Howard Stern.

Yeah, for sure.

And, you know, some very popular rooms every day with some of my friends that are doing it. And. And that's great for them, but it's not productive for me. So I'll dip my head in and just be present for a little bit. And I got two or three cell phones, so one of them.

Yeah, for sure.

But that's the kind of, that's kind of like being a couch potato at night for me. I just can't, I can't be a part of the drama.

Yeah, you know, for sure, I love that.

But there are some intimate rooms still. You know, Sunday nights we do one called Dream on Dreamer. So it's really cool.

Get every Sunday.

Every Sunday.

Cool. So I know talk about this at the end but for people that do want to tune into your clubhouse, where is like the best place they can follow you on there.

Mondays at 3 Central we do a multi family room around underwriting and everything around multifamily. Tuesdays, one of my buddies does a development room three, three o' clock central. And then Sunday nights we do the Dream on Dreamer series. Kind of like a podcast. Yeah, I like to hear about what makes people tick. Like we were talking earlier about your dreams.

Totally.

So tell me about yours. I mean, you wildly successful, 21 years old, you got a nationally syndicated podcast and where do you go from here?

I love this. You sending it back my way. It's funny because when I started the podcast, it was always about just sitting down with incredible world class people and it obviously went towards the business sector because that's where I was interested. But you know, working with Blue Wire and having a great place to host, you know, it's a, it's a great next step for my show. But for me it's always about like, you know, who am I curious about? Right. Like, I know a lot of people. I get requests all the time of people that want to be on my show. But for me it also, it comes down to what you said, the authenticity. You know, looking at someone's videos and their content and just saying like, hey, like is this someone that I want to would be friends with, someone that I want to talk to, someone that I want to introduce to my family. Like I make it very personal because that's what it is like having these intimate conversations. But you know, I won't go on too of a tangent, but I have a tech startup, it's called Media Kits and it's the easiest way to share creator analytics. So someone like yourself or myself has all these platforms and different followers. You can connect all of your connections to Media Kits and then have a place where you can display all of your Multi cross platform analytics in one place and they're forever up to date. So when you're pitching a brand or whatever it may be, if someone's pitching me to come on my show, they can send me their media kit and I can just get a breakdown of all of their social analytics.

Oh, I need to check that out.

Yeah, I definitely got to, I got to show it to you for sure. We launched last August. We had a big launch party in L. A. We had Wiz Khalifa come out and perform. So really it was a, it was a fun time and it's still new, but we have a lot of good traction.

Oh, that's good. Well, I mean, with, with your audience and your friends from your podcast, I'm sure you're going to do really well with it.

I appreciate, and I appreciate you asking as well.

Oh yeah.

So when it comes for you, I mean, yeah, that's, that's the full time gig. You know, podcast and media kits is where I spend all my time and they kind of play hand in hand to each other. Right. It's like maybe you end up making a media kit and then from the media kits side, you know, I've met dozens of creators and incredible partners that we work with that are now like going to be on the show. So it goes very hand in hand with the, the different industries.

Cool. So let me ask you another question. 21 years old, wildly successful. I don't see a whole bunch of girls hanging out around here, but I'm sure they're somewhere. How do you stay focused and keep level headed and not let all those shiny objects in your way?

Yeah. So I have a girlfriend, okay. Jacqueline Burnett. She is my rock. And you know, and we always talk about this, but it's so easy to get distracted nowadays with the world, social media, whatever it may be shiny, shiny object syndrome. But you know, we, we started dating. I was 19.

Okay.

And you know, I, and for context, she's older than me, she's 28, I'm 21. We have an age gap and it just for this how I think about my life, I'm a very, I'm one to commit. Right. So like when I committed to her, it, it was something that I knew is not only going to benefit me, but it's something that I, I love and the relationship has been incredible and it's been something that has kept me very center and aligned with what I'm doing, what I'm building. So awesome. I love her. She's incredible. And I'm sure she's watching this. So, Jacqueline, huge shout out to you.

Jacqueline, I'm sorry I mentioned those other girls. They don't mean anything to Casey or to me.

But no, I think that's super important. Right. Not only great friends, but in my, in my life, you know, a great relationship definitely keeps me centered and keeps me aligned.

Well, and then you talked about your parents being married for 30 years. I'm sure that's a great example, right?

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. They're. The 30 year is in May, so they're, they're just around the corner, so they're going to celebrate and have a good time.

Oh, that's awesome. Are you going to do something special for them on that 30th?

Yeah, we will talk about it. Maybe they're watching this. But, yeah, I want to do something good for them. They're always an example. And I think that, you know, I'd love to ask you as well. Like, when it comes to examples in my life, I can look back at my parents as, like, from a relationship side. Right. Like, I think nowadays, I know a lot of people where it's like, you know, parents are divorced, and it's such a common thing nowadays. And it's not a bad thing. It's just, it is what it is. But knowing that my parents were married for 30 years, it's. It's such a guiding light for, like, what I want my life to be and how I think about my relationship currently. So for you, like, how has what have been some guiding lights and some principles that you've learned early on that you still think about to this day that are true to your core?

One of the main things that's true to my core, my mom showed me when I was 13 years old right after my dad left home. She was a schoolteacher. She made about, I don't know, 1300 bucks a month back then. And the principal that she showed me that I still follow today is tithing. Man. She took her 10% off the top, and then she gave me my lunch money, and then she paid the house note, the car note, and all those little things. So that tithing has been the thing that has gotten me through my life when nothing else worked, when nothing else made sense. That's one of my core core.

Yeah.

I just can't deviate from that. Some guiding lights. I had some really good examples of what not to be or what not to do, but I've also had some really great examples of men that I have literally prayed for to come into my life to show Me, how to be a better husband. They didn't do a good job of that, but how to be a good father. I think they did a really good job of that and how to be a good friend. And so I've had three or four. Me and Steve. The guy that I mentioned that had the 16,000 units was one of those guiding lights for me. My pastor, Keith Kraft, today is one of those guiding lights. So there have been several. I could probably name five guys that have come in at different intervals in my life that have been that for me.

That's awesome. I'd love to dive into the opposite spectrum as well. I can say the same. You know, like, learning what not to do. I always like to, you know, joke with my brothers. It's like I'm the youngest of three. I was able to see them do what they needed to do, and I was like, oh, I learned. I learned what not to do. I learned what to do, and I appreciate them for that. So, like, for you, what have. What are some examples maybe of, you know, things that you learn not to do that have served you well over time or maybe you learned through experience?

I learned all of mine through experience.

Okay.

Let me see some. I'll tell you, integrity is really, really, really, really critical to having a. A great business, but also having great friends. So that's one of the things that I've really tried to hang my hat on. Mom showed me that. I used to think my mom was like Mother Teresa until I figured that. When did you and dad get married? And when was my brother Bo? But having a. Having a true. I would call her a disciple, man. My mother was still is. She called me this morning and said, alma, where are you? I said, oh, I'm in Las Vegas. She said, what are you doing out there? I said, well, I just came to see one of my friends. And she said, well, I know you're going through something today. I just wanted you to know I love you. She's 87 years old.

Wow.

Yeah, it's like, man, the intuition. Yeah, it's. It's amazing. So those relationships like that, Casey, have been really just great for me. Yeah, absolutely. So what I've tried to be is a great grandfather, a great father, great friend. I don't know if I'm a good brother or not. Have to ask my brother about that. But I just try to be a great all around guy, man. Just treat people the way I want to be treated.

I love that. And I could say, first day meeting and you're like, we Hit it off. And this has been an incredible conversation.

It has been.

And you. It's so authentic and real, and I appreciate that for sure.

Well, you know, we resonated with each other when you told me about your accident.

Yeah, no, I'd love to. To dive into that. We have a couple more questions left, but, you know, for the listeners. We were in the studio, and I walked in, I was telling them a little bit more about my story, and I said, I was in a neck brace for six months when I was. I was 16, and that was the point of my life that led me down this business entrepreneurial path by accident. And then I'll let you tell your side of the story. But I think that everyone has moments, like, whether that's an injury or something that happens to them that's not, like, physically affected them, but mentally, maybe these dark moments or time that makes you reevaluate how you were living life before.

Yeah. But.

Yeah, I'd love to have you dive into that.

Well, January 28th, just, I don't know, 32, 34 days ago, driving my new Tesla plaid, having fun.

Oh, my God.

But I was getting on the freeway, and I wasn't going too fast. I was doing about 75, getting on the interstate, and this car comes over three lanes right in front of me, doing five or 10 miles an hour, and we smash in the back of them. And, man, all I remember saying was, oh, my God, we're about to hit him. Slammed, stood on the brakes, and I remember all the smoke from the airbags. And then the next thing I remember was in me sitting in the car and not being able to move. I could move my head. Paralyzed, literally, from the neck down. Arms, hands, fingers, legs. None of that stuff worked.

Wow.

And they pulled me out of the car, brought me to the hospital, and two days later, I went home, walked out. And the only thing I can. I can. I can put my finger on there, Casey, is that I've had so many close calls like that with my life that God has had to have left me here for a purpose. And I remember My son was 3 years old, man. I was 24 on his third birthday. My lowest point in my life at that point had been where this was 1989. Interest rates were 18%. I was in the construction field. We couldn't find any work, and I thought that my family would be better off without me, so. So I put a.38 in my. To my head, and the gun didn't go off.

Wow.

And then I took a bottle of Nitroglycerin pills. Like, wow, a whole bottle, like three or 400 pills. And I woke up 10 days later in the hospital.

Ten days later, yeah.

And the first thought, man, was, man, you're a loser. You couldn't even kill yourself because I literally tried.

Wow.

So from that moment to a couple of like the accident where I could have literally been paralyzed, and I was. But I got up out of that, off of that deathbed 33 years ago, I walked away from that accident. I had brain surgery four years ago. Walked in to the hospital one day, two days later, walked out. They went in through my nose and took out a golf ball sized tumor.

Oh my goodness.

And so all these things that have, that has, I won't say happened to me, happened for me have been some of those guiding things to help try to keep me within the bounds. Right. And I'm still, still trying to figure it out. Still just trying to fulfill this purpose that I'm. That I've been put here for.

Well, I appreciate you sharing that. I know those are vulnerable topics to get into, so I, I really appreciate.

I know somebody needed to hear that.

Absolutely. Yeah. And that definitely impacted me. So I appreciate you for sharing pleasure. Last question before we wrap up here. Alvin and I want to end on this note of, you know, positivity and storytelling because I think it's, it's very impactful. Like from all those trials and tribulations and experiences, good or bad, however you identify with them, I've been good for you. Right. I love that. What have you learned from all of those experiences? And what's a lesson that you would tell your younger self if you were to go back in time and do it all over again?

Well, I'll tell you, the first thing I tell my younger self is don't be so fearful. I have probably not gone as high as I could have or as far as I could have because I've been so afraid. Nothing to fall back on. No fallback plan. Right. So I would tell myself to not be so fearful. I think the tenacity that we talked about a little bit earlier is definitely a key that has been good to my success. And if I had to live my life over again, there are a few things I would do differently for sure. But college probably wouldn't be one of them for me because that has afforded me the opportunity to not have an excuse to quit, even though I tried a couple of times. Right. But if I would have had something to fall back on, I probably would not have gone or would not be as, as what's the word? I probably will not reach my God given potential if I had a fallback plan.

I love that. Yeah, I appreciate that. And I think that, you know, for everyone listening, I know I'm impacted by your story and your lesson, so I appreciate that. And before we wrap up, where is the best place that everyone listening can follow you on social media, stay connected with you and continue to follow your journey?

Alvinhopejohnson.com or multifamily monopoly.com Two places. I know I shouldn't have done that. Multifamilymonopoly.com Here's a shirt and I'll make.

Sure to link it down below. But thank you for everyone watching, for everyone listening, thank you so much for tuning into to today's show with Alvin Johnson. And of course, thank you so much to Blue Wire Studios for having us here today. I appreciate you for listening and I will talk to you guys soon.

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