The ONE Connection That Can Change Your Business Forever

Speaker 4 (00:00) Well, hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Sugar, Spice and Spirits. We are here at Lynn's Table today. So first we want to say thank you so much for Lynn's Table for hosting us. As you can see We've got somebody over here where we have another special guest. We have Art Hopkins, who you're going to get to hear all about. And as you know, I'm one of your hosts, Mindy's, and I've got Natalie over here as well as Kelly. And so that we can get into this incredible episode today, we're gonna jump right in and tell you about our sips of the day. Now, are we jumping right in because we're super thirsty, it's really hot out here, or we can't wait to try it? It's your guests, you can decide. But what we've got today is we've got a sauvignon. Blanc, VMNet. I don't even know if I'm saying it correctly, a reserva. A have been family owned since nineteen thirty-five and it's a twenty twenty-four. And so ladies, let's go ahead and have a sip and see what we think. Speaker 2 (00:57) And cheers cause Art is having rainwater Speaker 4 (01:00) There was a second Speaker 2 (01:02) Shears without all right. Speaker 3 (01:05) sorry. Speaker 2 (01:08) I'm always missing around. Speaker 3 (01:11) Yeah. Speaker 1 (01:12) Love it, love it. Speaker 2 (01:16) If somebody's gonna put a wrinkle in Mindy's Day, it's gonna be Speaker 4 (01:18) Me. And it's always very interesting with Natalie around and vice versa. So Art, what is it that you're actually drinking? Speaker 1 (01:27) I have I don't even know. They brought I asked for sparkling water. They bought brought Richard's sparkling water. It's my very first time drinking sparkling water. Speaker 4 (01:34) Is it? Because you know, not all sparkling waters are created the same. Speaker 1 (01:38) They're not, right? I love sparkling water and I can go to either extreme. The ones that have a real bite. There's so much bubbles in there I float to the ceiling. Or they're really slick and smooth. And I say this, if we're on the scale, it's right about here. Speaker 4 (01:53) No, Speaker 3 (01:53) I love a sparkling water. Speaker 1 (01:55) Yeah. It it's leaning towards the sleuth side, right? Which I love, right? If I don't want that super bite, right? So Speaker 3 (02:02) I like the I like the jaws. I like the Yeah. If we sh we do our vodka and something something sh a lot of people do vodka water. To me it's like flat. I'm like, give me that robust soda. So yeah, I'm a soda. Speaker 4 (02:16) So it's not if you've ever tried it, so you Topo Chico has a little bit more of the bubbles. Speaker 1 (02:20) Yeah, That's a good best probably best example of having a bite. Yeah. I think it's it has to do with mood, doesn't it? Like, right? Exactly. We were talking about coffee before the camera started rolling and it's like, well, is it a yeah, cappuccino morning shower or we're on espresso martinis right now? I don't know what's good. Speaker 4 (02:36) Or and you said martinis, which I was actually gonna tell you this. If you're a dirty martini fan, but let's say you are on a health kick or you're like, you know what, I don't like alcohol, I don't drink. Good for you. That is amazing. So here's a treat. If you did use to or you've never had one, a dirty martini, her daughter actually taught me this was Topo Chico, some of the olive brine, and then lime juice. You mix that together, it tastes like an amazing dirty martini. So refreshing and Speaker 3 (02:59) So Dirty martini mocktail. Speaker 1 (03:05) It sounds good. That's right. Yeah. Keep me in ketosis all day. Speaker 4 (03:09) Yeah, so he did tell us he was a ketosis so I kinda was like, Hey, let me give you a little treat if you wanna try it. So Speaker 3 (03:15) And good and good for you for sticking to it because we have been known to make people p fall off the off the wagon, but kudos. That's terrible. Well, we're very influential people, what can I say? Speaker 1 (03:25) Are you sure it was hard to stay on this wagon, right? Level out. We'll see what happens then. Speaker 3 (03:34) Yeah. Speaker 4 (03:35) Good for Yes. And speaking of good for you, good for us. So we were lucky enough to get to meet Art at the Aspire tours when they were here in Houston. And we were again using the words lucky enough. We were in the VIP room for Aspire, and Art happened to be hosting that room, and that's how we got to meet him. And isn't it funny how You just never know who you're gonna get to meet. And if you make the right connections and just build relationships, whether it's through friendship or it's through you know business connections, you just never know where where you'll end up. And who knew all these months later we would be sitting here having you on a podcast, and it all started from the Aspire Tours, where you know what a lot of entrepreneurs meet in, you know, that way was entrepreneurs, but I'm sure throughout your career you've met a lot of different people. In different situations and you are a business coach, you are a connector, you are someone that brings people together. But don't let me steal your thunder Art Why don't you tell us a little bit? Speaker 1 (04:29) No, it's all about collaboration for sure. But it I I think it is all about connection, like you say. I love the overlap in all the places. I came up through I well, let me tell you how I discovered it. I'm in recovery. And I was a lone wolf before that. Wanted to do everything myself, and I did okay, but then it didn't work in the end. And discovered in recovery, actually, which is why I'm drinking sparkling water today, right? that you know the it was the group therapy, it was the aspect of the the group. Getting together, being vulnerable, being open and putting things out there that changed my life completely. And that doesn't have much to do with business, although that was if I go all the way back, that's what set me on this path of applying. This particular aspect to the rest of my life. You know, if I wanna change something in my life, if I wanna excel at something in my life, if I wanna get better, if I wanna share, if I wanna collaborate, hang out with the people that know this stuff already, right? If I if I wanna learn more real estate, I'm gonna hang out with Natalie, right? If I wanna explore my why, I'm gonna hang out with Mindy and Kelly. I didn't catch your background yet, but medical home health, that's right, excuse me. So if I need more of that, I'm gonna hang out with Kelly. Or just see what's up. Speaker 3 (05:35) Medical home health. Speaker 1 (05:41) with everybody, right? You know, what can we talk about? What can we connect on? And so as the years have gone by, that's what I'm really leaning into now is the idea of connection. We were talking about coaching people and things like that and where there might be some areas that are lacking. Networking, connection, things like that. It's a lacking area with a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs and things like that. Because we're still running on 1950 and 60 models and things like that. So that's what I lean into. Speaker 4 (06:10) So when you said that, you made me think about the fact that entrepreneurs need to have networking. There needs to be connection. Even business leaders. Do you see that a lot of people are more nervous today about doing it because everything is on the phone? You can you feel like you connect from a phone versus actually getting in person? And do you see a difference between what happens when somebody's just connecting online? through social posts and whatever facade, if it is a facade or not, or even just business practices versus when people get together in a space and you start to see their guard down and how those relationships actually can I I would imagine really excel. Speaker 1 (06:54) Yes, human to human is the best, that's for sure. Nothing has changed, and that's been the case for thousands of years. But you you make some really interesting points. And I'm gonna answer it like this, because right off the bat, I'd say you know that the biggest phobia when you put them all together with spiders, snakes, heights, this and that, it's public speaking. And that counts even when it's two people or a thousand people that are speaking in front of. So that nervousness is usually there already. With a lot of people. And it's something that we work on and it comes over time and we build our confidence. But the only way to build it is to jump in. But to your point, yeah, with technology, the internet, this is something I've, like I said, been really leaning into when it comes to the idea of connection, because these days we're more connected than ever in some beautiful ways, but in some overwhelming ways, and it seems like we're really connected, but it's created some. Not some, a lot of disconnection as well. And like you say, it and I don't know, I can't really quite speak to the the generational thing, 'cause that's that's a different topic, right? But but you're right, it is getting over some of that thing. So there's confidence, getting over the nervousness, and yeah, getting out of our little bubbles that we have. It's like, I'm so connected. I've I've got three thousand followers or ten thousand or A million or whatever it might be, I'm so connected. And it's like what was thing we got in front of somebody, had a real conversation and those kinds of things. And I think you all will agree if we look back at our lives that some of the best opportunities have come from that human-to-human connection. Almost every business relationship, job, or otherwise, even in my personal life, has come from this kind of stuff, talking with them. Speaker 2 (08:38) IRL is what we call that. Like my kid, the gamer, you know, it's like IRL. Like, are you friends? And IRL in real life. It's like, what's that mean? You know, because when you're online on the platform, it's it's all superficial. And when I went to one of the gaming conferences, like, congrats, you touched grass today. And it's like so sad that we have that generation, but that n that true connection. Like 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 friends. They they aren't your friends. You're not even seeing your friends anymore on Facebook. I've I've got quite a few friends on Facebook, but I don't even see their stuff. So, you know, it's like I can't even really stay truly connected with them unless I'm seeking them out and specifically going, Hey Kelly, what's going on? Hey Macy, what's going on on your page? Hey Art, what's going on? Yep. And so you have to be intentional. So it's you truly need That in person you have to show up. And we we talked about this on some other podcasts. It's showing up is 90% of it. Even if you don't want to be there, even if it's beneath you, which I don't ever believe anything's beneath you, or it's not my job, it's it's showing up is 90% of it. And when you do, like I had somebody show up at our meetup last month and they were like, told their husband specifically, if there is anything You need me to stay home and do dishes, cleaning, baseboards. Let me know because I do not want to go to this event. And her husband's like, nope, have a good time. And she is like, dang. So she she shows up and she's kind of like there. Our speaker sh showed up a little late, but we had somebody else from Title Company who jumped in. And afterwards she goes, This is the best networking event I've been to. I am so glad I showed up. I'm so glad I was present and I came. And I've been in contact with her since then just because she showed up for a reason and she's looking for a certain thing and needs those connections. So, you know, I think showing up ninety percent of it, right? Speaker 1 (10:37) Ninety percent? I'd say a hundred percent. Cause you know what I'm thinking of? These are all great points. And I can r you read my mind, I was gonna throw in there. It's like they always love it after they go. I'm the same way. I told you sometimes I'm an introvert, believe it or not. And there are many, many times, I don't feel like doing this thing right now and going to I'd rather sit at home and you know do my thing. And yet I'm happy every time afterwards after I do it. So yeah, it's getting over that hump, that part of us that wants to to keep us back. But the reason I say a hundred percent is I think I think beyond networking or connections for the sake of business and all these things, because you guys know how everything affects everything else. It's healthy for us to be connected just in general, like oxygen and and and you know, good food and everything else that we need to thrive and survive. think about the studies are out there where the lack of communication and we've seen this now, mental health problems that have gone through the roof since the introduction of the the screens and everything else. But human connection is absolutely essential to our life, you know, to our to our health, to our mental stability, to all of these things. So the more yes we can get out and do it. But we need to tell ourselves that 'cause it is easy to fall into our bubbles, stay at home. If it was up to me, I probably would most of the time. It's like working out, right? It's like I don't really feel like doing it and I kinda gotta force myself to do it, but I love the results and I think the results are what we should be. Speaker 3 (12:07) And you feel so good when it's done. And I think I think the a a true testament is during COVID, when we didn't have any choice. It's like even if we wanted to stay connected, a lot of times we couldn't because that was that was a no-no. And so everyone, you know, the working from home became big and everything, and you couldn't stay within, you know, shouting distance of someone. And so that just that cohesiveness and that that camaraderie that for some comes so easy now was not viable. And then for those that it never comes easy, they're like, I am loving this. This is so great. But then they start reaching out more so on the social media. And I think a lot of times social media really took off with that. But but yeah, that was that was a huge impact on people who just lost that that desire to be able to to to connect with people. Speaker 2 (12:56) Then there's people like me, social what? Like no, I I I didn't comply to any of that. Speaker 3 (13:02) Good figure. Speaker 2 (13:06) You Speaker 1 (13:06) That's okay. I was out there too. Speaker 4 (13:08) Well what's so crazy is oftentimes you'll see a table like this and here we are doing these things and you think every single one of us always wants to be out there and in the limelight and in the mix and and hustle and networking. no. Like you look sometimes I literally have to give myself a pep talk before walking into a room and I would much rather be on stage in front of ten thousand people than be stuck in a room with five people that I don't know that I have to get to know and then that's until then once I get to know them, they're some of the best relationships but you have to invest your time you have to truly listen sometimes you're in a situation and and some people are like well I've tried networking it didn't work but they weren't actually open to it they didn't actually go in and listen and become vulnerable and so you go and I thought this event was going to be this. Well maybe it wasn't but for the time that you're there because you can't get time back what can you make of it? What can what can you do with it? And I think that's sometimes where people miss the mark also. Speaker 1 (14:05) Big time. We could unpack networking in general for hours and hours. But I'd look at it like this: before, during, and after. And if I'm gonna go to network before, I need to understand why am I going? What am what's the end game? Right? Am I going there for clients? Am I going there for strategic partnerships? Am I looking for investors? Am I bored and just looking for to have some fun? and a lot of us entrepreneurs and business owners, we do a lot of things, right? It's like, so which which business am I representing today? People ask me just a little while ago, what do you do, Art? And I still working on how to answer that, right? Can you relate? It's like I should have a list right here of something. Yeah, who am I talking to? But that's important. You hear what I just said, like who am I talking to? And what is the end game? So preparation and you mentioned about the rooms. Did you research where you're going? There's a lot of opportunities out there, but not all of them are quality and not all of them are where we want to be or or vice versa. Speaker 4 (15:06) And Speaker 1 (15:07) Yeah, yeah. So it's like going to a restaurant, really. It's like you is it good food, is it bad food? What's the vibe like? Is it expensive? Is it cheap I'm trying to find the right room to be in? So there's preparation, then there's during, and it's like how are we acting during our networking? You know, are you trying to are you there just to to hand out business cards to a hundred people and not get that deeper connection? I'd say a good rule of thumb is to have three meaningful conversations in each. any room that you're in. You know, if you can walk away with three meaningful contacts or conversations, you're doing pretty good. Does that make sense? And then of course there's f the fortune is where? In the follow-up. Speaker 3 (15:48) Yeah. Speaker 4 (15:49) And I was literally just thinking about Aspire and the reason that we're here today is two reasons. One, you followed up with me after Aspire and then also you were at an event where Natalie and I were being recognized and we look turned around and we saw you and you were there and it was just it was was really neat. Speaker 1 (16:05) Stuff, right? Yeah, all of this is a result of of j us just having to cross paths somewhere. That connection that was made. how would I don't believe in coincidence or accident or anything like that, but yeah, the most wonderful things come out of connection. And I'd like to was something I'm really fond of saying is that we are one or two people away from everything that we need. wow. So how are you gonna get it if you don't put yourself out there? Like we w I mentioned fundraising. Or or it could be health, it could be personal. And getting back to the whole connection thing and why I said a hundred percent, there's different kinds of connection. I think we've mostly been drawing a picture of of of crowds, But think about this. Connection, why do why do I say it's important to connect with our environment, which that alone alone time we were talking about, that's important. We need to connect with ourself. Yes. Right? And those alone times, meditative times, reading, whatever it is we do, connecting with the different circles of people. I mentioned my personal trainer the other day. Yeah, there's my wife, there's there's all the the different circles in my life. They're all very, very important and we gotta make sure it's balance, isn't it? In the end everything's balanced, right? Our diet, our business life, everything. We can be too busy, we're not busy enough, and we have to balance it in there somewhere. connecting is the same way. Speaker 4 (17:27) So speaking of connecting, help us connect the dots. Like how did you get involved with Aspire? Speaker 2 (17:32) Yeah. Speaker 1 (17:33) that's a good question. You wanna hear the whole story? Okay, so I was having a little bit of a slump in my my mood, let's say, and I was speaking to a friend who is an avid David Goggins fan. There's a you need to listen there. Do you who David Goggins is at the time of nope, never heard of him. there, you gotta read his books, you've got to listen to him, motivational, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, all right, and you know, I always speak talk on speakerphone most of the time when I'm out walking around and things like that. So, of course, my phone listens to everything, and so the These events pop up with David Goggins headlining, and one just happened to be in Houston with him speaking. It was the Aspire Tour some years ago. So I started out as an audience member. This looks kind of fun. I haven't, I could use a boost. Let's do it, let's go. Let's go. And you know, so I went as an audience member, loved it, and you know, the Aspire world was opened up to me. They've got other products of education and things like that. And so I got involved with those and I was friends with the VP of Education for one of their products and we were friends and they needed someone to host the VIP room part of their event. And so because my sparkling personality and ability to connect and all of those things, which I'm joking around, but I I was in the right place at the right time. Why? Because I went and connected. Because I want to go back to where I said I was not in a good place at the time. I was staying at home too much and just I'm not feeling great. Business is kinda you know, those things where it's like, I don't feel like talking and the whole thing. But I got over it, went out and connected, made some friends, made some connections and put myself in the right places. made myself visible, which is important, right? It's like how are opportunities come to us, yes, but we can increase the odds, right, by going to them as well. And so that's kind of how that played out. And I've been having a blast ever since. I love hosting the VIP room. I get to meet wonderful people like yourselves. we go around the country and all of those things. So Speaker 4 (19:41) So you go to all of the Aspire tours? Yes. And do host the VIP room. I did not know that. Okay, so Speaker 1 (19:45) Yep. Yeah, yeah. It's a cool side gig, yeah. Speaker 3 (19:52) Okay. So it wasn't just the Houston gig. Okay. Speaker 4 (19:54) I didn't realize that 'cause you were and and here's the thing, when you don't ask the right questions, you don't know. And you know what happens when you assume. Ha ha. So we don't we but you don't want to do Speaker 2 (20:02) What happens when you assume? Speaker 4 (20:05) Look it up. We say it enough. If you watch the podcast, you know, and your mom or dad might have talked to Yes, you know, something like that. So you travel so then you are meeting, you're networking, you're connecting with people, you travel with them. They have about at least one event a month, don't they? Speaker 1 (20:11) Nothing to do with you and me and body parts. One a month, yeah. The the Aspire Tour is part of a a bigger world of other products and there are they have educational classes that you buy into and things like that. I don't attend those. I've got other things to do. But yeah. But the Aspire Tour itself, once a month, hosting the VIP room. Yeah. What's my job there? Connecting, making sure actually it's not me connecting, it's making sure that you folks, the attendees, are having a good time, are You know what I love about it as a connector, but also I l I love connecting. Others to where they need to go. So like for example, if Kelly walks in and I learned that, okay, she, you know, healthcare providing and things like that. If I have another conversation an hour later that has, I don't know, maybe it's somebody that has a billing company or something like that, I'll I'll connect the dots and ask, like Kelly, I just talked to someone who has three billing companies across the nation. You want to talk, or you know what I'm saying? So connecting the dots is very important. And I love the this just happened naturally because. I just like to talk and I love to help people out in those kinds of things, but as a strategy, it works very well. Getting back to networking strategies that I was talking about, I think it's very important to go into the rooms or into the situations with an attitude, a host mindset, first of all, and how can I be helpful? There were the things we were talking about. Am I looking for referrals? Am I looking for contacts? Am I looking for this or that or the other thing? But going into the any room, anywhere, with an attitude of what can I deliver? How can I be helpful? And in fact, that's how I got the gig at Aspire. I was just making as a member eventually, I was just making myself helpful everywhere and connecting. They thought I worked there before I even worked there. You know what I'm saying? And so and I do that in every aspect of my life. Speaker 4 (22:22) So did I see something correctly? So speaking of networking, do you put on your own networking events also? Speaker 1 (22:28) Yes, I do. Tell us a little more about that. well, it's a a lot of new things right now. I'm pivoting. We were talking about pivoting earlier and rebranding and all set. For the first time I've done everything kind of in the background, word of mouth, so I'm stepping into the digital age finally. But also So I'm connected so much with people that have groups and communities. And there's a lot of these networking things that exist. And so my my vision is a network of networks. Inviting I I won't drop any names right now, but let's say there's a women's leaders in business group that I know of and who organizes it and things. There might be a a real estate education group, and there might be a personal development group, and we're in I just want to bring everyone. So it's like a crossroads because our cities, our nation, the world, it's a big place. And sometimes I've learned something as well. People they sometimes it's like, well, I know everybody, I've met everybody, and indeed we have not. In this town, the Houston area, there's 10 million people. I guarantee you that there's There's a lot of groups and circles and folks that we haven't met yet. And so I'm gonna do that on a quarterly basis. More stay tuned for more. It'll be happening real soon. Speaker 3 (23:44) That's exciting. Speaker 4 (23:45) And you know how you say it's a it is a large world, it is a huge world, but it's also a small world. Like what you figure out, so you're the connector. And so you gave a great example of Kelly being in non-medical home health, but you know, somebody in billing, you never know where there could be synergies there or connection. And your brain is thinking that way. And for someone meeting you, you may be that person, is a small world. But Art knows everybody or Art knows because the way you think and you know, my connections, Natalie's connections, and then you just see someone and then you you you figure out some way, what is it, the six degrees of separation, you don't realize how everybody is connected, but it goes back to, and I know this is so simple, but sometimes it's those nuggets and just that little push that someone needs. how important it is to network, to get out of your comfort zone, because you never know, like you said, one to two people away to having everything you ever wanted because you invested in that relationship. And it's it's also investing in yourself. Speaker 1 (24:44) Well, there's no other way to find those one to two people. We gotta get out there, we gotta connect and the whole thing and ask the questions. make the statements, introduce yourself and make the statements and tell us who you are. And what's your ask? We might go around the table and I'd love to hear. I do this often something like what's gonna what are you really first of all, what are you really excited about right now? And how can I help? What what do you need? Is is it is it funding? Is it I'd Love to have a fancy car for my next video shoot. I know a guy. We got it. You know, or I may not know the answer, but we've all got networks. I may not know who. And I'll I'll reach out and say, hey, who who who who do we know that does exotic car rental? And boom, we we figured out. Speaker 3 (25:30) It's amazing how that friend of a friend of a friend becomes a major key player when you least expect it. Because I think w we all have our careers. I mean I have a medical background, but yet my my business is is medical related, but it's not physical therapy. It's about caregiving. I was a caregiver to my husband and with a cancer background. She's also, you know, had a father who passed away from cancer. She was a caregiver. So we relate on so many different levels, not just as business owners or medical professionals or entrepreneurs, but we've all been caregivers, whether it's to our kids, it's to our parents, it's to our husbands, it's our s you know, whatever the case is. But we've all like I said, wow, here I am, I'm in my businesses, I'm I'm made a downfall and and wow, I ran into Art and I didn't you say you had issues with billing? Let me connect you. Where you may not walk into a room looking for that billing person, but because you've got that one catalyst in the room with you that says, let me connect you guys. So that's where putting yourself out there, you may make those connections that you don't know you need right now, but they come to pay play a very huge role in your life, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year. So it's yeah, it's huge. It's huge. Speaker 4 (26:47) So you you made me think of something. So being willing to ask. You said you have to be willing to ask. I think also sometimes people worry about then that makes you vulnerable because you show your weaknesses. And as a newer entrepreneur, I've always I said so much that I don't know, there's mistakes I'm making, but gosh, if I didn't make the mistakes, I wouldn't be where I am now and having learned from it and being able to pay it forward and sharing that information. Because you are a connector, have you found that it's somebody get further along their entrepreneurial journey or somebody that is newer in their entrepreneurial journey, they're afraid to ask and that's only holding them back. I I don't wanna sprinkle anything else in. I'm genuinely curious about that. Speaker 1 (27:30) Yeah, I think it's progressive for sure. I think we most people at Sam, there's always exceptions to the rule, have that like you say, there's a fear, a fear of what how judgment, what how we may come across, I'm gonna look stupid, these kinds of things. But here's how we can flip that. If you study successful people and there's all the big names out there, you know, the billionaires and the millionaires if you study, and I've gotten this from them as a matter of fact. They are constantly asking questions. And they know what they don't know. It's I am not a fitness expert and I'm not gonna take the time to go to school and educate myself and do all the things. I'm gonna hire someone or talk to someone to get their feedback and to teach me. And I would say that and I say it's progressive because I think I think most of us go through our life. You're a teenager, you think you know it all, right? And then eventually, hopefully, some of us don't figure it out, so hopefully we do. We figured out, you know what, I don't know anything. I need to learn some things. But I'd say get over the fear, and it's not a weakness, it's a strength. Asking questions, being vulnerable to a safety point, right, is absolutely essential. And how can How can we know everything? And I think it's important to remember that all of us were on the same path, but we're at different points on it. I my chapter twenty might be your chapter two right now, or vice versa. Or both at the same time. You made me think of something, Kelly, about overlap. You know, I said it'd be an interesting exercise if we just had if we had the time, right, to go down and just what are all our interests and can and I'll bet you we would find I'm gonna have to do this one day. See how do we connect in more than one way. You know, you were you'd mentioned the healthcare. You're all connected in that way. And I'll bet you we could find a lot of ways. But yeah, I'd say asking the questions, be be be be unafraid. Be unafraid. I am not scared to tell people what I don't know. There are terms in industries that I've been in for 10, 20 years that I was like, I haven't heard that phrase before. Speaker 4 (29:46) Depending on who you're talking to. Like there's an acronym for everything with her in medical and us in real estate when we all work together. We had her on the radio show or she was out. So I was like, hey, come on the radio show. And so I was like, she was like, what are we gonna talk about? I'm like, acronyms. I'll throw something at you. What do you think? And I said ARM, thinking adjustable rate mortgage. she's like ARM because you don't you don't know the term. So in any industry, I wanna back up just for a second because you said something. You said be vulnerable to a safety point. So I'd love to expand on that a little bit more. Ca it has to be lessons, it has to be, you know, advice that you give. So what did you mean by that? Speaker 1 (30:25) Well, I when I think of connection and conversations and these kind of things and asking questions and opening yourself up. for example, I shared that I'm in recovery. All right, and there are people that ooh, I'm and sometimes you know, you gotta figure that out for yourself. Sometimes am I comfortable with this? Do I want people to know how vul vulnerable do I want to be with the very, very deep and personal side of myself? I tend to just be an open book and things like that. But there are people parts of my private life that I want to protect. I'll use the example of some movie stars and things out there. They live in a really interesting world, you know, with the paparazzi and fans and opportunists, let's say, and some of them are okay and others have nefarious ideas. And they are very protective of their wife, husband, or children, their family life, those kinds of things. and rightfully so. others aren't. And sometimes we see what happens to them, you know, and so it could be a Could be a multiplicity of reasons and things like that. But that's where my brain was going with that is yeah, to a safety point. Yeah. Which I guess I'd sum it up like this, how much do you want to share? And figure that out, you know, and and see what that is and but I have found that it's it's like go ahead and get out of our comfort zone a little bit. It's like I share things about myself. There are there are some what would you say off limit topics. I I've got them and things like that. They're there. But the other ones say they might even seem a little a little off the wall or or coloring outside of the lines, but I have gotten some of the coolest feedback, relationships, connections and things from I don't know. Should we go around the table and think of something wacky that you know, what do they call that? fun fact you didn't know about me, or something like that. And you'd be amaz like I was a ukulele instructor. And people are like, what? What? See? I get the look, what, huh? yeah, I had I I formed student ensembles and we performed. I had like virtuosos and people that just picked up the instrument. That very day and everyone in between and I organized it and orchestrated it. In fact, we opened for the not the Special Olympics. It was a Special Olympics event. It was the announcement of the host city and things like that. So it was a lot of fun. And see, this is something like, well, we didn't know that about you. What? You know, and that could lead to some, I don't know, some other interesting conversation. I hope that answers your question. Speaker 4 (32:52) It does. I just thought it was something 'cause you never know who's listening and they're they're thinking, I wanna ask questions, I wanna be vulnerable, but to what point? And you just have to be smart. Speaker 1 (33:01) Yes, maybe if if I summed it up in a sense like what does vulnerable mean? Right? Does that mean because the and we you the person needs to define that because it's different for everybody. Some are comfortable being the wide open book and others like not so much. And there are things like just don't want to put that out there and that's okay too. Speaker 3 (33:19) Yes. I think when when when you go to a a networking event, a lot of people also look at it as a as a learning opportunity. you're learning what different opportunities are out there 'cause and I think one of the biggest things is for me, and you talk about being vulnerable, but we're very big on several podcasts have been about being your authentic self and not pretending that you know more. than you do because the worst thing is to walk in there and talk a big game and the person that you're talking to's game is way bigger than yours and you just look like an imbecile. And you walk around no one's talking to you because all of a sudden they're like, She talks a big game but she's really an idiot. And that might be Speaker 4 (33:54) yeah. That's not the place. Speaker 3 (34:04) And so being your authentic self, opening yourself up to letting people know I'm here because I don't know everything. I'm here because I need to make those connections because I wanted to and and this is this is so silly, but there's the the young kid on I think it's on TikTok who goes up on his on his bicycle or grabs his microphone and walks up to these people getting in these big fancy cars and like Scusy, excuse me, tell me, what do you do? Speaker 4 (34:30) Yes, not see what. Speaker 2 (34:30) School of Hard knocks, Eddie Wilson has been on School of Hard Knocks Speaker 3 (34:34) What do you what do you do? I'm a real estate mogul. I'm this. I'm like, okay, thank you. You know, and all of a sudden you start to learn and you listen and you hear and all of a sudden like, well, if I want to achieve that, maybe I need to go pursue opportunities that mimic that type of lifestyle, that type of career, whatever the case is. So Speaker 2 (34:56) So you guys know I talk about buy the lottery ticket. Like it's your connection, your one to two person connection away to making your dreams or whatever it is that's been placed on your heart, you know, happen. You've got to buy the lottery ticket. Like it's the there's the blonde in the car who's like, Dear Lord, please let me win the lottery ticket. Please let me win the lottery ticket. And she prays this for years and years and years, and God finally bellows down, help me out, buy the lottery ticket. So, you know, I think that's that's important. That means showing up. And then making the statement. You can't just walk into the gas station. You gotta make the statement, can I buy a lottery ticket, please? And you know, that's your ask as well. So you're you're making that that that happen. So making the statement is putting it out into the air, putting it out into the ether, letting other people know it's amazing. When you put out like, hey, this is my vision, I want to do this, how quickly your friends and your tribe, people you didn't even know, are watching your Facebook page, all of a sudden are like, hey, I got this, or we can do this, or let's do that. And you're like, good to see you again. Like, that's fantastic. Let's go. And it makes it happen. But if you're not, if you're not even sure, how are the people that you're talking to sure? So you got to get down your statements and your ask. And some of that comes if you're not sure. From asking the questions and make sure that you're putting yourself out there in a respectful way, not as a crybaby or a victim or anything like that, when you're meeting new people. So asking those questions maybe for clarity for yourself. You're in transition, you're not sure how to frame what do I do? How do I do it? Like I'm not exactly sure this is what I like, this I like people, how do I go? What's the what's the route? and saving yourself. Like some of the things that I I mean I'm pretty much an open book and I say controversial things to some people. It's not controversial to me, so that's why I'm not worried about it because I stand grounded and and backed up with with facts and information. But holidays are special days to me. So I will post everything under the sun, me walking into the men's restroom, oops, all urinal when I come out. shouldn't have walked in there, you know, like that too quick, but I got in, got out, nobody was in there, nobody was hurt. which was a good thing. But like I just don't post like holidays and special occasions like with the grandbabies and things like that. I'll post everything else and I don't post as much and I think I don't know what my, you know, soon to be daughter in law thinks or what sh you know, what her thoughts are. Natalie didn't like me because she doesn't post me. But it's I don't like to post as much because I'm in that moment and I'm trying to be present with with all of that. So Speaker 4 (37:35) That's a piece of you that you're Speaker 2 (37:37) Like that's that's so it's not that it's but it's like you said, it's like a it's just a meeting. Speaker 3 (37:42) Well that that's a chapter of your book that's not necessarily meant for public viewing. You know, your chapter might be okay, but you d also don't know if other parts of that book are, you know, as free and and open to everyone's vision as as what you Speaker 2 (37:56) I have the parents per permission to post the kids and stuff. of course. Like yeah. But it's still one of those things is I just wanna be in the moment. I don't wanna worry about posting and tagging and and all of that. Like it's just one of those things like let me be here and let me be with so Speaker 3 (38:11) So Speaker 4 (38:11) Prior to that, and Art, I'll let you go just a minute, but I really thought she was gonna say one of my favorite lines that she has, and she did not. and I just feel like we should hear it. So, you know, those people they ask these questions and them, and you're like, okay, and then they keep asking you the same question, and you might try to tell them ten different ways to get them to where they want to be, and then they ask the question again. What's that called? Speaker 2 (38:36) Don't be an ASKhole Speaker 3 (38:38) Yeah. Speaker 2 (38:40) Don't be an ASKhole if you're not gonna implement the first, second or third round of information that I told you, I'm cut off. I'm no longer available for your stories, your questions, anything like that, because you haven't implemented or taken anything I have to say into account or it either you're coming at me to make fun of me or to not truly ask, but to whatever. I don't know, but I don't got time for that. So Speaker 3 (39:03) not gonna the car's not gonna go move forward if you don't put it in drive. Right. So you can sit there all day long and idle. Speaker 2 (39:10) I got a kid that's that's a ASKhole and he's a pontificator. And of this. And I'm like, you know, pontificate somewhere else. Speaker 1 (39:17) To what is it? Yeah. Speaker 3 (39:19) Yeah. Well there there's there's there's such a huge highway of information out there and you can sit there and think you've become a pro because you can Google it, you can chat GPT it, you can do whatever, but unless you act upon it, it's just knowledge. It's just knowledge and there's never an end game to it until you get in the car and drive it. So Speaker 2 (39:41) Yeah. Speaker 4 (39:43) Any thoughts about don't be an ASKhole? Have you ever had to fire a client because they didn't listen over and over Speaker 1 (39:49) It happens. Yeah, it happens. You know, there's people out there that they are at different stages of their own growth, let's say. Yeah. And what could I say to that? You know, self-awareness is probably the first step in getting over that. And I I ex I kind of teased you a little bit about my story. And it wasn't until I was self-aware of what my problems were. and leaned into them and own owned them, stopped blaming everybody else or the world or God or whatever it may be. And that so that self awareness is k is key. And for those individuals that maybe just aren't get what can we do? We can set the best example possible and be here for them when they're ready. I would say. Speaker 4 (40:38) Great advice. Speaker 3 (40:40) Yeah. Very good. Speaker 1 (40:41) This word ASKhole though is like I I hope you've copyrighted it and stuff. That can we can play with that quite a bit. Did I just say we could play with our ask hole? Speaker 4 (41:00) Well with that ladies, I don't know if you have any other questions while we have Art here for the day or any final thoughts. But what Speaker 2 (41:05) What are you up to? I know you mentioned an AI company or something. I don't know if you want to talk about that now or Speaker 1 (41:11) Yeah, I'm glad you asked. The new company called A two Z, the letter A, the number two, the letter Z, Intellect. And it's a AI education and application program. I I'm not to speak too much about it, but it's about to be launched and coming up. I have to where the paperwork and everything is getting done and those kinds of things. But basically, my business partner and I, we are bringing the top-level high-access education and people about AI. There's a whole nother topic, right? Here we go, right? There's a lot of stuff out there. I'm old enough to remember when the you know the cell phones came out, and that was a paradigm shift. the internet came out, and that was a paradigm shift. shift and boy are we sitting in a paradigm shift right now. It's this fast train that's whizzing by. We know we need to get on it, but I'm not sure exactly where, how, these kinds of things. Speaker 2 (42:09) I watch the Hunger Games. You just you gotta just take Speaker 1 (42:15) Yeah. But I'd like to say that we are guiding people not just where to start. There's a lot of that. There's a lot of where to start, or how to how to write prompts and some basics in there. And that's important, basics and foundation. But we're gonna be leading people at a collegiate level, and this is mostly gonna focus at first on let's say C-suite, CEOs, founders, business owners, things like that, on how to apply AI correctly, because there's a correct way and an incorrect way to apply these things. history and see how gosh we went a wrong direction with that. My partner can speak better that to that but we're really really excited about it. so that's gonna be coming out and what can I say? It's there is this I think you heard me say Natalie that it's not just gonna be education like you say it's hands-on we are going to apply what's your business okay we're getting into it we're gonna customize that part of it to you. Let's look how it it's got a lot to do with compliance, regulation. Very, very important things. Cause there's a lot of businesses that are kind of frozen on AI because there's some fear about, my stuff getting out there on the cloud, or my my business, my industry, it it affects people in a b it you know say charting with hospitals and things like that. It's gonna affect lives, right? There There is a way to apply it and make it work. So we're gonna walk people through that, but it's also with a a a specific and intentional focus on ROI and revenue. And so by the end of the course, we will have started, applied, launched an AI money-making revenue stream to your life or your business that's active and making money by the end of the class. So like I say, it's it's exciting stuff. we're bringing we're bringing some of the nothing I I can't say out loud right this second, but really just some of the the the world's top advisors, educators, the people that have built the things and the people that are twenty years ahead of us. They're in quantum computing and the whole thing. And this is important because AI is something that is gonna be changing our you know certain Things are gonna be changing on a quarterly basis. Speaker 4 (44:35) They're changing on a daily basis. Speaker 1 (44:37) Yeah daily is crazy, but on a quarterly basis we really need to keep up to speed and know what's coming down the pike and those kinds of things. And no and also I would say it's a it's the era of change management big time right now. And that can be emotional as well. It's we want to be careful that it's not just a tool, it's not just a tech thing that we added into our our business stack. there's There's a lot of fear around jobs and how does this affect me? And we're we're gonna dispel that fear and be teaching and training everybody how important it's like it's like it's like the internet. Let's let's use that as the analogy. There was some fear around that at the beginning. There were some holdouts. There was like, nope, we're sticking with the yellow pages and it'll be fine. And we know now. The yellow what? Yeah, right. Yeah. Swab it? Speaker 3 (45:31) What a sw. Speaker 1 (45:32) I was just saying the other day I need to start changing I I use the word Rolodex a lot, you know. It's like you know, eventually there's people around that don't know what doc Speaker 4 (45:40) Somebody's watching going, swab it, swab it, software belt. Speaker 3 (45:42) Southwestern Bell. Swab it. Southwestern Bell Yellow Cages. Swabib. Speaker 1 (45:48) Yes. So it's it's it's not so much taking jobs away as it's it's changing what these jobs are. Yes. And that's a little bit of a tease of what we'll be talking about. That's exciting. So that particular company is gonna it's gonna blow up and our first audience focus you'll be happy to know is women business owners. So that'll be the first one coming through and then we'll open it up to the the general public as well. So I'll be sure you guys get an invite. Speaker 3 (46:15) I think Speaker 4 (46:16) Love it. Speaker 3 (46:17) there there's there's so much fear of the unknown. When when I started my business, I have a I have a medical background and I never had any intention of owning my own business. But my father started the business. He's always he's owned several businesses and he just kind of brought me into it and said, You're coming into this because you're gonna take it over one day. And I thought, I'm a I'm a patient. person. I want to take care of my patients. And twenty-eight years later it's very successful, but I literally came in flying by the seat of my pants. So the fear of the unknown was I had no desire to go into that. I've got several people that work for me who still like to do stuff on paper. And I'm like, ladies, we need to kind of step up the game a little bit and and that fear of unknown is I'm like if you don't jump into it, you're going to be stuck at the train station and the train's going to be gone. Speaker 2 (47:07) I was just thinking. Speaker 3 (47:08) Any train station. Not necessarily that train. But but no, I think that's I think that's exciting to to get to get that out there, especially for the women business. Speaker 2 (47:17) Yellow stone? Watch yellow stone. Speaker 1 (47:19) I'm sorry? Speaker 3 (47:21) That's okay. Speaker 4 (47:22) Try and figure out the tracing. You want to get stuck in that. Speaker 1 (47:24) I get it now. I'm little slow. My train's a little slow. It's behind schedule right now. But this is good stuff, because we're talking about defining a lot of things. And in fact, It's coming up really soon. One of our first things, it's beta testing now is an app that is teaching people just the language of this whole AI world. Like do we know what what's a hallucination? What's a what's a rag? How does it what does that mean? We're not engineers. Help me out here. But this kind of goes back to what we were talking about, don't be afraid to ask. And that's what we're hoping to do is put all these things that perhaps people with AI I would even hazard a guess that most of us don't even know what to ask. Speaker 4 (48:05) So here's what's crazy. So I I was curious about that and thinking and I was in last week I was in Jersey, the week before that I was in Denver, and the week before that I was in South Carolina. I think where was at. and then prior to that I was somewhere else. Somewhere. And I have this session called The Human Advantage and you know how to lead in a tech driven world. And I literally started to because I wrote this six months ago. Speaker 1 (48:06) Don't know what. Speaker 2 (48:21) Yeah. Speaker 4 (48:32) And was like, is this gonna be really dated? Of course, the human connection, the things that I can teach to that, like the softer skills, the things that some people are coming back to and how important they are. I I know that. But I decided to go ahead and put a little portion of AI. So if you're afraid of it, here are some ways that you can use it, environmentally sound and safer ways to use it, because that's very important. And I got a little nervous Art. I was like, what if this is way too basic? So in the very beginning of you know my session, whether there's 70 people in there or two or three hundred people in there, I have them raise their hand. How many of you are using AI in some way, shape, or fashion? How many of you are not using it will not use it? There's always hands that are going up, and then how many of you are really afraid of it? And that's how I know that audience, and there hasn't been one yet that has made me feel like my content is too basic on the things to teach, which is because I'm in it every day. They're not. And oftentimes, thinking of assuming, you assume, well you're in it, so everybody else is. And and that is not the case at all. And some of the most basic things that you can do, of course you want to have I call them your your bumpers, like bowling, right? You have your bumpers on to make sure your guardrails are there. literally I give these tiny, easy tips that I realize are huge for them. I just made them feel comfortable with using them something that's going to save them time and buy them time and get them more comfortable to it. And you know, we hear often, and Sam just came out and said AI, and it was it was really big, for him to come out and say, no, I don't think AI is going to take everything over. There still needs to be the human component. We're getting back to that connection. but you need to understand it, have a basic understanding and way of using it, or you will fall behind. And that's a problem. So your examples of the cell phone, I had a vision of when my dad got his first car phone that was bolted, you know, into the car. Well no, it was bolted into the car. The first car phone bolted Speaker 3 (50:36) It looked like the actual phone. Speaker 4 (50:39) No before the brick before the brick it was the whole the like the briefcase the backbone. Then it was the then we were cool when we got the brick. Like I remember this cause he was in sales. Speaker 1 (50:50) Yeah. Speaker 4 (50:53) but you had to get comfortable with these things. You know, but back then the stuff went, I'm not gonna get that radiation, I'm not gonna get cancer, I'm not gonna get this, or whatever people were saying. and then the internet, I don't want my information out. It's like most most, because there still are jobs that are out there, you don't have to have the internet, which is crazy to think about. Almost everything has to do with technology. It's just where's your comfort zone and what can you teach? And th thinking about women businesses and where you're going, I'm super excited. Can't wait to talk to you more about it. With AI, there is such a huge opportunity. When you said the app and these words and you know, what does this mean and to make somebody more comfortable, not to walk in the room and act like you know everything, right? Like you said, you don't want to be that person. But at least to be in the conversation. The more familiar you are with something, the easier it is to take on a new concept. You learn the little things one by one. How do you eat an elephant? Natalie always likes to say one bite at a time. Yep. So Speaker 3 (51:46) One by Well never forget when I when I first when my father had started the the company that we've got, I walked in one day and he had this huge long green sheet and I said, What in the hell is that? He said, It's my columnar pad, it's my spreadsheet. And I'm like, For what? My income and my expense. I'm like, have you heard of QuickBooks? And he said, no. Speaker 4 (52:12) Right. Speaker 3 (52:15) This is how I want to do it. And I said, okay. So I took the pay I took it to the CPA and the CPA looked at me like, Are you kidding me? I'm like, I it's color-coded. He said, No, no, no, no, no, no. So I went back to my father and I said, It's not gonna cut it. You get to have it. You you've got it. Well, I I don't know anything about that. I'm like, Well, you better get on board because you're gonna get yeah, you're gonna get left behind. And that was twenty five years ago. So, and this is just another example of how how our society and technology has, you know, changed. And real Speaker 1 (52:49) We always adapt, don't we? It makes me think of here here's something to think about. because there again, there's all that fear out there. thousands of people did lose their jobs in New York City, for example, whose jobs were to shovel horse poop when the car was invented. But they adapted. They adapted. We do adapt. Now that's kind of pointing to the possibility of unemployment. There's so many things to unpack here, but I think a good way to look at it and to embrace it is the compression of time. The same way that the the cell phone has saved us time, because it used to be it's well I can't make any of the calls until I get back to the one that's attached to the wall. I can't look up information until I go to the library. I've our whole way of doing things have changed, but it helped us compress time. Same with the internet. There's a lot of things I can do in much less amount of time now. That's AI, you're right about understanding it too. It's like we we do teach that in the first module. There's three parts to it. You need to understand what those are, what it does, and you did mention the human component. That's never gonna go away. This is a tool that does wonderful things. It compresses our time, but we need to interpret and examine the results and we need to tell it what to do. By itself, it's just not gonna do it. But I think it's important to think about compressing time. Like let's say research, for example. AI can do a ton of research for me in a short amount. Now I need to check it. Yes. Right? I need to double check. We we know that it it can make mistakes. It can it can Speaker 4 (54:28) It can make stuff up. It can make stuff up. I was using three different AIs for something. Okay, I was writing a big session for a client that brought me in to do a sales workshop. And I went to, I won't name them, but I went to three large AI platforms that I pay for. And I was like, hey, give me a good example of a company that could go for the point that I'm trying to make. And one of these came back with the best example. I was like, my gosh, this is so good. And I was like, this is too good to be so good. So I went to Perplexity. I'll drop that one to go check it. So I so I went to four. And I was like, is this accurate? And it could find nothing. So I went back to the other AI and I said, did you just make that up? They were like, yeah, but it went perfectly with your story. Speaker 1 (55:12) What? Speaker 3 (55:18) Shooting call. Speaker 4 (55:19) But thank you. And and this was over a year ago. And it's gotten a lot better. You know, they it doesn't hallucinate as much, but literally there are those things and you do have to check it. You have to Speaker 1 (55:29) Yeah, you'd feed even feed it back, you know, have AI check itself, feed it back through there and say I I need confirmation of these resources, give me the links, give me the videos or w whatever it may be. I think my point is like like research is a good one. we're doing a ton of research, but if I just have to check the footnotes at at the end, I save myself perhaps weeks, months of the actual research. Does that make sense? I hope it does. Mm-hmm. but yeah, the the human co I call it H I, human intelligence and artificial intelligence, it's a thing. It's already here. It's already it it's it's here to stay, not going anywhere. So we we need to get on board. But again, it's how? How do we get on board? And and how does it apply to me? You know, there are different levels of that, but Back to where we started. The human connection thing is always gonna be of utmost importance. And I think in fact AI is pushing us back to that. We talked about being disconnected because of technology. And AI is gonna do a lot of things for us, for the staff or or let's say take do the work of of let me back up. AI's gonna do the work, compress time. And let's say I had a big research project and I gotta go disappear into the in into the computer, into the office for three weeks to research I don't know, dog population of the earth or something, whatever it may be. And I gotta go do do do it all by hand, look at it. I could be making connections, right? I could be doing the other human side of the work. So what it's doing is creating more of that. Right. If we have AI working for us behind the scenes right now, we have more time for this to encourage each other, lift each other up, make our connections, learn from each other, do the human side. So it's really I I would say the biggest thing is it's time compression. Speaker 4 (57:23) Yeah. So here's what I heard. We're gonna have another podcast and we're gonna get to meet your partner. And we wanna hear more about all did you notice there were like three or four things he's like, Well I'm not gonna say it right now. I'm not gonna say it right now. Exactly right now. We'll we'll definitely have to do that. Any final thoughts as we wrap up? Speaker 1 (57:42) How was the wine? Speaker 4 (57:43) Okay. Speaker 3 (57:45) Typically a white wine drinker and this is this is very Speaker 4 (57:48) It too warm to be a red wine day though. We had a little bit of this. Well, I wanna say first off, before you drink, don't premature drink like she does. Speaker 1 (57:56) I I do have one thing before we stop stop. Let's set an example. What is our ask today? I always talk about it and then it's like, hold on, we've been talking about being fearless and having an ask. So Could perhaps we go one by one and put it out there. It's like what are we looking for? What is something, think about something. I can start. I'll I'll lay the brown groundwork, all right? pave the way and all that stuff. So I am also an event director for certain things, both in Houston and around the nation and soon the international. And I'm always looking for for good speakers. I'm looking for good speakers. I'm also looking, speaking of this new company and the new courses and things like that, we really want to be talking to people in the medical space and the oil and gas space. I don't have a huge Rolodex. Full of contact list of medical and oil and gas personnel, the the decision makers and things. So personally, I would ask this of you guys if you have those kinds of contacts or people you could get me in touch with, because we really want to hear from them and also excite them about how the AI can be just absolute absolutely revolutionizing those industries. So that would be my ask. How about yours? Speaker 2 (59:22) Y'all ready or you want me to go? Go ahead. So my ask is obviously anything real estate related. I've got a SKOOL subscribe to the school, I'll put it in the comments this time. I've got my classes coming and that's real estate focused, but I'm also looking for investors. So somebody who would want to partner and invest with me in real estate multifamily. and even maybe some single family to start out and make sure that we work together well because I think when you partner with somebody it's a It's a relationship, so I wanna make sure that I can work with you and you can work with me. So that's I would say my ask so Speaker 1 (59:55) Accredited or non accredited or both? Speaker 2 (59:58) It doesn't have to be accredited because it's not gonna be a five sixty. Speaker 4 (1:00:01) So a little easier. Yeah. Speaker 2 (1:00:03) Yeah. Speaker 3 (1:00:04) Well I think that works for those people who are maybe just getting into it and don't know a lot about it and haven't gotten up to that status yet, then that's a great groundwork and foundation to get started with someone who's such a seasoned investor as yourself that can help build them up to that accredited status. If you don't know what accredited means, Miss Natalie and she can tell you. Speaker 1 (1:00:23) Good point. How do I how do I get started in investing in real estate? We all know it's a good play. Speaker 3 (1:00:29) I was the big I was the poster child for why you don't until I got with these ladies and our at our old business and learned, okay, well, big mistake. But I turned it around. Yeah. So yes. Yes. Speaker 4 (1:00:41) So my ask is make sure you tell people about the podcast, please. But for my business inside the why, it's it's a speaking business. So how amazing is that that we're sitting here? But it's you know for companies and for individuals who literally you feel like you think about that human connection. Sometimes you lose your purpose and your why. And oftentimes we can break it down in a lot of different ways. But if you're looking for somebody to come in with a different view on leadership and help you become very introspective and think about the ways and what you're doing and where there might be obstacles as well as communication, those that's my lane. That's my jam. That's where I get very excited and passionate. And that's why I took the leap of faith and started my own company. And it's what I do full time when I'm not with these lovely ladies on the podcast. So my ask would be is to think about me for a speaker at your next event or to come in and help your company and organization. Speaker 3 (1:01:29) Yeah, so I think my my ask is is a couple different levels. I'm I'm the oldest of the of the group, so I'm kinda I consider myself kinda semi-retired. So I think one of the reasons why I want the podcast to be so successful is to I think we bring a lot of really good relevant information from so many different avenues of knowledge, real estate, business, business, caregiving. all those types of things and we of course want to continue the podcast. So anyone that's interested in some of the things that we have to say, we're always looking for great sponsors to help us spread the word. we love to do that. And again, because I am semi-retired, I would love to go out and do some motivational speaking. I've been through a lot in my personal life being widowed. due to cancer and having gone through some medical issues myself. I've had a lot of people come up to me and say, How do you do it? You just keep going and those types of things. So overcoming adversity. I would love to be able to get out there and tell the story to a lot of men, women, families who feel like maybe they're at the end of their rope, but there's always that door that you can walk through. And just you just gotta keep going. So the success of the pro podcast, obviously. but just being able to get out there and help other people who sometimes feel like maybe they don't have any other options, I think that would be that would be my ask. I've all I've so I went into healthcare. I want to help people, that's why we do the podcast. We wanna help people, we wanna educate, everything like that. So yeah, I think those are those are my my my ask. Speaker 2 (1:03:16) So are how do people get a hold of you? Speaker 1 (1:03:18) The Link below. Speaker 2 (1:03:21) Ha ha. Speaker 3 (1:03:21) The link below. Speaker 1 (1:03:23) You can find me on all the socials at Arthurlhopkins.com. You'd be amazed at how many Arthur Hopkins's are out there. Speaker 4 (1:03:31) If on LinkedIn too, you can find him there as well. So yes, we'll absolutely link it below. And then for those of you that are listening, you can go into the show notes and find him on the different so socials. And so I want to say cheers to you, Art, for being an incredible guest, for getting us to do that ask. And we do look forward to he did commit, as you all heard, to being back on and we get to meet his partner. And you know, cheers to networking future success and new connections. Cheers. Speaker 2 (1:03:59) And cheers. Cheers to our audience. Cheers to Speaker 3 (1:04:02) Sarian game.