{"id":103808,"date":"2018-11-15T00:02:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T07:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=103808"},"modified":"2023-02-09T20:34:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T03:34:30","slug":"biggerpockets-podcast-304-using-incredible-strength-of-mindset-to-succeed-despite-obstacles-nick-santonastasso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/biggerpockets-podcast-304-using-incredible-strength-of-mindset-to-succeed-despite-obstacles-nick-santonastasso","title":{"rendered":"Using Incredible Strength of Mindset to Succeed Despite Overwhelming Obstacles With Nick Santonastasso"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking to have your mind completely blown and walk away feeling like you can and WILL do <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anything,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this show is for you! Today\u2019s guest is inspirational figure, fitness model, and Vine sensation\u00a0<strong>Nick Santonastasso.<\/strong> Nick shares his personal story and holds nothing back, describing how he\u2019s overcome the difficulties of being born with Hanhart syndrome and the incredible mindset he\u2019s developed along the way that led to him meeting Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson, becoming an online viral sensation (and scaring a character from <em>The Walking Dead<\/em> as a zombie), climbing a mountain despite the absence of three limbs, and more! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nick shares tons of actionable steps for overpowering fear, overcoming and adapting to any environment, harnessing the power of gratitude, and more than we can list here! If you\u2019ve ever been stuck in a personal rut and want to find a way to establish a mindset that ALL real estate investors should be adopting, listen to this episode and share it with someone you love!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/biggerpockets-podcast-real\/id594419649\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a>\u00a0to listen on iTunes.<\/p>\n<h2>Listen to the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=BIGPOC4358350118\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Read the Transcript Here<\/h2>\n<div style=\"overflow-y: scroll; max-height: 400px; background: #eee; padding: 20px; border: 1px solid #ddd;\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b><i>This is the BiggerPockets podcast show 304. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>You are listening to BiggerPockets radio. Simplifying real estate for investors large and small. If you\u2019re here looking to learn about real estate investing without all the hype, you\u2019re in the right place. Stay tuned and be sure to join the millions of others who benefitted from BiggerPockets.com. Your home for real estate investing online. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>What\u2019s going on brother, this is Brandon with the BiggerPockets podcast here with my lovely, wonderful assistant to the host, Mr. David Greene. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I\u2019d just Vanna White at this point. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>David, what have you been up to? I know you\u2019re buying a real estate deal. Tell me about it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David:<\/b> Well, I\u2019m trying to. This whole point up to when we recorded the podcast where I\u2019m in negotiations with the wholesaler right now trying to find a way to put a deal together and make it work. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Nice, nice. Well, good luck on that you know. Where\u2019s it at? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>So the house is in Florida. Basically he brought it to me, he gave me the number, and he said the rehab should be exed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When I went and got my estimate, the rehab was high by 2,000 more than what I was getting. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon:<\/b> That never happens. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Right, right, right. And of course, that\u2019s 10K more now before we started so it will grow even bigger. So I said, hey man I\u2019m sorry I can\u2019t make it work. Thanks for bringing it to me. You know, please bring me your deals in the future. I\u2019ll give you the answer right away. So he\u2019s circling back a week later saying, hey turns out I really need to move this thing really quick. Can you close in like five days? I already had the inspections done because I had those ordered while I was getting my rehabs. So I know, I just declared to Todd that I can buy it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So now we have to find a way to get the price close to where it will work. So we looked at my rehab budget. He thinks he can do the work cheaper than what my guy was going to do it for. So he\u2019s going to handle some of the most expensive part of the rehab. I know he has a good crew because I worked with them. And we\u2019re lowering the price. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So now we\u2019re getting really close to the number we want to be at. I think I\u2019m going to put this one together. It\u2019s going to have an ARV of about 210 to 215.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And I\u2019m probably going to be all in for around like 150 to 160, it looks like. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Nice. That sounds like a \u201cbrrrr\u201d deal to me. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Yup. It\u2019s getting cold over here. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>It\u2019s cold over here. All right. With that, let\u2019s get to today\u2019s show. Like I said, today\u2019s show is going to be different. We have Nick Santo-to&#8230;dah! Every time I butcher his last name. Nick Santo-to\u2026You do it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Santonastasso.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Santonastasso.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I\u2019m a little Italian, mixed Italian so I just have an advantage over you. You look like you\u2019re a Viking from Norway who cannot pronounce these Italian names. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I am a Viking from Norway. So Nick is the guy me and David or David and I at a conference recently. And we just both thought he was fantastic. Nick was born with a syndrome that he will explain on the show. But he was born with no logs and only one arm. And even on that arm, he\u2019s got only one finger on that arm. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So he talks about that experience. He had a very low chance of survival to begin with and how I guess, has grown to be a super inspiring, very motivating, I guess, individual speaker, author. He\u2019s got a new book coming out. And I feel like he\u2019s just a fantastic guy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And the reason why we wanted him here on the BiggerPockets podcast, obviously it\u2019s a real estate show. It\u2019s because the stuff he talks about, your mind-set changes. Or something that almost every newbie, and not even newbie, right? Experienced people. I face stuff as well right? These things hold us back. And if you can breakthrough these mind-set things, it will push you so much further. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So we don\u2019t go into real estate at all. This might be the first show, we haven\u2019t even mentioned the word real estate. Well I guess we did give some examples. This show, you need to listen to this show. Plus his stories are amazing. Like, he met The Rock and he got to scare and dress up as a zombie and scared the guy from The Walking Dead. The motorcycle guy. Yeah, just super cool. You\u2019ll love him. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Nick is all about levelling up. And if you\u2019re a newbie, to you, levelling up is getting your first deal, your first couple of deals. If you\u2019re an experienced investor, levelling up is getting at your business and making it run more passively and more deals. <b> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Whatever your issue is, growth is your friend. Nick is all about how you master the art of growing. He created this mind-set. That\u2019s what his super power is. This guy, when you get one listening to him, you walk away knowing I can do anything. I can anything that I want and you\u2019re not thinking thoughts that are contrary to that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So you got to listen to this episode. You probably want to share it with some friends, right? No matter who you are, when you hear Nick speak, you will feel different about yourself and you\u2019re off to the change that you\u2019re looking for. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>There you go. I love it. Now before we get to Nick, let\u2019s hear a quick word from today\u2019s show\u2019s sponsor. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>All right. I have to interrupt for just a moment to remind you that Thanksgiving is almost here. It\u2019s Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all almost here. Up to 75% off at the BiggerPockets book store. No joke! Get ready to take your real estate investment up a notch by saving serious money. Visit BiggerPockets.com\/store starting next Friday. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>All right. With that, let\u2019s get to the show with Nick. I don\u2019t want to waste any more time with this introduction so let\u2019s bring him in. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">All right, Nick, welcome to the BiggerPockets podcast. Good to see you again. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Thank you for the opportunity brother. I\u2019m happy to be here. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Nice. All right, Nick. So before we go any further into the show to hear your story, I want you to teach me how you say your last name. I stumble every time. How do I do that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>Got it. So it\u2019s San-to-nas-tasso. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I\u2019m not going to get that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick<\/b>: Did not help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>San-to-nas-tasso. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah. Perfect!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Hey! Look at that. Try it, David, five times fast. Go. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Santonastasso. Santonastasso. Santonastasso. Santonastasso. Santonastasso. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>He\u2019s a pro. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Is it Italian in nature?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah, it\u2019s Italian. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Ok. So does it help when you make the Italian hand when you say it? That\u2019s what I was doing under the desk. That\u2019s why I got about it so fast. That\u2019s the secret. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s funny.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Santanastasso!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah, there you go. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Ok so now we got your last name nailed down. I\u2019m probably going to butcher that when record the intro and what, but whatever. Let\u2019s go into your story a little bit. Hear about who are you, why you are, why are we talking to you today? Tell us about your story. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yes. So I\u2019m Nick Santonastasso. I\u2019m 22 years old. I was born in New Jersey. And so in 1996, when my mom was pregnant with me. It was her last pregnancy. Everything was going fine, you know they went into their first ultrasound and it was great. Second ultrasound was great. And then they went in for a late ultrasound and basically you know they sat my parents down, pulled the baby up on the screen and you know the doctor started having a puzzled look on her face. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And my parents were like, you know, what was going on? And they say, you know, from the looks of it, it doesn\u2019t look like your baby\u2019s limbs have developed. It looks like his legs are missing, he\u2019s missing his arm, and he might have a cleft palate. You know they started listening to a bunch of these things and that it could have been the case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And in that moment, it\u2019s crazy, and in that moment, my parents looked at each other and you know they said, well we\u2019re going to see where life takes this kid. Focus on the 30% and not that 70% because they just gave me a 30% chance to live. And that\u2019s what I always tell people. We have that same choice as my parents in life and that\u2019s like are you going to focus on the good in life or are you going to focus on the bad? Which focusing on the bad will never serve you in any situation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so you know they said, Mr. and Mrs. Santanostasso, it looks like he has about 30% chance to live because they diagnosed me with Hanhart syndrome. And what Hanhart syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that either leaves the baby with undeveloped limbs or undeveloped organs. And so at the time of my birth in \u201996, I was the 12<\/span><span class=\"s2\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> baby in medical history that they\u2019ve ever seen this happen to. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so out of the 12, 8 of them have passed away due undeveloped organs. So the baby\u2019s born and they can\u2019t breathe on their own, can\u2019t eat on their own, and they later on pass away. And so I was born, they immediately did tests on my organs and it came back 100% healthy. The only thing that was affected were my limbs. And that\u2019s kind of, you know, where I talk about living in a state of gratitude and having that can literally change your life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And you know as a 22 year-old dude now you know I think about the rare chance of just being human and then the fact that I made it through something that I had 30% chance to live. And so I always tell people, my tribe, my guys, every time we wake up, we think about five things we\u2019re grateful for, we write them down. The emotion of gratitude outweighs all the negative emotions and what I mean by that is it\u2019s emotionally impossible for you to feel grateful and sad at the same time, or grateful and mad because that emotion of gratitude is just so heavy. It just outweighs all the negative emotions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so as soon as I was born, the doctors basically handed over a list to my parents. Especially back then, you know, when being born disable it wasn\u2019t very, you know, it was frowned upon. Things were shun and they were hidden and so it was a weird time in the world and so they handed over this list to my parents. They were like, here, here are all the things your son won\u2019t be able to do. It was just a list. Your son can\u2019t feed himself, dress himself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And basically, they told my parents I\u2019d be a big baby. That\u2019s why I\u2019m super grateful to the way my parents reacted because that\u2019s all life is, how you react to situations and they were like, thanks but no thanks. You know I\u2019m not going to, you know, regardless if you\u2019re a professional, I\u2019m not going to let you put limits on my son. You know, let\u2019s go see what he\u2019s capable of doing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>You know what, If I can jump in real quick, I want to pull this point there. I think it\u2019s interesting. Yeah, they give you a list, or your parents a list of things that you would not be able to do. I can totally translate that to almost everybody in life have these things that are predefined, right? Like, oh you were born in a poor area, you can\u2019t become wealthy. Or hey, you were born with whatever, you were born in this family or in this country, or with this limitation of some kind, hey that kid has a learning disability and you know, he\u2019s clearly not going to make it anywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I think it\u2019s interesting the way your parents were like, thanks but no thanks. We\u2019re not going to let somebody else define what our kid is not going to be able to do. And I wish people would have thought about that in life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah, absolutely right? Because people are primed and programmed to their environment, right? If they have a school that\u2019s run down and not much is going on, the teachers don\u2019t even believe in the kids and the kids think that no one believes in them. And you know, I think the important part about that is that people need to realize that no one\u2019s going to save you, only you\u2019re going to save you. Only you can get yourself out of whatever hole you\u2019re in. No one\u2019s coming to save you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s what I kind of realized. I get into that when I\u2019m at my lowest point but kids go to school and say their school\u2019s run down. They don\u2019t even see the school getting fixed up because no one cares. They think they\u2019re just not going to go anywhere in life, right? Because it\u2019s crazy, it\u2019s our environment and everything around us that programs us to have those limiting beliefs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so, my parents were like yes but no thanks and the one thing, the way they raised me is super crazy and I\u2019m super grateful for it. Basically from the earliest of ages, my parents sat me down in the most polite way and said, Nick, the world\u2019s not going to stop for you because you were born like that. You know, this happened. But you got to keep moving forward. Things are going to be hard and you\u2019re going to take more time than other kids. But you\u2019re not giving up and feeling sorry for yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so they, in the most polite way, like I said, put things in front of me. And so for example, they put my clothes in front of me and say all right Nick, try to figure it out. Or they would put me on my high chair and put food in front of me and a utensil and say Nick, figure it out. And you know, I always tell people, and I ask parents, now you can sit here and self-reflect and ask<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>yourself, are you doing too much for your kids? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Are you letting your kids get away with too much? Are you not letting them fall on their knees? You know? Because my parents, basically, by putting these trials and tribulations in front of me and letting me fall on my face at that age, I got my mind set in the rhythm of ok, it\u2019s not can\u2019t, but it\u2019s how. You know? Things are going to be hard, things are going to take more time, but it\u2019s how am I going to run this obstacle? How am I going to breakthrough this barrier? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think that is the same exact mind-set. That\u2019s not just a Nick mind-set. That\u2019s the mind-set everybody needs to have. Right? You know, things get hard. Things get fast. We get overwhelmed by the challenges that we have in front of us, right? You need to stop and say, ok, how am I going to get through this because not only entrepreneurs but humans in general, they have the tendency to start with can\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So what I mean by that is if someone says if you, or something says well I\u2019m going to do this, their immediate reaction is to say, oh you can\u2019t do it because this, this, this and this. Well that doesn\u2019t empower you. That doesn\u2019t do anything for you. It\u2019s not going to get you anywhere so why don\u2019t you start listening to why you can or how you can. It\u2019s more empowering. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And people shoot themselves at the foot right before the finish line. And they\u2019re saying this is going to happen and they can\u2019t do this. Right? It\u2019s just the way you look at it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>There\u2019s a book out there called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I\u2019m a huge fan. A lot of people on this show talk about it, right?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yes so he was talking about in that book, one of the most life-changing things I have ever read, was when I was 21 or 22, and he said in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, that poor people say they can\u2019t afford it and wealthy people or rich people say or ask how do I afford it. Right? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When I read that, I was like, he\u2019s so right. It\u2019s not just about money, right? It\u2019s about everything. Some people say I can\u2019t, some people ask how. If there is one thing I can narrow my entire life down, that has probably made the greatest impact. That one phrase. Instead of saying I can\u2019t, it\u2019s how can I? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Absolustely. And I think the same thing with changing your life, right? It\u2019s like people don\u2019t realize how much they say they can\u2019t. And so when you hear yourself say can\u2019t, change that. I had someone in the call yesterday. He was. I\u2019m not creative. And I told him, well instead of telling yourself you\u2019re not creative, just say you\u2019re getting better at being creative each and every day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Give yourself something empowering. Because if you always tell yourself you\u2019re stupid, you\u2019re probably right. You know? But if you give yourself a better meaning, it empowers you to go ahead. And you know, to be more creative or learn more. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so growing up, you know, my parents threw me in a bunch of things. I have a funny story. One of the things they threw at me at an early age was a skateboard. And so they put me on a skateboard on my stomach. And I always compare skateboard to life because if you\u2019re not pushing, you\u2019re dying. If you\u2019re not trying to get better, you\u2019re not going to move forward. And so what are you doing? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so they put me on a skateboard on my stomach and I was riding it like a skateboard. And then entrepreneurs or hustlers, we always want more right? And so Nick finally realized that if I sat upright, I could get much more momentum and speed. And then finally that\u2019s not enough and so after a long day of skateboarding, I said, hey mom and dad, come outside, I learned a trick. And my mom was, oh God, what now Nick? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I brought them outside and you know I kept them at the bottom of a hill and I rode my skateboard all the way to the top of the hill. And I said, mom and dad are you ready? And so I come flying down this hill and right when I get to the bottom, I pop up on a handstand. My face was two inches from the pavement and I was oh my God, did you see that? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">They were freaking out, like, dude you\u2019re crazy. And the reason why I say that is when I posted that picture of the handstand when I was a young kid, it was one of my more iconic picture. But what people currently see was the handstand. They did not see how many times Nick fell on his face trying to do the handstand. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s the same thing in life because we all look up to entrepreneurs. We all look up to businessmen. We all look up to actors, dj\u2019s, whatever it may be. But what we currently see is what they are currently. Their current success. We didn\u2019t see how many times they were told no. How many times they were denied or they weren\u2019t good enough, pretty enough. Whatever it may be. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so that\u2019s what I always tell people. We\u2019re all going through this journey in life. The ups and downs. And my advice to you is embrace the journey. The beauty behind life is the contrast of life. If we were put on this earth and everything was easy, we\u2019d be wow, this is really boring. And so in those times of hardships, those times that, man, this is uncomfortable, this is scaring me. Embrace that. Because that is, there\u2019s some massive personal growth that will come ahead. And that means if you\u2019re out of your comfort zone, you\u2019re growing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so when things are kind of boring and stagnant, get out of there. That\u2019s your key to say, ok, everything\u2019s going to start pivoting or start growing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so before middle school, I didn\u2019t realize I was different. I didn\u2019t realize this package I had going on. I was just, you know, a young kid living life. And then I got into middle school and high school. But middle school I think we can agree that that\u2019s one of the most judgmental pack. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>It sucks. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick:<\/b> That\u2019s one of the most judgmental times of our lives, our kids\u2019 lives. So I got into middle school and it was a big slap in the face for me. What I mean by that I realized the kids, you know, little teasing. I never got bullied but there was always, you know, little teasing, you know, throwing names. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I realized that although I wasn\u2019t any slower mentally, but because I had someone pushing me on a wheelchair, or someone\u2019s sitting with me in class, kids correlated me with being slow. And you know I was just out of shape, I was depressed and I was in that thought you were either born with confidence or you didn\u2019t have it. It was just acquired through birth or you didn\u2019t have it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So that was one of my limiting beliefs. I was not confident, I would never have confidence. And at a very low point in my life, I didn\u2019t want to go in public, I didn\u2019t want to look in a mirror. I was absolutely disgusted with myself and my body. I was at rock bottom. And you know some of the thoughts that were going through my head that my best way out was to take my life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I was so disgusted and so uncomfortable with my body that it\u2019s not worth it. And you know I was going into high school and in my family, my family in public I feel, still to this day, I\u2019m the glue. I\u2019m that positive figure. If everyone\u2019s having a bad day, they call Nick and they want Nick to talk. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I feel like I had this role even at an early age. So when I was at this low point in my life, I put on a mask because I knew that just a simple smile from myself would change someone. Right? It can change their demeanour. And so even though I was at this super low point in life, I put a mask in school and you know I just wanted to be that person for people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So I got into freshman year and I\u2019m at my all low. I need to figure out a way to dig myself out of this hole and that\u2019s what I was saying before. You need to realize that no one\u2019s going to save me. Nick, no one\u2019s coming to save you. The only person that\u2019s going to make a drastic change in your life whether that\u2019s physical, mentally or emotionally, spiritually is you. Nothing\u2019s going to dig you out of this hole. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so my best friend Dan. My best friend during fresh man year. He\u2019s still my best friend up to this day. He wrestled his whole entire life. Don\u2019t ask me why, but it was freshman year and he said to me be a bowler. It was really black and white. Super different. And he comes up to me and he goes, Nick, you try those things, you can go bowling. All you do is just roll the ball down the lane and then when you go back you get to eat cheese fries. Like easy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I\u2019m, dude, I\u2019m in. I mean I\u2019m Italian. I\u2019m all about food. So anything that\u2019s got to do with food, I\u2019m in. And so I was, all right Dan, I\u2019ll try out for the bowling team. Because I\u2019m up for something, I\u2019m looking for a sport. I\u2019m looking for an extra-curricular activity. I\u2019m looking for a sport. That\u2019s going to elevate me, elevate my confidence, make me feel good about myself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I always tell people I\u2019m from New Jersey. You have your JV sports, you have your varsity sports. So your JV is not your starting line-up and your varsity is your starting line-up. And so our varsity team were studs and our JV team was undefeated. Until Nick joined the team. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I joined the team. I gave our bowling team our first loss. And I soon realized that, you know, bowling was not for me. I wanted to push myself. You know more physically and mentally. And so I was going into sophomore year and my order brother who is about six years older than me, he wrestled through my high school. And in New Jersey, wrestling was a big deal. It\u2019s like football in some places. It\u2019s huge. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So I always looked up to wrestlers. I thought they were just the coolest thing ever. And so by sophomore year, Dan went back to wrestling like he should have and all my other best friends were stud wrestlers from my high school. And they were like, Nick, you know, you always try new things. That\u2019s one thing we can give to you. You always try new things, you always get out of your comfort zone. Why don\u2019t you try wrestling? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I said I can\u2019t. I said I can\u2019t immediately. The reason why I started with can\u2019t is because this arm, this limb is about five inches longer than it is now. And my bone was growing faster than my skin. So it was like your finger but super sensitive, I couldn\u2019t touch it on things. I can\u2019t really touch it on things. I would tuck my arm in and because the bottom line is, if I would hit the arm hard enough, my bone came through my skin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I was like, oh you know, I can\u2019t wrestle, my arm. And I started marinating on this thought. I started marinating. And I was well, I\u2019m at this low point. I don\u2019t feel confident, I feel disgusted in my skin. And wrestlers are the coolest thing in my life. That\u2019s what I think the coolest thing is. If I can be a part of the team, to be with my boys, even if that\u2019s in the wresting room. Or you know rolling around the hallway just with the wrestlers, that would make me feel better about myself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I came home one day. I waited for both my parents to come home. And you know my parents supported me in anything I wanted to do but this was a little bit different. And so I sat them down and I said, mom and dad, I want to be a wrestler. And my mom was, oh no Nick. God forbid, you know wrestling\u2019s the most physical sport. What if you\u2019re on the mat, you hit your arm, your bone comes through your skin, what are you going to do then? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And here I am, a 16, 17 year-old kid and I looked at them and said, can we cut it off? And they said, what? And I said, yeah can we cut it off? And they said Nick, first of, the right term is amputation. Don\u2019t go aggressive with your terms. It\u2019s not cut off, it\u2019s amputate. So, all right, can we amputate my arm? And they were, Nick is this something that you really want to do? And I said, yes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This has the opportunity to instil more confidence and the funny thing is I never told my parents I was at that low point. Because I didn\u2019t want that to affect them negatively. I didn\u2019t want that to happen. So I was, yes this would just make me feel better about myself. I want to do it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And you know, that\u2019s what I always tell people. Whether you\u2019re trying to become a better real estate agent or a better investor, or building a business or a better husband or a wife, whatever you\u2019re focusing your energy on. You need to give it a 110% effort or you\u2019re literally selling yourself short. It sounds mainstream, it sounds clich\u00e9, but that\u2019s the real deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I always tell people, I like cars. So if you treat your body like a Ferrari, if you look at yourself as a Ferrari and you\u2019re putting, you know, regular gas into a Ferrari, how is that Ferrari supposed to perform? It\u2019s not going to perform like a regular Ferrari. You got to put the right fuels, you got to do the right things so you can operate at that high level. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I tell people whatever I\u2019m focusing my energy on, I\u2019m all in. I\u2019m fully invested. And so with a couple hours of persuasion, my parents were like, all right. If this is something that you really want to do, we\u2019ll find a doctor to do the amputation. So on my sophomore year of high school, we scheduled the amputation and what they did was they lasered five inches of my bone off and they did a skin graft. So they pulled extra skin from up here and pulled it over so I can cushion it. I remember telling the doctor, doc if I come out of the surgery and I can\u2019t beat someone over the head with this, we\u2019re going to have a problem. I\u2019m going to need to be able to beat someone up with this. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I come out of surgery. Everything went well. I was super pumped up because this was my next moment, to become a wrestler. And I swear I always tell people I was the happiest kid that just cut his arm off. I went to high school. I was pumped up and people were like, dude why\u2019d you cut your arm off? And I\u2019m like, I\u2019m going to become a wrestler. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And people laughed at me. They laughed at me and they said, dude let\u2019s be real. You can\u2019t be a wrestler, let alone an athlete. How are you going to do that, you have no legs and one arm? And that\u2019s what I always tell people. That you\u2019re always going to have that outside noise. Even that list the doctors handed to my parents, that was outside noise. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And when I got to middle school, there was outside noise. People told me I couldn\u2019t be a wrestler. When they would call me names, I\u2019m going to use it as motivation. And so on my junior year, I tried out for my wrestling team. When I was in JV, I got my butt kicked. My only win was my coach putting me out for a varsity forfeit so I got my varsity jacket. I was, thanks dude I don\u2019t want it. I didn\u2019t earn it. I don\u2019t care; I want to get it legit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In my senior year, I\u2019m through figuring out how to be the best wrestler I can possibly be. I can use my head as another arm, another leg. And the defence were just all these nitty-gritty things. My senior year I came out to regionals as a 106 pounds varsity wrestler from high school. And you know, I\u2019m still at that stage of why. I\u2019m in this victimhood of why, why me? There\u2019s millions of people born, why do I have to be born like this? Why do I have to go through these challenges? Why do people have to make fun of me? I\u2019m trying to find my why. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s kind of my whole message here especially with my book which we\u2019ll talk about later, is how to go from victim mentality to victor. How to become victorious in your life, how to become victorious in each and every event, cultivate that victorious mind-set. And that\u2019s what I always tell people. You look at me, a guy with no legs and one arm, how can I relate? And I always tell people, physically I can. I\u2019m good-looking, I have muscles, people are aah, you know, my god. But in reality we all have the ability to cultivate a mind-set. We all have a mind-set. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so it\u2019s funny but that\u2019s what people want to know. How Nick thinks. And so, wrestling saved my life. And what I mean by that is I was still 17, senior year, but that was two more wins I got the previous year. And that\u2019s what we call progress. As long as we\u2019re moving forward each and every day, we\u2019re winning. And so I would have gymnasiums back to see me wrestle. As you understand, I\u2019m not that good. And even when I lost we\u2019d get standing ovations and would piss me off because I\u2019m competitive. I\u2019m like why are you clapping for me? I just got my butt kicked. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I came off the mat one time and this lady came up to me crying. And I was, oh my god, what did I do wrong? And she gets down on my level and she was, Nick I want to thank you. And you know here I am at 17, 18 kid and I was, for what? I just got my butt kicked lady. And she was, my daughter\u2019s over there on the side-line. And she never wanted to do a sport. And she never wanted to do extra-curricular activities. And she saw you out there wrestling. She asked me to try these things. She asked me to try new sports. She wanted to sign up for track and field. You broke the barrier. You did something that, as a parent, I couldn\u2019t do. I want to thank you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And my mind just exploded. Oh my god. Because I was on the mat for myself. I was trying to dig myself out of a hole. And I was motivating people passively. Well imagine how many lives I could change, how many perspectives I could change for the better if I focus my energy on helping people? I thought I was the most wild thing that can happen. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And it was also a realization that everything I thought that was negative and disgusting about myself turned out to be my biggest empowerment, my biggest influence, my biggest tools. And that\u2019s the message to people is the best thing you can be and the most attractive thing you could be is be yourself. Your authentic self. And by you being your authentic self, you\u2019re going to attract the right tribe. You\u2019re going to attract the right support team. People that love you for you and support you for you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And the tattoo on my bicep, it\u2019s probably upside down on the screen, but it says, you laugh at me because I\u2019m different. I laugh at you because you\u2019re all the same. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I like that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Thank you. And that\u2019s not just my quote. It\u2019s an everyone quote. Be your authentic self. It\u2019s the best thing you can be, right? Not putting a mask on. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>One thing you mentioned that I really, really like is that you started off there were things about you that just disgusted you. When you looked at yourself, you didn\u2019t like your body, you didn\u2019t like who you were and it was so bad you were even thinking about not wanting to be on the earth. And now you\u2019ve mentioned that some of the things that you hated about yourself the most became the most empowering things about you and in what you\u2019re doing in life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I\u2019ve often noticed that maybe not to the degree of severity you described but our biggest frustrations can become our biggest fuel. You know that thing that you\u2019re just like, uuhh! I wish it was different. When you finally get it figured out, becomes the strength of people and they take you really far. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">As you are talking, I\u2019m thinking that a lot of people would look at Nick and say, well life wasn\u2019t fair to him. He\u2019s coming from behind trying to catch up. But what you\u2019re describing, you have an edge over a lot of people because you went through so many tough things in life that you became stronger. And how when a hurdle gets set in front of you, a challenge gets set in front of you, you\u2019re just like, that\u2019s nothing, I can knock that down easily. Wherefore people that are newbies wanting to get into real estate see that hurdle as Mount Everest. How could I ever get over that? And you\u2019re laughing at it. Which might be a good segue for this mountain you already climbed. And the fitness goals that you\u2019ve set for yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Have you spent much time thinking about that? Where you look at other people maybe with a little pity? Like you\u2019ve had such an easy life that a couple things feel so hard for you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>It\u2019s funny you brought that up. I was just talking about this conversation. Because I myself, I was in a conversation where I was, I described it as the unicorn factor. I\u2019m a unicorn. So in the industry, I stand out. when I do something crazy, people pick up. But you know, so I told people, yeah I may have an edge and then someone said, well, if someone\u2019s sitting here and says, well, Nick had an edge, right? He had this. That\u2019s kind of like a cope. It kind of makes them feel better about the stuff they\u2019re not doing. You know what I\u2019m saying? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And so when people are like, well Nick has disadvantages and he got over that, ok what are the disadvantages that you\u2019re complaining about that you\u2019re not getting over? You know? And so I just wanted to make that point real quick. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I call that the \u201cmust be nice\u201d syndrome. It must\u2019ve been nice to be raised in a family like this. Must be nice to have gotten that. You know? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>It\u2019s a cope. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes, exactly. I love that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah. And real quick, to go back on what you said about hurdles. I don\u2019t give people pity. I don\u2019t feel bad for people but I never, you know, shame people and look down on people because the thing about judgement is that you never know if you would be in the same position as that person if you walk through your whole entire life in their shoes. That\u2019s how I look at judging my whole entire life. If you came up to me and called me a name I\u2019d be, well maybe I would call myself that name if I lived in his body, you know, through all that years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But I think you\u2019re right about people looking at challenges as Mount Everest. I think it\u2019s just they haven\u2019t built their muscle yet. And what I mean by that, and which I also take comfort in because a muscle, you always build it. You\u2019re always working on it, right? You always feel a muscle. I think it\u2019s just a muscle of having something come in front of you and like I said, how am I going to run through this? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When you get in that rhythm of ok, well, I\u2019m running through barriers now. I\u2019m kind of on this snowball. But I think people just need to start by doing little things that are uncomfortable. Start with little challenges that you know that are tedious. Or stuff that you don\u2019t like to do. Or when you wake up, the five things that you don\u2019t want to do, do them first. Do them first. Do the things that you don\u2019t want to do first. Because after that, you\u2019ll be on this burst of energy. You\u2019re on this snowball crushing things. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And you know as humans, we tend to, like you said, cope and find ways to get out and do the things that we want to do. so if you\u2019re always that person and getting at things that you don\u2019t want to do and focusing your energy into something else, you\u2019re not going to build that muscle. So my advice to people is to do the tedious things that you don\u2019t want to do. You know we\u2019re going to move forward but you know it takes too much every time so you don\u2019t want to do it. Start building that muscle. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I think that\u2019s just a huge perspective shift for people and an empowering perspective shift. Realizing to take a sense of comfort that it\u2019s a muscle. You\u2019re not just going to wake up one day and aaah! I can run through every wall. You know? You got to work on yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>That\u2019s why coping, the copes that you talk about are so dangerous, right? Because it\u2019s basically your way of talking yourself out of going to the gym that day. Right? You\u2019re losing an opportunity to work on that strength when you\u2019re like it must be nice to be able to fill in the blank, whatever. You\u2019re giving yourself permission to not go out, to not solve that problem. And you\u2019re really cheating yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s what I love about you\u2019re just brutally honest about that fact that if I remove all these copes, I have to work through these problems. I am going to get stronger than you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Absolutely. That\u2019s what I always tell people. There\u2019s a lot of things in your life that you sit here and you think about I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ready, right? We can all sit here and be like, man there are a lot of things in life that you don\u2019t think you are ready. Jump into those waters. Put yourselves in those waters. Those uneasy waters because by doing that, it\u2019s only human nature for you to adapt and overcome. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You\u2019re going to learn what you need to learn to evolve and get yourself on to land. You know what I\u2019m saying? So I think it\u2019s just huge for people to take a sense of comfort in that it\u2019s a muscle. And so you know at this time, I was a senior, I was wrestling and Vine came out. You guys know what Vine is?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>For those who are listening if you don\u2019t know what Vine is it was an app that was released in 2014 where you could post 6 second videos, you had to be creative as you can in 6 seconds and everything that I do I always want to bring a message and for this I knew what it felt like to be disgusted in my body. I knew what it felt like to you know not want to look anymore and I know as we\u2019re speaking there are millions of kids and adult that feel that same way right? Don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re confident enough and so I wanted to create an outlet where people could look at their phone and go \u201cWow look how happy Nick is. Maybe I could be a little bit happier in my situation\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so I\u2019m brain storming ideas with my friends and I said guys how many legless guys do you see crawling walls or pretending to be a zombie? And they said no one, that\u2019s a good idea! And so as a senior in high school I put fake blood on my face and put fake blood on my clothes and head out to this local Walmart in New Jersey. Nick\u2019s not allowed in that Walmart anymore they kicked us out like 3 times. And you know I pulled a prank in the corner and I was like \u201croar\u201d and scared a guy and this video was 6 seconds and I filmed it in 6 seconds and posted that video on Vine and it blew up. When I woke up the next day for school it had over 3,000 likes and over 80,000 re-vines which is a repost. And it went crazy viral. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And there was news articles all over but the one article that stood out to me the most was New Jersey Teen Born with Disability Turn into a Positive. And that\u2019s all what I wanted people to realize was that regardless what life has dealt you with, whether you think your hand is good, whether you think your hand is bad, guess what, you only have one hand so use your hand to the best of your ability. There\u2019s no getting out of this hand like you can either sit here and mope and complain about your situation or go out and start making it better because you only got one life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so that was my message going on with that and in under a year I started doing pranks and gained a million followers on Vine. And that led me to scaring Norman Reedus in Tokyo, Japan. So Fox hired me to scare him<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>He\u2019s the Walking Dead guy right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah, yeah Darold<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I love that<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>The guy from Bundog Days as well. So but I tell people when I started focusing doing others like making other people laugh or trying to motivate or inspire others like amazing opportunities came into my life. Looking in and trying to work on myself and do things for myself once it started like trickling and I started focusing energy on other people and you know amazing things came into my life. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">After that you know I\u2019ve realized that when I have kids and grandkids that I want them to know me for much more than crawling around Walmart so I need to do something bigger and better and that\u2019s when the lifting came in. I made an announcement to over a million of my supporters saying guys I don\u2019t want to do this anymore I want to become a bodybuilder I want to break into mainstream modelling industry and I want to become a keynote speaker. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I said I don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to do these things but I\u2019m going to throw myself in these waters right and figure it out and that\u2019s what I would tell people the beauty behind life, especially with the internet, we have the ability to learn whatever we want to learn and implement into our life. Everything\u2019s right here on our computer, it\u2019s scary, but we can learn anything. And so unfortunately there wasn\u2019t a book in the library for a kid with no legs, one arm who want to become a body builder. That would have saved me time so it\u2019s with everything in life, trial and error. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Life is trial and error and learning solutions like we\u2019ve been talking about. Going into the gym with some of my buddies in wrestling and help me out with what movements hit my body and when I told people I was going to do these things I got a lot of heat from it. I got a lot of heat and kicked back they followed me for my pranks, what are you doing. Same outside, same cycle, but its good when you have that rhythm of ok change is about to come and how are you going to react to it. And how are you going to be a body builder you have half a body? These are all the things that people were telling me. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">This can be empowering or disempowering, it\u2019s the meaning we attach behind it. So you know the same outside noise, how are you going to body build when you have half the body and so I chose that as fuel, I\u2019m like alright, this top of my body is going to be stronger than your body. I guess I carried a chip on my shoulder, I don\u2019t know from the doctor\u2019s handing me that list but thanks, you know. And so my knowledge of nutrition got better, my knowledge of body building got better, my physique started changing, you know people started to catch on that it wasn\u2019t just a phase for me. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And with fitness I always tell people go back to the Ferrari thing like once I\u2019m starting to feel better for myself and body this also built my<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>confidence you know. Just like feeling better about my body, feeling more comfortable with my skin. So I moved to Tampa a year ago and I\u2019m always looking to put myself in uneasy water so I promised myself, my family and my supporters, I said guys I\u2019m going to get on the competitive bodybuilding contest before 2017 is over. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I knew nothing about competitive body building and told people that, I was very transparent. I was like I don\u2019t know anything about this but I\u2019m going to learn and so I dedicated 12 weeks for preparation and I was 2 weeks out from the competition and I went to Las Vegas for Mr. Olympia to hang out with the supporters and fans which was a couple of weeks ago, I just got back, and I talk about moments of like being guided where life just puts the right people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">When you\u2019re on that frequency and putting the right people in your life and so the expo was Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I went Friday and Saturday. On Sunday I decided just to hang home and I went to hang at the pool and alright we got to go to the gym so I went to the gym and when I went in there my buddy started running up to me and said, \u201cdude The Rock is upstairs lifting\u201d, and I\u2019m like that\u2019s pretty sweet. So I climb up the stairs and lo and behold there were security guards and there was Dwayne doing dips and I was like oh my gosh it\u2019s The Rock. And so I told my guys, I look back at my team and said do not bother this man, he already knows me from my body building videos. If The Rock is who he says he is he\u2019ll come to me, I promise, like don\u2019t bother. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so we\u2019re going through the motions and we\u2019re lifting and at one point he was next to me, he\u2019s doing curls, and I wasn\u2019t paying him any attention I was just doing my work and then he goes over to the corner and pulls over his headphones and he gets bombarded by pictures. And you know I do what a good leader should do, I go back and like a moment of reassurance like guys don\u2019t freak out and you know I\u2019m lifting and his security guard comes over and taps me on the shoulder and goes, \u201cYou\u2019re Nick, right?\u201d, I said yeah and he said, \u201cCan Dwayne meet you?\u201d, I\u2019m like yeah come on bring him on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Like no sorry I\u2019m busy I\u2019m not going to go talk to The Rock, no sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah so he\u2019s like bring him over so they escorted me to a corner, he came up. The first thing he did was got on my level and high fived me and he said, \u201cDude I\u2019m such a big fan!\u201d and I\u2019m like trying to hold my inner fan girl in right, I\u2019m like freaking out. And you know he\u2019s like, \u201cCan I get a picture?\u201d and we took a picture and I told him I looked at him and told him all the things that I would be doing at that time. I was like you know I\u2019m going to write a book, I\u2019m going to do this, I\u2019m going to do that. And I told him I looked him in his eyes and said that I\u2019m going to do what you did. And he said \u201cWell what do you mean by that?\u201d, I said well you\u2019re The Rock, people knew you for football, and then people knew you for WWE and then you took over the world, you\u2019re like in every industry, you\u2019re crushing every industry. I said I\u2019m going to do that. A<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">nd then he looked me in my eyes and said, \u201cNick you\u2019re right, because like people like me and you they put us in any industry and we adapt and overcome\u201d. And you know I was like oh my God, like it was just a moment of reassurance. And for the people listening in you can sit in reflection and reflect in yourself how good is your ability to adapt and overcome because I feel like that\u2019s all life is like right? We have a goal we set out but it doesn\u2019t always go the way we plan it right? And it\u2019s just our ability to pivot, it\u2019s our ability to be like ok this is not working let me figure out the next approach. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">You know and I feel like that\u2019s the same thing with muscle right like are you working on your ability to pivot? Are you working on your ability to adapt and overcome? That\u2019s very huge for people to just, even just to realize, some people don\u2019t realize some of these things, well if I put attention to that I can see where I\u2019m getting better like pivoting and stuff. And so we took a picture and then I told him about my competition I was 2 weeks out. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so fast forward to 2 weeks later I\u2019m back stage and about to make history and get on stage. And my buddy comes running up to me and he goes, \u201cDude The Rock posted you on his Instagram\u201d and for all of the millennial our there that\u2019s a big deal like he has over 110 million Instagram followers. It\u2019s more than the president. It\u2019s like a big deal it\u2019s crazy. So he really posted this long, heartfelt message and again he said, \u201cI wanted to thank Nick for sharpening my perspective a little bit more on life\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s cool<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>And this was a moment of reassurance for me right, it was a moment of reassurance not only by the story helping and changing people but it was changing perspective of that year, I always tell people I may not have legs but that\u2019s not a reassurance that I\u2019m going to make a massive footprint in this world before I leave. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s my goal. And so with that being said I competed, I was 3<\/span><span class=\"s2\"><sup>rd<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> in my class for men\u2019s physique, I beat full bodied guys and you know just real quick, the approach I took on that is I wouldn\u2019t do that if I didn\u2019t step on stage with 12-15% body fat they would have clapped their hands anyway but that\u2019s not me. I went out strutted and beat other guys. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so after that you know I started working on my speaking. I keep telling people all these industries and I didn\u2019t know what I was doing but you don\u2019t have to invent the wheel, find out who\u2019s crushing it in your industry and learn what they\u2019re doing right, what they\u2019re doing wrong, and save yourself some time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Yeah<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Drop your ego and realize this stuff has already been done. It has already been done just find out who\u2019s doing it right and model them. And so I moved to Tampa and that\u2019s where I found my tribe who I have now Ratmir and Don who you know have dedicated their lives to traveling the world and you\u2019ve met them at gofundme and traveling the world. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And you know I want to help my team share this message by just looking at the people crushing it and finding out what they were doing right. And so we started this speaking company it will be, it\u2019s October, wow so it\u2019s been a year since we started the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Alright cool ok. There\u2019s a few things you mentioned in the last couple of minutes that I want to pull out here. Because a lot of our listeners are real estate investors but not all of them, people who are trying to achieve great things. But first what I want to ask you is goals. You said goals a couple of times so obviously you\u2019re a goal guy. How do you view goals, what a good one, how do you ensure you get it accomplished. Can you talk about that for a minute? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yes so I have an approach, like I said before this, my approach may be different from your approach and this may not be your approach, everybody has a different approach. So my goals, everyone as far as goals everyone know that you have a time limit on them and your deadlines but I also have like way crazy goals. I set way crazy goals. For example the background on my phone is the Beijing Olympic Stadium in China because I plan to sell that stadium out in 3 years. That\u2019s my goal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m touring China in December, the goal is to sell out a hundred thousand people in 3 years which is crazy but like that\u2019s my goal right, I set super high goals. My thing about goals is when he was mentioning the rock climbing video what I can tie this into is through speaking all over I realized that people want how I think and so I can\u2019t be everywhere so I created a mind step program it\u2019s a virtual training program where you log in and basically it\u2019s a bunch of modules but the one module on goal setting so it\u2019s goal setting, eliminating excuses. It was me climbing a mountain. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The best way to teach people is to paint the picture like the easiest way is to paint the picture for people. So I told people I basically drew here\u2019s my goal, I said I\u2019m going to climb a 3 and a half mile mountain, this is a super crazy goal for me, I\u2019m very uncomfortable, and these are the things that are starting to go through my head. I labelled my limiting beliefs, I labelled the things that were going through my head that I didn\u2019t think I could do. Then I walk them through here\u2019s how you\u2019re feeling 25% in, 50% in, 75% in and also the importance of accountability groups around your goal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And what I mean by that is like it\u2019s great to have people loving on you but that doesn\u2019t really help you, you need people that are loving on you but are like ok Nick you still need a 30% of the mountain to go, you got to keep climbing it. And so set goals that you know that you can achieve that aren\u2019t like really out of there but also set really big ones, and with goals, it\u2019s just reverse engineering. So you take a goal and start reverse engineering from like just picture yourself that you\u2019ve already got your goal done. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And one of the steps before like how are you going to get to that goal because I think painting the picture like I said even with goals helps you stay motivated and helps you stay on track when you have those little stepping stones. So like you take your goal, you make little micro goals. So yeah does that answer your question?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>It does quite a bit because I think a lot of success in life come down to like 2 things- knowing what you want and working for it. That sounds really simplistic right but at the heart of everything like most people just don\u2019t know what they want and those people who do know what they want sometimes don\u2019t work for it. But if you only did those two things- define clearly what you want and then works towards it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>And the way you work towards it<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah so you know what you want work backwards like that right. So we have a journal on BiggerPockets journal coming out here this fall\/winter that\u2019s basically that. You were talking about gratitude earlier and I want to revisit that as well because the journal begins with gratitude, those things we\u2019re grateful for and then we move into one of those big goals and then let\u2019s break them down. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">One thing I love doing, I do it on webinars a lot, I take like a big goal like hey my 5 year goal is to retire from real estate, great that\u2019s awesome and most people that\u2019s as far as they ever take it. But I\u2019m like no, what are you going to do this year to be on track for that 5 year goal right? Now you got a one year goal. To be on track on your one year goal what are you going to do this quarter? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">After this quarter what are you going to do for this month, week, this day, the next 5 minutes and in every goal I believe can be convinced down to what is my next step, my most important next step which I call mins, m-i-n-s, most important next step. Yeah what is that important next step? And do it, schedule, put it on your calendar because like you said otherwise it\u2019s just like a lofty goal. It\u2019s like it\u2019s great to have big goals <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>It\u2019s just floating<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Let\u2019s ground it for example this is what we\u2019re going to do. Like for real estate investors, I\u2019ll take it to the real estate space, they say they want to retire from real estate, right? So we back track we say great you want to retire from real estate right? So you\u2019re going to need what $10,000 a month so you\u2019re 5 year goal is 10 grand a month, great. What\u2019s your 1 month goal? Maybe you should be able to buy 2 properties this year. That\u2019s a good start. If you buy 2 this year then maybe you\u2019ll double the next year, ok great. Ok now so 2 this year, what\u2019s your goal next months? I\u2019m going to buy one deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So what\u2019s your goal for the next quarter? I\u2019m going to make a couple of offers. Great, ok so what\u2019s your goal for this month? Well I\u2019m going to get really, really good at analysing deals. Ok let\u2019s break it down to daily. I\u2019m going to analyse one deal every single day. What\u2019s the next thing you\u2019re going to do? I\u2019m going to go analyse three deals. Ok now I\u2019m going to put my calendar for tonight, right? That again is kind of like a rough example of taking that down. So anyway I rant over on that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Real quick just to piggy back on that for those of you who are writing down notes clarity is power, clarity is power when you\u2019re so clear on what you want that\u2019s empowering just the way you broke it down. If you know the tangible stuff you have to take then that\u2019s power. Find out what you want and get clarity on it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah I love it and then you said, you talked about modelling and I love that as well. We always try to reinvent the wheel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Most of us unlike you when you\u2019re trying to become a bodybuilder you\u2019re not going to find a book on how to be a bodybuilder when you have no legs and one arm, right? But there is a book on a lot of things right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Nutrition<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah nutrition exactly right? But there are people who have done what exactly they want to do in life. The thing that\u2019s powerful about podcasting right is when you\u2019re listening to a podcast you\u2019re listening to somebody else and you can model what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s not going to be exact of course but I love that concept of modelling, don\u2019t try to reinvent the wheel, what works so again translated it to real estate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">When I\u2019m trying to think of I want to buy a property this year I\u2019m not going to just go and make something up and do all this hard work, no, I\u2019m going to do what that guy did because it worked for him. For example, I\u2019m going to copy his exact letter he mails out to a motivated sellers or I\u2019m going to try to figure out what his script look like and I\u2019m going to model it after him. Again that\u2019s the value of podcasts, forums and blog spots and then just sell off of education and learn what other people are doing then repeat it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Absolutely some people are like well I can\u2019t get in contact with the person, go read their book, read their podcast. Get as personal as you can through social media whatever might be there. There\u2019s a way to learn from that person, yeah absolutely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Hey what\u2019s going on there it\u2019s Brandon. I\u2019m taking a quick break from the internet because today\u2019s show is a little bit different, right? Have a fire round, I wanted to make sure you still get a word in from fire round sponsor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>If you\u2019ve been thinking of getting a Simply Safe security system but you\u2019ve been waiting for the holidays when all the tech deals come out? Well you made a smart move because right now I can get you a great deal on Simply Safe. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>If you go to simplysafe.com\/biggerpockets you\u2019ll get 25% off any new system. That\u2019s an amazing deal. They barely do anything like this but they did it just for us.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Simply Safe is great protection for you home and family. They don\u2019t make you sign a contract and there\u2019s no hidden fees. They\u2019re getting great reviews. Cnet, PCmeg, Wire Cutter all say Simply Safe is the best security system there is.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>So if you\u2019re looking for a security system and you want a great deal go to simplysafe.com\/biggerpockets to save 25%. Make sure you use that url because it helps out our show the BiggerPockets Podcast. Again that\u2019s simplysafe.com\/biggerpockets and hurry the deal ends November 26<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><i><sup>th<\/sup><\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Alright big thanks to our sponsor always and now. Let\u2019s get back to our interview with Nick. Alright one more thing then we\u2019ll move on. I\u2019m curious going back with the gratitude thing you know I\u2019m a huge believer of it. Do you have any advice? You mentioned about 5 things you\u2019re grateful for every morning. Can you expound on gratitude just a little bit? Why is it important to do that and what are ways to do that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yeah so the reason why it\u2019s important I think is because I think we can all agree life can get hectic and sometimes we\u2019re just going through the motions, we wake up we\u2019re grinding, we go to sleep and people forget to stop and take a breath and be \u201cMan I woke up! I woke up today!\u201d, you know, I have clothes on my body, I live in a house, I have food in my refrigerator. When I was sleeping my heart was still beating, it was still going so I can live. You\u2019re heart you didn\u2019t have to work for it. One day you were born and you had it. It\u2019s a gift. It\u2019s spinning my mind thinking about wild things. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">A lot of people would have less stress, less worry in their life, if at least once a day they realize the fact that we\u2019re on a rock and it\u2019s spinning around nowhere. We\u2019re just here and we don\u2019t know why, just embrace life and how grateful we should be in life. This thing I was saying it\u2019s emotionally impossible for you feel grateful and sad at the same time. That emotion of gratitude outweighs emotions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s what I tell people when I start my day today just thinking about 5 things I\u2019m grateful for that I woke up today, that I have an opportunity to get on a podcast, I have food in my refrigerator. By you doing this, I always tell people, starting your day out in gratitude is starting your day off on the right foot. I have feet and I can still do it, too. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think we can all agree that a lot of ungrateful kids nowadays and I push the parents to hold your kids accountable with gratitude. Have your kids list what they\u2019re grateful for, share it each and every morning and night. If you want to build good habits with your kids gratitude is a great habit and I want to bring it down so people can even in my perspective of living in this body, I know each and every day that a man with no legs and one arm there are millions of kids and adults that would switch places with me in an instant because they just don\u2019t have it like I do. Not in a cocky way, I\u2019m saying they live in bad situations, they\u2019re living on the street, they don\u2019t have that, this isn\u2019t a disability, the biggest disability you can have is a bad mind set. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s what I try to tell people, I\u2019m not disabled, this is your super power and for me to realize ok you may think this situation is bad but it\u2019s not. There are millions of kids and adults who have it way worse than me. And that piggy backs into life is all perspective. That is all life. Life is all perspective and the way you look at it. And so if you want to piggy ride off that I get really fired up on the gratitude.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Actually I do I\u2019m on all of it. You mentioned something you said that all life is how we view it, right? So there\u2019s, I think Tony Robbins did it who I listened to and watched a while back. What about a hug right? The hug intrinsically good or bad and most of us on top of our head is yes it\u2019s a good thing. But what if it\u2019s from someone who just murdered a bunch of people? Would you still want a hug from that guy? Of course not. Or a creep down the street who obviously has like, I don\u2019t want him hugging me. So most things in life have intrinsic is it good or is it bad, it\u2019s how we react to it, how we feel about it in our heads, right? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>The meaning we attach<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Exactly the meaning we attach to different meaning of things. If you\u2019re upset about things or irritated or whatever, change the meaning of how we look at that, right? And that\u2019s where I think the concept of gratitude comes in right? Oftentimes that\u2019s the best way I think to change how you feel about something, being grateful about it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Yes I didn\u2019t get that deal I wanted real bad, you know what I\u2019m so grateful that I live in an area where I could make another offer tomorrow. I can go make 10 offers, double my advertising expense on deals. I can go and meet with more real estate investors. How awesome is that that I live in a world where I can do that. Oh man so now the meaning totally changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Now it\u2019s empowering!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Now it\u2019s empowering! Yes I\u2019m fired up to do something else. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>And the same thing for people, for me when I\u2019m on a plane I just came back from a month of touring and you know what I\u2019m sitting on a plane and like oh my God I live in the airport. I was like let\u2019s not think like that, well I\u2019m grateful to be busy. I\u2019m grateful to be productive because if I was just sitting home on a couch and have nothing to do I would be freaking out. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Also that and I wanted to tell a story on the meaning you attach behind things this is a great way to leeway into it. The meaning you attach is like my favourite think to teach. People this is it, whatever, I can have a tragic event in my life and you can see all the good and I can see all the bad, it\u2019s the meaning we attach behind it. And that\u2019s what I always tell people. Life right now, we\u2019re sitting in plain energy and we\u2019re the dictators whether the things around us are negative or positive. Like I said it\u2019s the meaning we attach and we are the architects, we are in control of that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so a couple months ago I had an opportunity to work at a UFC event in Madison Square Garden. I had the opportunity to interview the fighters, couple of celebrities, Nick was feeling like the man, my confidence was way taller than I\u2019ll ever be. And it was time for me to travel, it was time for me to come home and I was travelling alone and with planes you have first come first serve seats and so I rolled up in a wheel chair and that means I can skip the line and I get in the first row and it\u2019s the 3-seater row and I sit next to the window. So there\u2019s 2 seats next to me and I remember the flight attendant saying to me, \u201choney it\u2019s going to be a full flight\u201d, and I said yes it\u2019s fine I already got my seat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so they start boarding and people are looking at me and then looking away. And my whole life, I\u2019m 22, I\u2019m in tune, you know my whole life I\u2019m just in tune with people\u2019s reactions. You know people are doing this and I\u2019m kind of getting upset and the plane\u2019s filling in and no one wants to sit next to me. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The seats are getting filled all around me and the seat are empty and I\u2019m starting to tear up and it brought me back to that moment in middle school when I felt absolutely disgusted with myself you know, it brought me back to that moment. And you know I tell people that we\u2019re the only humans that can think a thought and piss ourselves off, make ourselves upset or those happen. We\u2019re the only beings like that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And so here I am seats starting filling in and I\u2019m crying and you know the seats are filling in and finally two gentlemen had to sit down and I\u2019m looking out the window and I\u2019m crying, trying not to let people know that I\u2019m crying. And so I\u2019m looking at the window and I thought to myself I said, \u201cNick what would you tell the kids, you know what would you tell the kids you speak to? The adults you speak to what would you tell them?\u201d, and that\u2019s when I thought it\u2019s the meaning behind this. Like what meaning am I going to attach behind this, is it going to be disempowering or empowering. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And that\u2019s when I realized that I cry all the way home, I can let this affect my day, my week, my month or celebrate the fact that I had the most leg room in this plane? And what\u2019s it going to be? And then I tell people snap your fingers because I can\u2019t and I took a moment, in a snap of a finger where my thought was negative, where I was upset, and I switched the meaning behind it to something empowering and here I am pumped up about the back like alright you guys don\u2019t want to sit beside me that\u2019s fine all of you are fighting over leg room and I got the most. That\u2019s everything in life. Every event in your life it\u2019s the meaning you attach behind that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And also I want to bring up, I love this quote by Nelson Mandela. He says, \u201cI don\u2019t lose I only win or I learn\u201d. And that\u2019s the same thing, that\u2019s life. We can self-reflect on an event that happened in the past that you may think that happened against you and not for you and you pull one good piece of information from that whether<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>one piece of wisdom, one different approach, maybe it was gain perspective but there\u2019s always one piece of good information to pull out of any event and what you deduce by that is you take what you think is an L, a lost, and you pull one piece of information, you extract that piece of information and you turn it into a win. You learn from it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And then you realize that you don\u2019t lose in life, you win or you learn. And so I think that\u2019s super important for people to realize and to self-reflect in. You can take an event in your life and you thought it was bad, pull one good piece of information from it and that event happened for you and that\u2019s a big mind shift for people, going from victim to victor, realizing the world is happening for you and not to you. Things that happen in your past it just al happened and sculpted you into who you are. These things have made you into who you are. They\u2019re all empowering. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So I think that\u2019s a huge mind shift for people to have because I feel like everyone has one point in life where they have a mentality of why me, why did this happen to me, you know and it\u2019s empowering to know that this happened for me. And there\u2019s always one piece of good information that can come out of this. And that\u2019s where I tie-in my book. My book is How to go from Victim to Victor Mentality and Live the Life You Love. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Fifteen stories, some of these personal stories I\u2019ve told. It\u2019s fifteen stories of lessons and applications of how people can just start having these mind set tricks and start living that life because that\u2019s what people want to know- how is this kid happy how did this kid get this way, how is this kid achieving these things with no legs and one arm, this is your superpower. This is all it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome. When does the book come out, where do people buy it, how can they get it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>So the book is like I said How to go from Victim to Victor and Live the Life You Love. And the book will be out on Amazon but it will be out probably in the next couple of days so you guys keep a look on it, it will be on Amazon. Type my name or Victim to Victor and it will pop up. It\u2019s the only book with the man with no legs and one arm that\u2019s shirtless on the cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>That\u2019s awesome I will put a link on the website as well for that. I would encourage everyone to go get a copy. I mean Nick you\u2019re super inspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Hey all it\u2019s Brandon again taking one more break here because I want to make sure we get a word in from today\u2019s deal deep dive sponsor even though we don\u2019t have a deep dive.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Hey guys it\u2019s Brandon so a few months ago I was hanging out with the best real estate investors I\u2019ve ever met, Aaron. When it comes to investing in real estate this guy make me look like a third grader, finger painter at my grandma\u2019s smelly couch like seriously. Aaron walked me through something he runs called Padhock which is made by the company known as Roddie\u2019s who you\u2019re probably familiar with. Basically this software makes finding distressed deals like you know foreclosures and things like that super easy and organized.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>As you know finding a great deal is vital in a successful real estate investment and Padhock from Roddie\u2019s makes it so easy. You get nationwide MLS access, vacant house leads, foreclosure leads comparable sale data and oh look at this Padhock users actually send a postcard email or a voice mail just like three clicks of a mouse without leaving the Padhock platform.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>I\u2019m telling you guys this thing is the future. So if you want the tool that\u2019s going to give you edge in your market, stop finger painting in your grandma\u2019s couch and be like Aaron. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Go to biggerpockets.com\/padhock right now and check it out. Again biggerpockets.com\/padhock oh and P.S. if you\u2019re living in Texas like I know some of you are there\u2019s some extra special data over there because they\u2019re based in Texas.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Definitely check it out! Everybody go there biggerpockets.com\/padhock<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Alright let\u2019s get back to the show. Anything you want to leave us with today? Any final pieces of wisdom, advice, things you\u2019ve learned? Any stories you want to cover before we get out of here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>Yes just wrap it up to just really hit the head with a hammer. Life is all perspective guys, it\u2019s the way you look at it. And you can either look at it through a negative lens, you can focus on the negative, you can focus on your weaknesses and that stuff doesn\u2019t empower you. It\u2019s literally about focusing on the good, on what you\u2019re good at and also you know being brutally honest with yourself on what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think that\u2019s super important, super empowering because you know what you\u2019re good at and you know what you need to delegate at. And to drop your ego and to realize that there are some things you\u2019re not good at and if you don\u2019t have the time to learn them then it\u2019s ok to delegate and have someone else do it that has strength in that field. You know time is valuable, time is super valuable, we\u2019re always trying to systemize things right, being sufficient and build our horizontal income so we\u2019re making money while we sleep. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Well there\u2019s some things that\u2019s not your strength, some things that we\u2019re not good at so go ahead and drop that ego and delegating so you have time to focus on your strengths. You know in every situation we have that choice. It\u2019s like if we can focus on the negative, focus on the power you know the positive and the disempowering meaning and the empowering meaning, it\u2019s like what is it going to be in. once people look through life in that lens where the world is happening for me and all these events in my life in the future, now in the present I\u2019m going to learn from them and don\u2019t lose, I only win or I learn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah that\u2019s powerful, drops the mic, love it. Alright dude this has been fantastic so thank you so much for today. You know I think our audience is going to love hearing this. Again check out the book it\u2019s called Victim to Victor, correct?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>How to overcome that victim mentality<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Man I love it. Alright Nick Santonostaso, Santonostasso. Man I did the hand, dude thanks so much. Keep in touch!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Nick: <\/b>You got it brother! Grateful for the opportunity, thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Thanks Nick, great job man! Alright so that was our interview with Nick Santonostasso. Did I get it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Yeah that\u2019s pretty good<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>I stumbled there for a second but Nick, fantastic dude, I love the mind-set, I love the conversation that our reality is based on how we perceive things in a lot of cases I mean we get angry at a person or we get sad because of a deal it\u2019s all about how we feel. We\u2019ve defined our reality in a lot of ways. It\u2019s just a good reminder you know just life challenges, despite being born with 3 of his limbs missing, the guy\u2019s overcoming all sorts of odds and doing awesome stuff. Very cool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>I\u2018m grateful we have people like Nick because he just reinforces the idea just like The Rock said people like us if drop us in any situation and we will adapt and overcome and we will dominate in that area and anybody can with that mind-set right and your physical body plays zero role in your success, it\u2019s all about your mid set and his comment that the biggest disability is a bad mind set is just ooooh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Brandon: <\/b>Yeah I wrote that down. That\u2019s really good. I\u2019m going to make Instagram postcards for that. Speaking of Instagram make sure you\u2019re following BiggerPockets over on Instagram @biggerpockets and make sure you follow David Green over there @davidgreen4 and @beardybrandon if you want to follow what I\u2019m doing. And that\u2019s it. David I\u2019m going to get out of here, thanks for being an amazing co-host on BiggerPockets podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David: <\/b>Thanks for the gratitude Brandon that\u2019s very nice of you. Let\u2019s go crush our days after hearing from Nick. With that being said this is David Green, and Brandon handsome shirt turner signing off.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"podcast-youtube-video\">Watch the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Using Incredible Strength of Mindset to Succeed Despite Overwhelming Obstacles | BP Podcast 304\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XhoPuEE_y7c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Help Us Out!<\/h2>\n<p>Help us reach new listeners on iTunes by leaving us a rating and review! It takes just 30 seconds and instructions can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\/25\/topics\/161423-do-you-listen-to-the-bp-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. Thanks! We really appreciate it!<\/p>\n<h2>This Show Sponsored By<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2>Deep Dive Sponsor<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-77567 alignright no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/simplisafe.png\" alt=\"simplisafe\" width=\"271\" height=\"58\" title=\"\">If you\u2019ve been thinking about getting a <strong>SimpliSafe\u00a0<\/strong>&#8211; Home Security System, but have been<br \/>\nwaiting for the holidays when all the tech deals come out\u2014you\u2019ve made a smart move! If you go to <a href=\"http:\/\/simplisafe.com\/biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SimpliSafe.com\/biggerpockets<\/a>\u00a0you\u2019ll get 25% off any new system. That\u2019s an amazing deal.<br \/>\nThey rarely do anything like this but they\u2019re doing it just for us!<\/p>\n<h2>Fire Round Sponsor<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-103838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Roddys-logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"276\" height=\"51\" title=\"\">Roddy\u2019s is a distressed debt lead company that has been providing the nation with the most reliable, fast, and accurate distressed debt leads since 1963. Check out Roddy\u2019s newest product \u201cPad Hawk\u201d which lets you search millions of leads &#8212; helping you find vacant homes, delinquent tax, and foreclosure leads across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody comes close to Roddy\u2019s when it comes to providing users a reliable and robust distressed debt lead source. To learn more about Roddy\u2019s, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/padhawk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/Biggerpockets.com\/padhawk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1542339584795000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF17cauGwD5hQnsmQrmXYOWyqlZbw\">biggerpockets.com\/padhawk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>In This Episode We Cover:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Nick&#8217;s story and a life with\u00a0<strong>Hanhart syndrome<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Changing your <strong>internal language<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The story behind the <strong>skateboard handstand<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The importance of having an <strong>authentic self<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The <strong>&#8220;must be nice&#8221;<\/strong> syndrome<\/li>\n<li>Thoughts on having a <strong>&#8220;massive footprint&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Breaking down <strong>goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Modeling yourself<\/strong> on someone<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gratitude<\/strong> and why it&#8217;s important<\/li>\n<li>Choosing <strong>empowering<\/strong> over disempowering thoughts<\/li>\n<li><strong>And SO much more!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Links from the Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Forums<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/webinars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Webinars<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/davidgreene24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David\u2019s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/beardybrandon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon\u2019s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPocket&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Books Mentioned in this Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/richdadpoordad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Rich Dad Poor Dad<\/em><\/a> by Robert T. Kiyosaki<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2RW8kjO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Victim to Victor<\/em><\/a> by\u00a0Nick Santonastasso<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tweetable Topics:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;The emotion of gratitude outweighs all emotions.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22The%20emotion%20of%20gratitude%20outweighs%20all%20emotions.%22%20BP%20Podcast%20304%20biggerpockets.com\/show304%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Humans in general have the tendency to start with &#8216;cannot.'&#8221;\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22Humans%20in%20general%20have%20the%20tendency%20to%20start%20with%20&#039;cannot.&#039;%22%20BP%20Podcast%20304%20biggerpockets.com\/show304%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Everything in life is trial and error.&#8221;\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22Everything%20in%20life%20is%20trial%20and%20error.%22%20BP%20Podcast%20304%20biggerpockets.com\/show304%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe biggest disability you can have is a bad mindset.\u201d\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%E2%80%9CThe%20biggest%20disability%20you%20can%20have%20is%20a%20bad%20mindset.%E2%80%9D%20BP%20Podcast%20304%20biggerpockets.com\/show304%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Connect with Nick<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCAJkxSoSaKXo8X9DwUjWGKg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick&#8217;s Youtube Channel<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NickSantonastasso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick&#8217;s Facebook Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re looking to walk away feeling like you can do anything,\u00a0this show is for you! Today\u2019s guest is inspirational figure, fitness model, and Vine sensation Nick Santonastasso. Nick shares his personal story, describing how he\u2019s overcome the difficulties of being born with Hanhart syndrome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17340,"featured_media":117610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biggerpockets-podcast"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}