Road to 100

Over the years, stem cell medicine has totally evolved, doing wonders in reversing the effects of aging and in the treatment of orthopedic pains. In fact, it now offers new hope for patients with other serious ailments such as heart disease.

In today’s episode, Pasha and Cody talk with Dr. Harry Adelson all about stem cell medicine and how it can optimize our lives. At the forefront of stem cell medicine, Dr. Adelson’s full-body stem cell makeover involves treating every moving part of the musculoskeletal system, making it the most comprehensive stem cell upgrade ever conceived.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[10:23] What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells exist in all tissues of our bodies, responsible for maintaining the health of their microenvironment. When you have an injury of any sort, the stem cells are responsible for the healing response. The vast majority of Harry's experience is using stem cells from people's own bodies. These are stem cells from the bone marrow combined with cells from the fat and combined with new, very small embryonic-like stem cells that have been recently discovered in the blood.

[14:07] The Effect of Stem Cells on Aging

The only thing that has been proven to reverse aging is large doses of stem cells. A landmark study conducted by Joshua Hare and two other researchers found that people who got 100 million stem cells reversed all six of the categories of frailty associated with aging. Interestingly, when they did doses of 200 million, it didn't work as well as it did with the 100 million.

[17:48] How Long the Effect of Stem Cells Lasts

Dr. Adelson expects to hear back from his patients anywhere from two to eight years, and an average of four or five years. Stem cell treatment doesn’t work the same for everybody. While about 20% of the people he has treated at the one-year mark showed significant improvement, there is about 10% to 12% of the people they treat where the stem cells don't help at all.

[19:03] Other Uses of Stem Cells

Stem cells have been used for the treatment of back pain, joint pain, and neck pain. It can also be used on the skin of the face to improve the elasticity and hydration of the skin. Stem cells can be used for the scalp to thicken the hair follicles. It won't cause you to grow new hair, but it cuts down the amount of gray hair in half.  Stem cells can also help treat erectile dysfunction and improve the elasticity of the vaginal walls.

Resources Mentioned:

Docere Clinics

Stym Clinics

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Aging Frailty

Life Force by Tony Robbins

Not all deals or sponsors are built the same. If you’re looking to maximize the benefits and returns of private alternative investments, doing due diligence yourself is crucial. This is the perfect primer on how to vet deals and give yourself the best chance at making good returns.

In today’s conversation, Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood chat with Hans Box, co-founder of real estate investment and private equity firm, Box Wilson Equity. Hans has deep expertise in passive and active investing. Learn what to look for when vetting deals and finding the value add component in every deal.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[13:24] What to Look For When Vetting a Deal

The first step to vetting a deal is to vet your sponsor. Look into who they are and what their track record is. They have to be 100% transparent. You also have to ask questions on things that you need more clarity on. How they respond is also very critical. Are they quick to respond? Are their answers clear or do they beat around the bush? Play with a sponsor that's in it for the long game.

You also don't want to invest in a deal that they're not investing their own money in because that tells you that either they're not successful enough to have enough money to invest in their own deal, or they've got a better place to put their money than their own deal.

[28:06] What to Look for in a Value-Add

When you're looking for value-add, there needs to be some way to increase income from the current, or historical operating P&L (profit and loss) of the property, to now. Typically, the way to increase income is by raising the rent. Another way is to buy properties that are already under market that you don’t even have to do upgrades.

[38:15] The Importance of Trust in Your Operators

People can make their numbers look really good. This is why you have to ask questions about their entry cap rate and exit cap rate, or how they're financing. You have to see that they have a plan and they're being conservative.

[55:18] Other Things to Look For in Sponsors

Look for longer-term strategy players that are there for the long haul. A lot of sponsors make a ton of money on compressing cap rates or flipping properties without doing much. If you're investing in a long-duration asset, you also have to have a long-duration strategy. Finally, if you see a deal and get really excited about it, and then you see some red flags, just let it go. There will always be deals out there, so be patient.

Resources Mentioned:

Box Wilson Equity

Email: [email protected]

Mastermind groups are growing and becoming more and more popular – and there’s one common denominator among all of them: authentic human connection. Coming from a retreat with 20 other powerful men, Pasha and Cody share their experience, some lessons they've gleaned from the mastermind event, and how you can incorporate them into your life.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[05:00] The Value of Community

Magic happens in smaller communities where you can get deep with others at a core level. As humans, we're always looking for connection and authentic relationships where we can let go of the facade that we put up. However, a lot of entrepreneurs tend to create a shell around them and a world where they're just so driven that they’re not able to connect authentically. This is why mastermind groups are now growing because they are desperately looking for authentic connections.

[10:05] Turning Mimetic Theory Into Something Good

Mimetic theory is when you're driven towards material pursuits. But it can be used for good, especially when modeling great behavior. It’s not about the house you own or the car in your garage, but about building good habits and taking care of your health and your family. Surround yourself with people who will push you, inspire you, and hold you accountable.

[15:03] Choosing Your Inner Circle

You can always be friends with someone. But at the end of the day, where do you want to spend your energy? Sometimes, you have to weed people out of your life if they no longer align with you or your values. And you will always feel that disconnect. In order to do that, you have to know what you want to create in your life. This is not just about cutting off people black and white, but understanding where you want to go, what you enjoy, and what inspires you.

[22:38] Pasha and Cody’s Highlights From the Mastermind Group

[35:10] The Cowboy Code

Resources Mentioned:

Condo Foundation

Faced with constant phone notifications, emails, zoom meetings, and 24 hours news, it’s difficult to find signal through the noise. In today’s episode, join Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood as they discuss the value of resetting your life through travel and digital minimalism. Have a look into their goals for 2023, both in business and personal life, and what they think is up ahead in the multifamily and mobile home markets.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[09:30] Travel Resets Your Life

Travel is an awesome way to reset your life. Stepping away from your normal environment and out of your everyday life gives you a fresher perspective. Kids also grow up well-grounded when you can let them connect to nature. When you’re traveling and you’re outside of work, you have more time to read, journal, or do the things that excite you. Try going to a place where you’re in a different time zone and see what it feels like to have mornings that are free from all the emails and calls. Being able to do the deep inner work helps you gain clarity that will benefit you, the people around you, and your business.

[24:48] Get Out of the Minutia

It’s important to have that time when you’re able to go away and have that thinking time for yourself, even if that’s just two or three days that you can disconnect from the phone. Otherwise, if you’re caught up in the minutia every single time, it’s easy to make poor and rash decisions.

[45:24] Outlook for Multifamily Real Estate

Cody thinks there are a lot of short-term challenges on the horizon. But over the long term, the fundamentals are there in the multifamily space. Household formation is going to be massively slow in the face of a recession and we're going to have higher rates, even in the face of a slowing economy. But at the end of the day, people always need housing and shelter. You can probably expect to see some softness in rents. Arguably, Cody thinks there are probably some spots of distress but there's also rescue capital available and a lot of capital waiting on the sidelines.

[50:58] Outlook for the Mobile Home Space

Pasha is still 5% across their portfolio of average medium income to what their lot rents are, which is good. There is space to grow.  The challenge, however, is finding deals. He's also seeing how slowly sellers are starting to get creative with their financing, and are willing to do more seller financing.

Cody doesn't think we should be making short-duration bets on long-duration assets. Instead, hold for long periods of time and stick to those good fundamentals.

Resources Mentioned:

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Maybe you’ve always wanted to stand on the peak of the highest summit, surf on the Pacific, or travel to your dream destination with your family. Have you written these goals down? 90% of people haven’t written down their bucket list let alone checked much of it off.

In today’s conversation, Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood talk with Trav Bell, aka The Bucket List Guy, about how you can start  your bucket list, pursue your passions,  the concept of work/life blend, and how to live a more fulfilling life.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[23:59] How to Position Yourself to Grow Your Brand

In the book, Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, he talks about the MPS process represented in a Venn diagram where each of the circle asks these three critical questions, respectively:

Then at the center of those three circles, you will find your calling. At the end of the day, your values serve as your internal rulebook. Trav suggests writing down your top five values and figuring out whether you’re living those out in the world.

[30:27] Creating Your Own Bucket List

A bucket list is a tangible life plan where your career planning and your business plan should fit into your life plan and not the other way around so it brings home this "work to live" principle. Trav thinks there’s no such thing as work/life balance. Instead, it’s about the work/life blend. He also suggests writing down your bucket list, then just worrying about the what and the why, not about the how. Unfortunately, people don't write down their goals and bucket list because of fear of failure and disappointment.

The bucket list isn't just about the ticks of achievement, but about how you reverse-engineer every aspect of your life so your goals and dreams come to fruition. Ultimately, it's about the person that exists on the other side of your bucket list. Having that shared experience is what gives your bucket list meaning and purpose.

[50:14] Being Present in Each Experience

When traveling, it’s about experiencing the journey and being present in each moment rather than posting selfies on social media that no one even cares about. When you do things, do things out of passion, and not just for the gram.

Resources Mentioned:

The Bucket List Guy

Trav’s book, My Bucket List Blueprint

Trav’s TEDTalk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GImTk0BzBhM

The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Inflation and interest rate hikes made for a difficult 2022. A recession may be inevitable in 2023. As a business owner or an investor, how do you mitigate that? Do you stop allocating all together? How do you earn positive returns

In this conversation, join Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood as they chat with Kevin Gray of Veracity Capital and formerly Goldman Sachs about what 2023 can hold and some trends you need to watch out for in this new year. Especially if you’re a first-generation wealth creator, learn how you can begin creating a legacy for your family outside of your main business or investment class!

Here are some powerful takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[11:09] The Biggest Weakness of Business Owners

Many business owners invest everything into their business because that’s how they’ve grown it. They throw everything into their business and they don’t invest elsewhere at all. But the right investment advisor and wealth manager can allow you to focus on what you’re great at while they work on your behalf at what they’re great at. Utilizing outside firms to handle a chunk of your capital can take the emotion out of it, give you access to hedge funds and alternatives you wouldn’t otherwise have, and boost your returns considerably.

[17:04] The Fed

The role of the Fed right now is to slow down the economy. And it’s working, and they will do that until interest rates get, or inflation gets, near about 2%. And so, until they get to that point, they're going to attempt to slow down the economy in order to get there.

[21:40] Where to Focus Your Allocations This Year

Because of the volatility, Kevin warns that you have to be prepared, and particularly focus on credit markets in the new year. Whether it’s private lending, high-yield bonds, or international bonds, the performance is going to be in the credit space since interest rates are very high and they're moving up comparatively over the last decade. Hedge funds are also going to be beneficial if you add them to your portfolio even though they’ve had a muted return during this enormously long bull market. There’s also a great opportunity in real estate with conservative operators and good markets.

[48:11] What the Future Holds

We had the safest currency or the safest reserve in the world. At some point, it can look like that’s no longer the case given our debt burden. But it's all relative. As the U.S. dollar quits running away and begins to weeken, that's when the international market starts looking really good again. Compared to the rest of the world, if the country can keep up, everything is going to be rosy. Equities don't go away, only reduced. Kevin is looking more and more at the private space. And if your money's locked up, and you're getting close to nothing on it anyway, private equity and other illiquid investments may be a great opportunity going forward.

Resources Mentioned:

Veracity Capital

Email: [email protected]

iCapital

Feeling great, having a clear and focused mind, and having sustained energy throughout the day will help you achieve greatness in other areas of your life. But building habits can be hard, and sticking to those habits can be harder. How do you build the habits and keep the consistency so your short-term behavior change will turn into a long-term lifestyle change?

In today’s episode, Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood are delighted to welcome their health coach and mentor, Ryan Kennedy, as they go deep into the conversation around developing and sustaining habits, key deficiencies that nearly all men suffer from, and some biohacks to level up all aspects of your life for the long term.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[06:44] The Value of a Coach

Living a sustainable healthy lifestyle all boils down to these things: time efficiency, structure and accountability, and having a daily plan. Direction gives people clarity. Finally, having a coach is a total game-changer, especially in those moments of low motivation or low discipline because they help you build habits and develop consistency.

[11:00] How Long It Takes to Form a Habit

Ryan says it takes a good three months for a habit to form, although this may vary from person to person. The idea of habit stacking is to pick one or two really important habits that you want to create now and focus on them before moving to the next habit. Building your habits systematically and incrementally completely changes the paradigm.

[18:19] Biohacks for Improving Your Testosterone

What kills a lot of testosterone is a combination of things such as lack of sun exposure, poor sleep, poor nutrition, and exposure to environmental chemicals found in personal care products and household cleaning materials. Therefore, focus on exercise, quality sleep, nutrition, and sun exposure. If you don't have access to the sun, get a red light device that can help mimic some of the benefits we get from sun exposure.

[41:13] Things to Consider When Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is having a compressed eating window that's over 12 hours, and ideally, over 14 or 15 hours, and then only eating during that set time. Ryan doesn’t recommend pushing it back into the evenings because it can lead to poor digestion, especially when you’re eating too close to bedtime. Instead of your energy going towards recovery, rejuvenation, and detoxification, it now has to focus on digestion that results in increased resting heart rate and poor sleep quality.

[52:19] Hacks for Better Sleep

Get outside for at least 10 minutes to soak in that natural light. This anchors your circadian rhythm and sets the stage for you to sleep better that night. On the flip side, try not to expose yourself to too many artificial lights late in the evenings because that suppresses your melatonin production. Then couple deep stretching with deep breathing.

Resources Mentioned:

ryankennedyhealth.com

The Ryan Kennedy Show

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb

In this episode we dive into two of our biggest lessons from 2022: Gratitude and Mimetic Theory.

Ever heard of the mimetic theory? Simply put, it’s a theory from Rene Girard that most human desire is not based on the physical attributes of an object, but on its metaphysical attributes. That is to say that most human desire is based on what the object causes us to be or what it says about us more than the improvement in utility, pleasure, or experience.

Join Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood as they dive deep into the topic of mimetic theory and how it actually coincides with gratitude.

As we enter a new year, this is the best time to be asking some hard questions of yourself. Where are your desires coming from? Do you want something because of the utility, pleasure, or benefits it provides? Or do you want it because of what it says about you? It can be the difference between permanent serotonin improvements and quickly fleeting dopamine hits. Finally, how does gratitude play a role in all this?

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[12:02] Gratitude: The Antidote to Depression and Anxiety

Gratitude is a present emotion. When you’re grateful, it’s hard for anxiety and depression to slip in because you’re not thinking of the past or the future. You’re simply in the moment. When you’re grateful, you’re focusing on the positive. And whatever you focus on is what you will attract. The more focused you are on gratitude, the more you attract the positive things in life.

When you’re grateful, you realize that all the hardships in your life actually are the best times in your life. When you focus on gratitude, you will also notice that you will have fewer desires or wants because you’re a lot more at peace with what you have.

[25:41] The Mimetic Theory

Most human desire is not based on the physical attributes of an object, but it's based on the metaphysical attributes of something. In other words, your desire is not based on the actual object, but on the modeling of somebody else's desire for that object. You’re more focused on what it says about you. This theory goes so deep into every one of our desires that it drives social media usage and consumer debt. It drives envy for people who are doing better than us.

The goal is to be able to think clearly and independently. Sometimes that will mean you're with the crowd, but sometimes it'll mean that you're against it. And when you're thinking independently, you become more connected with yourself and more in touch with what you actually desire.

Resources Mentioned:

Lecture 1: Introduction to Mimetic Theory 

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Loveable by Kelly Flanagan

There are so many hats that we wear as business owners. And at times, it's not for the faint of heart. Whether you're a real estate investor or new to real estate, an intermediate or an expert, there's always another level to go to. But how do you go to the next level? Well, if you truly want to go further, faster, then think about hiring a performance coach. In today’s episode, Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood speak with high performance coach Trevor McGregor as he lays out the five reasons you should hire one or the five reasons people fail to scale.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[09:39] How Your Passion and Energy Show Up in The 4 S's

Your passion and energy will show up in 4 S’s. First is your state, where everything boils down to. Either you're in a bad state, or in a good state. The second S is your story, which is your identity. Once you’re in a good state and you’re owning your story, check in with your standards. How you do anything is how you do everything. You can tell the quality of somebody's ability to go forward by the standards they hold themselves to. Finally, the last S is for strategy. That's how you are going to move from where you are to where you truly want to be.

[15:36] Clearing Out Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs are designed to keep us safe and protect us. A high performance coach will help you clear out the cobwebs and get rid of anything that is an old story, belief or paradigm that can hold you back from skyrocketing the results. You start seeing through a new lens or hear through a new set of headphones, or feel with a different set of fingertips in terms of what's possible.

[19:30] Creating a Strategic Plan

High performance coaches look at what you’re trying to achieve – short-term and long-term. Short-term is anything from now till about a year out. Long-term can be about one year to five years. And then anything beyond that is a vision for your business and your life.

[40:40] Creating Systems for Support and Developing Time Management Skills

Are you creating systems to support your company? Are you defining roles and responsibilities? Do you have partners? Are you leveraging technology to help you go further faster? This is not about setting a system in place one time, and then it breaks, but robust systems that you can use over and over again.

You can tell the quality of an investor or a business man's ability to scale by where they spend their time. We've all got 168 hours a week. We sleep for some of those hours, we eat, pay the bills, play with the kids, etc. But what are you doing with the rest of your time? The 4 D's in time management are: do, delegate, delay, and dump.

Resources Mentioned:

www.trevormcgregor.com

Trevor’s podcast: www.trevormcgregor.com/podcast

Getting to your next $10 million takes persistence – and a strong network that can help you raise your capital too. But how do you do that?

In today’s episode, Pasha Esfandiary and Cody Littlewood chat with real estate investor Tom Burns, who shares his journey from being an orthopedic surgeon to growing a private equity firm that has grown to 3,500 units. Tom has nearly three decades of real estate experience and has developed over half a billion dollars of real estate locally and internationally. Tom is also the author of Why Doctors Don’t Get Rich, a bestselling personal finance book for medical professionals.

Tom is the co-founder and principal of Presario Ventures, a private equity firm that focuses on apartment development. He is also the founder of Rich.Life, a mastermind group that helps people accelerate their wealth and connect with others.

Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:

Episode Highlights:

[22:19] Growing Your Pool of Investors

The bigger your pool of investors, the more confidence you have to grow. As your check sizes grow, your options increase and you can buy portfolios. For Tom, the biggest secret is persistence, and that persistence and time can make you a star every time.

[28:49] What to Look For in a Partner

Find a partner you can leave your checkbook and your family with. You don't have to agree on everything but at some point, you have to come to a resolution. A good partner is humble enough to be a part of a team and you want somebody you can trust.

When you're going to invest with somebody, try to check their track record. What’s best is if you've got somebody you really trust that knows them and who can vouch for them. It doesn't guarantee success, but at least, it guarantees you a partner that's going to stick with you when times get bad.

[33:41] How to Raise Capital

One way of raising money is to use other people's money, particularly debt. But for equity, if you're bringing in money, you can increase your network, which does a lot of things for you. It gives you education and it helps you socialize. It helps you find deals to get into and invest with as well as find investors.

As you’re bringing in investors, there’s that stigma that you’re only taking other people’s money. But you’ve got to change that mindset and see that as an opportunity you’re actually sharing with them. There are a lot of people who have money and want to make their money grow. The problem is they don’t have the time and your job is to solve their problem by using your expertise and network to grow their money.

That being said, you've got a giant responsibility when you take somebody else's money. And if you're ready for that responsibility, and you’ve got the integrity, transparency, network, and the team to do that, then start raising small and start helping some people out.

Resources Mentioned:

rich.life

Presario Ventures

Why Doctors Don’t Get Rich

Rich Dad Poor Dad