Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

  • Ep288: Taking the Turn with Hollywood Producer Gary Goldstein

    Ep288: Taking the Turn with Hollywood Producer Gary Goldstein

    There’s a certain joy that comes with telling your life’s stories, and in today’s episode, Hollywood producer Gary Goldstein shares the glam and gloom on the journey he took before becoming a film legend.

    Raised in San Francisco, Gary had a deep connection with music, people, and the stories they had to tell. Though he’d done events from time to time, he never really saw himself playing a huge part in the music industry, and instead found himself in law school with a goal to help where it really mattered.

    “I liked the artistry, the storytelling and working with musicians,” Gary narrated, “but I wasn’t crazy about the business. So I took a real left turn and decided that I wanted to champion the underdog, I wanted to help save the world with everybody.”

    For a long time, Gary devoted his life to helping the misfortunate and underprivileged community of San Francisco’s ghettos. But after years of service, Gary made the bold decision to step away from his career as a lawyer.

    “It was some of the most emotionally challenging—and one of the best—chapters in my life. The people I met and the lessons I’ve learned were extraordinary, but I didn’t want to make that my life.”

    It wasn’t an easy decision to make, and when he was confronted about the choice he made, Gary explained that “I felt like I was withering from the inside. Where I was, was extremely unhealthy for my soul and my being”.

    And at the age of 30, Gary went on to pursue all sorts of passions. From literature to music, and eventually stumbled across the film industry where he finally found his calling – Storytelling.

     “Some of us are fire starters, we’re not great operators, that’s what I am,” Gary said, “I look for amazing people and a North Star that’s gonna somehow inform my life and end up being a really positive contribution.

    “I just have this insatiable curiosity, wondering and needing to hear people’s stories, because I find every human fascinating. Even if they don’t know it.”

    For a film boss, there’s no better time to make a life-changing decision than the present. Whether you’ve invested time into a growing career or are just figuring out where you belong. Gary encourages us to be brave and when in doubt, ask ourselves:

    “I have precious little time here and I need to make the biggest possible dent that I can, where am I going to accomplish that?”

     

     

    More from Gary:

     

  • Ep287: How to Make Money Work for You, with Real Estate Investor Eng Taing

    Ep287: How to Make Money Work for You, with Real Estate Investor Eng Taing

    Making the first investment can be a scary decision, but as real estate investor with $150M assets under management and Touzi Capital CEO, Eng Taing tells us, self-doubt leads to missed opportunities.

    Born to a poor immigrant family, Eng was raised under harsh living conditions. Even so, he is thankful for his circumstances as it was the catalyst for his pursuit of financial freedom and security. Speaking from experience, Eng shares with us three key factors to consider in making that first investment.

    1. Think outside of your scope. Depending on your location, Investing in the Real estate might not be the best move. It pays to really take your time in finding the right avenue for investing and expand the options that you have.

    “If you live in a very nice, very expensive area with high price income ratios, it’s probably not the best place to invest,” Eng says, “Think outside your scope, in terms of potentially investing in another part of America.”

    2. Always look for a partner. When starting out, Eng puts the emphasis on actively seeking partnerships. Whether it’s a partner who can provide financial stability or someone who can provide the time to make the magic happen behind the scenes, it’s important to make connections and find people who are just as eager to achieve financial freedom as you are.

    “There are lots of meetup groups in real estate; people really want to help, it’s a very helpful industry.”

    3. Think of scale and cost efficiency when investing. It takes the same amount of work and time to pay for a 5-million-dollar loan and a 300-thousand-dollar loan in the sense that investing in more units reduces property management fees and variable costs.

    “I am in the business of ‘scale’” the real estate boss says. He advises entrepreneurs to analyse each decision. “Can I put a scale on something? Can I make it better? Is my 50th time really good, and can I create cost efficiencies across the board?”

    Eng is an economist by training, from the Wharton School of Business. He also has experience leading data science and analytics at Apple, Capital One and AT&T. Touzi Capital focuses on high cash flow investments and providing passive income to investors by acquiring and optimizing multifamily, industrial, senior living assets and offering investments in Blockchain and Pre IPO stock, among other things.

    More from Eng:

  • Ep286: Growth Through Connections with Women’s Business League founders Melissa Gilbo and Amy Pocsik

    Ep286: Growth Through Connections with Women’s Business League founders Melissa Gilbo and Amy Pocsik

    As the saying goes, “if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, bring company.” This couldn’t be truer for the dynamic duo, Melissa Gilbo and Amy Pocsik, founders of the Women’s Business League.

    They could have lived a good life with their stable careers in finance and loving families to support them, but a fateful encounter at a local pizza shop in Georgetown, Massachusetts led them to abandon their six-figure state of mind to pursue the unconventional life that they live today.

    Building around trust, they made a community that was aimed at encouraging and empowering women to be the big shots that they were meant to be; providing a network of support, business connections, and the educational tools for success.

    “We decided to really build the table that we wanted to sit around,” Amy described, “total powerhouse women who were up to big things and making a big impact.”

    Amy and Melissa believe that relationships shape the business and not the other way around. Putting fellowship first, building on their connections, and putting the work boots down, is the key to the success of their community.

    “If you focus on generating value for others, it’s going to come back to you and your business 10-fold,” Amy said.

    Melissa added that “The commonality in what women are looking for is that authentic community and those real relationships.”

    Now, with an expanding network of members and a power-house team, the Women’s Business League isn’t just a legacy by the duo, but as Melissa puts it, they have made a message to anyone and everyone who has a dream and the drive, that we are better together.

    “The heart of Women’s Business League and the focus of these chapters is all about connection and relationship building.”

     

    More from Amy and Melissa:

  • Ep285: Choosing To Be Who You’re Meant To Be with Mindset Coach Miro Heyink

    Ep285: Choosing To Be Who You’re Meant To Be with Mindset Coach Miro Heyink

    When you don’t know where you belong, mindset coach and philanthropist, Miro Heyink, believes that the universe will always find a way to set a path for you.

    Miro Heyink is the Founder of Manifest X, a community for high-performing conscious entrepreneurs to turn their wildest business dreams into reality.

    Although a mentor for impact-driven entrepreneurs, and a proud, loving dad, Miro has overcome many challenges to reach where he is today.

    Born to a fatherless home in Germany, Miro has experienced taking all the wrong roads – selling drugs, joining gangs, even encountering a near-death experience before even reaching the age of 18. It was when he was at the lowest point of his life were his goals became clear as he reached what he calls his “elevator moment”.

    “It was in that moment, with my nose broken and my black eye, that I had my elevator moment where I decided to follow my dream.”

    Moving to America with no citizenship or support, the world seemed to make a way for him despite the odds. Rather than telling himself to find a regular job, Miro decided to pursue his wildest dreams of becoming an entrepreneur in a foreign land and has since built a community that provides the same support he was looking for years ago.

    “If you’re around four donkeys, you’re going to be the fifth…having that community that believes in you and supports you is so important.”

    “The way the universe works,” he says, “is that we can either experience through these harsh, traumatic moments that put us back into our path or through a way more intentional and conscious alignment”

    Now, Miro has devoted his time to helping aspiring entrepreneurs make their wildest business ideas come true. Whether it’s regular people hoping to make it far or NFL superstars who want to take their career to the next level, Miro’s goal is to give them the proper support and mindset to make the most out of the life they have and the path that they’ve taken

    “You are allowed to be all that you are meant to be and truly have it all.”

     

    More from Miro:

  • Ep284: Publish Your Passion with Author Entrepreneur Jesse Kreiger

    Ep284: Publish Your Passion with Author Entrepreneur Jesse Kreiger

    Sharing your talent with the world is a great way to put it to good use; whether it’s in music and arts, lifestyle, or finance, there is an audience who would love to hear about it. But if you’re having trouble finding the right words, Business author and Entrepreneur, Jesse Kreiger tells us how he learned how to publish his passion and help others write their own success story.

    Starting a music label was the first step Jesse took into the world of Business. Today, his simple dreams of making music have grown into a mission. Now he helps aspiring entrepreneurs make the most out of their passion by putting it into words.

    “I can connect the dots or I can see how music, entrepreneurship, travel and languages all blend together to create—and allow me to support authors, in a way that many say is very impactful, in some cases [even] profound.”

    He explains that the trick to writing starts with retelling the process of your growth. He says that simplifying it into steps makes it easier to follow through.

    “Think of the mechanism you currently use to get results with your clients, what is your process and chunk that down to a number of steps.”

    He stresses how entrepreneurs and people with business experience should explore the benefits of becoming a published author.

    “This should be helpful for anybody that has business experience that doesn’t consider themselves a writer or an author per se.” He points out, “that it shouldn’t be a limiting factor to becoming a publisher, and having a great book.”

    Jesse also discusses his process for writing by saying “Think of it like when you first onboard a new client,” he says,“what do they need to know to get started? Then how do you help them shift? What’s the benefit of the product or the experience that you provide?”

    He advises business owners to treat writing like another day in the shop, “You are mirroring your own customer journey, and telling them something valuable in the process.”

     

    More from Jesse:

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