#4 - Unlocking Success with Ronald Flores: A Story of Grit, Growth, and Real Estate Mastery

[0:00] This is the Wealthy Investor Show, where we don’t just talk about your wealth, we also talk about your holistic health. I’m your host, Matias. And I’m Erica. And this is the Wealthy Investor.

[0:16] Hola, hola. I am Matias Clymer, the host of the Wealthy Investor, and I’m here with my good friend, Ronald Flores. Ronald Flores is a high producing top agent in my area, in my firm. He’s been a really good friend for a while. He’s one of the people that got me into investing or into flipping specifically. So I’m super excited about having Ronald on the show. He’s got an infectious, bubbly personality. You just want to be better and more energetic and happier person when you’re around him. So Ronald, thank you so much for coming on here. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Thank you for having me, you and this. Yes, I’m going to talk about what is successful and what is investing and a little bit of my story.

[1:00] How you can come up from the nothing to be whoever you want to be. So this is a lot of nowhere here. Yeah, Ronald, tell us a little bit about where you came from in El Salvador, what your living situation was like then. Sure. Sure. I grew up in El Salvador, but we didn’t have electricity or water. So I had to go to the mountains to cut wood for my mom to cook food. And I also had to carry water from a well to my house. I was living in a really like limited situation where it was really poor. My family, it didn’t stop me to always think big. Don’t let your environment, your situation stop you to think big. You always have to think big. And you always think you can be the best and work for. So actually, I used to live in El Salvador until I was 18.

[1:59] And it was really hard, but I worked so hard over there to be able to accomplish my biggest dream that was to come to the U.S. Because due to the situation that we had in El Salvador with the gangsters, and it was a dangerous country. So I didn’t have no choice than leave El Salvador and come to the U.S. And to be able to come over here, I had to work so hard. I had to make $1,000, save it when over there you only make $3 or $4 back then per day. My mom, she had to sell her a stove to give me like $50 to bring to the U.S. And those things are really valued to me because I come from the 90s now. I appreciate where I am and I’m thankful. And I always like to share my story. I have to encourage people to succeed, to see my friends grow and be successful.

[3:01] That’s the thing now. So it was really hard when I live in El Salvador, but I’m never going to play the victim. Like I was so poor and poor me. No, it was not my fault where I live, but it’s my fault where I am now. It’s the same thing. It’s not your fault where you’re born, where you grow, and what kind of environment you grow. But it’s now your fault to work where you are because you are already an adult. You take your decision. You take your actions. And it’s your life that you need to decide for. Yes, yes. Whoa, whoa. I love it. Total ownership of who your outcome. So if you take total, complete control of your outcomes, that will enable you to take control of your day-to-day situation. And that will, if you have a successful life, that’s because you’ve worked hard and you’ve taken ownership of it.

[3:52] If you haven’t, maybe you need to look at what you’re doing to change it. So I’d love it. Complete ownership. If you don’t mind me, Ronald has told me his story from coming from El Salvador to the U.S. before. And it’s like the paperclip game, if you will. The story where you start with a paperclip and you trade up for something else. And then you end up with a car. I will tell you that little car. So, you know, it was really hard because I had to have $1,000. I had to save $1,000. To be able to do it, I was working a really hard job. I was working, like, as a helper in construction. There was, like, those big trucks where you had to unload material. You had to shovel gravel to the car because we didn’t have no tractors over there, like over here.

[4:39] So it was a really physically demanding job. But, so, I bought a piece of equipment because I wanted to build a DJ. So I bought it. It was about, I spent about $500. I would say it was about $500. So it was about, I don’t know, maybe $50, $70 money, U.S. And I started building, like, a DJ. So I got the DJ built up. And we was making parties and all that stuff with the DJ. Because the people from my country, it’s actually those people who like to dance. I built that DJ. And so that DJ, I sold it for, it was about $500. Like, U.S. dollar, yes. And then with those $500, I bought a car. So I bought a car for $500. It was $500 on the car. So that car, I did some cleanup. And I sold it for $750. So then I had to save up to make the $1,000.

[5:46] And I did it. It was really hard with the limitation. And the money that you make over there, it was really hard. I had a target. I had a call. I had a dream. That my dream, I was bigger than those hard jobs that I had it. Because I know that that’s what I want to achieve. And then the day, yes. Oh, sorry. I was just going to say you started off with the paperclip. Or not even, because you really started off with the sweat of your own back, right? To earn some money. And you turned it into a multimillionaire. Yes. And then I had to like, so when I had that $1,000 that I needed to come to the U.S. And then, but I didn’t have no money like to bring here. So my mom, she had to sell her stock, her grill.

[6:32] And where she make the pupusas and tortillas. And then it was like heartbreaking for me because I loaned so much. My parents, my mom. And I said, when I go to the U.S., I will buy her a bigger store and bigger stuff. And I did it. But when I came here, so I came to the U.S. and I came to work really hard. It was a really hard situation because this one probably I never had tell before. But when I was living in El Salvador, it was really hard. The situation that we had there that my mom had to, my parents had to do a loan for over their house. And that was, when that happened, that was probably I was 10, 11 years old. My parents was not able to pay the loan back due to their situation. And we lost the house where we were living.

[7:20] By mercy, the person who bought the house let us live in the house. We was homeless. And I remember like over there, like the criticism from people, how they judge you, how they attack you because you was losing your house. And how they judge you. That demon was really hurt, you know, really hurt. It was really hurtful. Because they was like saying, now see you’re, you don’t have anything, you’re on the street and stuff like that. I never played the victim. I took it. It really hurt me. It really marked my life. But I use all those stuff as a gasoline. Work for my dreams. I say, I want this kind of life. My life is going to be different because I will have the control of my life. So I want to step out.

[8:06] I want to be different from my family. I have a lovely parents. But probably the finances was the worst. And then I worked really hard since I was probably like 10 years old. When I started working, over here we’ll say child abuse or stuff like that or labor. But I just want to work. I want to have my money. And that’s how I started work since I was like 10 years old. But when I came to the U.S., I had a goal set up. So I came here. I was 18 years old. I could forget everything that I had in El Salvador and the Sierra parties and stuff like that. No. But the first thing that I did was I enrolled in a community college to learn English that was in California because I lived two years in California.

[8:51] But the college was pricey. It was expensive. And I could afford it just one job that I had. So I had to get a second job. I had to have two jobs to be able to pay my tuitions and my own expenses because I didn’t have no parents here to help me. My brother was helping me. But I had to pay my own rent, my own food, and stuff like that. And for those two years, it was really hard because I was not able to buy nice clothes. I had to go to the swami to buy clothes. And I remember my only reward that I had was I had a reward that was on Fridays. I always went to buy one order for tacos, right? So that order of tacos, I was buying those tacos on Friday. That’s amazing. And I was going to say, Ronald, that you have such a great, the maybe a little bit traumatic of an experience of you, your parents losing your house.

[9:45] It’s probably a defining moment for you. And maybe, like you said, gasoline for your motivation on a day to day. But what a powerful thing to keep in mind. And if you’re going through a really hard time, which we all do, right, we’re in sales and there’s transactions that are just miserable. And me and you have both gone through them and been there for each other when we’re just, I don’t want to do this anymore. Like, this is incredible. But I think one of the things that you can think about in those kind of circumstances is that those circumstances can define you later. They can make you stronger later. They can remind you how good it is when it’s not, you’re not being dragged down by problems, et cetera.

[10:22] Yeah. Do you know what? Yeah, that was really hard to me, like, lose the house over there. Because over here, if you do in the U.S., you lose your house, you rent a apartment, nobody’s going to judge you. Right. Like, your neighbor will not. But over there, what happened is the neighborhood know each other, know the life of each person. Because these people, they don’t sell their house. They live for life over there for decades, you know, from generation to generation. Yeah. And it was really hurtful. And the people back then, it was really hurtful, those words that they were telling me. I could have played the victim and just go, I don’t know, drugs or whatever, whatever excuse you want to put just to destroy yourself.

[11:00] But I didn’t. And this is the best thing that it can. Like, you need to show me. Like, I say, one day, when I was going through the foreclosure of the house from my parents, I told to myself. Because sometimes, talk to yourself is the best thing you can do. So, I talked to myself and I said, one day, I’m going to show these people. This, I’m going to be bigger. I’m going to have things. So, I was using. And that’s the thing. Sometimes, the bad experience, the bad moments, the hard things that you’re going through, you need to use it as a gasoline. Yeah. To power you up, to go up, to lift you up, man. And head up. So, I would tell you. So, when I came to the U.S., after being, after I went two years to college.

[11:43] So, on that third year. So, when I came to that. When I came to Virginia, I was able to save a little bit more money. Because the company that I worked for, they gave me an institution of $6,000 that I was using for my degree. And so, I was using the money. And then, I was able to save more money. And I will tell you. After three years that I was in the U.S., I bought the house back for my parents. Oh, that’s awesome. For the people. The house that we lost them in. You said three years after being in the U.S.? After three years to be in the U.S. Wow. Yeah. The first year, I was not able to do it. Because I was paying for my college and everything. But after one year that I was saving. So, I was able.

[12:24] And that was one of the biggest rewarders. Give back the house to my parents. That thing is really my feelings. It really is very emotional. But I started from there. I started from there. And so, that little house, we make it better. Because we make it bigger. The house. We put water. Electricity. And everything. So, now it’s a decent house. Sure. That was there. And so, I come over here. And I was coming to do the right thing. To work hard. And make my way up. Because you can be whoever you want. But do it the right way. Because if you want to be in this business, especially in real estate. Do the right thing. Because this is by reputation. And reputation. You can take years to earn it. But you can lose it in one second.

[13:08] Very true. So, you need to think always. You know, do the right thing. To be in this business. Treat your clients great. So, I started working. I have a job in Corky. A poultry plant. Where I was being. I started making $7.30. And then, I. It was not hard. To make my. I wouldn’t make my way up on different levels. First, I was in production. Then, I was in person number two. Then, I went to management. And. And. How I made it was. Like, I was a hard worker. And the thing. This is the key for success. Be a hard worker. Hard worker. Kill any talents. Sure. So, be a hard worker. Be consistent. Be persistent. And my. People. They were liking me. So, I was working hard. And then, I become one of the.

[13:58] Best supervisor. Because I got one of the highest engagement. In the whole plant. Man. So, people like to work with me. And. When they do the engagement. So. They do engagement survey. And I got the highest score. That. That thing was. And then. When I was working. In the plant. In the poultry plant. There wasn’t. But there wasn’t many people. Who speak English. In the area. So, I was going. To translate. For all these people. And. Help them. I was in jails. I was in hospital. Clinics. And that’s how I came to. The real estate. Because there was. Somebody. That I went to translate. For a realtor. So, we went. And I see. There was a real. In a nice car. Dress. And I say. Oh. That’s the job that I wanted.

[14:41] Yes. I didn’t have no idea. What I was getting. Sometimes you can see. Like. You’re dressing well. And everything. But you go. And this is the thing. Never limit yourself. To be what you want. Never limit yourself. To grow. And. And reach your goals. Your. And succeed. In your life. So, man. I went. You know. I went. While I was taking those classes. In college. I took the real estate class too. In that class. And I got a hundred percent. Ace. And I passed. You know. That this. That first time. Yeah. Actually. That’s a hard. That is hard. I know a lot of people that don’t. That. That’s speaking. It’s a hard. And special. English was my second language. Yeah. And it was really hard for me. But.

[15:25] When. When you want to. Put your effort. Your dedication. And your target. Your goal. There is no. Obstacles. There is nobody can stop you. It depends how. How bad you want it. How. How much you believe in yourself. I think my confidence. On myself. Was bigger than my reality. Man. But. I went. Poor. But you put in the work too. Because obviously you had to work to. To. To get it. A hundred percent in the class. To be able to pass. You had to learn. You couldn’t just. Yeah. Have confidence. I mean. You didn’t work. The thing was. That I had to. Study double probably. Or triple. Because. It was not my. It was not the language. That I feel comfortable. Because. It was really limited. Back then.

[16:11] My English. And. But I went. And studied. Got an A. And then I went. Passed the test. And I passed it. And. And I say. Yes. So. Then. And this is the funniest thing. How I get to the real estate. So. The lady who was renting me. Because I was living. In Norway street. And then I live. In Hawking street. Which was. One of the lowest. Neighborhood there. The lady who was renting us. She had a firm. She had a real estate firm. With her husband. So I went there. To ask for a job. So the husband. Went to make a job. To one of his friends. That they had another firm. And he said. Yeah. I’m going to hire you. He’s going to be your boss. And he sent me. To the other. He sent me to the other. Firm. It was a different firm.

[16:58] It was a different firm. The guy didn’t have any idea. And I say. Hey. This broker sent me over here. And he said. That you are ready. That he hired me for you. And. And he said. Oh. He just did a joke. I’m going to play with him. And. I’ll hire you. And then he became the best. Tell me. Tell me. How many did you sell. Your first six months. In my first year. The first six months. But I was in real estate. I sold 23 houses. That’s crazy. 23 houses. Not even the realtor. That was longer. And that firm. Didn’t sell that many houses. Yeah. There was somebody else. Who sold more than me. But I was the second top producer. On that year. That was my first year. And do that much. Is nuts. And do that much.

[17:38] Yes. And then. That guy. He told him. You think. Your joke. Just make me money. Because you bring me one of the best realtors. He got. He got the last laugh. Exactly. Ronald. As you started getting successful. In real estate. You were. And we. You can get into this a little bit too. If you want. You were working two jobs. And you were still. Because Ronald. Worked his way up. In the poultry plant. And was. A top. Everybody was probably jealous of his job. Like that he was working with. So he had a really good job. And he was doing. Really well with. Real estate. But as you saw. Started seeing all the success. And started seeing more money come in. What. Did you immediately. Move up in house.

[18:17] Move up in cars. Or did you start investing. Or what was. What would be your advice. When somebody starts seeing success. Okay. And this is a really good question. And I will point. These sentences there. Where. A lot of people. When they start making money. They start seeing the money. The first thing. Is. Thinking yourself first. Oh. I’m going to buy me. This big house. Because now I can’t afford it. I have the DTIs. I can buy this big car. But don’t. Put yourselves on debt. You know. I think this is the biggest mistake. That we do. When we start making money. I think first is. When you start making money. You start investing. Yeah. Because your money. It will be. The money. Who will pay. Your lifestyle.

[19:02] Later on. And you can have a better lifestyle. When you. As soon as you start making money. You buy real estate. You buy stocks. Or you can buy. Invest your money. For me. I can only suggest you real estate. Because that’s. What’s. In my experience. Has worked the best. You know. You’re the professional. So why not. Invest in what you know. Right. Exactly. Do you understand stocks well. If you’re not. Honestly. If you need to be a stock broker. Do you understand it. As well as the agent understands real estate. In their local market. Probably not. Because it’s not like you understand. Every single business. That’s being invested in. Anyway. You. I think one of the things you said. That I really like.

[19:40] And I think. Are you feeding yourself now? Are you feeding the Ronald right now? Or are you feeding the future Ronald? If you increase your lifestyle. Now. Even you’re seeing more money. You could. That’s just going to be something. You have to sustain from here on out. Instead. You’re building this. Big monster. Of a cash flow. Passive income. To feed later Ronald. And your lifestyle. Can stay lower. While you’re building up. That passive income. That then allows you. To raise your income. Or your lifestyle. So if your. Passive income gets bigger. You can start. Increasing your. Daily expenditures. And live a little bit more lavishly. Yeah. So what I did is. Instead to start buying. Like my dream house.

[20:22] And a nice car. I still. Like having the same lifestyle. With a decent house. That was living. And my car. That was driving me. So. I didn’t think. On these big things first. But I thought. That I need to. Create a passive income. Where. I can buy properties. And I think. That was the best decision. That I did. Because. I bought those properties. Really cheap back then. How many doors do you have now? Right now. I have duty. Rentals properties. Awesome. So. I start buying those properties. Little by one. By one. As more property you’re getting. You’re getting more. Stronger financially. Yeah. You’re getting more power to yourself. And then. So when. I went to a point. Where I feel. Castle. Where I feel.

[21:06] That. My. A passive income. Is going to start paying. A better lifestyle. Why not? Why not? You deserve it the best. And go for. When you can. Go for. You know. I don’t have nothing against that. That’s what I did. When I got the rentals. When I started getting like. So many rentals. And I saw. The. Those rentals. I said. Ronald. This is your life. That you need to. You deserve the best too. So I built my. My. Dream house. Of course. I buy my nicest cars. But. I was able to pay. I was able to pay for those cars. Cash. Not going to the dealer. And have. Those things. But. In. In your lifestyle. It would be paid off. For your passive income. Yeah. And you need. It’s a real. And that’s what I’m telling.

[21:55] Every realtor. You need to create. Like a rent or. Like a passive income. Because in this business. One month. You can make tons of money. No. Three. Three. Four months. You’re not going to make anything. So. You need to have. A different. Source of income. Of incomes. In the real estate business. And that way. You’re not going to. Suffer. If any crisis. Anything come. You will be ready. You will be prepared. And move forward. Take that advantage. Even if we’re going through a recession. Take that advantage. Go and buy those foreclosures. And make a rentals. Make a fleet. So. Don’t you sit. Complaining. Whining. Ah. The economy. I don’t like the government. I don’t like the. No. It’s your fault.

[22:35] We need to. Take advantage of any situation. The market is good. Go and sell. Work harder. Work night shift. Day shift. And whatever. But. Work harder. You only have control of what you have control over. Which is yourself. Exactly. I think one of the things I’ve thought about here. With real estate. Like. When you get into the career. You’re not. You don’t have benefits. Right. You’re not getting health insurance covered. You’re not getting your company matched 401k. But what we do have. Is we have knowledge. We have flexibility. We have the ability to invest in our own markets. It doesn’t have to be in your own market. But we know real estate. And then on top of that. We get incentives. So like instead of having a 401k.

[23:13] You’re stocking away money. And every. Every month. Whatever. You don’t see that until you retire. With rentals. You see those. You see the passive income. You can start building a life. That frees you from. You can retire early. If you want to. For example. But then on top of that. You’re a real estate professional. If you’re a realtor. Right. So check with your accountant. But there are tax incentives. To be a real estate professional. You can force depreciate your rentals. And get. Your tax income. Drops significantly. So. Look into that. This is an opportunity. I’m always blown away. With how little. Realtors actually invest. In real estate. Or have maybe one rental. Or two rentals. That they’ve.

[23:54] Accumulated over time. But if you’ve been in the business. For a while. Reinvest in yourself. Invest in your future. You don’t want to be. That agent. That’s. Needing to work. At 90. We’re back in. We had a little bit. Of technical difficulty. But. Let’s. This is a good opportunity. To move into. Ronald. What keeps you going? What keeps your. Mentals. Right. How do you keep your mental health. Good. So that you are able to perform. At your level. And have this kind of attitude. All the time. I think. That’s one of the most important. thing. I mean. Your. Your. Mental health. You be positive. You have. Your. Mind clear. And you have. Clear goals. Where. You want to be. So. That’s essential. On.

[24:36] Anybody. Who wants to be here. You have to be strong. In this business. Especially in real estate. You need to have. Those. That. That thick skin. So. Be strong. Emotionally. Be. Consistent. Because over here. It’s not like. One day. You’re. High. You’re. We understand. Now. All the time. You can have. Your high. Energy. Your high. Positiveness. But be. At least consistent. And. And. Always. Think positive. Always. Hope. And wait. For. The best thing. Is coming to you. So. When you have. That kind of energy. That kind of vibe. That kind of. Positiveness. Everything. Come together. Things. How. It’s blooming. How things. Are. Getting up. Getting together. How business. Can. Come in. Close. How business.

[25:23] You can. Get it. And. How you can. Move forward. So. It’s very important. To. Feed your brain. Feed your mind. To change. Your mindset. If you see. That’s not the results. That you’re getting. Is not that what you want. Is something wrong there. You need to change. The way. That you’re thinking. The mindset. So one thing. And I will share with you. That helped me. Was. I read a lot of. Books. About. Those books. That help you to grow. Those books. That. It tells you. These people went through. So hard things. But. They came up. And they become. Millionary. There was a book. That he called. The Million. The Millionary Mind. Of Tea. Have Ecker. That book. Changed my life. Okay. Because. It made me think different.

[26:15] It made me see the life. Different way. How people. How rich people think. Is different. And then. It teaches you to. Like. How to surround. With the people. Who help you. To grow. Who help you. To. Have a better attitude. Who help you. To have a better decisions. And. Don’t be afraid. To invest. To. Go forward. It was really hard. For me. When. I was. In the two jobs. And I had to take a decision. Because. Real estate. It was going. Crazy on me. And I had it. The other job too. So it was two good jobs. One job. That I had all the benefits. It was a salary. It was. A stable job. And in the other side. In the other hands. I had real estate. That I was doing. Good. But I didn’t have no benefits.

[27:08] It was risky. Really. Yeah. So. It was really hard. A lot of people. Like. Probably 90% of the people. Told me. Stay. Where your. Salary job. Where your secure job. Stay with that. It’s a good job. It’s a good job man. You worked so hard. To go. To get there. My. Dreams. And. My ambitions. It was bigger than that. And I say. I say. Even against. To the opinion. Of everybody. Mm-hmm. I went. With the real estate. Because. This is what. The reason. That I did it. Is because. We had. Problems again. It’s just a simple. It’s a simple workout. Finish this thing. Ronald. Yeah. You were just saying. That you. Transitioned into real estate. It was a big jump for you. You were. It was scary. Everybody was saying.

[27:59] You’re crazy for doing it. But. Look at you now. Was it the right decision? It was the right decision man. And I think. Even those. It wasn’t going to be. What I wanted. Or it was not going to be. The successful. That I got. I think. It. Because. It’s better. Try to do it. That you never try it. And then you will regret it. Because at least. You try it. And. What happened is. I will tell you. This thing. That a lot of people. They don’t say. They don’t want to talk about it. But when you work for a company. Like I did. You put in. A roof to your income. But when you work for yourself. Real estate commission. Or flips. Or whatever. The sky is the limit. And you work hard. And you make the money.

[28:44] And you. Then you’re going to be like. Buying your. On flips. Having more rentals. Having a better lifestyle. And be happy. And also. At the same time. Enjoy the journey. From the beginning. Don’t wait. Until you have. That dream of your house. You’re going to be happy. No. Enjoy the. You can be happy. From the beginning. Exactly. That’s. That’s nothing. There is a lot of people. That. Just get miserable. On the jobs. Enjoy your job. No matter what you do. Enjoy it. And be the best. If you’re a sweeper. Be the best sweeper. Yes. If you’re a realtor. Try to be the best realtor. But be the best. That’s awesome. What would you say is your best real estate investing advice you can give somebody?

[29:27] I think my. My best. Advice. To get to somebody is. Invest in real estate. In rentals. If you can do flips. When you have more experience. Do it. I love it. Because. Real estate. With the times. Always go up. If you buy a car. We’ll lose the value. But houses. They don’t lose the value. With the time. Right. They just getting more value. It’s getting more expensive. And. Can you imagine. Other people are paying it down. Your debt on it. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Can you imagine. If I was not going to start buying those houses. When I bought some houses for a hundred thousand. Now we cannot find any house like that. So. And then. Another thing that I make. A point I make a lot. Is. People talk about interest rates.

[30:17] And it’s not the greatest time to buy. If you can buy it. Because. When interest rates were low. This man over here. Ronald. Refinanced. Like. His whole portfolio. And. He wouldn’t have been able to. Pick up. 16. Houses. Yeah. If he was just buying them. Then. At that lower interest rate. And there would have been. A ton of competition. He accumulated properties over time. Then. When there was a good opportunity. And. There was other investors. I saw. That did this too. They just. Some of them consolidated their debt. Into one big mortgage. So there’s just. It. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity. Yeah. You can buy. If it breaks even. It will get better. Of course. You can be more savvy. About your investing.

[30:55] But I think it’s more important. To do. To act. To build. To invest. Ronald. Do you have a biggest. You already talked about. Your best ever. Book recommendation. The millionaire mind. And then. Do you have. The biggest success. You could talk about. What would you say. Is your biggest. Deal you ever completed. Or the biggest success. In general. My biggest success. My biggest success. It’s been an accomplishment. For. If I will. Summarize. My success. Is being. That. No matter what you have. Went through. Don’t play the role. Of victim. Don’t. Become the victim. Blaming. Other people. Saying. These people. Did this to me. These other people. Did this to me. And. Be able. To come up. No matter what.

[31:45] You have. Up. And. I think my biggest success. Is being. That strength. That the life. Has shown me. And. It’s not like. What I acquired. For. What I have now. No. It’s this. I don’t think. It’s about that. But I think. My biggest success. That I have. If I will say. What is your biggest success. I would say. Is. Was. The mentality. That I put into. To. Get me out. Of the environment. Where I grow. And be. Somebody different. From my family. And step out of the box. And. Which is okay. But. I think. That’s one of them. My biggest success. And. Another. Biggest success. Will be. My two daughters. Of course. That’s awesome. They’re. They’re great girls. Do you want to talk about your. The biggest mistake.

[32:40] The. The biggest. Hardship. That you went through. I would not say. Was the biggest mistake. But I would say. Was a learning experience. When I was working. In two jobs. I had to save. $130,000. And then. One. Member of the family. Advised me to buy a restaurant. I was trying to. Succeed. So. I went. To the wrong business. That’s what I’m calling it. Because. One thing is. I didn’t have no experience. In restaurants. I bought this restaurant. And the restaurant. They were selling. Because she was not making money. And. The restaurant. I already had. A bad reputation. I only could. Could. Handle it. Like. For six months. And that was. My worst. Part. That I. The most challenge. The most challenge.

[33:26] Times. That I went through. Because. I. Run out of money. Because the restaurant. I was not making money. I always had to pay. Food. Taxes. Everything that it. Cost. To run the business. And. So. To make the story short. I went to the point. Where I say. I need to close it. Sell it. Or give it away. I give it away. To somebody. I said. You can take it. I just want to be out. So. When I get out. With that business. I get out. With. $30,000. In debt. All the savings. All the investment. That I did. It was gone. And. During that time. I remember. Like. All my credit cards. Was maxed out. My. Bank account. Was overdraft. And I went to the. There wasn’t gas station. I went to the gas station. To put gas on my car.

[34:18] I only had $5. On my pocket cash. I put $3. And. And like. Put $3. In gas. And. Two. I left $2. Because I didn’t want to be without any. Dollar in my pocket. Meaning. That day. I cried in my car. But you know what? That was. One of the learning experiences. Because that day. I promised to myself. That I will never. Never. Go back. To be in that situation. Wow. And you know what? Yeah. I lost everything in that moment. With that restaurant. I still some. Has. Because I already have bought it. Like a few rentals. So I still had it there. But. It was. I had everything to go to on bankruptcy. I took the ownership. I said. This was my decision. Who took me here. Why this company had to pay for me.

[35:09] You had to choice. When you go through. I had to lose everything. I didn’t have no money in my bank. My credit card was over. Like. To the. To the limit. And then. So what I did later on. I said. I left the restaurant. And that day. Was the day that I feel. That took off. A big lull. Of my shoulders. Not bad. And. A lot of people. You had to choice. Or you go to depression. Or you go to drink. Or you go to blame. Other people. Or. You go to do. Other stuff. To destroy yourself. Yeah. Or you have this one. Lift up yourself. Get up. And go back to the game. And I say. I’m going to work harder. The first one. It was really hard. But. I was working harder. And harder. Like. A year later. Man. I was out of that.

[36:01] Then. I had to take the decision. To leave my other job. So. I will tell you. When I left my other job. Everybody was against. Don’t do it. So. In my first year. That I did just real estate. The full year. That I did just real estate. I make. Four times more money. Than I was making before. With two jobs. And only with one job. That’s amazing. Because. Sometimes you put. All the energy. You put. All your effort. You had the time. To show houses. To clients. You see. What you had to do. To grow your business. And always. Have this. Positive attitude. Even though. You’re going through. A hard times. But the positive attitude. It will take you out. And will make you. Stronger. Powerful. And will make you.

[36:47] To conquist. Your dreams. I love it. This has been. An amazing conversation. I think that. Some of the highlights. That I have. Is. I think. Complete ownership. Of your situation. That’s one thing. That you. You talk about. And believe in deeply. So. You’re not blaming other people. For your misfortunes. Of course. Bad things happen. But. Ultimately. It’s. The only thing you can control. Is what you have. Control over. And which is yourself. And that’s how you can really. Take ownership of your life. And make decisions. That will get you. To where you want to be. I think positive attitude. Is another really big thing. Working really hard. Is another really big thing. Don’t let. Anything. Don’t let anything.

[37:27] And this is something. I definitely observed in you as well. Just knowing you. And being your friend. Is I think that there’s nothing. There can be. There can be something that. That says something to you. That’s not kind. Or whatever. But. You don’t let it roll. You let it roll off your back. You’re focused on. On what you need to get to. And letting that person drag you down. Is it going to help. It’s not going to get you further. So let’s keep going. No. You like. In this life. In this business. You need to. Choose your battles. And. And. And. Focus. On what will be proactive for you. Focus. On what will be. Going to bring you money. Focus. On what will be. Going to make you happy. You cannot control.

[38:02] The behaviors. Or. Things from other people. But you can control yourself. And be the person. When other people attack you. Just being. In your feet. And. Be strong. And. Just let them come apart. Don’t let. They throw you at the same level. So. That’s just so endeavillating. When you don’t let those things. Get you inside of you. And you. Show to them. That you’re stronger. That you are. Somebody. That. Are where you are. Because. You went through so many things. And those things. Make you stronger. I love it. Ronald. If somebody wants to. Follow you on social media. Is there a good place. To do so. Or reach out to you. Sure. You can follow me on my. Facebook. Ronald Flores. Or. My. TikTok.

[38:47] Ronald Flores. I love it. Thanks so much for being here. Ronald. Stay tuned for the next episode.

[38:55] Thanks for listening to the Wealthy Investor Podcast. Where we talk about wealth. And holistic health. If you enjoy our content. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And hear new episodes. Every Thursday. If you really like our content. You can follow us on social media. At. The Wealthy Investor. Wealthy. Spelled. W-E-L-L-T-H-Y. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy. Wealthy.