ROUND TABLE—Bootcamp 101—Preparing For Total Immersion

Hey, it's Mark Podolski, the land geek, with your favorite niche real estate website, www.thelandgeek.com. and on this week's roundtable, we've got the usual suspects. We've got Tate. I love it when you call me Big Papa Litchfield. What's up, Tate?

Not much, just hanging out.

Awesome, awesome. We've got the breathe in, the mailing, breathe out, the marketing, the Zen master, Mike Zano. Mike, how are things doing?

Fantastic. Thank you for asking.

When are you and Scott gonna do another musical nightcap that was, like, the best ever?

I don't know, we may have some musical segments. Kind of find out. We have a pretty musical network of people that work with us as well, so it's a really great topic.

All right, awesome, awesome. We've got the technician, Eric Peterson. What's up, Eric?

How you doing?

It's good. It's all good. It's all good. And of course, Bearland. Growling Bearland. How are you doing?

Great.

And last but not least, making us all better people, the go giver, Jeanne. Jeanne, how are you?

Great. Boy, it's raining here. It's pouring.

It's pouring so badly here, Jeanne, that I had to turn back on Shea this morning because of the flood. And so we were all going the wrong way on Shea. It was pretty crazy.

I must have passed you, because I was on. I just came off of Shea just a little while ago, and it was. It was pretty ugly over there.

Yeah, it's insane. It's like I took some video. It's like a raging river.

Yeah.

So I'm glad. The raw, safe and sound and healthy. But we have a really good topic because next week is our final Orlando boot camp, and then the boot camp dates are going to be coming out very soon for 2019, San Antonio, Vegas, and twice in Scottsdale. So, very excited for 2019 boot camps. But, Tate, you're bringing up a really interesting topic that I thought we could discuss, and if you wouldn't mind just kind of telling everybody what. What that was.

Yeah. So basically my question is, everybody on this podcast has attended boot camp at least once as an attendee, and if not more than once, as some sort of instructor or facilitator. But we all enter boot camp with the same goals, regardless of where we're at in our land investing journey, and that's to further our education. So the question I kind of wanted to pose to the roundtable was, how do you prepare to go into boot camp? What do you do? How do you get your Mindset in the right place to where, you know, hey, the next three days, I'm going to be totally immersed. All things land. How do I take that knowledge and apply it afterwards? How do I prepare myself, you know, mentally and almost physically for what we're going to do? Because it's a lot. It's a lot.

Yeah. It's a really good topic. Let's start with Jeanne.

You know, well, my first boot camp, I was overwhelmed because there was a lot of information. So I would encourage those that are attending. First of all, I know this might sound really simple, but to get a lot of rest, you know, get a good night's sleep the night before and go to bed early. But you. You have to get into the frame of mind that you're going to have, or you're going to hear a lot of information, and you're just going to have to relax and just let it sink in and not put too much pressure on yourself. Because I do when. When I go to the boot camps because I want to take everything in and I want to accomplish, you know what? No, I want to be like you guys, you know, and I can't. It takes a long time to educate yourself and have lots of experiences. So get lots of rest and relax. Enjoy yourself. Take tons of notes. That's how I prepare.

I love it. I love it. Bear land. Aaron, how about you? What's your advice?

Well, I kind of want to address this in two sides of it. If you're going to be somebody going for the first time, like Jeanne said, it's very overwhelming drinking from a fire hose kind of deal. So you want to go in with an open frame of mind, just, like, prepare your mind with a willingness to learn, ask questions, take notes and that sort of thing. And just know that you're not going to get everything. Don't freak out about it, because as you get going through the business, those things will catch back up with you and you'll absorb that information or it may make sense later. If this part two is not your first boot camp, you already kind of know what to expect. Like, when I go, I like to, like, really prepare my mind frame to, you know, going in a way that, hey, I'm gonna learn. I'm gonna get something out of this. Even if it's everything I've heard before, there's gonna be something. You know, we always talk about that. That nugget that you bring back from bootcamp and stuff, and that's so true. So, you know, I think the important thing is preparing your mind to recognize that and to, you know, kind of record that and maybe jot a quick, tentative action plan on that. So when you get back home, you're not trying to remember, you know, what was that? What was I. How was I going to utilize that? What were my ideas? Because there's a lot of. When you're in the moment, there's a lot of. I don't know, I'm trying to think of the word, but, you know, encouragement or, you know, the ideas really come because of the energy in the room. And when you get back home, that's not there, but you want to remember that. So that. I think that's vital for me.

Yeah, yeah, that's. That's really good advice. Eric Peterson, how about you?

So I think being prepared going into boot camp, as Jeanne said, fully rested, is a great place to start. But go in with an open mind, whether you've been before or you haven't been come willing to learn. Because whether you're experienced like Mark or Tate or Mike or whomever.

You know.

There'S always something to take from the boot camp, something you're going to learn from someone else that makes a comment or something that's taught, you know, it just never fails. So that's number one. Number two, I like to kind of get ready. Coming up to boot camp, I'll, you know, I remember early on, I'd go back and I'd listen to mastermind calls, listen to roundtables, you know, different podcasts that can kind of prepare me for the information I'm going to be learning. So it's kind of fresh in my mind. And then a lot of times in my travels, you know, I'll listen to audiobooks on, you know, different business things, whether it be techniques on negotiation or, you know, productivity, what have you, all those kinds of things that you can kind of do to prepare yourself and just be in the right mindset to take in new information. That's kind of what comes to mind for me.

That's really great advice. If I was going to say to you, okay, Eric, and I know you love to drive, so this is not practical at all. But if you only have one audiobook to prime your mind to listen to prior to boot camp, what would it be?

I think the one that maybe has the most broad appeal for no matter where you are in your journey, I would say rich dad, poor dad. You know, I think it's all about kind of adjusting your mindset to look at, you know, your job and what you're doing. A little bit differently. So I think that one's a great place to start.

That's great. That's great. Zen master Mike Zano. How do you prepare besides deep meditation? Wait, you're on mute. Hold on. There you go. That's better.

I love what everybody said because it's in line with what I do. You know, if there's any side projects we have going, or everybody's always working on something, or whether you're trying to get a mailing out, whatever it may be, I just suggest you get that all done so you can really, like, almost, like, physically clean your desk. So it's, like, empty, right? You don't want to come home to this. You want to just have this empty mind ready to learn. So I think, you know, that's kind of, you know, I think it's kind of related to, like, if you have a desk, right, and it's just full of all papers, all these things you're doing. I try to get that all sorted out, all cleaned up, get everything just, you know, so when you come back, you got that bad desk, and it's ready for you to come and apply the new knowledge that you have just learned. So don't leave projects half undone. Like, so if we're a couple weeks out now, or this airs will weak out, wrap that stuff up. Like, get that stuff done, get your mailings out, get whatever website work you want to do, whatever marketing you're working on, a VA hired, get all that done. Just, like, make that a real goal to have it done so that when you go to boot camp, because you'll be inspired in so many levels that you're going to. You're going to want to take action in different directions. So be ready to do that. Don't come back. And then all of a sudden, they go away. I got to finish this, this, and this. Have that all done, and just have a clear desk, a clear mind and ready to. Ready to just, you know, take action.

Yeah. You know, it's so funny. I feel so much better when I clean my office or I get my area clean because I am, like, walking chaos. Like, I'd be so embarrassed if you saw my desk right now, but for me, this is pretty good.

I've seen your desk. I've seen your desk. It's bad. It's like a tornado went off in there.

I know. Which, by the way, is a sign of genius. Just saying.

Where'd you read that?

Somewhere where I think they make really disorganized.

Probably he wrote a book.

He can quote himself now.

This is true. Exactly.

The great Mark Podolsky once said.

Mark.

Something that's kind of interesting is people don't realize how long and how intense boot camp actually is. Right. We that first day, yeah, we start at nine, but we go till six o'.

Clock.

Well, we go to really seven.

Yeah, we go to six. And then there's the social hour after which obvious. Which normally turns into like a social two hours afterwards. I mean, people are there making, you know, connections and making friendships and, and just networking. That's a long day. You do have a break for lunch, but again, you're networking, you're working on the business, you're thinking about your next move and how you're going to put what you've learned into practice. So boot camp is really, really intense. And then on Saturday and Sunday we have the bonus sessions. Those bonus Sessions start at 8am so it's all day, it's full gas. So I kind of agree with quite a. What Jeanne said, go into it well rested, knowing that, hey, you're going to learn a lot of information. And one thing that helps me, even though I'm not the best at it at boot camp is trying to get up a little bit early and doing some sort of exercise just to get the blood pumping a little bit and get me ready. And since I'm flying to Florida, it's a hard transition for us on the west coast. So I'm going in a little bit early, get ready, get on that floor to sleep schedule. That way I'm as ready as I can be to take in and share what we want to share with the attendees.

Yeah, I mean, I think my advice as well, I mean, if this is all great advice, is revisit the toolkit as well. Because everyone in that room is, you know, either at the minimum, we're all singing from the same song sheet with the investors Toolkit. And then you got flight school people who are going to be more advanced and then you've got the really super advanced people in the VIP room, the one on one coaching clients. But what I would say is revisit the toolkit at a minimum and have an idea of where you might not be completely clear on so you can get that question answered if it's not answered for you at some point during the weekend. So you kind of have that there. And then I would say, you know, I would just reiterate what everybody else said, like, you know, be physically ready, you know, get a good night's sleep, do some exercise in the Morning. It's a really long day. You know, we do provide snacks, and we'll keep you fueled up. And, you know, obviously, I'm a coffee fiend. There's going to be coffee to kind of keep you going. But I would also say that, you know, that weekend, between the networking and the information, but the total immersion, no matter where you are in the business, you will walk out of there a different person with your business. That is, you know, a guarantee. And so, you know, as you're going through the day. And I remember, like, you know, just being in high school, I remember looking around the room and everyone was kind of getting it, except I felt like everyone's getting this except me. And you might feel like that at some point, but, you know, but that's where you go during the break. And you grab Zaino or you grab Eric, you grab Tate, which probably won't see Tate, because we'll be in the VIP room. But you grab somebody and say, hey, you need ask that question. And just. And everyone's super cool. Everyone's willing to share. You won't walk out of there with any sort of any ambiguity left in the business. Like, everything will be super clear. Those clouds will dissipate. But you know what, Tate, I want to ask an ancillary question to all this is do you have to be a certain point in your business to fully take advantage of. Of boot camp? What do you think?

I think the answer is yes, I think. And that point is, you've got to decide you're going to give this a shot. You don't have to have deals done. You don't have to have offers out. You just have to decide, hey, this clicks with me. It makes sense. I like it. I want to meet Mark Podolsky. If you. If you're at that point where you're thinking, I got to know more about this, then, yeah, then you're ready. Then you're ready to give boot camp a shot. I mean, you don't have to have property or inventory or anything. Like, that's the point of coming to this, to learn about how to acquire those things and that knowledge. But you have to commit to giving it a shot.

I love it. Eric, what do you think?

I agree with Tate's statement there. I think, you know, in my experience at boot camp, I've definitely met people that have just bought the toolkit, haven't even gone through it yet, but yet they're at boot camp and they're there to learn, and they're excited about getting into the Business. So I don't think, aside from deciding that you want to learn more about it, I don't think there's a wrong spot to be. You just need to know that you're ready to know more about it. And from there, I mean, you're gonna get a lot of information.

So.

Yeah. Yeah. Jeanne, do you want to argue with the technician? You want to play devil's advocate?

No, I really. I really agree with them, because the first boot camp, we never had property. We were just coming to check it out. So even if there's listeners out there that are even just thinking about it, I would suggest going because it'll change you. It really, really motivated us because you went through. If people are. Sorry, my mind is going so fast. If people are wondering how they actually do this in the process. The very first time I met you in that very first class, you just went over it and over it and over it. You just kept repeating it. So we got it, and then I understood it. So every time we've been to a boot camp, it's been more, we've learned more, and things made sense.

So.

So I think no matter where a person's at, if they did get the toolkit, you know, it's a good thing to go.

I love it. Barely. And, Aaron, what about you?

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with Tate and Eric, but I do want to say that boot camp, you know, whether by just the way it is or design, is kind of like one of those literary works or those, you know, musical pieces where there's layers upon layers upon layers and what point you are in your business, you're gonna get a whole kind of different boot camp for each time. You know, like, if you go in knowing nothing, you're gonna learn the basics on how to do this business. If you go in there, hey, I already got my list. What do I do with it? It's going to be a whole different boot camp for you. If you've already got a property and you're trying to get it marketed, it's going to be a whole different boot camp for you. So, no, you don't have to be anywhere other than committed, you know, wholeheartedly to, you know, giving it a shot, but it. Depending on where you're at, you're going to experience a whole different experience each time.

Yeah, I really love that answer, Bearland, because that exact answer that I give other people, well, they'll ask me, you know, when's. When's the right time to come? Or, you know, should I come to Multiple boot camps. I'm always like, yes. It's almost like, you know, you're different and you're different when, you know, you come to your first boot camp and you're different in your business. When you come to your 12th boot camp like Tom Willis, and you get something different out of it. Not because necessarily all the information so different, but you're in a different place. Like, you know, the first time I read, let's say the 12 week year, I was in a different part of my, you know, point in my business. Then by the third time I read it, I got something completely different out of it. And it's just like, you know, reading that good book that you're. When you're different, it just, you get something different out of it. You know, as long as it's not too basic. Zen Master Mike, I'll give you the last word on this.

Well, I'm going to kind of echo what everybody said, especially barely. And Aaron, I do get asked this question quite a bit. I'm fortunate to talk to people as they're beginning their land investing journey and coming to us. And it's a very common question, right? And the way I describe it is, you know, I went to a lot of martial arts seminars when I was younger and you could have this teacher, this master teacher in the room and have people in that room of all different capabilities and levels. Well, the thing is, some people are looking at them saying, okay, that's the way I move my feet. And other people are saying, well, I've already got that down. They're learning how to move their arms. Other people are saying, well, I've got them both now. How do I move in conjunction? And then you got the people that are really advanced, they're looking at like a spiritual level. And I don't mean spirit, like religion. Spirit, meaning putting energy into it. Okay, you have the footwork, you have the hands, you have the motion. Now you've got to add energy to this, right? And really make it your own and really make it vibrant. Well, same thing with boot camp. You got people that don't even know what a mailing is. You have people that do, but now they're looking on the marketing. And then you got people that have that whole package. And that's like the spiritual aspect of land investing. And again, not religion, but they're inserting energy into their business. They're gonna like, how do you overcome obstacles? Common. You know, you talk about the part when people get, you know, they're gonna get knocked down and how do they have the intestinal fortitude to stick in and get the business back up and running and all those other parts of it, Right? So it's like a. They're like spiritual land investing, right? For the guys that are the real and the ladies that are really advanced. So everybody's getting something out of it because the person teaching the teachers there, you know, are teaching from an extremely high level that allows people of all levels to benefit. So doesn't matter where you are, as long as you've made the decision, as Tate and Eric had identified, that you want to do this right, you have that intention that you're going to be successful, then you're ready for boot camp, and you'll get what you need to get at that time.

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, selfishly, I know Tate, you agree, like, even when we're teaching at boot camp, like, even, you know, the teachers get something out of boot camp, like, I always get at least some kind of nugget because we're just one person. But you get a room of 80, 90 really smart, geeky people. We're gonna learn something different, and we'll look at it from a different lens, and it's valuable for everybody. I've been doing this full time since 2001. 17 years, the same thing. I'm learning something new every single 90 day boot camp.

It's.

It's really remarkable. And, you know, Jeannie, go ahead.

You know, I would also encourage someone who is nervous and scared to go, because I'm not a coach like all of you, so I'm more of a newbie. And I can tell you from my perspective, for anybody listening, if you. If there is any little bit of fear, actually turn it around to excitement and come and learn. And you will able change your life. It will change your business. And so I really encourage those that are. That are nervous and scared, just change your perspective. And I encourage you to go.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think it's great advice. And, you know, it's great is that most of us are kind of more introverted, so we're kind of like, you know, it's not like you're gonna be intimidated by anybody there. You know what I mean? Like, we're all kind of there to have a good time rather to learn. You know, I mean, the only person who was kind of intimidating, Jeanne, was Kurt with his big guns. But other than that, like, you get over it. Like, you just get used to, hey.

Mark, one of the things we keep bringing up is this VIP room. Can we tease It. A little bit. Can we talk a little bit about why the VIP room is so awesome?

Yeah, absolutely.

But I think before we talk about it, you should probably end the recording on Facebook Live, so if people want to hear more about it, they got to download the rest of the podcast.

Oh, I love. All right. Done and done. So goodbye, Facebook.

Goodbye.

Goodbye. All right.

How is that for a transition?

Yeah, it was great.

Talk about leaving them with wanting more. So let's give them a little bit more. So the VIP room. This is a room reserved exclusively for our coaching clients. Those are people who are in the business, and we're working with them to help them advance their business quicker. Now, we're not going to tell you exactly what happens in the VIP room, but the idea in the VIP room is you'll have a couple different people. You know, Scott and myself, we're up there, and we will present a topic and we'll do an activity, and then we build on that activity throughout the course of the weekend.

Right.

We work on it as a team and as a group of other land investors, and we solve problems. And it's great because we've got Eric in there, we've got Mimi in there, Mike's in and out, Scott's there, and these guys can come aside and say, hey, show me what you're working on. And Eric can look at what you've done this weekend and say, this is good. But look at this. We could tweak it just by doing one little thing or introducing this little bit of technology or. Or just a different set of eyes, and boom, you've created a process that went from working to a process that's insanely effective, insanely efficient. I think that's where the VIP room really gets its. Its power, wouldn't you say?

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Eric, what were you going to say?

I don't know that I've got too much to add to that. I mean, I just. I completely agree with what Tate had to say there. I mean, that VIP room is a special place to be able to get into. And as a coaching client, you know, you do have the ability to go. And I can tell you, you know, the first time I went to the VIP room, you know, I just learned so much more. You know, we dove so much deeper into the business.

It's.

It's so worth it. So if anybody's on the fence about it, I'd highly recommend it.

I mean, plus, you get to hear from Scott Todd. I mean, anytime you can get yourself alone with Scott Todd, you'd be crazy not to, right? I mean, here he is, one of the smartest guys I know, and he stands in front of people and openly shares his new findings, his new approaches. I mean, it's. I don't know if there's a price tag you could associate with that.

No, absolutely not. I mean, even the Zen Master always like, hey, look, you're the average of the five people you hang out with the most. And from a land investing perspective, that group in that room, you're not going to get a better, more accomplished sort of group of five. It just raises your land investing IQ to, you know, a crazy, crazy level. So I want to say that today's podcast, speaking of Zen Master, is sponsored by flight school. Learn more about flight school and how to take flight. Go to thelandgeek.com forward/training schedule. Call with Mike the Zen Master Zano or Scott. Dude, Buddy Bossman. Mike, do we still have spots for October?

We do, because we've opened up a new, exciting time slot. Scott. Todd has been very generous with his time. We're having a 4 o' clock Eastern Standard Time slot, so we're gonna start doing more of these. And that one's already filling up, actually, because people were very excited about that slot. So we. And so we do have some slots left. That one. And also near the end of October, there's another class. But September sold out. I think August sold out. So they do sell out. So I always tell people not. Because when people get the urge to do this, they want to do this, right? And so it's important to get yourself up and ready. So, you know, sign up for a call with me at Scott Bossman and talk about it.

Yeah, absolutely. And as we all know, it's always falls to Eric Peterson for the tip of the week. A website, a resource, a book, something actual for the art of passive income listeners to go improve their businesses, improve their lives. Eric the technician, what do you have?

So I think I went last week and Mike's here today. So I'm gonna hand it off to Mike. Unless he's not prepared, and then I can. I can pick up the slack.

What do you got?

We can't hear you.

I can't believe it.

He's totally speechless.

All right, I'm gonna. I'm gonna help them out because.

Did you get that?

I just said. Oh, sorry. Yeah, you got to go to forward slash reading list at least. You know, definitely do that and see what we're all reading and check that out for sure. All right, Mike, what's your tip of the week besides reading list?

Well, I do. Can I. Can I selflessly promote the show, the Nightcap? Because we have a special guest this week, and I don't want to give it away.

That's definitely a tip. There's value there. Just you guys getting drunk.

Everybody caught it. We were actually live today for a quick preview. We went on to do a little. We weren't drinking, by the way. It was only like 11am we had coffee and we got. You guys see that? We went in the. In the official.

In the link.

In the link group. We went in there and we had a little teaser.

Yeah.

No, I'm not on Facebook as much as Jeannie.

Did you catch it? Was it good? We came on and we gave a little, you know, genie phone check.

Oh, I know. Yeah.

And I want to also encourage people. This would be a great tip, too.

Just.

Just like that.

See, they should start looking at our social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter, because more content coming to the end.

What's the Instagram handle, Mike? What's the Instagram handle?

It's the Land Geek, right, Mark? The Instagram, the Land Geek.

We're gonna have a lot more land geek. Twitter.com landgeek lot more content coming to those.

And for people you might be looking at on this show, maybe they just don't know it yet, but there's a lot of content coming there. And I want to encourage people to go there because actually we have a big following there and we're going to start providing, you know, adding some value there.

Hey, You've already had 130 people view your teaser already.

Oh, wow. Drink coffee. People still watch.

Yep, Yep. Now, is there Baileys in the coffee, Mike, or is this coffee? No, no, no.

We don't encourage daytime drinking.

Okay, okay. That's very responsible. So I do want to end the podcast with a little gift that Aileen to Augustine made for us. So I'm going to share my screen, share the sound, and hopefully everybody can hear this. All right, tell me if you guys can hear this.

If you want to have a barrel of money, hear art of passive income podcasts. They're funny. Your life don't have to be bleak. If it's freedom you seek, choose Land Geek. Omnipresent Mark Podolsky will reach you. Scott Todd takes flight and comes in to teach you. You will learn all the rest from the roundtable's best with Land Geek. Mimi won't let you forget to price land, right, Eric? Makes your system tight to the last bite Bear Land gives you a peek of land with lakes or with creeks Through Land Geek. Then there's Tate. He'll help you research the right spot. Genie makes your land deals all sound hot. You're on your way with raw land? Cause they're all holding your hand With Land Geek. Mike Zano helps you light the fire for deal flow. Scott Bossman gives you faith to know you'll grow Even if you're green. You'll succeed when you follow their lead. The Land Geeks. Yes. You just can't go wrong. They might even sing you a song. The Land Geeks.

Boy, do I love that. Do you have solo economic development? Whoa. Thank you. That was awesome. So we're gonna put that to music and do all that stuff. We're trying to get Eric to play guitar. Do it. And he's like, no, the guitar. But, you know, I want to thank all the listeners and, you know, for sure support us. We really, really appreciate it. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. Send us a screenshot to supporthelandgeek.com we're going to send you free the $97 passive income launch kit. And are we ready?

Yeah.

Remember, we're saying it fast this time.

I was saying really fast.

Okay, so not double time. Just like normal speed.

Okay.

Just like a normal human would say.

I'm confused.

Ready?

Ready.

One, two, three.

That was still slow. It was still too slow.

Yeah, but I went off your finger, Q tank. I just followed your bouncing ball.

Maybe we need to have Eric do that.

Let freedom ring.

Yeah.

There we go.

All right, thanks, everybody.

Thank you.