In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews entrepreneur Cody Stevens, founder and CEO of Capital Mortgage. Stevens shares a formative personal story about a falling out with his father at age 16, which he credits with teaching him independence and fueling his entrepreneurial path. He emphasizes honesty and transparency as the cornerstone of business and consumer relationships, and stresses the importance of clear, direct communication. Reflecting on personal growth, he advises his younger self to be kinder, noting his naturally direct "high D" personality. Stevens defines happiness as pursuing one’s desires without self‑imposed limits, living in the present while planning for the future. He cites the book The Four Agreements—particularly the principle of being impeccable with one’s word—as a life‑changing guide he shares with partners and clients. His favorite quote, from Ralph Waldo Emerson, underscores that nothing is earned without hard work. Finally, he directs listeners to connect with him on Instagram (Cody C. Stevens).
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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Cody Stevens with us. He's an entrepreneur and owner of multiple businesses, including being the founder and CEO of Capital Mortgage. So welcome to the show, man.
Thank you, man. I appreciate you having me.
Of course, thanks for coming on. Um, so the first one I got for you, Cody, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
That's a great question. You know, when I was 16, I had a pretty bad falling out with my dad. And I won't go into all the details, but it was one of those things that my dad had been a massive role model up to that point in my life. And the falling out with him was insanely unexpected. So it led to a lot of controversy in my life over the next few years. But the most valuable thing that I learned from it Ironically, all the things that my dad had taught me up to that point were the things that prepared me to go on into this life of entrepreneurship and being a skilled individual and learning to just kind of be independent and do my thing. And it's really kind of just led me to be able to do all the things I've been able to do now. So when people ask me all the time, you know, it's like, do you have any resentment for what happened or whatever? No, not a dang bit, because it's led to everything I've been able to do.
Absolutely, man. Um, so I'm excited for your answer on this next one. The next one is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Oh, that's a— that's another good one. Um, you know what, I think at the end of the day, um, you know, I run multiple businesses, and the one thing that I preach more than anything on the planet when it comes to business relationships or consumer relationships is that honesty and transparency is 100% the most important factor. Um, if you feel like you can't trust somebody or trust the company that you're working with, there's probably a good intuitive reason of why you feel that way.
Gotcha.
Okay.
Um, and probably, I mean, it ties in with the next one, but if you have another piece of advice. So the next one is, what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily like your industry.
Yeah, communication, 100%. Communicate, communicate, communicate. It's, and I believe that in every aspect of life, but business in particular is a lot of people, they get caught up in trying to maybe sell somebody on an idea or a vision or whatever. And sometimes we just forget that honest, transparent, direct communication is really, really important to people being able to feel certain and be able to feel clear about the direction that they're going in their lives.
And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be? Uh, tell us that. What came to your mind?
Maybe, maybe, uh, maybe, maybe be a little nicer to people. Uh, you know, I'm a pretty high D personality, meaning I'm pretty direct, and, and, uh, sometimes I can let my words kind of speak before my mind. So, I would definitely say, I would definitely say maybe be a little nicer to people.
Okay, gotcha. So, perfectly leads into the next one. So, in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Key to happiness is doing everything you want to do, no limitations. I definitely think that we live moment by moment, and a lot of times there's, it's really polarizing. People either look way too far in the future or they're always looking at their past. And I definitely believe that, uh, you need to have a plan for the future and have some things that you want to go accomplish. But at the end of the day, you got to be willing to make a decision and go after the things you truly want to do.
Um, and then, so you seem like a guy that reads a lot of books. So, um, what is your favorite book? And, uh, what is it?
The Four Agreements.
Oh, that is a good one, dude.
I love that one.
What's your favorite agreement?
Or do you have more than one? I would say be impeccable with your word. Okay. I would say that that's the number one thing that resonates, at least personally in my life. A big one for a lot of people, especially, especially when it comes to relationships, is don't make assumptions. So yeah, that book, I send it out to, to my business partners and clients all the time. I believe it's a life-changing book if you read it with an open mind.
Yeah, absolutely, man. And then the next one is, what's your favorite quote and why?
Favorite quote. I'm gonna look it up for you because really, really—
Yeah, no worries.
Just because this has been one I've had on the top of my mind since I was, Um, hold on one second. It's by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Yeah, he's got a lot of good ones.
This is actually kind of cool.
This is like a cool pause right here, the build-up, man.
Yeah, man. So, um, So, Ralph Waldo— this is by Ralph Waldo Emerson. No kernel of corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. So, in other words, you're not going to get anything unless you work for it. Mm-hmm.
Got it, brother. Well, dude, thanks for coming on. The last one I got for you: where can our listeners find you online?
Yeah, I think the easiest place is just Instagram. I'm all over Instagram, Cody C. Stevens. Um, I got my company's stuff on there too, but my personal one's the easiest place to find me.
