In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Damian Lupo, a 5th‑degree black belt and founder of Total Control Financial. Lupo shares the story of losing $20 million during the 2008 recession, explaining how his ego‑driven real‑estate expansion collapsed and taught him that net worth and self‑worth are separate. He introduces the QRP (Qualified Retirement Plan) tool, which lets people use IRA and 401(k) funds to invest in real estate, gold, and crypto, positioning it as a way to break free from financial handcuffs. Lupo advises entrepreneurs to "fail fast" and view mistakes as gifts, urging listeners to ignore childhood notions of failure. He stresses the importance of having an older, wiser mentor (“a balder, grayer person”) and outlines his PEAK life framework—People, Experiences, Environment, and Contribution—as the true source of happiness, with contribution being the most vital. He recommends the book Mastery by George Leonard, highlighting its focus on lifelong process over single success moments. Lupo’s favorite quote is that mistakes are "gift‑wrapped" opportunities for growth. The episode concludes with his contact information (DamianLupo.com and TylerWagner.com).
Chapters
Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by WagsMedia. WagsMedia provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Damian Lupo with us. He is the 5th degree black belt founder of Total Control Financial, which is a firm that helps people use their IRA and 401(k) money to invest in real estate, gold, and crypto. So welcome to the show, man.
Hey, Tyler, so freaking good to be here, dude. We're going to have fun.
I know, man. Pumped to have you here. And I just want to preface people with this. We just found out that we're neighbors actually before the interview. So very cool. I think it's really cool. So we'll dive into the first one, Damien, the first question. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
The best story is my process of losing $20 million. The experience of doing that really taught me that my net worth and my self-worth were not the same thing. Because I had been focusing on all the money in my 20s to build up this $20 million thing, having lost it really taught me that there was something different, that I was separate from my balance sheet. That one thing could never have been learned in a book or from somebody telling me. I had to live through it. So, fortunately, I did live through it. But, going through that thing also taught me that making mistakes is probably the gift. It's not the thing to fear. And so, now, it's about making it faster.
Wow, man. Okay. So, if you don't mind, I'd love to dive deeper into that. Can you tell us a little bit more? What was the business? How did you lose the $20 million?
Wow. Oh, like everybody else in 2008, my ego drove a ship off a cliff. Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Basically, I built up a real estate business where I was buying real estate all over the country. I went to seminars, I listened to what they said, and I did exactly what they said, which is smart because if you just pretend, "Hey, I don't know anything," which is true, we usually don't know anything, and then listen to people that have done it, you can make a lot of money. So, I did that. I bought 150 houses, built apartments, condos, but it was never really enough. It was always about more. And so, I kept eating my equity. I kept buying shinier objects. Like, one Ferrari wasn't enough, so I had to get a fleet of supercars. And it was crazy that ultimately the universe said, okay, recession time. And I didn't have a foundation. I did. It was quicksand. So, when 2008 happened, I had a huge reset switch called a train drove over me.
Sorry, I don't mean to laugh at it, but—
It's funny now because I'm still here. Like, I got up. I just got—
Dude, I'm glad you're still here because that— yeah. Well, hopefully— well, I'm sure it is already working out. So, but thanks for diving back into that.
Appreciate it.
The next one, I'm excited for your answer on this one is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
The most valuable piece of information. I mean, the focus that I have on— you mentioned that the business that I work on is the QRP. It's really the tool that gives people the ability to unshackle their financial their handcuffs, and it gives you access to your retirement money so that you can invest the way you want to and design a retirement, design a life versus having one by default. I look at people and it seems like people are just handing their money over, smoking a bunch of opium, and then they think they're going to wake up one day and there's going to be this magical pile of money. And so, I give people a tool to create that pile of money so that it's not just a hope and a dream, but it's actually a reality that you can count on. So, it's really the QRP. I mean, It's one of the books I wrote so that people could really get that information and become empowered by it.
I like that, hopium, dude. Um, and it may kind of tie in, but what's your best piece of just like overall business advice if you were to give somebody like just starting out in, in, uh, entrepreneurship? Let's say like, what would you tell them?
Ignore all this BS that you got as a kid where they said if you make 5 out of 10 right, then you're a failure. The truth is, if you make 5 out of 10 right in the real world, you're a billionaire. So, fail fast or fail often, fail frequently. Just keep failing and you realize that it's how you actually are going to become wealthy and you're going to create a life. You can't be afraid of making mistakes, but that judgment keeps us pinned down and you have to forget that from your childhood.
Wow. I could not agree more. And if you could— actually, this might tie in. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Make sure you have a balder, grayer person around you that's giving you advice that you actually listen to your entire life.
In your opinion, what is the key to happiness? It's definitely not the Lambos. We know that.
No. I mean, these human needs we have, significance and security, we chase the money, we chase the shiny objects, but the other 4 that are key, and I wrote about this in Reinvented Life, they're the PEAK life, which is your people, the experiences, the environment, and the contribution. The last one, that C, that's where the juice of life is. It's what your contribution is. It's not about consumption. It's literally about contributing. And when you contribute, the money becomes a side effect and everything else that you think you wanted actually shows up automatically. But you got to focus on the contribution and then all of a sudden, then the magic happens. I mean, truly and really.
Yeah. And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Mastery, George Leonard. And he was a— he passed away. He was a martial artist. And it was— it applies to people that are doing martial arts or basically if you're breathing. And it has to do with your life process. It's not about a success moment. It's about that whole path. And so, if you can buy into that, then you'll have a life journey versus this life event where you go, "Hey, I had this cool thing. It was my senior year in high school and that was the one event of my life and everything else is nothing because that was the only thing I had." It takes you away from those success moments and really gives you a life that you can actually be a part of.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Mistakes are gift-wrapped— they're gift-wrapped goodies wrapped up in pain that the universe gives you to help you grow. They're not something to be feared. They're something to be embraced.
I love it, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. It was so much fun. The last question that I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Best place to find me is DamianLupo.com. If you go to Facebook or Twitter, I'm probably never there because I'm too busy creating new things, new books, new tools. Go to visit me at DamianLupo.com. Tylerwagner.com, and I would love to connect with you.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Thanks, Tyler.
The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
