2026 Vision: The Land Investor’s Guide to a Breakout Year

I once dined on steak with a candle's soft glow, but the bill left my savings despairingly low. Now wisdom has taught me, so simple, so grand, Eat baloney, buy land.

Oh, eat baloney, buy land.

Trade the fork for the deed in your hand. Skip the fillet, let the sandwiches stand. Your fortune will grow when you buy your own land.

What a great way to start the new year with that song and you guys. And, uh, hey everybody, good to see you again. Tonight we're talking goals. One of the biggest mistakes land investors make is setting the wrong goals for the wrong stage. If you're brand new, your goal isn't $10,000 a month, it's your first deal and proof that this works. If you're active, it's not more hustle, it's consistency, deal flow, and cleaner systems. And if you're advanced, the goal isn't growth at all costs. It's automation, simplification, leverage, and efficiency. So tonight's episode is all about building a 2026 vision that actually matches where you are right now. So stop chasing someone else's version of success. Mark J. Podolsky says that all the time. Don't forget to join us live every Tuesday night at 9 PM Eastern on YouTube. This one is going to be a good one no matter where you are in the land game. What's up, fellas?

I think you just answered everything in that intro.

Happy New Year!

Podcast over.

What do you mean?

Happy New Year!

Was it— are you knocking my intro?

No, I think it was great. That gave everybody what they need to know. Wrap it up.

Oh, look at this, I got a shout out! I got a shout out already.

Oh, Scott Gold.

Scott Gold.

I'm gonna keep track tonight. That's 1 for Scott, 1 shout out.

2. I got another one.

Yeah, nice beers. Yeah, 2-0 already.

By the way, Don Thrasher.

Oh. Let's not forget John. We all got a shout out.

Thank you, John.

We're gonna shout out you, the Godfather.

No, no worries, no worries. I'll cry myself to sleep tonight. It's fantastic. By the way, Don Thrasher texted me, and Don, you got to put in the chat, like, he closed a monster deal. So excited for this guy. Can we just hug it out for Don Thrasher?

Let's hug it out, man.

That's amazing.

Best hugger ever.

Good job, Don. Well, uh, we should probably introduce ourselves for those just, uh, discovering us for the first time. So we, uh, we are Land Geek. This is the Land Geek Podcast, the nightcap, The Art of Passive Income. My name is Scott Boshman. As always, I'm joined by, uh, Mike the Zen Master— Zen Master Zano, Breathe In Mailing, Breathe Out the Marketing. How's it going, buddy?

It's going great. I'm happy to be here. I missed you guys. I don't think I even caught the last episode of the year. I was very sad, but I've been looking forward to this moment. It's arrived. Here we go.

It has arrived. It has arrived. Excellent. Uh, we also have in the lower left corner John Burnett, Handsome Rob, or actually I like John Eight Is Enough Burnett. But that's just me. How are you, sir?

I'm doing great. It's snowing— well, it was snowing, it turned to rain, so— oh, that's not a good mix in northern Idaho.

Not a good wintry mix when it goes from snow to rain.

No, no, it's not.

We don't like that.

And, uh, last but of course, uh, certainly most, is the Godfather himself. Mark J. Podolsky, the reason we're here, dude.

Buddy, cheers! Here's to 2026, our best year ever, fellas.

Yes, yes, best year ever.

So let's, uh, we should probably get into it, right? Uh, Mike Zaino? Yeah, let's talk about goals tonight. We're going to talk about goals for the new investor, the, uh, the active investor, somebody who's been a little bit longer, and goals for the advanced investor. So let's maybe just all go around and give our, uh, give our advice maybe on goals for the new investor. What are your thoughts?

Yeah, all right. Um, when I think of the new investor in 2026, I probably think of success through repetition, right? Now I'm just proving the model, base hit after base hit after base hit. And, um, you know, just getting in there and starting to play the game. You know, it's, it's a, it's a new process for many people. Even if you've done real estate, this is a very unique niche, the way that we approach it. You know, um, we're very dialed in. What I love about this, you know, Mark, when I talk to people, I tell them, you know, uh, oh, what's the difference between you and this? And I said, well, you know, Mark has been doing the same thing for over 25 years, right? And all of us with them have been doing the same thing. Like, we're very niched in. So We want to get you niched in. If you're brand new to this model, get in there again, play some game, play the game, get some base hits. Success through repetitions, right? Yes, you should have some efficiency, but we need to build effectiveness first. It's like, oh, I feel like that scene when like Rocky— remember he was like Rocky 5 or 10 or 15 when they're like, you're too old, but we're gonna build power through this. Like, that's what we're talking about. Repetitions, repetition.

I'm sorry, I love it. I love it. We're an inch wide and a mile deep.

Yes.

Focus, focus, focus.

So, so I have a question though, Mike, like for the new investor then, what are things you should focus on or what are the things you should not focus on?

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about getting a crazy awesome website, right? I always tell people that's something that could come down. I mean, we all of us here, we have tons of properties. The websites are a great place to catalog them and all that, but you don't need a website in the beginning. I think, you know, there's so many— that's the difference between following a defined plan of action and sort of going willy-nilly. You know, you can go down— here's this, we're in an information age. You go on YouTube, you'll find 5 different people that are going to tell you 5 different ways that the exact way you should be land investing. It's so confusing, right? You're like, well, I don't— do I do this? Don't do that. But when you land on a defined path and you follow that, we say success leaves clues, follow the breadcrumbs. You start to really dial in. So I think, you know, you got to build that consistency, Scott, and you got to build it in a very defined way. So you know, you get a recipe and you follow it, right? So if we're going to bake some brownies this year, right, well, don't get a cake mix, don't get a cookie mix, right? Get a brownie mix. And because that's what we're after.

My, my, it reminds me, my daughter came up to me yesterday, I came home for lunch. Yeah, my daughter comes, she says, Dad, John Luke and I made soup and it's actually edible. And what it was was a bowl of water, salt, pepper, and garlic.

And so it sounds healthy, actually.

Just an illustration of what happens when you don't follow a recipe. Yeah, wow, salty garlic water.

Very healthy, I'm guessing, though, right? That's probably just what you need right now. So yeah, I mean, it's a good point though, right? I mean, we have to follow a defined path to success, and what better way to follow someone who's already done it before? Or I always say immerse yourself in a group of people that have done it before, right? One of the beautiful things about working with us, particularly in the beginning, is that we have this immersion process. We have 4 nights a week that you can come together and surround yourself by people who are building their business just like you. And there's only a few of us that work with you, Mark. We've all done this at a very high level, and we're leading the discussion. So, you know, to come into that environment is super helpful. You want to, you want to be a land investor? Well, guess what? Surround yourself by land investors. That's the best way.

I love it. Surround yourself by land investors. So, well, I'm just going to jump in here and take an easy one because I think an amazing goal for the new investor: join us in 2 weeks for our virtual boot camp.

What a layup that was. That was easy.

It was a late— well, you created—

I mean, you, you took mine.

Oh, I did? I'm sorry. I like to take easy ones. I, I like to take the easy ones. Um, uh, but, but what a better way to get started in the land business to surround yourself with a ton of other people who are doing it, but people at all, all stages— newbies, people who are active like Don Thrasher, who's now been in this for 4 or 5 months and just had a killer deal. Which, by the way, look at this, look at these numbers.

Oh, I see this.

Purchased it for $2,000, sold it 22 days later at $2,000 down.

Hold on the down, I love the down.

And a $249 dock fee. Then $1,000 a month for 6 months. Wow, wow, Don, that is a killer deal. I hope you took yourself and, and family out to dinner because, you know, you need to celebrate that one.

That's a dinner.

Oh yeah, it's a steak dinner. Yeah, that's like the 96-ouncer, Great Outdoors 96-ouncer tomahawk.

Go for the tomahawk, Don, you earned it.

Yeah, absolutely.

But, uh, but back to boot camp. So we have a virtual conference coming up here January 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. And, uh, if you want more information, go to— I'll throw it up here, uh, go to thelandgeek.com/bootcamp. Yeah, but if you want to immerse yourself, uh, in the community for 3 days, there, there's no better event, uh, and you will learn so much. And if you're looking to start off 2026 in a grand fashion Uh, that's a really great way to do it.

I concur.

Oh, the first concur of 2026.

You know what's nice about the boot camp though is that no matter where you are in the business, you get value. Because if you go the first time, say you're just starting in this January, well, you're going to naturally focus on county selection, um, pricing, you know, acquisitions. But you come back to the next one, you'll be focused on maybe on marketing, or on the next one, advanced sales. Like, you always Same people, a group of people can come at different levels, but everybody's going to gain something from it because it just depends on where they're at, what they'll focus on, and what they'll take away.

Love it, love it. What about John? Let's get your, let's get your input for the new investor, somebody who's just starting, uh, to do their county research and their pricing. Maybe they're ramping up for mailing. What are your, what are your, uh, uh, what What is your sage wisdom for such person?

I think that my sage wisdom, which is extremely sage, is I think like something I say a lot is that the core differentiator between success and failure in this business is just persistence. It's showing up. And so like for Valerie and I, we did have days where we didn't do land, right? So Sundays we did no land.

Right?

But we were consistent within, within the schedule that we set for ourselves. And something that I can't remember if it was you, Mark, that said this, or if it was Scott Todd, and really it was just referring to Jerry Seinfeld, but it was somebody in our training talked about Jerry Seinfeld and like Jerry Seinfeld decided to write a joke every day. He made a big X on his calendar when he wrote the joke, and he just decided he was never going to break the chain. He just kept on doing it over and over and over again. But if you show up with consistency—

that was me, by the way, huge Seinfeld and Curb fan.

There you go, right there.

We'll give Scott some other credit.

But, um, but yeah, if you don't break the chain, if you are consistent and show up time and time again, then you'll succeed.

So I get—

so show up, put your time in, right? Uh, I always tell people just do an hour a day. Just, you know, you need to take action for an hour a day, do, do some learning an hour a day, and that's going to get you, uh, get you a long ways in this business your first year.

Yeah.

All right, well, let's, let's hear from the man. I stole the easiest, but Mark J. Podolsky.

Yeah, I mean, I think I'm gonna go even more fundamental, and because I love what all of you guys said, but I think it should start with the why. If you're new, really hone in why are you going to do this, and because nobody wins a race they don't want to be in. So if you're not crystal clear on why you're doing this, then don't run this race. Run a different race. And, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I think that if you fundamentally come in not knowing your why, or your why is, let's say you're in your 20s and you're like, I want to get a Ferrari, like I saw this, this, you know, guy on Instagram, he's in the land business and he's got a Ferrari. That is not a strong enough why. It needs to be something bigger than you. And so, because that's going to sustain you. So if your why is not really big, really powerful, you are going to get knocked down. And it's not land business, it's any business. And so if you don't know why you're going to get back up, you won't get back up, and you'll go on another podcast and you're like, oh, this seems easier, and you'll constantly be going back and forth. And the things that you want in life are not going to come your way as a newbie because you won't have that fundamental intestinal fortitude to have the grit, to have the persistence, to show up for a boot camp, to have the attention span to really embrace the suck. That first 3 to 6 months of learning something new. So I would say if you're new, set up your goals to really know fundamentally why you want to do this. And, you know, once your passive income exceeds your fixed expenses, what's going to happen in your life?

Keep the end in mind.

Keep that in mind.

I can pull sound effects too.

That deserves an olive.

I think the sound effects are new. I don't know, I just discovered them. So, so, uh, that's fair warning there. Uh, very good. Well, I think we covered it for the new investor. Um, you know, commit to yourselves, commit to your why, focus. Show up an hour a day. And don't, don't get in over your head with too many complexities, right? It really comes, Mike, it really comes down to the M&Ms for the newbies.

Right? Marketing. Yeah. You had my New Year's diet, you have to bring up M&Ms just like that.

Oh, you're on a New Year's diet too. So Mark's starving himself. You're on a New Year's diet. John, what are you doing? Oh, dry January. I'm like a loser, like a loser diet guy.

I still have a cocktail here or there. I'm just tightening up the diet.

These are 30 hard-earned calories I'm drinking right now.

Is that Bublé? This is the—

yeah, that's a Poppi, the prebiotic soda.

Oh man, uh, we got some other people chiming in, uh, Good to see all of you. Daniel Bryan is here as always. Don Thrasher as always. Brad Kelly. Catherine Hollingsworth is here. I love Catherine. Good to see you. Um, oh, Daniel wants to know where the kid of the week is.

John, the kid of the week isn't here today. I'm sorry, it's the first day at the office, the first week of school. I'm at the office.

Yeah. Okay.

I just had a call with Daniel Bryan. Don't be jealous. But he's got big things he's got planned. I'm so excited.

That's amazing. Good.

Yeah.

Is he—

Daniel Bryan, you coming to boot camp?

I hope.

Um, put in the chat if you're gonna be at boot camp. Christine Oliver's here, she'll be at boot camp.

All right, all right.

Um, BMK Property Solutions, Sam and Sam, Jay Manley's here. Okay. Wow, we got another win here, Mark. Ready?

Let's see it.

Yeah, Jay Manley. Jay Manley started in November of '24, so a year and 2 months ago. First purchase of a property in January, January '25. Ended the year with $120,000 in cash sales and $2,000 a month in terms.

Wow, that is awesome.

Wow, wow, one year.

What a year!

That's amazing.

That is amazing.

That is better than this year.

We gotta talk, man. It's been a while. Uh, congrats to you. That is phenomenal. It's really exciting. Um, so Jay, I'd be curious to know from you, you know, you've done this a year now. Put in the chat, what, what are some focused goals that you would maybe recommend to, to newbies? I love that. Absolutely amazing. All right, well, we talked about the newbies, so now let's talk to the Don Thrashers in the group, the people who've been doing this, and, and the Jay Manleys, right? They've been doing this 6 to 12 months, they've had a number of sales, they've had great wins. Uh, what's the next— what, what are some goals that these folks should be focusing on? Who should we start with? Mike Zaino, you raised your hand.

Well, I figured we'd go right back around the same way, right? Plus, okay, because that way nobody steals mine. I see what happens in this game.

Yeah, you're that guy.

Yeah, yeah. Well, no, but I do think efficiency is what we start to look at next. You know, we built some effectiveness, we've done some base hits, we've got some great cash sales, we've got some nice monthly income coming in. But now we start to really deeply analyze what are the things we're doing over and over again. I like to use the, you know, along these lines, I always like to use the analogy. There's a local supermarket chain around here, and each generation when they go in, they, the young ones start doing everything. They start pushing carts. They, you know, they work their way through the whole business. So when they take it over, they have a deep understanding. But Here's the thing: how many carts do you need to push before you recognize the deliverable is it needs to go inside? How many bags of groceries— we, you know, don't put the breakables at the bottom. However, the meat department, you could lose a finger, right? You got to be careful. Like, so some parts of the business, same thing with land. Certain things you'll be like, oh, did it a couple times, boom, that could be gone. But other things are going to take more reps, more time. So I think that, um, you know, it's a time now to really focus on efficiency, you know, to make sure that you start to pull yourself, work on the business, uh, more and more rather than in the business, as we say. I think that's one of the great things, Mark, you know. I love the fact that we're able now to help people, because years and years ago we didn't have incredible software built for the business, which the software then brought workflows. I mean, everybody was we were all effective, right? And I always say, no complaints. Nobody was paying me that hourly rate. I was stoked, right? But when the efficiency came in, and we built software, I say we, but I'm part of the we, but it wasn't me. But we had software built, things that started to bring efficiency, life starts to change, right? It starts to become more fun. You'd like to see your mindset comes through. So I think that's where it naturally progresses to next.

No, I love that. And, um, you know, I think people, Mike, when they're at month 6 to month 12, if they're anything like me, they had a— they have a tendency to create another job for themselves. And that's exactly what you're kind of getting at here, is we don't want that, right? So remember, remember the reason why we did this. The reason you did this was to create a scalable business. So Don and Jay, as you move forward, right, we want you guys doing this 10 hours a week, but your business should be growing. And if you're doing it more than that, I do think there's something wrong. Uh, take it from this guy, because I did way too much early on. It was a different time then. I think in 2015 there was, I don't know, there was maybe, um, less emphasis on outsourcing sooner and that type of thing. There were less tools that were, that were friendly to help systematize. But, um, but I would just say to everybody, work on your processes and, you know, sit down every month and just draw your business out. I like to draw it out because you can see where the efficiencies are and where they aren't and where you're in the business when you shouldn't be. And, you know, make a priority list and say, okay, I really got to get out of this. And how am I going to do it and create a process for that part in your business. And that's how you become more efficient, right? So try to get away from doing too much because that's not the point of it all. That's my advice.

Yeah, I love it.

John Burnett, what about you?

I think like kind of tailing on to what you said, something that just popped into my head that I used to do. I haven't been as good at doing it now. But one of the things that we talk about is swimlaning your business. So looking through each process and saying, where am I involved? Where are other people involved? Where are tools involved? And where is it just out of my hands? And you just chart a process and say it goes from me, then it goes to this person, then it goes to this tool, it does this, this, this, this, this. And what you'll find at points in your business, it's all me, right? Like either there are certain processes that just need to be delegated out. And something I used to do is I would swim lane out acquisitions, marketing, and sales on a quarterly basis. And it's fun to do that because you can chart a path and you can look at the end of the year and say, this is where I am now and this is where I was at the start of the year. And that's, I think that's really rewarding. But the other thing that I think, you know, as you're continuing to build your business, I think it's just important to be, I guess, tagging on to something we talked about for the newbie investors, but just be a part of the community. It's easy to get isolated and just have this be something that you're doing solo. It can be kind of a lonely business. And so I think it's important to be with people, right? And, and so that was really helpful for me. It was a massive pick-me-up. Show up here, come and see us, come to boot camp and hang out with us. You know, I think it's just really important to do that.

That's awesome. Thank you, John. I love the, I love the looking back to move forward when, when you're looking at goals, right? I talk about this all the time at boot camps about in healthcare, you know, we look back to see how far you've come because a lot of people, I'll see them for back pain on day one and they're in misery. Right? And then we'll see them for a month or so, and a month later they're obviously better. They look better, they're smiling, they're walking better, right? They're more functional, they're sleeping better. It doesn't hurt when they cough or sneeze anymore. And you ask them, so how you doing? I'm really discouraged, I'm not getting any better. Yes, you are! Let's look at all the ways you're better today versus where you were a month ago. And that's what— that's— I love that about the land business because Uh, if you can look at, you know, Don Thrasher, for instance, where were you 6 months ago? You had no land, you had no sales. Jay Manley, where were you a year ago, right? You had just started flight school, probably no sales. Now you've done 100— what was it, $120,000 in cash? $198,000? I can't remember, but, um, but 6 figures, 6 figures, right? That's amazing. So, so if you're ever feeling like you're in the dip, because the dip happens, just sit down and reflect. Where were you? Where were you 2 months ago? And if you've had more land acquisitions and more sales than 2 months ago, you're on the right path. If you've, if you've outsourced some things today compared to where you were 2 months ago, you're on the right path, right? But sometimes it's hard to reflect because we're, we're in the current pain, right? We're in the current kind of daily motion of everything, and, and we're feeling, uh, feeling the, the downs, uh, so to speak, right? So anyway, Mark, what are your thoughts for the, for the active land investor, the, the sophomores?

I love what everybody said, uh, efficiency, you know, starting to think about swim-laning your business getting out of the things that you absolutely hate, starting that, that outsourcing. I just wish there was a book that people could read that would give you the step-by-step plan as an intermediate land investor.

Huh?

Oh yeah, there is. It's shameless plug time on the pod. Dirt Rich 2 walks you through exactly What to do as an intermediate land investor step by step so you are working on the business, not in it, and, um, and become free as Scott talked about. Because the last thing we want you to do is create another job for yourself. And as John mentioned, you don't want to be lonely doing this. And there is a process that you start right when you're new. You've got to do everything as Mike talked about. You've got to work every area of the business so you know enough, and then you start systematically creating the efficiencies so that your hourly rate keeps going up and up and up. And then eventually, in time, you, you have team. And I think— I don't know if that's going to be done in the first year necessarily without coaching, but I think that it's— you want to be on that path, and that's, that's a good goal to get to by the end of year one, is that in those swim lanes, it's not all your name, and that you have the parts starting to— that especially that you don't like doing outsourced, and you're, you're tasting that freedom, and your hourly rate is, is increasing. at a, at a meaningful way.

Yeah, love it, love it. Thank you, Mark J. Podolsky. Uh, more comments coming in, praise for Jay Manley. Uh, Jay, that's absolutely— I'm so glad you came tonight to tell us that because we get a kick out of those stories, right? Like, uh, to hear where you were a year ago and where you are today, like, that just, that energizes me. Uh, for sure. I know it energizes all of us on the call, so that's, that's awesome. Uh, Don Thrasher, I mean, we gotta, we gotta give him some praise. He's dropped 20 since December 16th. That's amazing.

Wow. Here's the Don.

Don, yeah, good for you.

What are you doing, Don?

Cheers.

Um, hope you, um, hope that weight loss journey goes well for you, continues to go well for you. Brad is here. Uh, it's Brad with BMK Property Solutions. His phrase this year is buy dirt, make it work in 2026.

Oh, that's good.

That'd be a good song, good AI country song right there.

There you go.

Um, awesome. Uh, Aaron Drew is here. A New Year's resolution is, is no New Year's resolution. Totally fine, totally fine. Um, awesome. Mark got a shout out from Daniel Bryan.

Oh, thank you, Daniel.

First shout out ever, right?

And then we got a lot of people that'll be at boot camp. Um, Mike Caviere, Aaron Drew, Tracy Pillbeam, uh, Chantel and Daniel, Don Thrasher. Matt Nunn is here. What's up, man?

Is Matt teaching this boot camp? I think he is.

Oh, really?

That's awesome.

We should bring Matt on the Nightcap someday. He'd be a great—

We definitely should.

Definitely should. Definitely should bring Matt on the Nightcap. Maybe bring Jay Manley on the Nightcap too.

Yeah.

Oh, look at that. More shoutouts for Mike, but I won't show them.

Well, what do we need to see? We need to see—

But he already got one from Don earlier, so another, a second shoutout doesn't count anymore. It's just the same person.

Thank you, Don.

Oh man. All right. Awesome. Well, I guess we should transition to goals for the senior land investor. The business evolves, right? Goals evolve. Roles evolve. So what are your thoughts, Mike, on somebody who's been doing this for maybe 3 to 5 years or longer? Well, we set goals.

Well, I think, you know, at that point, you're probably focusing on stability, predictability, like true documentation. Could someone step in and take over your role and understand and run the business? Right? Is it that clear-cut? Your processes dialed into the point where if you had to, somebody could slide in and somebody else could be the CEO, right? Is everything clearly defined, outlined, role set? So now we've really fine-tuned the machine. So, you know, we can make ourselves in essence replaceable.

Oh, I love it. Mike, you're never replaceable.

That's an olive.

Oh good. John, what are your thoughts for the seasoned veteran land investor?

Yeah, so I guess I am one. I am seasoned.

Um, you're like Adobe Seasoned. Okay.

Um, so I think that like A couple of things come to mind. So one of them is that you might have to find a new why, right? If your goal is to have time freedom and spend time with your family, once you are at that point, you are going to need to have a reason to continue to build and strengthen your business so that it doesn't get stale, right? And so that was something that I learned, right? Like I hit that point and I was like, okay, now I need I need a new reason to keep on going and to keep on maintaining and building this. So if you're at that spot where you've reached your original why, then you should be searching for the next one, right? And then another thing that I think is important, I think just ties back to what you were saying, Scott, is just to— I don't know, there's something about you need to be like there's pushing ahead and desiring growth and contentment that have to live together simultaneously, right? Like, I'm really content and really happy with the life that I have and aspiration. I am also pushing forward to other things. And it's easy to be at a point where you have so much and you're discontent because you're pushing forward to these other goals that you want to hit. And you're never happy because you feel like you're always scaling the mountain. So I think it's important to be content with where you are. Like you were saying, Scott, to look back at where you've been and be happy with where you are and enjoy what you have.

Can I just jump in real quickly? Like, John, I'm literally writing the book about this.

Oh, seems about time.

Dirt Richer: How to Strive Like a Duck.

And pretty soon it's going to be like The Land Before Time. There's going to be like Dirt Rich 17, the big 3. Yeah, exactly.

Oh, but it's so true though, because, you know, can you strive and, and yet be peaceful and content while, you know, striving? It's, it's, it's, it's— I think it's, it's one of those things that, uh, I know I struggle with. I think, I think a lot of people struggle with, and I've been I've been working on it for years and years and years. And to the point where like, I think I know enough now to write a book, might be helpful. You know, a few techniques. But, but yeah, I think, I think that's, I think what you said is really great, actually. And I, you know how much I hate giving you a compliment.

Mark J. Podolsky, is it like, you know, in the beginning of a book, you tell the fisherman story, right? It was like the fisherman combined with something else. Is that what we're like? Because a fisherman's content— what do you mean? You know, is it that person, that avatar, or that archetype combined with something else? Is that what you were talking about here? Is there something else, another layer?

Yeah, I think it's the archetype. I think it's that— it's that successful person that keeps moving the goalposts, and they— they're not content. And I was that person. It's never enough, right? And they keep thinking, well, if the next mountain or the next achievement or the next thing is going to bring that sense of fulfillment— and it's really an inner game. There's nothing out there, really. Like, the goals are fun to hit, but once you hit them, it's like that half-life of of joy or peace is gone, and you're like, on to the next thing, right? Like, well, that was great, but look what Bossman has. I want that. And then you're like, you know, you're on the next thing. So to what John was saying is like, can you be content with what you have while at the same time striving and playing the game as well as you can play it, but enjoying it?

Yeah, joyfully.

So that's, that's the archetype, is, is, is that person who's, um, you know, they, they're, they're, they're successful, but they don't feel successful.

I like that. Thank you.

I, I think for the advanced investor, I think if you, um, I think you should ask yourself, like, If something happened to me for 2 weeks, would my business run? And I think for me, later on in the business, that was a huge thing. And, um, you know, part of that is you need to have a lot of trust in your team, right? And you need to be able to rely on people if you by chance ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks, God forbid, or had a family issue where you needed to leave for a while. Um, so I think what I would encourage the, the senior investors to do is, you know, really think about that. Like, could you leave for a couple weeks? Could you leave for a month? Could you take the entire— Mark, you took— you take the entire month of July off, right?

Yeah, I've been doing it since 2015, right?

Could you, could you, um, could you focus on your business to the point where, like, that's a goal for you, take an entire month off, but your business runs without you? I think that'd be— that's an amazing goal for the advanced investor, right? And with that, there are some challenges because you have to really let, let go of the reins with some of the people on your team. And, um, so there's kind of this balance between them, them relying on you and you relying on them. And like, how do we get them to, to become more autonomous as well? I think that's a That's a challenge for the seasoned investor, um, for sure. So I think that would be my advice to, to a seasoned land investor. Can you get to that point? Make it a goal for this year, you know?

I think, I think it's great. Yeah, I want for the seasoned investor to, to be pulling on those 3 levers constantly, which is other people's time software and automation and other people's money to scale. And then you're— to your point, you should be able to take a month off, no problem, and that business should grow, right, while you're doing it. And the more valuable you are, the less valuable the business. And that's really the CEO mindset for the seasoned investor. And of course, they need to redefine their why. I just love that. I just love that.

Who— okay, who came up with that quote, Mark? Because I've read that, I've heard that before, and I actually have it posted over here. The more valuable you are to your business, the less valuable your business is.

I don't know who came up with it. If I had to guess, um, it might be a Dan Sullivan thing, but I don't know.

Okay, it's kind of weird because I, I'm like, Mark just said what I have posted over here.

Well, I didn't invent it.

Yeah, awesome. Well, hopefully that helps everybody on the call. Uh, if, if you have questions or, you know, you want to pick our brains, uh, throw, throw a comment in the chat, throw a question in the chat. Uh, we have some comments coming in. Uh, Aaron talked to a seller for the first time yesterday. That's awesome. So the first seller conversation. Um, Charles Jones was asking about Dirt Rich 3. It's coming. When's it coming, Mark?

I don't know.

I don't know. It's coming.

It's, it's coming.

All right, awesome. Uh, people are looking forward to boot camp. Uh, I don't know who Catherine's talking about here. We'll let the audience—

probably you and Mike.

No, I was gonna say, I think it's the bromance. I think it's John and Mike— John and Scott, because John's been really praising Scott all night.

That's true.

Just like Scott said. Oh, I concur with Scott, what Scott said.

I mean, Scott said, why can't this be a polyamorous bromance? I'm just saying, there's no reason.

Exactly. Oh, there's no judgment of the bromance, but I think Mike's got a good point.

You're noticing it, right, Mark?

I am noticing it.

Yeah, right, right, right. I mean, you guys are fine.

Oh man. Well, here's— okay, so here we're gonna, we're gonna put you on the spot. This is a great question from Daniel McCallum. What are the Nightcappers' wives? Oh, oh, oh, you feel Should we, should we divulge publicly our secret whys? Our secret whys? Yeah, like Zeno.

Well, my why is threefold. I've said this before, I think, is like, I really endeavor to honor those who came before me and helped me, you know, really. But I want to also empower the ones that are within my family, that my grandkids, and then prepare for the ones to come in the future. So, you know, that's financially and just, uh, you know, everything. Just, just try to help everybody sort of, uh, you know, do my best to support them in any which way I can. So, you know, by me becoming the best version of me, you know, financially and, and, and, and other levels, then, then I'm going to be able to hopefully help them develop the same thing and carry that forward.

I mean, who can top that, guys?

I mean, that's—

let's drink to that.

Cheers.

Cheers to that. Why?

It's more of a motto, I guess. I don't know if it's a— I know it's more of a— what do you call that? What's the, uh, mission statement, I guess you might say. But, uh, it is a why.

Yeah.

No, I love that. John Burnett, anything to add?

I mean, it's kind of similar. So like, the thing that kind of Valerie and I landed on was the— I don't know, it feels weird to be saying this out loud to our thousands of listeners, but the millions.

It's just us here, John. Come on.

Okay, all of you close your ears. But So just the idea of reciprocal generosity, right? Being able to live below your means, right? Where I, you know, for us, I've got a wonderful life, you know, and I'm really grateful for it and we're really content. And I want to be in a position where, you know, I want to live well within my means and be very generous with, with what's left, you know. And so that's— and so we've got thoughts and strategies around that. And ultimately, we kind of, you know, we're very Christian, and we just want to go wherever God leads us with that. But that's ultimately kind of what it comes down to for us. So beautiful. Beautiful.

Cheers. Cheers. Cheers to you, John.

John, that's the final olive. That was really good.

The last olive.

Bro, I didn't even get a chance to do my, my why.

It was so good.

Show's done. Show's over.

Mike, how much olive juice do you put in that martini?

Oh, whatever Laura puts in it. You know, I don't do anything around here.

I don't—

I can't even tell it's even made. I don't even know what they call it.

The Virgin Dirty Martini. It's just olive juice.

I wouldn't even know.

Do you guys think Laura like secretly goes on like the CES blogs and is looking at ways to like replace herself so that she doesn't have to keep serving Mike. She's like, oh my gosh, look at this, this robot! It actually can create a dirty martini, it can lay out clothes. I always tell her, watch out, a peanut butter jelly sandwich, cut off the crust.

I always say, great, across the street. Watch out, Laura, you got hit by a car! Then who's gonna get my clothes out in the morning? My God, watch yourself, be careful!

I'm, I'm getting a lot of the Optimus as soon as it comes out.

What is it?

The Optimus, the Tesla robot. Oh yeah, yeah.

It's not gonna look like some big, you know, really good looking dude, is it? Is it like a robot or is it like a simulation?

Yeah, the Brad Pitt Yeah, knocking at the door.

I am the replacement. Exactly.

Does Mike have abs like this?

No.

Don Thrasher thinks Laura has a VA for her.

She must, for sure.

Yeah, awesome. Well, it's hard to really top what you guys said. Uh, I, I think it just, um becomes, you know— oh, my dog's gonna start crying now, he needs to be let out. Uh, it becomes a matter of, I think, um, the family legacy, in my opinion, right? Like, we're gonna be gone soon in the grand scheme of things, so what can I leave for my kids, right? And it's not only money, it's, it's what can I pass down to them values-wise, knowledge-wise.

Yeah.

Uh, and security financially, of course.

Quiet.

Um, but really, that's what's on my mind. I think as a seasoned investor is to, you know, um, I think it becomes less about what you earn the, the more you go, and, and more about just what you leave behind as far as that stuff.

So beautiful.

I love it.

And because there was an olive left, but there's not—

I know. I mean, I'm not going to say mine because there's no olive. There's no—

there's no reward for it.

Thomas is so touching. Come on.

Yeah, I mean, I think so. I have a— my why is very similar to Scott's, and it's, it's, it's very simple. It's just to be a good ancestor. And in that sense, the, you know, to leave that legacy of values and, um, and, you know, really that's why I write the books is it's, that's sort of this, this, you know, that idea of legacy. You know, we're here for like a blink of an eye. I mean, I, you guys know I'm obsessed with death, so I'm always thinking about it. Uh, I went, I found another website the other day. And I thought, oh, with technology, I'll live to 90. And so there's a website that shows you visually what that looks like in months. And I'm, you know, I'm 60% of the way done. I'm on the back nine. And so I really get to think about these things very deeply of, you know, what are those values that I want to pass on? What is that legacy? How do I want to be a good ancestor? And show up every day, uh, with that in mind. And so as far as like the mission, the mission and the vision for what I'm doing, it's for everybody else, right? In the, the, to steal John's, uh, beautiful phrase of radical generosity, I feel like for Land Geek and, and for me, that radical generosity is done through creating freedom through purpose, joy, and financial peace. Which means that if I can help everyone who's listening on this pod create enough passive income where it exceeds their fixed expenses, that their lives will embody that. They will have time to live their deepest purpose. They will have a more joyful existence. And they will have financial peace.

That's—

that cash flow and that passive income is the antidote to financial insecurity. And so that is what we're all doing at Land Geek and why, as a, as a team, we wake up every day and serve. And I think if we can do that for our, our clients, it's, it's a worthy mission. It's a worthy why.

That would be worth an olive. I'm sorry, I don't have one.

Thank you, Daniel McCallum. It's good for my, my, my very fragile ego, brother. Appreciate it. Even though John got the last olive.

Yeah, right. Speaking of romances, um, anyway, uh, there's some wins. Jared Russell has a win. Acquired their first two properties from mailers. And one by Landarb. That's amazing, Jared. Not sure when you started, but you got 3 properties and you're well on your way, so that's amazing. Um, yeah, this was, uh, this was fun, guys. Uh, we do have, we do have a question, uh, from someone that I thought maybe we could answer. Um, where'd it go? From Brad Kelly, a nuts and bolts question. We like answering those. So, uh, from our suggestion, I guess, uh, Brad started reaching out to other members that have posted land ARB opportunities, and what he's been seeing most are properties that are 0.30 acres or under. Oh, should I jump on some of these smaller properties or look for larger ones like 1 acre plus? I'm a little worried about the smaller ones on the dispo side. Great question. Who wants to answer?

Anyone?

Mike, I think you want to get— Mark? Mike?

Why are you worried?

Yeah, I'm not worried at all.

No, why is Brad worried? I'm just curious.

This is where really that statement size doesn't matter comes in. Like, it's just like, like value, right? Where does it— you know, it doesn't matter the size of the properties. It doesn't have attributes that people might enjoy. 'Cause it got access, has it got use, and is it a base hit? You know, this whole business is based on small little properties, base hit after base hit. So a 0.3-acre property can get the job done.

[Speaker] It's funny 'cause like I actually went through this exact process for a 0.3-acre process, or for a 0.3-acre property, because my question was, can I sell 0.3-acre properties? And so I said, well, I'm just gonna pick whatever land are, but I'm gonna find out.

And I did it.

And so interesting, it's actually, you know, you can actually answer the question by going through the exercise, right? So if you're looking at $50, $75, $100 a month, right, it's a good way to test that out. Now, like, I do think sometimes with 0.3-acre properties, you don't have recreational use on them, right? You might not be able to camp on that. Some of them you do, some of them you don't. Um, so, and 1-acre properties, you get a little bit more of that. So sometimes it can give you a little bit of a wider audience for those. But 0.3-acre properties will sell. I've sold them. I think we've all sold them, you know.

So they all—

I mean, at the right price, they all sell at the right price.

Yeah, exactly. And if you can find data that they're being sold there, that's—

well, it's like— great points that John made. It's, it's, it's a land op, so it's like such a low-risk option. Just to get in and try it.

Yeah, I, I have some 0.1-acre properties, uh, in my inventory. They'll sell. I've sold a ton of them in the past. They're camping-only properties, but they'll sell, right? So, so I think, Brad, kudos to you. I mean, you're taking action, and, uh, you know, you took the leap with these Land Art properties, which is awesome. Uh, now there's a pig for every barn, as Mark J. Podolsky says. And you'll find a buyer, right? Um, Daniel says, I think the size of the lots around it would also matter. If the whole area is 5+ acres, it might be undesirable values relative to others in the area. That could be true if there's a bunch of bigger parcels around a smaller one. Brad, I'd be curious to know, because we work in areas that are mostly cookie cutter. I have a feeling that there's a lot of other 0.3-acre properties around it And if that's the case, and if you can find data that it's being sold there, then, then I think you're good. Catherine likes a duck for every puddle better. Um, a little less degrading, I think.

What, what's wrong with pigs?

And what's wrong with farms?

Pigs—

buy the pigs are brilliant.

Actually, I have to say, I recently acquired a taste for duck. Do you guys like duck?

Oh, I like duck.

I like ducks. You know, I I finally found a couple places that make it like unbelievable. Like, it's like, I didn't, you know, I probably never had it prepped right. But I finally got it prepped right.

Yeah.

Good.

Wow.

You should come to Moscow, Idaho. We have some great duck.

Really?

I don't know. There's just a handful of restaurants that do a really good Russian speakers there.

I feel like I'm gonna do a food tour. I'm gonna visit you all.

What was that?

There's some, you know, I know a little Russian. Fun fact, very little Russian. I used to work on a fish processing boat. The one that I, the one phrase I remember is zhonya hochi fakray chikarde, which Ukrainians taught me. And they had me say that whenever I wanted to play cards. And I found out later that it means Johnny wants to play cards.

That's great. Are you, are you creating audience? Just ballooned.

Just kind of gave me a good idea too. I think this summer, so I might get an RV and I might just drive and do a nightcap with each one of you live. Just driving.

That sounds like a good destination.

It has some duck in Idaho.

Take the month of July off.

Here's a question for you guys, because I'm curious. If you could pick one food to do like a vlog, like Laura, Mike style, you're gonna go around the world and you're gonna pick one food. Oh man, that you're gonna, you're gonna rate. You'll be like, I know the best blank food. Which food would you want to pick? Like, I don't know if Mike is gonna like want to go around the world and eat duck everywhere, but maybe.

I'm just curious. Oh, that's a good one, Mark.

I have mine.

I think it's going to involve some sort of, uh, some, some sort of homemade pasta too, because I love the— I love the Italian restaurants. Maybe like a— some sort of a chicken and pasta meal, something like, you know, something like that. Or veal, veal pot.

Oh, the best veal parm in the world.

Like, you're going around homemade pot. Yeah, that's me. I'm in. It doesn't have pasta. It could just be almost like, uh, Yeah, veal parm.

All right, John.

No, yeah, come back to me. I'm thinking.

Okay, can I, can I take you to a location rather than give you one food? You sure? Okay, the State Fair in Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, the State Fair every year. They have the most amazing food you will ever find anywhere, and you can just knock your socks off with salty or sweet or salty and sweet, like deep fat fried bacon in, in ice cream with chocolate drizzled over it. Like, the Minnesota State Fair is the place to go.

What month?

If I were— if I were to bring you guys anywhere for food, how dare you in January when we're all dieting bring up the Minnesota State Fair?

Ice cream balls. Like, what, dude?

Yeah, they, you know, uh, when does this happen? Uh, when does it happen? August every year in, uh, St. Paul, Minnesota. So come here first, make your way to Idaho, to Moscow. Moscow. I might have to make your way to—

I plan on, uh, you know, going to Vegas for a jiu-jitsu tournament, then I'm going to California for a jiu-jitsu seminar. So I could probably just stop right in Idaho on the way. Way. That'd be August.

Last week in August. Mike knows.

August. All right.

Okay, John, you got to give an answer, I guess.

I think I would do probably like poke. It's probably what I would do.

Like ahi poke?

Yeah.

So healthy.

Like raw fish. It's like Like, uh, like raw fish with like all the sauces and stuff. Oh, okay.

The best ahi poke in the world. Yeah, I have a feeling you're gonna be in Japan, but who knows.

Japan has surprising noodles.

Oh, you'll have to watch the vlog and find out. It's gonna be great.

Yeah, yeah. All right, for me, I want— I want to discover the best breakfast burrito in the world.

Breakfast burrito? You like the breakfast burrito? I love a good breakfast What do you like to have in that burrito? Like, is it a Western? Is it like ham and cheese? Like, what's in this?

I mean, I don't know what the best one's gonna have. Like, out here, the, the one I think of that's the best one has, uh, like real hash browns. Like, they're like crispy hash browns.

Yeah.

And then you've got avocado, black beans. Oh yeah, real egg, not like the microwave— not my— like the microwave egg. And that's like a pressed sort of like a style burrito.

Crisp on the burrito because it's kind of crispy. It's a little crispy.

Yes. Yeah, yeah. And it's got the little— oh yes, it's got aioli on it.

All right, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, no, if I could get a burrito like that around— well, I can. There's a place that makes it like that, but they don't make breakfast burritos, but they make regular.

Oh, it's got bacon in it too.

All right, Mike, I got it. I will make you a customized breakfast burrito on my new Blackstone.

All right, I'm invited.

Here I go. We'll make it just like that, and then you can go see John, and then Mike— you got Mark— you guys can come.

I'm just saying, the bromance is just so wrong. I'm eating an olive to that.

Oh man. Well, this is fun, everybody. Uh, we covered 2026 goals for the newbie investor, the, um, the sophomore investor, and The Seasoned Land Investor. Hopefully this was, uh, helpful and valuable to you. Next week we'll be back. Not sure what we're talking about yet, but, uh, but we'll see you soon. And, uh, fellas, it was fun as always.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Yeah, talk to you later. See you next week.

See ya.