Saleem Interviews Simon

Count money, man.

Count money, man.

Stacked riches.

I'm trying to told him I'm a beast, but...

With sub-game, welcome back to another episode of The Grindcast.

Get ready.

It's a new day.

As always, thank you for your time.

We're going to switch it up a little bit.

And we had the request for Selene to interview me.

And so some of you have heard Selene talk on the last episode of The Grindcast.

And this is our all-time production sales record holder in a year, in a week, in a month.

Only a couple years in the game crushing it.

And he's actually going to ask me.

And I haven't seen any of the questions.

I don't know where we're going, but I'm ready to go wherever you want to go with it.

Selene, let's go.

Awesome.

Appreciate you.

Appreciate you letting me get over here and sign me and ask you a couple of questions.

I think this is going to be beneficial, you know, not only for people in the business,

but people outside the business that like to point to themselves, take time out of their

day to get some wisdom.

And it's an honor to be on here.

So first off, you know, Simon, you know, I remember when I first met you, you know, I touched

on on the last episode, you know, but one thing, you know, people realized, you know, you've

been in this industry for about 20, 20 years now, a little bit over 20 years.

And a lot of people from outside looking in, I think, like, respect you in business.

But the biggest thing, like being able to, you know, get meant to or it and coach by

you, you know, one thing that I've noticed, and you're always on point, you know, is when

you lead from the front.

Not only just in business, but also outside of business when it comes to your personal

family, you got a family, beautiful family kids, you know, I wanted to ask you, you know,

what would you say your best advice is, you know, for people out there that want to take

the risk or maybe they're already, you know, in a business where, you know, they're having

trouble managing their family time with their children with the business because it takes

a lot of time and sacrifice to be successful in business.

You know, but I think people would benefit from hearing that.

What do you think about you?

First thing is, man, is, you know, I'm glad that in my 20s, in my first, you know, starting

at 22, I just sacrificed so much and worked so hard to build a foundation knowing that

one day children were going to be here and I was going to want to be a part, you know,

of their life.

So I think it makes it a little bit easier to have, you know, certain flexibility because

the foundation, you know, has been set and been laid.

So that's the first thing and then also choosing the right spouse, you know, for the mission.

And so, you know, I tell people, the first most important decision you'll ever make is

accepting the Lord into your life and the second most important decision you'll make is who

you choose to spend the rest of your life with.

And not that it's ever going to be perfect, but, you know, I had a mentor of mine and

listen to somebody ask him.

He was in a situation where he's been married for a long time, also saying super successful

in and out of business with his family and someone asked him, I mean, he works a lot of

hours and still found a way to make it happen and mentors other people.

And so I said, you know, what do you do, you know, if it gets too much, you know, and some

people and, you know, with the family or whatever and he's like, you know, this is what

the job is.

It's not like on me, it's like this is what it takes.

And he's like, so I've just politely had to explain to people like either you got

the wrong job or you got the wrong wife.

And I don't know which one it is, you know, you could have the right wife and the wrong

job, you know, in the mean and you just need to fix that and go find another job.

Or you could have the right job and the wrong, you know, spouse, I don't know.

But you know, for me, I know where what's been helpful is Natalie isn't super dependent

on me for like too much over the top time, you know, not that I can't, you know, I can't

just not be present at all.

But, you know, still to this day, I'm 20 years in the business and, you know, I'm in

traveling twice a month at least and I'm gone, you know, three nights in a row, you know,

not missing some things, you know, not at home to sleep next to her and the family and

missing some dinners and, you know, it's like 20 years in the game and no complaints, you

know, no complaints at all.

And in the beginning, you know, same thing, me and her used to just, we would go on dates

on Thursdays only, Thursday nights.

That was our night, her and I and we would just work all week and Thursday night, you

know, that would, that would be our day.

And so I think I got lucky with having somebody that isn't over the top needy, but then

also us communicating, you know, along the road that there's been times where I probably

overdid the grind and needed somebody to tell me, hey, you probably could tone it down

and get a little bit more time with the kids.

I've had that, you know, which has helped me as a dad because it's really not that hard.

It really comes down to scheduling and if you're going to be busy, you know, there's like,

you know, I've told my, you know, I call her my daughter was, you know, she talked about

guys and she's mid 20s and you know, I just told her, hey, just get ready.

If you want a successful man, you're going to have a busy man.

Like, you know, there's, you can have a guy that has all kinds of time, but he might not

be super successful if he's still 20, 30, 40 years old, you know what I mean?

So just be ready.

But you know, I think having a schedule to where you're, everything is mapped out.

You know, I'm always organizing with my time.

When to me and Natalie get some time together, you know, when to me and my son get time

together.

When I already got my daughter's schedule for next week, you know, I know with me and

her going on a date, you know, next week because she's busy.

I'm busy.

She's busy.

She's just having a schedule and then communicating, you know, with your significant other, if

you're already in a relationship, you know, I think communicating.

What are our goals and what is it going to take on both sides and respecting that?

You know, a lot of people can look at it and say, man, you know, she's so blessed, you

know, that you get to, you know, she gets to stay at home with the kids and you guys do

whatever you want to do.

And man, that's true.

You know what I mean?

Sometimes I have people give me a compliment.

You're like, hey, say it louder for the people you're about, you know, but the truth is,

I also understand and value that, man, I got somebody at home that doesn't nag me and

lets me do these things.

I got, it ain't easy.

A couple times, you know, I got all three kids to myself and, you know, one's fighting and

arguing.

This one spilled something.

This one got to go to bathroom.

This one's hungry.

That's why I know it.

I'm like, man, this ain't easy, you know, to do for a day.

You know what I mean?

A whole day by yourself.

And so just appreciating, you know, what it really takes to make the home go around and

I got to go do what it takes to make the business go around and having a true genuine appreciation,

you know, for one another and what our roles are and communicating together of like, all right,

we want to accomplish these goals.

This is what it's going to take for us to accomplish these goals.

Are you down?

I'm going to do what I need you to do here's what you need for me and I think having that

level of communication.

And the last thing I'll say is having mentors, you know, just like you're saying, you know,

I've been in business for 20 years.

I've been with the same woman for about 17, you know, years and it ain't always been easy

just like you're talking about in business.

You know, you had four days where you blanked out in a record month.

You know, there's probably a couple days in a month where we love each other but I'm

like, oh.

I was like, I like to just throw these towels at you.

You know what I'm saying?

Like just, it ain't always perfect sunshine and rainbows,

but having people that were further along than me

has been a game changer.

You know, I have, I've been blessed with, you know,

such a great family also.

You know, my dad, I didn't get to meet till I was 30,

so I really was raised with mostly my mom's side

of the family and, you know, my mom did her best,

but was divorced a couple times and just straight dog.

You know, I thank her all the time for just,

man, I couldn't, I hit the mother lottery

even though we didn't have no money.

You know, I hit the mother lottery to prepare me

for what I would need to do.

You know, my grandmother was divorced a few times,

my grandfather was divorced a few times,

like all the people that I loved,

nobody, I didn't really have many people

that were successful in a marriage long term,

you know, in a family.

And then when you throw into it,

if there was, now you throw into it,

people that got a business or their entrepreneurial,

or they're making a bunch of money,

it's different if I work at the bank

versus men I'm flying around the country,

and I got 600 people responsible for me.

As soon as I wake up, it's like the New York Stock Exchange.

You know, so I looked at and found mentors

that were successful professionally

and successful in their family,

and I would ask them questions just like we do here

in this business.

So I have and still have, you know,

a couple people that have been married

for 30, 40 plus years and been in business,

and I've went to them when Tom's got tough

and asked for their guidance and advice,

and I think that's made a world of a difference,

you know, for me to be able to keep,

you know, everything together that makes sense.

Yeah, no, that's good.

That's good, I think that's gonna be super beneficial.

To touch on that, Simon, so we know

I'm seeing you're very successful,

you're very busy, you know, and you're not lying.

He's not lying when he says, you know,

he wakes up and it's like the New York Stock Exchange.

But I wanna ask you, cause obviously, you know,

I know for me personally, like,

like the time you're so, like sometimes I need to

just take an hour by myself, you know,

and I know you're big on NBS, Mind Body Spirit,

and you do it all in the morning.

So people in the business outside the business,

can you explain the importance of Mind Body Spirit

and why you're so intentional with it,

and you never miss?

Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, to me,

and I've learned this, you know,

through my mentor, Jim Sirace, you know,

and he was somebody that I admired and looked up to

as one of the people that has a successful marriage

and also, you know, successful in business,

and he pounded this, you know, into me, that.

For you to be your best for anybody else,

you gotta be the best for yourself.

The hardest person to lead is yourself,

and the first person people want to neglect is themselves.

And I think just adopting the mindset to understand

the more selfless that I want to be,

the more selfish that I need to be.

And I think having a combination of the humility

to understand, I don't think I'm good enough.

If I was good enough, I'd already be where I want to be.

And so there's something that I need to grow in,

and having that spirit of, I gotta get up to work on myself,

and then also to understanding that,

you can't pour from an empty cup.

And, you know, I wanna serve a lot of people,

and I prayed for moments to be able to serve a lot of people,

but that's why, you know, when the sun comes up,

you know, I don't have a lot of time before the gun goes off,

and it's like the New York Stock Exchange,

like it's hard to understand for people to be like,

man, can I get 10 minutes today, or five minutes?

It's like, I barely can get five minutes for myself

to go to the bathroom.

You know what I mean?

It's like a non-stop, you know, all day.

And, you know, I think I've learned that

in order for me to pour into others,

and have patience with other people,

I have to be able to pour in, you know, to myself.

And so that time has become sacred to me.

It's non-negotiable.

If I wanna be a good dad, if I wanna be a good husband,

if I wanna be a good leader,

I have to take care of myself mentally, physically,

and spiritually.

That's the foundation.

That's the platform of mentally,

books, audio books, podcasts,

to education and motivation.

So I divide mental into education and motivation.

Even if it's, there's sometimes where I get an hour

to where I can read.

There's sometimes where I only got 10 minutes

where I gotta listen to an audio book while I'm driving.

But I do something, you know, every day to pour into that mind,

body, you know, to stay healthy,

to be able to keep up with the grind.

You know, I got energy.

I've been up since five this morning,

started out six o'clock, I went to yoga.

And I have enough energy right now.

After back to back to back to back to back meetings,

I'm jolted right now.

Like this is natural, you know, this is limited caffeine,

a little bit of pre-workout back, you know,

early in the morning, a little bit of caffeine,

and I'm ready to rock.

That's because of the focus and attention that I have

on taking care of my body,

eating the right foods, you know,

that are gonna give me energy.

Early in the career, you know, I used to think

that I was tired because I was working hard.

And then when I started to pay attention and learn

to watch what I was eating,

I was moving so fast, all of a sudden I would eat fast food

and then wonder why my energy would drop.

Or they would order a pizza to the office

and we order pizza and then everything,

you know, my energy would drop.

And so the more I learned the more I started to see

that man, I could keep this level of work.

If I eat clean, my energy levels are gonna be through the roof.

And if I wanna work hard,

I'm gonna get sick less than other people

if I'm taking care of, you know, of my body.

And then relieving the stress, man.

You know, the higher you wanna climb,

you know, typically, you know,

mo money,

mo problems, you know what I mean?

Most stress, right?

And so typically, the stress is what breaks people.

And it breaks them to the point where it either breaks

them mentally and they quit

or they give up or they retreat.

Or it breaks them physically because

the only outlet that they give themselves is

smoking a ton of weed or drinking too much, you know, alcohol,

you know, or whatever.

And I don't judge.

You know, I've said this privately

and I'm not embarrassed to say it publicly

that there's, you can get a medical card.

I got friends that smoke weed that I know.

And God bless them.

I'm not, you know,

I'm out.

they're doing that, but the, the, the, I don't judge.

But I think if you do too much of an outlet of man, I don't have a healthy

outlet. So I'm going to go wild out.

I'm going to go party to relieve this stress.

I'm going to go pop bottles to relieve this stress.

I got to drink three, four times a day, you know, three, four times a week through

or I'm going to do some drugs or you know, whatever it is, like those, those

things will, will end up wearing you out and not allowing you to perform

your best. But if you don't have an outlet to, to release that stress, then it's

got to go somewhere and it's going to go, you know, either into affecting your

health internally because it just, the stress eats you up or you start drinking

or partying or, you know, guys or girls or, you know, whatever it is indulging.

But I've learned that if I really pour into myself physically and go hard,

like hard physically, that relieves all that pressure, all that stress and I can

be the best that I could be, you know, for people.

And then there's times where that ain't enough that if it wasn't for my

relationship with the higher power, we wouldn't be here.

I definitely wouldn't be here.

That the things that I've had an opportunity to try to accomplish with others

around me, the levels that I've gone to, you know, I couldn't imagine doing them

without God. And the state of Ohio motto, motto is with God, all things are possible.

And, you know, I'm a believer in that and that, you know, the whole no weapon, you

know, thing. And as, you know, I think just there's going to be time where mentally

and physically you break down and the only thing that you got to carry you left is your

spirit. There's going to be times where it don't even make sense how you're going

to get out of a situation or get through a moment. But you lean back on your spirit.

And I've just watched that recipe play out, you know, for the good so many times

on Seek First, the Kingdom of God and the rest will be given to you.

And what it's done, you know, for my life, starting with the way that I was

mentored and others. And then, you know, that nobody has to be perfect.

You know, I think that's what I learned. The reason why I wasn't a fan of trying

to get better spiritually, you know, when I first started in this business is,

man, I thought it was just this black and white, like either you're, you're perfect

or you're bad. You know what I mean? You're perfect or you're horrible.

And that wasn't the, that ain't the reality of how I've learned that God really is.

It's, you know, the, just like going to the gym, you know, people out, well, you

know, he's praise and does this and then I heard him swear or he praise and I

seen him, you know, have a drink or you know, it's like, I'm not the Lord.

You know, I'm not the, I'm not even the pastor, you know, I'm, I'm just doing my

thing and trying to help other people, you know, grow up. I'm, I'm, we're human,

right? And, and I've heard people say, well, I don't like to go here.

I don't like to go to church because there's hypocrites there.

That's like someone saying, I don't want to go to the gym because there's fat

people there, you know, I'm happy that the people are there trying to get it together.

You know, I mean, how they supposed to get better if you ain't loud in the gym

till you're ripped. You know, I mean, how you supposed to get better if you

ain't loud to come to the Lord until you're perfect?

How you supposed to get better if you're allowed to walk into church or wherever

you're going to worship until you're perfectly, you know, clean?

This is why we need to hit or need this why we need to come before God

because we're all not perfect. And it's not an excuse to act a fool.

It's just, it's just a fact, you know, the main.

So I think for the reason why I try to teach this man is that I've learned that

I've watched people climb up and crash because they don't have the foundation of

this, but I've also watched the greatest things happen in people's lives around

me and starting with my own life. You know, when I adopted this principle and

I've watched it play out in others lives and nothing would make me more sad

than to watch people come into our business and have success financially in their

whole world just break down around them because I'm not developing them in any

other areas than than business. But on the flip side, nothing makes me happier.

You know, I tell people other than have my own children, nothing makes me feel

better than watching people like you and others in our in our team grow up and

be good young men and women and even go further than that. You know, people I've

had a chance to watch people get married and have kids and have families and

take care of their family is like, man, it's such an amazing feeling that you get

addicted to and to me, that can only happen if you have a whole person put

together, not just the piece of it. Yeah, yeah, no, that's far. I think you

already answered one of my questions, but so touch on that. I want to ask you

because a lot of times people don't realize like, you know, your purpose can

change the reason like why you keep going and I reflect and I think and I zoom out

and I study and observe it's especially at your level of where you're at in

business and in personal family life. Like, you know, you've done a very good job

and built yourself up. Obviously wasn't easy. But what like what like you don't

have to do everything that you do for us, right? Whether that's taking us to the

gym, developing us, pouring into us, you know, once it wants to you've already

you're very successful already. So what keeps you going, you know, because maybe

it's not your maybe your purpose has changed or maybe, you know, I want to

know like what on the inside, I keep you going and working hard leading from

the front and all aspects because everyone else that you're ranked your position

half of them don't do half of what you do. And I want you to know like we don't

take that for granted. You know, I think about that all the time.

Appreciate it, man. So I was, you know, the founder of our company, Bernard

Rappaport, you know, one time, you know, said when people were asking about

what to invest into, you know, financially. And he told him, hey, make your

business your Wall Street, meaning, you know, instead of betting on Apple or

or, you know, this stock bet on your business, put money into your business and

look at that as Wall Street where you're going to win some stocks and put some

money into this and get it to grow. And I think just on the side of that

mindset is, you know, I would joke and say make your business your youth program.

You know, I, I, I just fell in love with having youth programs, right, that I've

that I've been a part of. You know, because I watched myself growing up without

really having my dad in my life, how many other people in the community over time

that would give me a little bit of time, you know, that like save my life when I

look back on it. And I'm like, man, now that I have success, I want to go back and

help people that need it, you know, like that, especially the youth, you know,

it's like, man, you say the youth, like you only like dealing with young people or kids,

we're like, man, if you got a 40 year old dude that wants to listen to me, I want

to mentor that person and I'll help that person, but people get stubborn the older

they get. They don't want to listen, you know what I mean? They don't want to do

what it takes. And so the, the, the youth program thing is that's my outlet for

wanting to help people and pay it forward. You know, I, I feel like I don't even

deserve what I got, you know, and people say, you know, you work so hard, you know,

all the time and how you deserve this, you deserve this, you deserve this. And there's

a lot of people that I know that work less than me and don't work as hard and they got

way more than I got, right? And I don't even worry about that. Like, would God

got for them? God got for them. And I know there's people that got more than me, but I know

in my little world, man, where I came from, I got more than I could even imagine

as a kid in my little, small, little, you know, bedroom that I thought was the

Taj Mahal when we bought our second home that was the attic, you know, where I couldn't

even stand up because the roof was so low. Like, if somebody would have told me,

then this is where we would be now. This is a dream. And so I'm so grateful. And,

and so I want to help other people like that and get the same feeling, you know,

it's almost like you feel better giving a gift than when you open your own gifts,

you know, and, and it's so cool to watch people get gifts. And I got the gift to this

business and it changed my life and the gift of my body spirit and mentorship changed me

financially, mentally, physically, physically as a father. It's like, man, I get excited

watching other people open up those gifts. You know, this is a gift that we've been

given. And I get a chance to give those gifts out. You know, why the hell do I want to stop?

You know, it's just like a dicting to be able to give those nonstop gifts out to people

and watch them take advantage of it. You know, anytime people thank me for the opportunity,

my, my words always straight out as like, man, thank you for taking advantage of it.

If they're taking advantage of it because that's the only thing, that's what makes me happy

is watching other people go out there and take the same opportunity to change their life

and all those categories. And it just drives me crazy when I watch people that should change

your life with it wasted and throw it in the garbage. You know, so for me, it's, it's an outlet,

you know, it's, it's a, make your business your Wall Street, you know, make your business

your youth program. You know, it's like, we got a lot of young people. I love trying to help

people like people help me. And so the, it's like a fun game to me that it's like having a youth

program, even though there's older people that rock with us, you know, we got, we got a bunch

of folks have been here that are, you know, 40s, 50s, 60 years old. But, you know, it's just like,

they got that youthful spirit. But a lot of times we got a lot of young people, you know, younger

than me. You know, I keep getting older people keep, you know, getting younger, you know,

saying the same age. And so for me, it's like, man, I get to be to those people, what Jim

Sirace and Marcus, what people were for me, a fraction of that. And why would I want to,

you know, stop that? So that gives me the fulfillment piece. And then I'm still competitive,

man. You know, I don't, the minute that I don't care, like, I don't know what I'll do.

But right now, I'm like, soup, I'm still competitive, man. And so there's, there's

things that I want to accomplish out there competitively that got my eyes fixated on a big

goal. And in order for me to hit that big goal, I think part of me sets that big goal because

I know I got to be better for you guys in order to hit that big goal. In order for us

to hit a big goal like that, our people are going to have to develop more. They're going

to have to be better. I'm going to have to get on the grind. I'm going to have to make

some sacrifices. I'm going to have to spend more time with people in order for us to go,

you know, to that, to that next level. And, and man, I don't know, maybe I haven't grown

all the way up. I'm still growing up, you know, I'm 42 on my way to 43. But man, I probably

would be easier for me to slow down if people would just stop trying to talk sauce and annoy

me with the hate because that drives the shit out of me. So like, you know, it's like,

okay, I got you. You thought we were done. Thanks. We're about to run another super bowl

up. We're about to double up. Like, if I like that stuff, I need that stuff. I need criticism.

The naysayers to hate the doubters, you know, all that stuff drives me and keeps me going.

It's not, it's not the number one driver. It ain't even the number two driver. But it's a

driver, you know, for me still. And I'm grateful for that. That's the athlete in me, you

know what I mean? I'm just still grateful for that. I'm playing with a chip on my shoulder.

So the best is yet to get best is yet to come. This is my law. Thanks. Thanks. And,

y'all are God willing. And then Simon, so to wrap this thing up, I wanted to ask you,

so because you just touched on how you were an athlete and how that helped you, you know,

just that competitive, that competitive dog. And you just, you, you hate the noise, you

hate the talking. And you push yourself. What do you think? Like, how do you think being

an athlete growing up in the environment? You grow up, people, if you guys don't know,

Simon grew up in young, sound Ohio, you were a state champion of earthlin if I'm not mistaken.

You know, how do you think being an athlete helped you in business? You know, not only just

being like competitive, but also to like to where you're at, not many people make it as far

as you are right now, and to push and work and, and compete at the highest level, you know,

especially at your age, but still pouring in yourself, taking care of yourself, just to bring

the best version of you, you know, order to take us to the next level. What do you, how do you

think that correlates for people, maybe athletes out there? Man, I was an athlete and everything

like you were saying, you know, every sport I played at, you know, humbly, I tell you, I was good

at it. Anybody would tell you that that grew up with me. Any sport I played, I was good.

But I wasn't the number one, I wasn't the best person in the area. You know, I wasn't the best

in the state, you know, I wasn't the best in the city, you know, or none of that. Like, I wanted to be,

but you know, I was small, you know, I was undersized. And so I had to outwork

everything just to get an opportunity, you know, you mentioned winning a state championship at

Ursula, like it had never been done before. And there was so many powerhouse teams, you know,

arguably the best athletic school in our areas, history, number one or number two,

athletes have come out of their galore, no state titles, you know, in football, you know, how,

because there's so much talent, you know, everywhere. How do we become, you know, the first state

champs ever is like, all right, I had me personally, you know, I can't, I was blessed with great

teammates, but I wasn't even supposed to play. No people told me don't go to that school because

you're not even going to play there. Nobody even, people didn't think I would even play because

the talent level was so high, bigger, faster, stronger, you know, all that stuff. So I had to work extra

hard in the film room, be extra coachable. Yes, sir, to every little thing, every little detail

finished through the line, watch extra film, lift extra weights, go above and beyond just to get on

the field, just to, you know, just always just had to grind and just would barely make that next

level and then grind and just barely make it to that next level. And then, and then had an

opportunity to play in college at the division two level at the time. And same thing started all

all the way over. Everybody, you know, I was fourth or fifth on the depth chart. Everybody I'm

looking up is like six, one, six, two, two, ten, two, twenty, you know, at my position. And I'm like

five, six, one, eighty, you know, like, how are we going to make this happen back to the grind,

you know, same thing, most coachable, outwork, outrun, outlift, out, you got to do it all,

they can cut some corners, you can't cut.

no corners. And man, I would have loved to be a professional, but I wasn't big enough.

You know, I wasn't good enough to make up for the size. You know, that's for D'Arns

Shore. So I wanted to be a pro, but that wasn't my reality. And so when I got into the business,

I'm like, man, I could be a pro. I could not not not only be a pro with this, with what I got.

If I put that work ethic and everything else that it took for me to be good in sports,

I could be the best in the city. I could be the best in the state. I could be the best in the country.

I might be able to be a hall of favor. Yeah.

And I got the outlet. And so that's, that's kind of what kept me, you know, driving amongst all the other things.

Alright. And then what do you think, Simon, in leadership?

You know, because obviously I'm going, I met you seven, eight years ago, you know, got the blessing and the pleasure to,

you know, you to be mentored by you the past couple of years. What do you think like brought that passion, that energy?

You know, obviously when the state championship, like that takes everything, that takes the team,

that takes everybody on the same page, same work ethic, same plan, same goals.

You know, how do you think that related to business?

Because I think like you're, you're one of the best leaders I've ever met in my life.

You know, and then obviously everyone you've mentored is the same exact way.

You know, and that's something I've been, I've been working on. I know there's people out there, whether it's in sports, whether it's in business,

our business outside maybe another business where they've always wanted to become the best leader.

You know, how do you think that correlated or how did you, you know, what would you tell yourself, I guess, would be the question.

The younger, you know, 25 year old, Simon, you know, where you're at now, what would you have told yourself or wish you knew, you know, in leadership along the way?

What's some advice there?

Yeah, I think, you know, so I think what would have, what rolled over and adopted, you know, was like being on a team with others, you know, not everybody had the hardest work ethic.

There was some lazy folks, you know, there was, there, and we were, you know, very mixed as a team, which was great.

There was so much diversity, you know, of Hispanics, there was black, there was white, there was such a great mix, you know, on our team.

We got all these different personalities and, you know, my job and role was one of the leaders was to try to bring all that together, people from different walks of life.

But what I learned that worked, you know, in leadership to try to get people to follow me was work ethic.

And I noticed that people respected the work and the grit and all of that.

And I think that transfers over in business like even if you're not the best athlete, you know, the best athlete obviously that makes plays, they're going to get a certain amount of respect because of the results.

But even if you're not getting those results, but you get good results, but you outwork people, people will follow that.

And I think that I respect that. Secondly, you know, that they have to know that you care about them and how important relationships, you know, are and where.

And I think instinctively I knew that, you know, in high school, so around our team, like I was just building these bonds, you know, with everybody, you know, myself.

And that rolled over, you know, into the team, being able to have people not just follow me, but, you know, be a leader, one of the leaders, you know, on the team.

And I think in business, those things rolled over, being coachable, you know, what I think I'm grateful for in the beginning is I had a really good, you know, to great, great coaches, you know, Marcus Smith, Jim Sirace.

Great combination of somebody with maturity and wisdom, you know, and somebody that was on fire for the business in his first, you know, five years in and Marcus and young, you know, you know, all that.

So I think just being super coachable helped me because those guys were just great at what they did and still are that I was blessed, you know, and I never ever forget that.

You know, I watched so many people forget where they came from. I was only with those, those guys for two years. Those two years changed, you know, the next 18 years of my life.

And I'm forever grateful, you know, for just being, if it wasn't for them laying the platform of having an office, I would have never had an office to go into. Let's start there with why I'm so grateful.

And then just giving the opportunity and teaching me my body and spirit and competitive, you know, this and business and, you know, the mentorship directly and indirectly, you know, a lot of the mentorship I got was indirectly just me watching and studying and watching how they operated and moved.

And I'm just so grateful, you know, always for that. But I think I was lucky in that way to be able to learn and not make a ton of mistakes early because I asked them a bunch of questions and just stayed, you know, coachable.

I think what I wish that I learned or was better at in the beginning was just patients.

I think that, you know, I wasn't really patient with people. I was super hard on people. And it's like there's always that balance, right? Because you're not hard on people and challenging people. Then, you know, how do you get a culture of high performers?

But I think there was people that were on their way that I probably ran out of the business because my intensity level was so intense that, you know, I was at a 10 all the time and to where I couldn't even have eights around me.

And there's a lot of good eights that could have contributed to the organization over the long haul that I probably ran off, you know, because I was I was too, you know, impatient with where they were at in life and didn't allow them, you know, the room as much as I could have to, you know, be a little bit like at a six or a seven or an eight and walked them in to be in a 10.

And then my delivery, you know, I think my delivery was was rougher, you know, in my 20s than it was later on in my career, being able to be patient and understand how, how much power my words had because of my position that, you know, just letting my words fly off of emotion, how much damage that I could do to a relationship, how much I could hurt somebody by just saying the wrong thing and just really being direct with people that they couldn't handle.

And it's like, man, if I just would have breathed and articulated a little bit better differently with more patients at a different time, you know, I probably could have had a lot more accomplished, you know, in those moments.

So those are probably be a couple things, you know, that I think that I learned and then also, you know, I wish I would have got rid of some people faster, you know, also that on some ends, I wasn't patient enough with people, but it was more like patient with trying to drive them, drive them and push them and, hey, get on your mind body spirit.

But then other people along the path, I probably was a little bit too patient with that wasn't good for culture that my heart got in the way and I probably should have, you know, tried to part ways with those people, you know, sooner and went with my gut, you know, my gut instinct and stuff.

So, you know, those would be some things I probably would look back at, but overall, I'm happy with the journey, you know, so far, I think that I didn't make too many mistakes because of being coachable and mentoring, you know, still receiving mentoring, you know, the whole, the whole time.

I think, you know, maybe if I threw another one in, there was a period where I rewarded myself with living six months in Pittsburgh and six months in Florida and I was a snow bird, right, precinct.

And this was probably, I don't know, maybe call it.

10 years ago to 14 years ago and I think that window, me being away from when we weren't virtual and we were in person more, me being away from the people for that longer of a period of time, even though I would come back, you know, here and there being, you know, away from the majority of the business, I think probably slowed us down some that if I wouldn't have been there.

I think that I would have done that, you know, and rewarded myself, you know, so to speak with that life that I wanted and enjoying that moment, even though I worked hard, I worked really hard from Florida, I worked all day.

I just, just that's one that I look back on and probably look like, and that probably cost me a little bit of growth from that period, rewarding myself too soon.

No, that's good. I think a lot of people do that too in the business sometimes. I feel like it's one or the other, neither reward themselves too much too soon or it's they don't reward themselves enough and they deserve a day or two, you know, to go enjoy it on the fruits of their labor.

So the last question I have for you and I think this, you know, relates to every single person in life, whether it's in business outside of business, people in the business, like it doesn't matter any industry, you know, because obviously 20 years and any type of business entrepreneurship does a lot of adversity.

And that's one thing I realize is always going to be something that comes up and people's perspective on adversity. It's messed up. People think most people think it's a bad thing.

You know, you always preach about how it's either going to cause you to break or break records, you know, so during those times the lowest moments on your come up in the process, you know, what kept you going and why didn't you give up, you know, maybe give some tips to the people out there who are going through a tough time, you know, can maybe relate to adversity in their life right now.

What would you tell them, you know, to order to keep pushing themselves and keep moving forward?

Yeah, I think so. You know, there's a couple times.

I thought about giving up. There was like a couple, you know, in my first year.

And then really never after that think about giving up, but just moments where.

You know, I could see how people take the left road, you know, then just like man, if this, you know, I ain't dealing with this, you know, no more.

But I think, you know, in my first three months, you know, like month three or four, you know, I almost quit because I had a bad, you know, couple weeks of sales and a rougher people to meet with and was used to be in crushing it.

And I had all this pressure on me because I was the new rookie right out of the gates, like just first month, second month, blown it out, you know, and then all of a sudden I'm like, I'm getting crushed.

You know, not doing well. So the competitive spirit that I talked about that helped me hurt me because now I'm like dying inside because I'm not number one.

And I'm working twice as hard and I'm getting half the results, you know.

So now I'm in my head, you know, I'm 22. So now I'm in my head. It's like, is this not for me? Am I not, you know, good enough long term? Is this is what I want to do?

You know, I started to lose my vision of like, it wasn't always going to be this way, but I was trapped in the moment of thinking like the next month or two months or three months.

If that's what I had to do, like that ain't going to affect the next five years of my life. It's not going to be like that.

And so I just, in that moment, I got in my, in my head and I thought about quitting and my mother. You know, this is what I mean where I was blessed with, you know, my mom.

We didn't have a ton of money, but however, you know, maybe just having a kid young, you know, having me pregnant at 19, no money, you know, living in my great grandmother's house that we sold for $11,000.

She was just a good balance of like man, a lot of love, but just super tough like dog and just straight dog mentality, probably just for survival.

And she gave me basically a motivational speech, you know, like, hey, do you see anybody in the business doing it, you know, and I'm like, yeah, you know, what you want to do?

Do you see anybody that you would be happy if you am like, yeah, and she's like, then cream always rises to the top, you know, and you'll find a way just like you did in sports when people said you were too small.

Like whatever you see, the top person doing, if you think you would like that, then I need you to understand that you're going to end up being exactly where that is, because cream always rises to the top.

And I'll never forget it. We were having that conversation in our little house, you know, that we bought the second house that we spot for $32,000 and sold for $60,000.

That one, she told me that, you know, I'm like, all right, that's all I needed, you know, that kept me going. And then a couple of months later is I'm in the training other people face and I'm pouring my heart and soul into people and I can't miss some, you know, I'm just like, everything I touched is turning the goal.

And then I had a couple people quit on me and I had poured my whole heart into these people and didn't even they like ghosted me, you know what I mean? Like no, even like, hey, I'ma call come up and tell you I appreciate you.

Like nothing, just nothing, right? Some like, man, heartbroken from that. And again, do I want to go through all this? Am I ever going to get there? You know, that type of deal. And I remember a guy in the office, one of the OGs in the office, you know, at the time was like, hey, he grabbed my hand and he flipped it over and he was rubbing, you know, my hands because I lift the weights.

And, you know, I had calluses from the holding the dumbbells and the bars. And he's like, you know, you see how you got calluses on your hands? He's like, you know, do you remember when your hands were softer and it hurt, you know, to grip those bars like that and hold him. He's like, you know, you need calluses like that in this business.

You haven't developed your calluses yet. So you're softer when it comes to training and losing people and you know, and all that, like you're going to get used to this stuff and it's not going to break your heart, you know, anymore. This is normal. And just that little moment helped me push me over to edge, you know, there.

And then just over the years, you know, having crazy obstacles and hurdles, you know, I remember one time I went from, I think it was 11 or 12 MGAs down to 3 MGAs like this, you know, just overnight gone.

And, you know, that was that was where I was in a situation where I didn't have a choice, you know, it's like, that's why I realized when I first started I signed a 12 month lease to the office, you know, to the apartment right by the office before I ever made a sale.

So I tell people and I'm glad that I did because it was harder for me to quit because I had a 12 month lease that I was in.

Yeah, you know, when things really got difficult, man, I had a lease on this. I had a lease on on my first office and I.

was already responsible for so many people's lives around me because I was making some money.

There was no quitting on me would have been quitting on everybody.

There was no, it's like with my shield or on it at that point.

You know what I'm saying?

We had to go far, there was no way to quit.

So for me, there's no way, it's been like that for a long time and I think I'm grateful

when you talk about no risk, you can't be successful.

It's easier to be successful when you take a risk bet on yourself.

You know I think when I look back on it, I kept putting myself in positions where I had

no choice but to make it.

You know, first year signed a lease, you know, to the thing, second year I moved to Columbus,

I bought a house, you know, my second year, I owned a nice home, you know, my second year,

big like nice house, you know what I mean?

And like giving my, I couldn't fail, you know what I mean.

Back you get the ball.

Third year, my mother quit her job, you know what I mean to come work, you know, with

me, it's like if I failed, the whole family's going down.

There's no option, you know what I'm saying?

So I think it was just, never, never was really, I couldn't even have that as an option

after a while of quitting because of the position I put myself in and I'm glad that I did.

Yeah, I think that's you, I could never give the haters the satisfaction.

You know, and I like that.

I think that's one thing a lot of people don't do nowadays.

As they don't, they don't make it, they give themselves a way out, right?

And I know it's, you know, it's going to be hard, it's going to be a virtue, it's going

to be setbacks.

You know, but it's like putting your back against the ball where there is no option.

You know, you got people depending on you or that your mother, your people, the business.

And I think that's one thing a lot of people don't realize, you know, even looking at your

level, you know, how successful you've made it, how far you've come still moving the way

you move with the same energy, same intensity, same passion, same leadership.

And that's something we definitely all look up to.

I know in the business for sure, I'm sure people even outside that watch the grind cast

or maybe just, you know, just pouring into themselves, you know, I think people don't

realize that everyone's going to go through adversity.

And it's how you react, how you respond to it, you know, what determine your career.

For the rest of your life, you know, your, your life is going to be determined by how

you handle success and how you handle adversity and failure, you know.

So we just got to learn how to handle the adversity.

You know, I think with people, the way out, the, the best description that I've given

and I'm sure I've stole this from somebody, but it's like when you're lifting weights,

you know, and if you can bench press, I'm going to just pick round numbers, right?

You can bench press 200 pounds.

And, and all of a sudden, you get under 100 pounds, the 100 pounds is easy, but before

100 pounds used to be heavy, and then you worked your way up to 200 pounds.

Now 200 pounds is heavy for you.

It's hard to even do one, but if you keep going, keep going, you get to 300 pounds, all

of a sudden you get 200 pounds.

It's easy.

You could do it like it, like nothing with no one at all.

And so the weight doesn't change.

If you put the weight on the scale, it's the same weight.

The adversity is the same level of adversity in this example, but you just get stronger

at handling it.

The problems that used to fluster you down here, you know, at a, at 100 pounds, when

you can bench 300 pounds of adversity, those low 100 pounds of adversity, you thought was

going to break your chest in.

That ain't nothing.

You know, you just got to keep on growing yourself so you can handle more adversities

and obstacles because the obstacle is the way.

And we're going to have to continuously graduate from the you, you know, the university

of adversity.

And the minute that you can't grow from, you know, graduate from the university of

adversity and get multiple degrees is the minute that you stop going forward because

you're, to grow is to go through obstacles and adversity on the way.

You know, the journey is always filled with those things.

It's just about how you choose to perceive those things and how you handle it.

You know, I think listening to you talk reminds me.

I got to, I got to play back to the team, Josh, if you could note for me that the one

where it was the guy, the Navy CEO guy, what's his name?

It's Jaco.

Where he was like, you know, this is this happening to you good.

This happening to you.

Good.

You ever see that, Celine?

Yeah, yeah, I think you showed me.

He talks about all the adversity, you know, this happening, you're like, good, you know,

this happening, you're like, good, you know, you got to wrap good, you know, it's like

with that, that's the truth.

That's the mindset of like, I'm glad this happened to me because the more that you keep

going through these things and you make it out the other side without quitting and tapping

out, when you look back on it and reflect on it, it is all good.

It only blesses you and makes you better.

It's the old adage of what don't kill me, only makes me stronger.

Don't kill you, only makes you stronger.

And I look back to all the adversities that I could think of in my journey.

Every one of them at the time that was so big, so bad, so horrible.

I look back and I reflect on them and who it made me become.

I'm so grateful for the growth that came from it.

And really, I look and see how God had it all mapped out and planned out perfectly anyway

that that was exactly what was supposed to happen.

What am I pouting about?

That was exactly what needed to happen, you know, at that time, you just got, that's

why we got a trust in the process and trust in God because sometimes those obstacles

in adversity are actually blessings in disguise.

They are.

I think that's one thing too, a lot of people don't do.

And Joey Crabelli, my mentor, you know, obviously Joey is awesome, you know, all around, awesome

dude leads him to the front, you know, and he's helped me develop to where I'm at today.

And one thing in time, he's always, anytime you're in the moment of adversity, he's being

able to zoom out fast forward six months to a year.

And with your, with yourself in six months, regret you laying this small adversity, you

know, affect your business as much as it is.

Right. That's something I got really good at just zoom out fast forward.

Look back.

Would you regret it?

Take you taking out, taking off a week.

Yeah.

Okay.

Then don't take off a week.

We're good.

You know, I mean, I think that's something that helped me a lot, but no, I appreciate

you guys.

I think this is super, super awesome.

You know, on the way said, I'm honored and blessed to be on here to be able to ask you

some questions, get some gain, get some wisdom.

You know, for the people out there that are watching this, pouring into themselves,

you know, obviously, take your taking time out today.

I'm going to say brother.

Yes, sir.

No, it's not good to be on the other side of this, you know, in a meanin'

Yes.

What's it up?

You know, it's put it up a little bit.

I haven't been interviewed by somebody in a while like this.

So this is cool, man.

It's an honor to have it done with you back in the Grandcast studio with like this card

that I gave you back.

Nope.

No got it.

No got it in my wallet.

Eight, seven years ago.

See how it comes full circle.

Crazy.

Imagine seven, eight, imagine seven, eight years from today.

Let's keep it going.

Let's keep it growing.

Let's get started.

Come on.

Sacrifices nonstop, can't stop, won't stop.

Keep it pushing.

Thank you guys.

As always, you know, we're grateful for you.

If you think the message helped anybody, share it with some other people that we can

impact and help.

And as always, we're grateful for your time.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Grandcast.

Get ready.

It's a new day.