Breaking Through Self-Imposed Limitations with Chris Medellin

In this episode, we’re diving deep with Chris Medellin, host of The Breakthrough Podcast, who’s got one hell of a story—from a tough start to a standout career in the mortgage game. Chris gets real about ditching those self-imposed limits, redefining success beyond the dollars, and the magic that happens when you focus on connection and community. He’s dishing out his go-to secrets for making it, like the power of a solid business plan and the importance of showing up (even when it’s tough).

Chris doesn’t hold back, getting into the importance of personal branding and the grit of what it takes to push past limiting beliefs and knowing your worth. 

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Transcript

There's not somebody right now who is winning by hiding.

I think everybody even listening has a limitation that's self-imposing that has been instilled in them from the way that they were brought up. And for me,

You know, it was because no one in my family had ever made that kind of money. Now they're limited because they haven't surrounded themselves with people that have done more than them. And it's my job to put them in those certain scenarios where they can see it and say, my gosh, I can change this habit, this habit, this habit in order to break through to that next level. I think the earlier you figure that out, then the, you know, the happier you'll be because I think I struggled internally for years. It is embedded in us as individuals, there's limitations.

a lot of that comes from how we were brought up. had a team, we closed a billion dollars. I don't care who you are, that's a lot of money. Billion with a B, y'all. B. yeah. As a fellow kind of college dropout, do not think formal education is the answer for everyone. If you could boil down your success that whoever listening could take away with them today, what would you say those kind of key ingredients are for you based on your experience? Like my initial thought is...

On today's episode of Not Nice Clever, we are pleased to introduce you to Chris Medellin, a self-made Mexican American mentor, speaker and thought leader born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. From dealing drugs in high school to dropping out of college to becoming a multi-billion dollar producer in the mortgage industry, Chris has seen it all.

We dive into talking through all the ups and downs that he has seen working in the mortgage industry to grappling with imposter syndrome at every new level of growth, as well as how he is leveraging personal branding and coaching other loan officers to do the same in order to truly amplify and break through in their industry. Let's dive in. All right, well, Chris, I am so excited. I know Candice is too to have you here today. It feels like this is a full circle.

because I was realizing it's been just over a year since we first met. And I know you've known Candice a little bit longer at the Forward event last summer in July, and then we were there again this summer. And it's just been wild to see your journey. I know you and I have worked together on setting the foundations of your branding and getting into your story, which we are gonna dive fully in today. So before we get into the nitty gritty of all of those things, we always love to start with the hard hitting questions. We wanna know you do a lot.

for your community, your team, what's one thing right now that you just can't shut up about? We wanna know and tell the people. Well, first off, guys, thank you for doing this because every Friday I'm doing my own podcast and today I get to like, you know, this is kind of like a break. I get to like just tell my story with you guys. So it's fun. And by the way, thank you guys both for having me on. I'm super honored. You guys have a dope ass podcast.

You know, I think I told you both this, but I, it's like, I recommended this to my daughter because I just think you guys are doing something amazing and something to aspire to be for someone who's coming up. so thank you for sharing what you guys do. And you know, yeah, I appreciate you guys asking me to come on. Absolutely. So I'll answer your question. So what not shut up about. So I think like we have to take a moment in time right now to identify that this is.

Probably one of the hardest times in the industry, in the real estate industry, in the mortgage industry, rates are at the highest that they've ever been. And so like, we could time capsule this moment and remember where we were, because, you know, if we listen to this a year from now, this is not going to be the place we're in. But I do think right now, more than ever, I cannot shut up about this to loan officers, that they have the biggest opportunity in front of them to connect with people.

by building their brand, by becoming an individual that people get an opportunity to know digitally before they actually get to know them, you know, face to face and in person. And so I'm really trying to help loan officers find their passion for creativity in building their brand online. And so I can't shut up about it because I believe, and I watch this, I study the numbers and I look at the market, loan officers who are marketing themselves, loan officers and realtors who are out.

building their brands, who are marketing themselves, who are searchable online, are the ones that are winning right now. There's not somebody right now who is winning by hiding. So I can't shut up about that right now because I think everybody needs to be doing this. And honestly, they gotta be connecting with people like you two because you guys are a proponent on how to do that and you're teaching people and educating them why that's important. So that's why we've all been connected.

I love that you just said you do not win by hiding. I think that is so true, not just in today's market, this moment in time, but just in general. are social human beings. We're designed to connect with one another. And I love that you're putting the creativity and fun and play back into it too, because I think that makes it a little bit more approachable and it also sparks new ideas. It's innovation. It's everything this industry needs right now. So I love that you're leading that charge, Chris.

Yeah, check this out. I had a guy who he's been with me for about seven years now, eight years actually. And he used to laugh at me because I've been doing content for about five years, maybe a little longer, but not at the level that I've been doing. But he used to laugh at me like, dude, there's no way. And now he's doing it. He has like a brand, you know, he's, having fun with it. And he said, like, Chris, I'm able to exercise the side of my brain from a creativity perspective that I've never been able to do it. So it's really engaged me about

building my brand at a time where I was looking at retiring from mortgage, then now I'm actually having fun again because I'm able to get creative and meet new people through this platform. And I think that's the power of branding and not hiding. Absolutely. And I know one thing that is really important to you, it came up in our work together and we really defined that your voice is your power and you do have a place at the table. And I love that you are working to

have other loan officers empower themselves and put themselves out there. Like that part of your mission in your brand is just extremely expiring from an outsider looking in that's not in your industry. And I know that's something you're really passionate about too. Absolutely, absolutely passionate about that. One thing that you mentioned, Chris, is that you want people to like digitally put themselves out there. And one of my favorite quotes right now is Rory Vadin's quote when he talks about personal branding. He says it is,

the digitization of your reputation. That's exactly it. Yep. I think it's so powerful because people already understand the concept of having a reputation, right? Your parents taught you about making sure you have a good reputation and how much that means. And so if you already have that understanding of what that is, and you already have a reputation in real life with the community that already knows you, likes you and trusts you,

The only thing that personal branding does is takes that reputation to the online space and it helps you to ensure that what people experience in real life is also what they experience when they look you up online, right? And it's really that simple, but I think people make it so much more complicated than that. I totally agree. I mean, there's so much overthinking that's happening right now with people who are trying to jump into the space. It's, you know,

Is my background cool? Do I have the right equipment? Did I, do I have a, you know, a big enough camera? And the truth of the matter is, is that everyone has the best camera in their pocket right now. And, it's in their hand, right? They have the best audio, they have everything. They just have to get comfortable with doing it. And so I'll tell you a quick story. you know, I'm an, I'm a retail lender, right? And so in the retail space, there's like two types of like two really big.

differences in mortgage and there's the mortgage broker and the retail loan officer and I won't go into all the details on it, but people have left retail to go broker and there's like this mass like amount of people leaving retail people to go into brokers. And I have, I've made it my brand to really kind of demonstrate who I am as a leader in the mortgage space through my social media. So I'll, you know, I'll, I'll send, you know, out, notifications of people who did a really good job or, know, we're doing like masterminds we're doing.

really cool stuff in the mortgage industry that people are looking at from other companies or a brokerage is saying, I'm not getting that. My boss isn't doing that. And so I had a guy reach out to me that's like, Hey, I'm thinking about leaving going the broker and going back to retail because I've been watching what you're developing and I want to be a part of something like that. And can you help me find that? And I think that that's the power of demonstration in what you're doing. Like a lot of people don't realize

that if I get an opportunity to see you and what you're doing behind the scenes and what it's like to live in your struggle or in your authentic life, then little by little it's registering me that you're just like me or I'm just like you. And when it comes time to doing business, I'm calling you because I am now ready to transact and I've gotten to know you like you and trust you. And I think that that's where that digitization comes into play. So true. Absolutely.

So talk to us a little bit about how you define success as an entrepreneur today and maybe how that's different than you defined it in the past. Talk to us a little bit about that. Well, I think growing up, I had this yearning to figure out how to break out of a of like a near poverty level of living, you know, growing up. Right. So

You know, growing up, we didn't have and my parents were very working class. My dad, you know, was working at a tire shop. My mom was working in a printing factory. And so like my, my like mission in life was to figure out how to get money and how to live in a way that I didn't have to live the way we were living. And so like I did things like, you know, sold drugs and that's something I'm not proud of at all. I never said this, but I was like, there was a point where, you know, somebody got their hands on some, some weed.

And then we figured out how to like measure it all out and then sold it. And here's the one thing about selling with one, you can make money really fast, but like I had people come into my house. And like all hours of the night, my mom's like, who are these people that are knocking on the door in these maniacs knocking at door 2 AM? I'm like, yeah, don't worry about it. mean, like the fact that she didn't know what was going on was crazy to me, but, what I realized is that word of mouth was really big, right? So I, I was able to get.

product out really fast. I realized at that time that that's not necessarily the space that was good for me. And I figured out how to hack my way in to a commission paying job, where I can talk, use my voice, and get really good at closing people. And at the time, I was still able in order to make connections and make money. And then before I knew it, I was a top performer. And you know, I never

I never went to college. barely, I mean, I was like five years in high school. like my senior year of high school, cause it was my fifth year there. you know how they go and write on your car with like shoe polish, like my friends when it put five years plan. so it was like really embarrassing that I had to go right. Because all the people we kind of picked on coming up, I'm like showing up to school again. So I was a bit of an F up, you know, coming into it. Cause I just didn't want to go to school.

But what I realized was that I was really good in the workspace. And so by the time it came time to go to college, I was already making really good money selling cable. So I was like, you know what? I'm just going to stay doing this and I'll see what happens. And through that, I was able to, you know, really work my way up the ladder in different companies and make, you know, I mean, I made more money than I ever thought I was capable of making or that I deserve to make. And

I think it all had to do now changing this will to answer your question is defining success is no longer about money. To me, it's it's it transcended into, have to be the person that my kids look up to, I have to be the person that they feel a sense of safety with, when it comes to, you know, having wealth or having decisions in life that I didn't have. And hopefully, through that, I teach them

how to be hungry in life the way that I was. But when I took that and really transcended into realizing that I do deserve to make money, I do deserve what other people have, that I wasn't worth, my worth wasn't dependent on my degree or not having a degree. It was really what I wanted to have. Success for me has been, am I happy? Am I waking up with purpose? And do the people around me trust me and know that I'm gonna be there for them? I love that so much.

I just want to pause. Yes. So much of what you said just hit me in the heart. know Candace too. We're just over here, we're like, Chris. Truly. over profits, purpose over profits, so much of that. For listeners right now, I wish that I felt sooner and you touched on this as like,

You are born inherently worthy. You're worthy of all of your hopes and dreams and aspirations. And if you're around people right now who are telling you you are crazy or you don't deserve it because X, Y, Z, because their path isn't their path or the thing that they think you should be doing, you just need to let all of that go and know that you are fully worthy and capable and right now.

Full stop. Period. Yes. Because I think that's a thing that holds us back. I struggled with this, Chris, for many years after I left teaching. And I'll tell this story. I don't think we've talked about it before. But when I left teaching, I remember thinking, I think I was charging clients, I don't know, $2,000 or something like that back in the day. And I would be like, my gosh, that's more than two weeks of work.

I didn't even make that in two weeks as a teacher with a master's degree, right? I'd be like, is that even fair? Is that How dare you? Should I be charging this? I feel terrible about this. But I was comparing my bank account to their bank account, right? I don't know what their bank account is like. Maybe $2,000 is nothing to them, right? But I just didn't have the mindset to understand that.

I could charge whatever I wanted or make as much money as I wanted and I was worthy, right? Like I felt like I was not qualified to charge that much for no reason other than I felt like it was a lot of money at that time and now this is making me laugh, right? Like, wow, like that's insane. But I think that the earlier you understand that you get to decide how much money you wanna make.

Like Ryan always talks about limitless livelihood. I think the earlier you figure that out, then the happier you'll be because I think I struggled internally for years before I finally got comfortable with it. And I still struggle at every new level a little bit. At every new level that I get to, it's still kind of something that comes up for me. I think we all have it. I think everybody even listening has a limitation that's self-imposing that has been instilled in them.

from the way that they were brought up. And for me, it was because no one in my family had ever made that kind of money. So the limit was I just need to make more than them, right? And then it was like, the habits that I watched my mom or my dad do, like how they behaved when they came home from work or what their habits were that being a blue collar person would have different from my habits, right? So it's all about these things that were instilled in me.

that maybe I shouldn't just get home and watch TV. You maybe I should be doing something different with my time. Maybe I should be connecting with people and having friends that are doing better than me in order to raise, you know, my level of understanding of the world. And so I think that's always been a thing for me is like figure out who my friends are. And like, like, I will tell you this, a lot of people that I talked to in mortgage that are Latino are usually at the top of their

of success in their families. And now they're limited because they haven't surrounded themselves with people that have done more than them. And it's my job to put them in those scenarios where they can see it and say, my gosh, I can change this habit, this habit, this habit in order to break through to that next level. And so I do believe it and I have it myself. Like to this day, I still have to tell myself, why am I limiting myself? Why did I put a cap?

on my ability to grow even further than I am. So it's a constant struggle for, and I don't know if it's a male, female thing, a Latino, I don't know what that is, but it is embedded in us as individuals, there's limitations. And I think a lot of that comes from how we were brought up. Yeah, think it's a human thing. It just kind of depends on what you grew up around, right? The stories you grew up around, you mentioned your parents and

You know, my parents, when I think about it, you have this kind of out of body experience as you grow up and elevate in your career. And I'm like, hang on. I was raised by a woman that was born in Tokyo, Japan, who was raised by a woman who lost her family after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Like when you truly zoom out enough and you're like, wow, so that's their story. But I love what you do with your team members and having them understand that they can choose and decide.

what their story is gonna be like and what that corresponding income level will look like. And even to be a role model for your kids too. Like this is a common theme. Literally every leader we have ever had on this podcast, including you, Chris, when we ask them about how they define success, they're like, yeah, it's not money. Yeah, it's not actually me. Like, yes, my face is out there. It's a personal brand. That's how I reach the people. they define success by everybody else, by their children, their team members, their colleagues.

their peers in network, like we are all peers for one another. It's an interesting transcendent moment. I love that you used that word earlier too. I wanted to call that out. You know how much I love wordplay. So I think it's great. It's very inspiring. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So to that point, obviously there's so much that goes into success. And I love that you've been really open about your journey.

You know, as a fellow kind of college dropout, I withdrew from nursing school to go into the startup world. I do not think formal education is the answer for everyone. And you've definitely made your own way. I would say if you could boil down your success into, I don't know, let's just say two or three key ingredients that whoever listening, wherever they are in their income journey, their purpose journey could take away with them today. What would you say?

those kind of key ingredients are for you based on your experience? Well, so in order to answer that, I've got to give a little bit of context to this. my initial thought is, just to say, personal branding is the big one, right? think to understand it is I was fired about 10 years ago. And I just closed a billion dollars in business. My team had, not me by myself, but I had a team.

We closed a billion dollars. I don't care who you are. That's a lot of money. Billion with a B, y'all. B, yeah. my gosh. We did not even plan that. I love this. Okay, continue, Chris. I was number two in the company behind like whoever was in New York, right? Because that's a whole different beast. And I'm sitting in Phoenix and no one called me. Like I got laid off and no one called me. No one called me and said, let's help you. I had to reach out to recruiters online. LinkedIn had just, you

like started. So I would, I would like research recruiters or research people at other companies and connect with them. And I realized nobody knew who I was and nobody cared. Nobody. In fact, I remember sending my numbers to somebody and they didn't believe me. They thought I had fabricated my numbers, right? Cause they're like, who's this clown with a billion dollars in fundings. And so I realized that I, in order for me to never be in this situation again, I had to build.

I didn't call it a brand at the time, but I had to be known in the marketplace, in the industry, as somebody who was pushing out more content and showing behind the scenes of what it's like to be in this industry more so than anybody in my position, right? That was like my initial goal. And it's evolved over time. But my point was is that if something happened to me today, and I'm very superstitious to say this, but like if I were to get fired, I hang up with you guys.

walked into the room, my boss calls me and fired me. I will have a line of people lined up to do business with me because they know who I am and they trust me. And so I think what people have to realize is that, you know, having a brand in the marketplace is big. So that's like number one. mean, I, know, my daughter's 22 and I'm telling her the same thing. Like you have to be known in the marketplace because, just knowing you before they get to know you is puts

puts you in front of the line with everybody. know, and so, so that that's a really big thing. I think the second thing that I would say is for me, it's showing up in a big way. You know, if I go to an event, if I go to, you know, a meeting, a coffee meeting, I'm engaged and I showed up. It's very, very seldom that I'm going to cancel anything. Very seldom. Like, I mean, I have my whole

philosophy has been unless I'm in the hospital, there's really no reason I can't show up. Right. So that's always been my philosophy. Like I have not called in sick and I don't know 20 years of being at work, you know, now I probably have gone homesick like midday because I couldn't, you know, handle it, but I have always showed up. And I think that for me, that's just been instilled in what I do. And I think the last thing is having a business plan and a strategy because

The moment I sat down on a Saturday 15 years ago to write out my business plan that somebody taught me how to do ever since then, I have been able to achieve my goals in a way that I never was before because I just didn't have an outline on how to get to it. And so those three things to me are probably the most important factors that have helped me become successful in what I'm doing.

I love it. to our ears, Chris, because this is what we talk about all day long and like, gets it. It just makes me so happy. Well, that's why we've all done business together. absolutely. Because there's a method to the madness. We all agree with. Yes, and every time I get in a room with you guys, it's like, you know, we all are in agreement and it's like, why doesn't the rest of the world see this? Yeah. Yeah. I would be spending my last money right now.

to hire you guys to help me go build this out, you know, because you guys are good at what you do. And I think it's really positioned me in a better way since knowing you. So, you know, I'm a big like believer in what you guys are doing. And it's so reciprocal, which is the incredible thing about it, right? Because, yes, you've hired Kat and I to support you. And at the end of the day,

You you're in front of our audience. We get to be in front of your audience. Like we're building a community that is supporting one another. And I think so many people are afraid. Like some people, Chris, would be like, I don't want people to know about Kat and Candice because like they helped me build my business and I don't want the other lender's business to grow because of them, right? And it's so silly. know it sounds dumb, but we hear this. that's our reaction too.

We hear this all the time. Because I've actually referred you guys to other lenders that I'm in competition with, that I'm friends with. I've said, if you're going to go out and build your brand, you need to go and hire this group of people that I know. Because I don't think there's anybody better that can do it. And you guys are perfect for what we're trying to do. yeah, the small-minded thought process of, and I think it's small-minded to think that there is not an abundance even in this market of business.

is just a weak way of thinking. mean, the more you can give, the more you can support, the more you can educate, then the business will come. It's just a way you gotta deal with life. But if you're thinking scarcity, that's a bad way, that's a bad place to be. And if you're building a brand, you never have to be at the mercy of the market. That's a good point. Your brand is going to transcend that.

And so being in rooms with people who don't have the mindset that they're at the mercy of the market is where you want to be. People who actually have built something and understand that this is the time, if any, and you said this at the beginning of the podcast, Chris, like this is the time to be thinking about your brand because maybe you're not in transaction as much as you were, you know, in 2020 or whatever year that was. But.

Now is the time to focus on your messaging, who you're talking to, your target audience, creating content, doing all of the things that position you as an expert, a thought leader in your space. You kind of have no excuse right now because you can't tell me that you're just like... You don't have time. You don't have time, yeah. You have a little bit more time than you did before. Absolutely. I agree. So Chris, when it was bad... We're going there. We've all been there when it was bad.

What in those like seemingly hard parts you got fired? I'm sure there's more things that I don't know about that have happened where you're like, this is not looking good, right? The market shifts, whatever. There's things that are impacting your business and it feels like maybe you're not going to get through this. I'm sure you've had at least the thought, the fleeting thought that that could be true. What was that like? How did you pull through? Give us a little bit of context there. Well, so

I've been fired more than once, right? So because I'm in the mortgage industry and the first time, the first time was in 2008 and it was, I was in a call center and I had just been moved to, to Huntington beach, right? So I'm, I'm living on the beach. It was dope. It was like, I was on a permanent vacation, right? And, and then, and and like the office I'm sitting in, was there was all mortgage.

in this whole little community. you're watching people like walking out from where like on the 23rd floor, you're watching people walking out with their boxes, right? Like, another one, you know, like never going to happen to us and ensure shit had happened to me. And so I went from that moment to like eight months of being unemployed, eight months, right? There was a point that I would, I remember the lowest point when I would go to Starbucks in the morning and get my coffee.

Cause I didn't have anything better to do. And I would be in line like mad at the person in front of me that had like one of those badges. I'm like, how do you have a job? I don't have a job. Like I was like, I was like resentful that other people have jobs and I didn't. Right. And so like, and, and I remember like, I would fill out applications after application. I had a spreadsheet and I think I stopped counting after like 230 jobs that I had posted for me that I'd get no callbacks on. And I figured out a hack by the way, on how to get.

job interviews, at least this work back then, is that you take the job app, like whatever the job description is, and then you work all those keywords into your resume. And so instead of like applying for like 100 jobs, I would apply for like two, but I would have to go in and redo my resume like manually to match. This is like a little bit of thinking, but then I started getting interviews really fast and then it ended up working out.

But I think the lowest time, like when you talk about the lowest of lows, like I remember like, I'm not, I'm not a, a religious individual whatsoever. I would like literally pray. Which is a big deal for me to say, but I remember being on my knees praying like, please somebody hire me. And, that's how, that's how scary it was. And.

I just like landed, I just did some group of guys that I had worked with before were starting their own brokerage and wanted me to be come in as a partner. And I, and I went in and, know, through that ended up, you know, getting out of the funk, rebuilding myself and building some business and, getting back on my feet. And, then eventually, you know, went in back into like, you know, bigger, bigger corporate situations.

and worked my way through, but it was probably the, I mean, the recession, like I was probably one of the first to get cut and going eight months was the hardest. mean, the hardest. here's the other thing. Like this is how I knew that I was, that I married the right person is because she married me while I was unemployed. Like that's how you know, right? Like I, believed in me so well that she was like, I'm going to start a life with you while you have no money. But, but yeah, so that was my lowest of lows. And, and I got really fortunate to,

end up working my way through things. that time though, that I was unemployed, what I learned in that period was I was never going to take my job and my duty to serve people for granted. I was like, I will work harder, I will work smarter, I will work faster than anyone if I get the opportunity again. And I've always lived by that moving forward, that that was the one thing that I learned in that process that I would never take.

my livelihood for granted. Yes. I think it's so important to share stories like that because there are people who look at you now, Chris, and they're like, well, easy for him to say, right? Look at him on stages, flying all over the country, connecting with a bunch of amazing people. We see it in your feed. Your podcast is killing it. There's just so many great things, right? Your family life looks beautiful and amazing and fun. I want to go in your backyard and have you make something on that grill back there for me because I saw.

I see it in your Instagram stories. It seems cool. And I love that we are just peeling back the layers because it wasn't always this way. And probably there are still some days that are not feeling like that, right? And I think that's a huge part of success that people don't understand. There's always a struggle. I mean, I don't care what somebody's feet says, right? mean, this right now, what we're in right now,

And like, I love that you guys are crushing it because you're, you're like, you're taking so much advantage and teaching people how to, how to be out there. But like, it is the hardest. I don't care how good you are. You have felt this market, you know, we are in the highest rate. No one, no one is going to refinance their deal right now. Right. Because there's everyone sitting on a 3 % or 4 % or 2 % rate. You don't want to mess with that. Right. So

LOs are and people don't want to move because of that. So that's really impacted the market. And so it is is tough and not a lot of people want to talk about it. But I think you can't ignore the fact that yes, it's tough, but you still have to get out. You still have to create activities. You still have to create connections and you still have to build your brand. And it's it's it's going to be what makes somebody either employed or not employed in this business.

And Kat and I always talk about how, you know, what you're doing today is feeding you in six months. Right. And so if you're waiting six months to start this journey, then you're pushing back the opportunity to to close those deals, right, to make that happen. Because even if you're not seeing the benefits of your content now, you will if you're consistent in six months. But most people.

aren't thinking about it in that manner. And you really need to be. Yeah. They're in a state of fight or flight. And I'm sure you see this when you have your individual coaching sessions, your recruitment meetings, It's very challenging to pull yourself back and to zoom out when you're so zoomed in and worried about making rent or making your mortgage for the next month or making sure your kids have food on the table and good clothes on their backs. Yes, we're not discounting how challenging that is.

Our whole goal, I know yours too, is to make sure that that's not the situation a year from now, that that's not the situation three years from now. We want to help you lay the foundations, take advantage of the gift of this extra time, and find a way to change the story, to change the narrative instead of just being on this hamster wheel and maintaining in that negative, small-minded spiral that's not going to do any good. It's certainly not going to help you change your situation for the better.

I love that about all of us here. So, Chris, we've gone through a lot so far. We've gone through the highs, we've gone through the lows. You know, one question that we love to ask because you have accomplished so much in your career and I know you have yet to accomplish so much more. Like, I feel like you are just getting started in so many ways, even though it has been a long journey for you thus far. So,

You know, you've got your podcast breakthrough, which I absolutely love the name of that. You've got your team, you've got your masterminds that you do, the events that you host and speak at. My question for you is what is one thing that you used to want to dream about either when you were a kid or when you were in high school or when you first met and married Tracy, your wife? What's one thing that you used to dream about that's now a reality for you? Well, so

Tracy and I are also investors. so one of the things that, that we had started off early on is just accumulating properties and accumulating real estate. And so we always made it a point to live well below our means so that we can leverage, you know, instead of buying a million dollar house, we would buy like a $300,000 house and then use the rest to go buy properties. And so instead of,

You know, one of the things that became a reality for us is, know, we finally bought like a house that was, you know, that I never dreamed that I would be in. And, you know, I look at like, sometimes I look, I have a, is a weird thing to say, but I'm detached from the house because sometimes I still can't believe that I live there. feel like I'm not really like, this is going to end at any time. I still have that like mentality.

in the back of my head that is like, yeah, don't get too attached, buddy, you know, because it can all go away. And I don't I don't know that that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's just the truth of it, you know. And so but it's been really cool to kind of go through that because not only that, but we didn't like we were able to through all of our, you know, real estate dealings, get this house under market and, know, and really be able to do what we wanted to it.

And so that reality of where I'm living is still something that I have to like, my gosh, I literally own this place. It's weird to me. But, but for me, it's like, it's cool because, know, like I, from where I grew up, from where I came from and from what I limited myself for many years thinking like, it's kind of cool to see that I did that. And I was able to partner somebody with somebody like Tracy who is equally, you know, growing up in the same type of

way, working class family. We just made good decisions early on to help us do that. And so that's one of the things that I'm most proud of. It's definitely a moment to appreciate. I love that. Congratulations. Yes, agreed. All right. This is our rapid fire section. are wrapping up. Let's go. I know. Let's go. My favorite part. Childhood dream job. What was it? I always wanted to work in a record store.

I'm really surprised by that, but OK. I love it. Yeah, me too. Who didn't want to? mean, to me, that would have been the best job ever. For the kids who are listening right now, can you answer what is a record? I still buy it. OK. Your go-to lazy dinner when you've just had a day? Spaghetti. Ooh, that is comfort food. I love that. I that last night. So good. When you're out on a date, sparkling or still water at the table? So it's sparkling now. So I stop drinking. I'm not drinking anymore.

And so for me, like that's like I kind of I drink sparkling to me. Makes you feel like you're having a little cocktail or something. a secret. Like if I go somewhere and I'm like drinking it, I'm like, yeah, like I'm having a drink. yeah, it's my way of tricking my brain that I'm drinking and I'm not really drinking. I love it. Do you put a lime in it? I do. I do. no. Yeah. Yeah. I do the lime. The lime's the move. That's the move. OK. What is the best non curse word?

One word insult. Cat likes moron. Man, that is like... I know. So you said non-curse word? Because I think everything... It has to be a non-curse word and it has to be an insult. someone on our Tiffany, she said, Tiffany Pantozzi said, generic. So generic. That is so insulting. I think it's like I've been doing this play on words with a lot of things in my life.

where it's like the opposite, but it's genius. Like that's the worst thing you could say to somebody because it really means the opposite. The polar opposite of whatever they did was not genius, it was, yeah, that was genius. Yeah, that's one. It would hurt my heart. I like it. We approve of that one. wait, I'll tell you one real quickly that really got me, that hurt me, soul that somebody told me.

I was like, and I still remember this like it was yesterday I was a senior in high school and I had to break up with this girl and she said you know what you're just a jerk and I was like that like was worse than anything that anyone could ever say to me and I was like It hurt it bad. And so I never was a jerk is another one. But alright, sorry. Go ahead. Dang it I don't think I've ever personally used that but that does feel like it stings Yeah, might try it

What makes you nervous? What makes me nervous? Yeah. I think

I get nervous when I'm in situations that I've never been in before. And I've really learned to harness nervousness in a way that I've never done before. Like I get nervous, I don't do it. Right? That used to be my thought process. Now it's like I get nervous, it's now a trigger for me to lean into it harder. And so like if I go speak at something, I'm like dying leading up to it. And then when I get there, I'm like, boom, let's go.

But I love that. I love that nervous feeling. you know, like I get nervous every time I do a podcast. I was nervous coming into this. Like if it's something that I never done before, there's always a of nerves and I just figure out how to harness that and lean into it. But I, there's a lot of nervousness in my life. I'm going to assume that Tracy always already knows the answer to this question. So I'm just going to ask it anyways. Who's your celebrity crush? No, we've literally never talked about this. so

You've never talked about this? well, we did one time and she. Dom's is Jessica Alba. That's, that's, yeah, I can see that. I can see that. that's on brand. That's on brand for Dom. So I, I, I, I would say, so this is okay. Cause I'm older, right? So when I was younger, it was like Winona Ryder was, it was like, then, and then I, after like, I think I grew out of that.

You know, I'm 47. So I think I grew out of the celebrity crush thing. I don't know why, but like it stopped there. That was like my last one. And I remember telling Tracy about it. was like, man, that's like, that does not at all. Like, I don't care about that. Yeah, that was, yeah, did track with her. She was like, you're an idiot. But, yeah, so back there. Yeah. My childhood celebrity crush for anyone listening who's about my age. Definitely Benny the Jet Rodriguez. And if you know, you know, no one.

I know. Yes. Do you have flyers? Sammoth, OK. Benny the Jet Roger. He didn't age well. I Googled him. kid. He did not. No, that's OK. We'll maintain him in Sammoth. That'll just be the image. That's it. OK. What's your favorite recent purchase? Let me think that through. All right, so I am.

It's not it's kind of recent, but I really splurged on a backpack like more. It's like a Louis Vuitton black on black backpack that like I love. And it's actually become a little bit of my brand because like, you know, I just like I think it's going to I think it's going to transcend times like meaning it's always going to be a classic. And I hope that. absolutely. It's like.

weathered and stuff and my kid, one of my kids picks it up one day and is like, this is cool, you know, but, yeah, that, cause I try to, if I'm going to buy something, I want to buy something that's going to be timeless and is going to be worth and made well. And so I try to stick with that, but that's, yeah, that's it. I love it. I love a good bag. I'm kind of like, not specifically purses necessarily, but just like, I love a good travel bag. I just, I love bags. All right.

I need to know this because Dom and I are always arguing over this. I'm always at the airport and my arrival time is approximately two minutes before boarding time. Are you at two hours before boarding time or two minutes getting on a little sweaty and running to the gate kind of thing? No, so I missed a flight recently, but which I've never done. But it's because of this. So I now have access to lounges. And so for me,

I want to go in, I want to get there. I clear, then I do the TSA, then I go to the lounge and I chill. Like I'm like, I just want to chill and not like, and do work. And then I mosey my way to the gate. So I'm usually like a two hour person. and that's been amazing for me, but I'm going to give you one more travel hack. Have a travel outfit. I, Ryan Sir, I saw Ryan Sir at the, at the San Francisco deal that you, that we talked at.

that you spoke at. At the end of it, Ryan Serhan was leaving and I noticed he changed into like an outfit. Whatever that outfit is, I went and bought like the half-size version of it because I'm about to say size. And I bought that and that's what I wear because and it has changed my life on traveling because it is like having sweatpants and a sweatshirt and because I'm always cold up in the air.

So I see maniacs wearing flip-flops on planes. I'm like, who are these maniacs? My feet are freezing. My husband, because he is San Diego through and through, so he likes to wear his flip-flops freaking everywhere. It's freezing. So that's him. I from the sanitary standpoint, like temperature, yes, but also like your bare toes on the airplane. Airpanes are just like flying petri dishes. why would you ever... I've had this conversation before. I'll work on him when Thank you. I just triggered a cat on this. But yeah, for like...

So I liked it. I have an outfit now. the trout like two hours early, lounge outfit, like the whole thing has changed my life. And definitely your breakthrough podcast branding on the t-shirt that goes under that was that's coming soon. I haven't done that yet. I got to do that. That's a good point. Or like a cap, like a trucker hat or a dad cap. Something with the branding like backwards. Like you could pull off a Why would he ever cover that hair though? I don't know. I do when I'm flying. It just ends up like just getting bigger and bigger.

Yes. Everywhere. Okay. Last question. Kat is obsessed with Marvel. I don't understand the comic book world, but she's obsessed. What's your go-to? If you had one superpower, what would your go-to superpower be? man. I love to read minds. I would love to read minds. All right. I like it. Yeah. I love to read you guys' minds right now.

And maybe I don't, maybe it's like I shouldn't, but I would love to know what my wife's thinking and what people I'm talking to are thinking. It would just be... You don't want to know what she's thinking. I'm just kidding. You know how they say there's always like a bit of mystery in a healthy long-term relationship? Let's keep it. Let's keep it. Let's keep that mystery under wraps. Under Okay, Chris, where can the people follow you? All right. My handle is chrismethyinofficial on Instagram. Please follow me and then...

The podcast, actually have a podcast, Instagram too, it's Breakthrough Pod Official. You can find a link to my podcast, Breakthrough, and the Breakthrough Podcast is all about what we talked about today, it's the coming up before the actual breakthrough and those stories that are meant to inspire you to break through the next level. so yeah, follow me, check it out, I think it's there to inspire you and I appreciate you guys having me on because.

It means a lot to be able to tell you my story and to connect with you guys. And it's always a pleasure being a part of whatever you guys are doing. Thank you, Chris. The feeling is mutual. Absolutely. Thanks for joining us today. Awesome. Thank you guys so much. Thanks for joining us on Not Nice, Clever. Remember to follow Not Nice, Clever wherever you listen to audio. And if you haven't already, drop that five star review. Share your takeaways. Tell us your story. We love to hear it.

Signing off, you're not so nice, but so clever, besties that mean business. See you soon.