Podcasts about GNA

Title: Why the W-2 Grind Will Never Make You Wealthy with Jamie Bateman Summary In this engaging podcast episode, Jamie shares his journey from being a competitive athlete and military officer to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the field of real estate and mortgage note investing. He emphasizes the importance of discipline, teamwork, and taking ownership of one's financial situation in achieving success. Jamie discusses his transition from a W2 job to entrepreneurship, highlighting how he leveraged his experiences and strengths to build multiple streams of income. He shares insights about his current business model centered around mortgage note investing, explaining the differences between performing and non-performing notes, and elucidates the challenges and opportunities present in this field. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of long-term planning and learning continuously, making the case that discipline ultimately leads to freedom and flexibility in life. Links to Listen and Subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-military-officer-to-mortgage-note-master-one-mans/id1618672867?i=1000643495099 Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nU0TtMAFc Bullet Point Highlights: Athlete to Entrepreneur: Jamie shares how his background in competitive sports instilled a sense of discipline and teamwork. Financial Ownership: Jamie discusses the importance of taking ownership of your financial situation and actively seeking improvement. W2 Quitter: The transition from a stable government job to entrepreneurship reflects Jamie's journey of self-discovery and ambition. Mortgage Note Investing: Jamie provides insights into both performing and non-performing notes, illustrating how to generate passive income through debt investing. Value of Networking: He emphasizes the necessity of building a strong network for finding investment opportunities in mortgage notes. Continuous Learning: Jamie advocates for lifelong learning, suggesting that successful people always seek new knowledge and skills. Long-Term Vision: He stresses the importance of setting long-term goals and reverse planning to maintain focus on achieving one's aspirations. Transcript: Jamie what's going on brother welcome to the show thanks Seth this is this is awesome um I'm excited to be here and I'm hoping to add some value absolutely man third time's a charm we've been trying to get this scheduled after I was on your show which was fantastic had a really good time uh on that show and I think it turned out pretty good so I know we're gonna absolutely we're gonna deliver on this one as well yeah we're GNA try to try to I'll try to do as good a job as you did so yeah that was that   was uh yeah no I that was a very very good episode from adversity to abundance I would highly recommend your your listeners check that one out to your episode on that show so thanks for thanks for doing that absolutely man you're an incredible interviewer I've I've that's the only uh I've been on dozens of podcasts and you know you pulled out a lot of things for me that I've I've never talked about on the air so it's pretty pretty awesome pretty awesome show man appreciate that cool man well let's just jump right into your   background man what's your story um take it back as far as you'd like to brother yeah um man uh I'd like to think that life has phases so I've had a few different phases in in my life um you I come from a a large uh family I'm I'm the oldest of seven kids and we always had a competitive uh background as far as team sports and things like that so um I played lacrosse in college that was always a foundational piece of of uh my life and just kind of I think from there learned how to be a part of something   bigger than myself and how to work toward a common goal with a with a team so that's been something that's been a a kind of a thread through my life and then um got married and uh joined the military and um actually joined the military technically before I got married but seemed like I got married and then ran off and and uh ran away from my wife but it's not exactly what happened but uh joined the military was an officer in the in the US Army did I did miss my first three wedding anniversaries through deployment and   things like that um and again it was a matter of trying to be plugged into something you know to serve and be a part of something bigger than myself and trying to trying to add value like I think we all we all want to do um I've obviously glossed over a lot of lot of details but those were uh a couple of inflection points I guess if you will um like you like to talk about I know um and so my military career transitioned into uh a a career with the Department of Defense as a civilian and um did 14   years as a civilian with DOD at Fort me and the first half so the first seven for all you math whizzes out there uh was full-time and then the second half the second seven years was part-time and that seven years is when I was really building my businesses which are largely um real estate investing and mortgage node investing Focus so we can get into the details there and then in 2022 I ended up quitting my job and and um now I have a few different small businesses that I run and like you Seth I've got a got a   lot of different things that I'm juggling and uh you know so but yeah I love talking about taking ownership of of your financial situation and taking ownership of your your life really and um I know that you and I have that comment so yeah that's a that's a high level overview of my background awesome man I appreciate that that there's a lot to unpack there you know going back to you know playing sports all the way up to the Collegiate level that's incredible I always like to to think even playing like poporn or football   back in the day you need a way to instill discipline in yourself and I I that's kind of the the oldest memory I can think of where it was hard right like it was like you've got a coach screaming at you like back in the day it's like you know they wouldn't give you water unless you like you know for like an hour which I don't think they do that anymore now but you know you had to earn that drink of water and and all those sorts of things but you you really learned what it's like to to work hard and you really learned what discipline   was all about and I would say that and you can you can expand on this but yeah I would say that you know being in the military yourself that takes it to a whole new level right it's like you you you got that from Sports you got that from the military yeah definitely I mean obviously they're very different in a lot of ways but that is certainly a common theme is is being disciplined and um and people people shy away from that word um because it just sounds like work or or no fun and no flexibility but I found that having   discipline in your life ends up adding more freedom in a sense um because you kind of have your foundational pieces set in stone you don't have to think about those and so um yeah regarding team sports it's it's really a matter of um you know everyone doing their part right and so there's a level of individual discipline and um and then just and then also just kind of putting the putting the group ahead of yourself um obviously the you know you want individual there's nothing wrong with individual accolades and I I was   certainly uh chasing you know those individual accolades it's not something I shied away from I was you know I definitely was wrapped up in trying to be an All-American and um that kind of thing and and did get that a couple of times you know but it at the end of the day nobody really cares about that and um the way I viewed it was if I was doing my part and I got those you know if I was scoring goals in Lacrosse as an example that means I'm contributing to you know to the team right and so there's obviously a fine   line there but of going too far either way um but yeah that discipline is critical you know even C I played at a high level in college and and there was year round you're training you're you're uh you're into it it was a division three school but it but the reality was we worked just as hard as any any D1 program and um yeah it's it's a these are skills that have paid off and are absolutely transferable to the rest of of life for sure yeah I think you've got to get those those intangible things you've got to develop   them somewhere along the way whatever whatever that is if that's Sports the military or you know from your parents I mean you can get it from different places but you definitely need it I mean you know we're in different stages of our life at this point we're talking about a lot we like talk about freedom and flexibility and fun um to try to get away from kind of the W2 uh mindset but in order to achieve Freedom flexibility and fun in a successful way you had you have to be disciplined to be able to get   there you you had to have done something successfully to be able to get there or maybe what separates you from you know the guy living in a van down by the river right like that guy that guy has Freedom flexibility um I don't know about fun maybe fun but yeah but you know it's it's a different obviously it's a it's a different outcome yeah and I I I still I think I still need you know I still use a lot of discipline today it's still still required but it's I guess I guess it's self-imposed and um you know I just love   love having that flexibility and that freedom um that comes along with being an entrepreneur so yeah it's been a central piece to my success for sure um but I I I still I don't think it ever you know goes away I just get to pick and choose what you know what discipline I want to kind of enforce on myself I guess um so yeah absolutely and and and as you said I the military was a huge part of that for me as well I mean that's a different kind of different kind of discipline and different kind of teamwork and different you know if you   lose a lacrosse game okay you lost the lacrosse game but military the stakes are a little higher um so maybe certain things are more important attention to detail are crit is critical and um but at the end of the day it's yeah it's that the same principles apply across both I I guess sectors if you will for sure for sure so let's dive into that that transition you started working kind of part-time there for seven years so that seems like a transitional period how are you able to progress from you   know that W2 and what what I've heard you say is call yourself a W2 quitter and I love that um you know how were you able to progress from a W2 person to a W2 quitter what enabled you to do that and what that transition looked like I mean you know I do remember in 2015 probably a little bit maybe maybe say 2014 but I just you get you know I had a wife and two kids and I had the commute the long commute that I I know a lot of people can identify with so um it it just was Groundhog Day it was the same   thing over and over and over and that's not me sitting here complaining about my family or having a having the opportunity to work um but after a while it gets old let's just be real right so it's like you're sitting in traffic and I just you start looking at you know I was I worked for the government and you look around you say who okay who's sort of ahead of me on this like you like I I think you probably mentioned on our on your your show on my my show your episode um you look around to the people   who are more kind of Al further along the path than you you say do you want to be that person is that the life you want and man I did not want that and um it just just having that just super long-term just you know the pot at the end of the rainbow I guess uh nothing driving me in the in the interum man it was it was just it was brutal so I probably did a little woes me for a little bit there a little victim mentality for a bit but then you start to realize like okay if you don't take ownership of your own life no one's   going to right so no one's going to come in and do this for you so I'm not sure what truly you know created the change in my mindset but my mindset absolutely started to change and I just made a shift and I and I stopped watching cable news I stopped uh just you know stopped paying attention to all the things that I can't control and I couldn't control back then and and started saying no what do I have what are my strengths who is in my who's back to the team thing who's on my team who's you know who's in my   network that I can add value to and who can add value to me so I started looking around and um you know my father was a realtor for many years my brother was a loan officer I we had uh one rental property at the time and so and IID worked at a I didn't mention I worked at a title company and I worked for a mortgage broker before as well briefly so I had this experience that a lot of people don't have and that's you know that that doesn't mean I'm better than anyone it just means these are my strengths so let's point to that and   let's use that so I started really being intentional about focusing on my strengths and my assets that I had in my life right and then another asset that I used to see as a liability was the time in the car so I started listening to podcasts oh you know and and then it turned into wait I don't even want to go into work yet because this this podcast episode is amazing and I'm learning so much you know Bigger Pockets and all the other real estate podcasts and different investing podcasts and um started using   that mental bandwidth instead of focusing on National media stories that I have zero influence over uh here's something that I can actually take action on and so um in mid 2015 uh I I I went part-time and and just so happens that at uh DOD it's one of the few agencies in the in the federal government where you can go part-time and still keep your benefits so I still had health insurance for my family you know most people don't have that option necessarily but oh oh well I did so that's what I did and and um you   know that's uh again decided decided to start building my my other streams of income outside of my W2 um had my circumstances been different if I was single I probably would have just quit the whole thing right but I was able to have that kind of laded approach I guess or tiered approach to kind of ripping off the Band-Aid yeah yeah no that that that's awesome I love just the idea of of taking ownership of your your life right like everybody has those moments where they're feeling sorry fors um but but the successful people they   don't sit there and stay in that that mindset they they move on they you're going to be there sometimes but you've got to get out of and you got to say okay what what can I control what can I change and you don't say you don't give other people the power to control you and your mindset and how you feel about your life right like that's that's that's the thing like if if you if you're constantly blaming someone else or saying this happened to me rather what can I do to get myself out of it then you're going to be stuck there   forever you're you're going to be you're going to be spinning your wheels forever um and a lot of that I think helps because you said you don't listen you don't watch the news I don't either it's a waste of time what control what does that do for us it's if I do watch it I literally do it for entertainment and you look at it as an entertain I look at it like I'm watching sports almost absolutely I I look at it like this is funny like I can you know what I mean you kind of analyze like this is funny   this guyy saying this in a debate this guy's saying that it's not taking it as fact and news and this is how I should live my life because of what they're saying absolutely and it's not to say that none of these topics are you know important right I mean right Glo Global you know war or I mean politics poverty global warming whatever that's all very important but I have zero control over it almost zero right and then um you know the other thing is fear sells and that's that's what they're selling and so doesn't mean that every   story is invented and it's all fake fake news but it it just doesn't serve me and so I'd rather focus on you know go ground up and kind of uh you just I see it in people maybe older people in my own life now who maybe are retired and and they watch the news all day and it's like they won't travel because they saw a news story that the airports are packed or something and you know it's I'm sure that story was was accurate right but it but the but the news can filter out and and you end up only focusing on the negative really and   it just didn't serve me so yeah um during that La the second seven years I was able to build out my wife and I were doing single family real estate investing and doing a lot of the Burr method that maybe some of your your audience is familiar with uh um and so kind of putting that Capital back into the the rental property um machine and expanding our portfolio um and then eventually last year Well in in 2018 I made the pivot I kept the rental properties but made a pivot to also add on mortgage not   investing and that's been my primary focus as of late um and uh if you want I can tell the story quickly about how I actually quit my job in 2022 I I think it's kind of kind of a funny one absolutely let's do it all right so um I uh so two years ago uh I was playing bad mitton and um I'd been doing now mind you I used to be like tough you know athlete and like I did you know did Jiu-Jitsu for three years right up before this and you know used to lift Waits a lot and still do it here and there but you know I think I'm tough   right and uh ruptured my achilles playing bad mitton so that's an ego blow uh to add on to the physical pain that you know especially with the recovery so I ruptured my achilles a little over two years ago today and um I was out of work it was my right right foot and the reason I bring this up is not for sympathy but um to say you know I couldn't drive for three months so I actually yeah and I had tons of leave from from work and by this time I was tired really tired of my I was pretty much checked out like I think you you   might have been at your uh your big law uh job but um that's right I was I was checked out I mean I I wasn't the best employee at this point and so I took as much leave as I as I could you know reasonably right and so but couldn't drive and so I was out for three months and I come back so come back into work and I'd had discussions with my wife about about leaving it was just a matter of of when not if um I can tell you truthfully had no idea that I was going to quit this day but I came back in from   having been out for three months mind you no one gave me a call no one from work no one from my management gave me a call the entire three months I was out other than to say to ask me are you vaccinated because you have to be vaccinated to be to get inside the building now I don't want this to turn into some controversial vaccine discussion or get your your podcast banned from something but um yes I'd been vaccinated to to answer the question but no one asked me how's your how's your recovery going like how what   do you you know how's your life you know what's it's just are you vaccinated you need to get that shot before you come in okay great thanks I really feel welcome here so I'm already just you know you know what screw this place right um come back in and just go to my desk and this is this is an office space kind of thing where I go to my desk and there's some there's an a force kid at my desk and long story short they' kind of move me somewhere else without telling me I can't find my desk I finally find it   it's got a box with my name on it with you know monitors sideways and all and clearly not a functioning uh desk and um you know office space so I literally quit that day and I just say that it's just like I knew 100% I was done I my wife didn't know I was I quit but I I quit that day still worked for another month or two but I I was there was no question zero question in my mind I'm done with this place so uh that was March of 2022 and ever since then I've just focused on building out my businesses and having   looked back that's awesome sometimes you just know right like sometimes it's time you just knew I I love that story man for me it was a little bit you already know the story but you know for me it was a little bit more of someone else's decision I got fired I mean and men that you know you you weren't the best employee at that point correct you know I knew the same thing and it's great to have awareness and perspective and kind of looking back now you're like I would have done the same thing like this guy   doesn't want to be here his output isn't what it should be like nope he's got he's got to go I mean he's not he's not the best employee and and as a you know as a business owner now I can you know I have really good perspective of that and and seeing that and they did they were doing me a favor by being like hey like your heart's not in it is it and I'm like no it's not it's not yeah yeah the reality is for me it's really hard to work you know when once you go part-time I mean I knew I was casting a vote   against my career progression there so as soon as I went part-time in 2015 I wasn't saying I'm in this for the Long Haul guys this is this is my focus you know it's the writing's somewhat on the wall looking back it's almost surprising I lasted as long as I did um but so yeah uh haven't looked back and just love love the entrepreneurial you know day-to-day and freedom that you alluded to and and just the multiple streams of income and certainly has its challenges I I probably work harder now than ever   than I ever have um but it's by choice right so I love it exactly same here man I mean it's you know my my days are long I mean I I get up way before I used to get up when I when I had a 95 I worked past when I would have worked a 9 to-5 and it definitely more hours but when you're doing it for yourself and you're doing it because you're working towards something that you believe in yeah it doesn't feel like it's you're putting that much time in definitely I I wake up early a lot of days it's not not on   purpose it's because I'm just excited to get Kracken so yeah yeah absolutely yeah well let's let's kind of get into your current business I know you you had mentioned that you focused on your strengths and your assets um and you know I think it's important I'll just I'll just say it's important to take an inventory of what your strengths are when you're kind of considering going into something else um because a lot of our listeners are attorneys they're doctors folks like that they kind of feel like maybe they're they're pigeon   hold right like well if I'm not an attorney what the hell else can I do right like I don't know anything about real estate investing or node investing or starting a business or anything like that but if you really take a step back you you probably have a lot of skills that you've learned and honed in your career that you can use for something else moving forward and that was that's what you were able to do definitely and one thing I'd say is that um you know one thing that's always comforting for   me is nobody knows everything right so you can always find somebody who knows more than you in a certain area um you know there's one quote about every man is my Superior in in in something right so um basically it gets me a lot of comfort to know like just because an attorney listening to your show knows way more than I do about a particular topic and probably many many other topics that doesn't mean I'm less of a person or you know I don't know more than that attorney does in another area so it's   okay I'm never going to know everything there are other people who've already figured it out so um you know that's that's always comforting to me is and when I say look to your strength it's also looking to the people in your network who know and can help you get to where you want to go um so yeah I mean so many things we take for granted that we do know and um you know example when I started working at a title company fresh out of college because it was my first real job and it paid you know a a   salary um I realized quickly how little I knew about title insurance settlements you know just just basic stuff now looking back pretty basic stuff but you don't know that unless you work for a title company or you're heavily involved in this you don't you're not trained in that in school typically right so you know you forget and so your your listener out there the the attorney the doctor I guarantee they have a lot of life experience not just from their professional world but just life experience that that they shouldn't take   for granted and the fact that you can go through law school and then be you know Be an Effective attorney or go through medical school and Be an Effective doctor that that means you you can learn things right and so again I go back to life has Seasons I mean you've shown that in your own story Seth like you know um it's uh it doesn't mean just because I started a certain business doesn't mean that's going to be what I'm going to be doing for the next 20 years or just because I'm an attorney now   doesn't mean that's what I have to do for the rest of my life so we always have options I mean you might look back and wish you'd done something differently or something but you only have one chance at this and so you know you just make the most of it and and just keep I think keep learning constantly um is critical I I just hired a business coach we've had one call um but one of his motos is um you know one of his sayings is that he's always he's in permanent beta so he's always changing always improving he's always   growing so I'm trying to trying to implement that as well yeah I love that permanent beta I haven't heard that before but I like that I like that phrase like that phrase um so tell me about your current business tell me about mortgage node investing start with the basics um sure what is it yeah so and and I'll try to keep it uh there's so much to it but again none of it is difficult it's just a lot of moving parts and you've got to you know it takes time to learn um we buy debt so we buy a mortgage note   and that could be performing or non-performing the the real highlevel version is is um a performing note is kind of like a a long-term Buy and Hold rental property but you're buying the debt and becoming the lender becoming the bank if you will um and so you're buying that performing note for cash flow so I buy a performing note the barer now pays me through a loan servicer and I get monthly payments so that's a great way to go the the problem with that is you can't really add value to that asset very well you're kind of   it is what it is and in fact with mortgage notes the value actually goes down over time generally speaking because the principal balance goes down so it's just it's worth less than you know than uh you know than it would than it was when you bought it then on the other side the non-performing side of things we buy those uh as well and those are more like a Fix and Flip property so um although we're still buying the debt we're not buying the property but there's a chance to add value There's an opportunity to buy distressed asset and   add value to that asset and then sell that that non-performing note either well I should say sell that asset whether that's as a rep performing note or as uh through the the real estate itself there there are a few different ways you can exit a non-performing uh note deal and but but back to your kind of one of the the themes um thus far one of the reasons I got into specifically that space was that I understood the real estate space so I understood the single family residential real estate space so it wasn't a huge   leap for me to go from owning the property to now owning the debt on that property whereas it would have been a lot bigger leap for me to say oh I want to start buying distressed you know multif family debt um which I know you could probably help me understand better but that you know it's like incremental progress and and and change isn't that scary so I kind of expanded my um you know toolbox if you will and got into the mortgage note space so we have a couple of note funds one is open um currently and they're they're they're   all for accredited investors um and uh the the income fund that's open pays a monthly uh aims to pay a a monthly uh per referred return I know you and a lot of your listeners are attorneys so I got to hold the line here and uh so the fund is structured to pay uh to aim to pay a a monthly return uh of 8% it's not a there's no growth in that fund it's literally a cash flow play and um diversification play you're putting your your capital in we buy assets across the country we we've bought notes in in probably 25 States at this point   um and so the investment is Diversified across Geographic areas across borrower types and um you know we buy for a certain yield we take a small management fee and then we um ideally uh pay a pay the preferred return that we're aiming for to our to our investors yeah nice 506c you're able to talk about it it's uh ACC credit investors only just want to throw that out there um so yeah I mean so just going back to the basics a little bit and we'll get back into the fund like how do you how do you even   find these things I mean how do you get started how do you find these things so I mean that is an ongoing challenge I'm not going to lie to you that's one of the the things that truthfully a a passive investor who doesn't have time to to develop the network to go find these assets they're just not going to have success um you know they might here and there but it takes time it's a it's a word of mouth industry just like real estate itself is and um so we've built out a network of of Sellers and you know that could   be quite honestly I I've never had luck buying directly from Banks it's really either a larger uh mortgage note fund that's closing so it might be a three-year fund and then they've got to they've got to liquidate they've got to figure out how to sell off what to do with these assets um and so that's a great opportunity to buy is just a fund that's closing or somebody a note investor who's getting out of note investing or they've had a life change or something um you know where they just uh there's an opportunity to buy from   them as well um and so there there are other you know I guess we buy from hedge funds note investors other note funds um those are there are also note Brokers as well out there um there are also some online exchanges like paper stack and a couple of others that you can go and I've bought and sold on on paper stack and other exchanges as well um and you know you can you can find assets there um but at the end of the day we have our list that we list of people that we work with regularly and I would say one thing   is that doing due diligence on a note seller is just as important as uh due diligence on the assets that they're selling and so it's it's taken some work and it's it's a work in progress always um but it is the million-dollar question is where do you where do you find these assets yeah so that's that's the hard part right that finding these assets is the hard part um have you ever had to foreclose on on any of these notes and actually acquire the property and I guess a followup question is do you ever   look at a non-performing note like hey I actually want to own that property great questions yeah great questions um to be clear we're not trying to kick people you know Grandma out on onto the street or anything like that um you know that's not our our goal typically well that's never our goal but we're never trying to kick someone out of their home um but the reality is some people honestly need a little bit of a kick in the pants and often times that's not really the best them staying in the house is not often   The best scenario for them I know that might sound sound harsh but at the end of the day if someone can't afford to live somewhere sometimes these people are living in squal and they really need a change of of environment um to answer your question about do we target the property yes sometimes we do in fact we just closed on two they're called uh heckum loans or reverse mortgages where the borrowers are deceased the property is underwater meaning you know the the loan amount is high greater than the   property value and it should be a quick exit through the property so HUD will sell off these uh big pool of of reverse mortgages and we were able to purchase two of them very recently it's a vacant property you're not doing an eviction borrower is deceased you've got to work through the airs or or foreclosure um and get and exit the property that way um if your listener wants to go to my website I've got a really good um it's a Jacksonville blog post I've got a couple of blog posts about this deal I still hold this rental   today and it was a non-performing note that we purchased a few years ago and um I had no intention of exiting through the property or holding holding the the property as a rental property but uh running the numbers it just was too good to to let go and so long story but we we uh you know ended up doing a deed in Lee of foreclosure actually in this case and got the property back and now it's a long-term Buy and Hold property for my own rental uh portfolio yeah that makes sense that makes sense there's there's always   multiple ways to look at an investment right um but it does sound you know is not something that that I've executed on myself but it sounds like this is an active business right and that's why you've put together an income fund for people that want to get involved passively um because as as everybody knows there's active Investments there's passive Investments if you're going to do something active maybe your returns are going to be a little bit better but you're going to give up a lot of time and effort to to get those returns   um so if you want to go to the passive side if you if you're still full-time in your career you're you're a full-time doctor or lawyer or or whatever you are you know these passive Investments are the way to go without having to know every single detail about a new business yeah and I don't know if you can see this but I I wore this specifically for your for this show there it is there it is passive income um you're absolutely right you know these gurus some of the some of the node investing gurus out   there will try to sell you know notes as passive um we have another blog post that talks about uh just the it's a spectrum there's active and passive on either end but at the end of the day if you're gonna node investing in my world is very very active and we have a non-performing note fund that's considerably more active than the Performing note fund so um you're dealing with foreclosures bankruptcies deed and L tracking delinquent property taxes do I have to physically go anywhere no but it is not passive um but   that's why we offer the passive investment to for you know people who like you said have maybe more Capital than time or energy and they want to put that Capital to work that's right there there are certain gurus out there that you know whatever it is that they are pitching it's they they tend to always pitch it as as passive even though it is an active business whether that's ma money yeah whether that's a mortgage note or I mean people pitch Airbnb short-term rentals as passive they're like well you can delegate this and you   can you know you can automate that and there's software for all these things but you still got to put all that stuff together you've still got to monitor all those things you you've still got to you still got to oversee all these different aspects of a business and that's what it is it's a business that you're running and it's not passive like it's not it's not and and it is on a spectrum some things are more passive than others but when you're inves in you know as a passive investor into some sort of a   fund or a syndication that's really leaning really far into the the passive side absolutely 100% and I and I'm as you are Seth I'm I'm I'm I I assume you are I know you're an active investor but I I do have passive Investments myself in other other funds other note funds and and my own my own note funds as well and so nothing wrong with doing both but I would say you need to be careful about you know you got to make a decision at some point do you want to scale this thing and and make this really a   business or do you do you are you satisfied with potentially a little bit lower return and you are giving up some control but much you know much fewer headaches and just a lot less work right right yeah and a lot of you know a lot of the listeners are high income earning professionals so they've already dedic put a lot of time and effort into being able ble to earn this much money from their W2 and absolutely that's probably your best bet to be honest with you I've been there I was in those shoes you're   probably better off putting your head down like let's grind for a few years let's let's not spend every single dollar that we make on all the new stuff on a on a new car every two years or every year in a bigger house that you don't need like let's set aside some of that and invest it passively and then maybe one of those will stick maybe one of those passive investments will be a mortgage note fund where you're like man I kind like this business like I like the sound of it I've learned about it   and then you start maybe progressing on the active side and maybe that takes over and and you want to get into that as a as a business as an entrepreneur but um a great way to kind of dip your toe in the water is to become a passive investor um that's the way that I did it into you know multif family syndications I invested passively in a number of deals first and kind of learned about it learned the ropes and I'm like I can do this and then that's when I made the transition yeah definitely it's it   really comes down to what you what your goals are and what your situation is for sure I I'll say I was too passive initially when I went into notes um because personally I just don't you're you're you were probably a little better student Seth not that I was a bad student but you know I I invest unless I'm actively in investing you know I'm just not going to learn a lot so the reality is yeah it's fine to learn about the asset class you definitely should learn about the operator for sure if you're putting Capital with them but   you're not going to once you're getting your checks and your dispersements you're not going to probably learn a whole lot about how to do that on the active side and so that's what we're here for yeah yeah it's more of like a spark of an interest right like may you already have that spark and then you invest passively then you're like okay well now I'm invested like let me learn about this you have to you have to actively go out there and educate yourself and network and talk to people that are in the business definitely 100   per. all right man before we jump into the Freedom Four you have one last gold nugget for our listeners oh man um I would say within when it comes to investing um you know take the long-term view um don't chase immediate returns um you know I do think just yeah it's certainly we all want to make a million dollars tomorrow but I think it's it's play the long game when it comes to investing I think that's critical love that man all right let's jump into the Freedom Four what's the best thing you do to keep your mind body   healthy yeah I mean one thing that I instituted this year actually um is breath work and it's um you know it's so it takes 10 minutes um and per day for me at least and it's been phenomenal and it's something that quite honestly as a as a you know athlete back in the day or even in the military I would have scoffed at something like this to be honest with you because it's just you know it's not manly or whatever it's like it is phenomenal so uh breath work I mean I do other things for sure but that's certainly this year it's been a   game Cher for me I just feel like it resets my central nervous system and it just gets me focused and uh I know there are other physiological benefits that you can ask uh Dr Andrew huberman or somebody else about cool I have to look into that actually have I mean obviously everybody talks about it's a Hot Topic I haven't gotten into it I haven't gotten into that plus like the cold plunges and that sort of thing um but I really want to explore that a little bit I don't know how much you can cut this out if we   don't have time but I had a I'm just going to be be open about this I just had a you know in late December I got a viral infection like a neuro virus and then I had I had a what I think was a pretty severe panic attack and it was super scary and so that's why I started uh doing this and somebody on my team actually sent me a a I guess we'll call it an implement or a tool that uh I use for the breath work it's BL there's a Bluetooth connection to your phone and it's pretty cool so it's structured and   back to that discipline right but um yeah so it's there was a reason I started doing it and um it's it's so accessible five to 10 minutes a day you can start doing it so yeah very cool highly recommend cool thanks for sharing that man um with all your success what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it um I think just uh you know being afraid to you know that you have to be perfect right so um I used to be an editor back in the day and so many things would just not get done   or not get completed within our team our organization um because it had to be perfect and and it's like I think as I've progressed into more of the entrepreneurial lifestyle and and uh it's just it's not a it's not an option anymore um so um yeah I think just taking action has kind of overcome that limiting belief of of of chasing Perfection yeah yeah I can I can I can agree with you there done not perfect um as you know my background as an attorney I mean we're we're paid to be perfect like we can't make mistakes especially   in contracts and the way that we write things but when you kind of make that transition over to being an entrepreneur there's too much there's too much to to be to be perfect you got you just got to get it done good enough absolutely good enough has to you have to be open um willing to accept that for sure y what's one actionable step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom so I'll use the military here you can um which is where I learned U kind of reverse backwards planning reverse   planning so literally just and I'm not going to tell you I'm perfect at this um but you know think about what create a vivid vision for your life in in the next three to five years pick a pick three years out from today and what do you want your life to look like and then backwards plan and now I'm not saying you need to plan every minute of every day but you can be that will that will increase the urgency uh sense of urgency in your life and the intentionality of every every hour and every day because you realize this is   doable but I got to take ownership of of my current situation if I want this to be the reality in three years so I would say create a vivid vision and and kind of reverse or backwards plan to get there perfect perfect last but not least how has passive income made your life better yeah I mean I think in multiple ways but a big one that stands out is is giving me I guess we'll call it margin um to take some more risks on the entrepreneurial side and because I do have alternative sources of income   passive income um it's allowed me that kind of mental and financial bandwidth or margin to maybe invest in a company that even if it doesn't per go perfectly it doesn't go well it's not profitable that's okay I still have that cushion um for for me and my family so that's yeah it's a huge it's been a huge factor in that regard yeah absolutely Game Changer man it just changes your mindset changes your life in so many ways uh Jamie this has been incredible dude you've got so much great content to to share in your   brain man you got to get it out there um I know you've got an awesome podcast that I was on adversity to abundance everybody should check that out um other than that Jamie where else can people find out more about you yeah just two things I'll mention very quickly uh literally got my book delivered today like an hour before I hopped on here it's uh from adversity to abundance it is based on the podcast so I encourage your listener to check that out from adversity to abundance is the book that's out and then Labrador   lending.com l b r a d o r.com is where you can check us out all right man awesome I'll drop all that in the show notes thanks again for coming on brother thanks for having me Seth this has been great Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nU0TtMAFc https://www.instagram.com/p/C2sKtrAPX50/ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid029mGsZgw2DFvrvFV6QPkwf2U2ewUxCGoRmnjGvuBicaWmM9oHWbemP7NCVFFXz8jxl&id=100089126144055   Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en   Jamie Bateman's Links: https://x.com/batemanjames https://www.facebook.com/batemanjames https://www.threads.com/@batemanjames11? https://www.instagram.com/batemanjames11/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-bateman-5359a811/ https://labradorlending.com/about/

Title: Why the W-2 Grind Will Never Make You Wealthy with Jamie Bateman Summary In this engaging podcast episode, Jamie shares his journey from being a competitive athlete and military officer to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the field of real estate and mortgage note investing. He emphasizes the importance of discipline, teamwork, and taking ownership of one's financial situation in achieving success. Jamie discusses his transition from a W2 job to entrepreneurship, highlighting how he leveraged his experiences and strengths to build multiple streams of income. He shares insights about his current business model centered around mortgage note investing, explaining the differences between performing and non-performing notes, and elucidates the challenges and opportunities present in this field. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of long-term planning and learning continuously, making the case that discipline ultimately leads to freedom and flexibility in life. Links to Listen and Subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-military-officer-to-mortgage-note-master-one-mans/id1618672867?i=1000643495099 Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nU0TtMAFc Bullet Point Highlights: Athlete to Entrepreneur: Jamie shares how his background in competitive sports instilled a sense of discipline and teamwork. Financial Ownership: Jamie discusses the importance of taking ownership of your financial situation and actively seeking improvement. W2 Quitter: The transition from a stable government job to entrepreneurship reflects Jamie's journey of self-discovery and ambition. Mortgage Note Investing: Jamie provides insights into both performing and non-performing notes, illustrating how to generate passive income through debt investing. Value of Networking: He emphasizes the necessity of building a strong network for finding investment opportunities in mortgage notes. Continuous Learning: Jamie advocates for lifelong learning, suggesting that successful people always seek new knowledge and skills. Long-Term Vision: He stresses the importance of setting long-term goals and reverse planning to maintain focus on achieving one's aspirations. Transcript: Jamie what's going on brother welcome to the show thanks Seth this is this is awesome um I'm excited to be here and I'm hoping to add some value absolutely man third time's a charm we've been trying to get this scheduled after I was on your show which was fantastic had a really good time uh on that show and I think it turned out pretty good so I know we're gonna absolutely we're gonna deliver on this one as well yeah we're GNA try to try to I'll try to do as good a job as you did so yeah that was that   was uh yeah no I that was a very very good episode from adversity to abundance I would highly recommend your your listeners check that one out to your episode on that show so thanks for thanks for doing that absolutely man you're an incredible interviewer I've I've that's the only uh I've been on dozens of podcasts and you know you pulled out a lot of things for me that I've I've never talked about on the air so it's pretty pretty awesome pretty awesome show man appreciate that cool man well let's just jump right into your   background man what's your story um take it back as far as you'd like to brother yeah um man uh I'd like to think that life has phases so I've had a few different phases in in my life um you I come from a a large uh family I'm I'm the oldest of seven kids and we always had a competitive uh background as far as team sports and things like that so um I played lacrosse in college that was always a foundational piece of of uh my life and just kind of I think from there learned how to be a part of something   bigger than myself and how to work toward a common goal with a with a team so that's been something that's been a a kind of a thread through my life and then um got married and uh joined the military and um actually joined the military technically before I got married but seemed like I got married and then ran off and and uh ran away from my wife but it's not exactly what happened but uh joined the military was an officer in the in the US Army did I did miss my first three wedding anniversaries through deployment and   things like that um and again it was a matter of trying to be plugged into something you know to serve and be a part of something bigger than myself and trying to trying to add value like I think we all we all want to do um I've obviously glossed over a lot of lot of details but those were uh a couple of inflection points I guess if you will um like you like to talk about I know um and so my military career transitioned into uh a a career with the Department of Defense as a civilian and um did 14   years as a civilian with DOD at Fort me and the first half so the first seven for all you math whizzes out there uh was full-time and then the second half the second seven years was part-time and that seven years is when I was really building my businesses which are largely um real estate investing and mortgage node investing Focus so we can get into the details there and then in 2022 I ended up quitting my job and and um now I have a few different small businesses that I run and like you Seth I've got a got a   lot of different things that I'm juggling and uh you know so but yeah I love talking about taking ownership of of your financial situation and taking ownership of your your life really and um I know that you and I have that comment so yeah that's a that's a high level overview of my background awesome man I appreciate that that there's a lot to unpack there you know going back to you know playing sports all the way up to the Collegiate level that's incredible I always like to to think even playing like poporn or football   back in the day you need a way to instill discipline in yourself and I I that's kind of the the oldest memory I can think of where it was hard right like it was like you've got a coach screaming at you like back in the day it's like you know they wouldn't give you water unless you like you know for like an hour which I don't think they do that anymore now but you know you had to earn that drink of water and and all those sorts of things but you you really learned what it's like to to work hard and you really learned what discipline   was all about and I would say that and you can you can expand on this but yeah I would say that you know being in the military yourself that takes it to a whole new level right it's like you you you got that from Sports you got that from the military yeah definitely I mean obviously they're very different in a lot of ways but that is certainly a common theme is is being disciplined and um and people people shy away from that word um because it just sounds like work or or no fun and no flexibility but I found that having   discipline in your life ends up adding more freedom in a sense um because you kind of have your foundational pieces set in stone you don't have to think about those and so um yeah regarding team sports it's it's really a matter of um you know everyone doing their part right and so there's a level of individual discipline and um and then just and then also just kind of putting the putting the group ahead of yourself um obviously the you know you want individual there's nothing wrong with individual accolades and I I was   certainly uh chasing you know those individual accolades it's not something I shied away from I was you know I definitely was wrapped up in trying to be an All-American and um that kind of thing and and did get that a couple of times you know but it at the end of the day nobody really cares about that and um the way I viewed it was if I was doing my part and I got those you know if I was scoring goals in Lacrosse as an example that means I'm contributing to you know to the team right and so there's obviously a fine   line there but of going too far either way um but yeah that discipline is critical you know even C I played at a high level in college and and there was year round you're training you're you're uh you're into it it was a division three school but it but the reality was we worked just as hard as any any D1 program and um yeah it's it's a these are skills that have paid off and are absolutely transferable to the rest of of life for sure yeah I think you've got to get those those intangible things you've got to develop   them somewhere along the way whatever whatever that is if that's Sports the military or you know from your parents I mean you can get it from different places but you definitely need it I mean you know we're in different stages of our life at this point we're talking about a lot we like talk about freedom and flexibility and fun um to try to get away from kind of the W2 uh mindset but in order to achieve Freedom flexibility and fun in a successful way you had you have to be disciplined to be able to get   there you you had to have done something successfully to be able to get there or maybe what separates you from you know the guy living in a van down by the river right like that guy that guy has Freedom flexibility um I don't know about fun maybe fun but yeah but you know it's it's a different obviously it's a it's a different outcome yeah and I I I still I think I still need you know I still use a lot of discipline today it's still still required but it's I guess I guess it's self-imposed and um you know I just love   love having that flexibility and that freedom um that comes along with being an entrepreneur so yeah it's been a central piece to my success for sure um but I I I still I don't think it ever you know goes away I just get to pick and choose what you know what discipline I want to kind of enforce on myself I guess um so yeah absolutely and and and as you said I the military was a huge part of that for me as well I mean that's a different kind of different kind of discipline and different kind of teamwork and different you know if you   lose a lacrosse game okay you lost the lacrosse game but military the stakes are a little higher um so maybe certain things are more important attention to detail are crit is critical and um but at the end of the day it's yeah it's that the same principles apply across both I I guess sectors if you will for sure for sure so let's dive into that that transition you started working kind of part-time there for seven years so that seems like a transitional period how are you able to progress from you   know that W2 and what what I've heard you say is call yourself a W2 quitter and I love that um you know how were you able to progress from a W2 person to a W2 quitter what enabled you to do that and what that transition looked like I mean you know I do remember in 2015 probably a little bit maybe maybe say 2014 but I just you get you know I had a wife and two kids and I had the commute the long commute that I I know a lot of people can identify with so um it it just was Groundhog Day it was the same   thing over and over and over and that's not me sitting here complaining about my family or having a having the opportunity to work um but after a while it gets old let's just be real right so it's like you're sitting in traffic and I just you start looking at you know I was I worked for the government and you look around you say who okay who's sort of ahead of me on this like you like I I think you probably mentioned on our on your your show on my my show your episode um you look around to the people   who are more kind of Al further along the path than you you say do you want to be that person is that the life you want and man I did not want that and um it just just having that just super long-term just you know the pot at the end of the rainbow I guess uh nothing driving me in the in the interum man it was it was just it was brutal so I probably did a little woes me for a little bit there a little victim mentality for a bit but then you start to realize like okay if you don't take ownership of your own life no one's   going to right so no one's going to come in and do this for you so I'm not sure what truly you know created the change in my mindset but my mindset absolutely started to change and I just made a shift and I and I stopped watching cable news I stopped uh just you know stopped paying attention to all the things that I can't control and I couldn't control back then and and started saying no what do I have what are my strengths who is in my who's back to the team thing who's on my team who's you know who's in my   network that I can add value to and who can add value to me so I started looking around and um you know my father was a realtor for many years my brother was a loan officer I we had uh one rental property at the time and so and IID worked at a I didn't mention I worked at a title company and I worked for a mortgage broker before as well briefly so I had this experience that a lot of people don't have and that's you know that that doesn't mean I'm better than anyone it just means these are my strengths so let's point to that and   let's use that so I started really being intentional about focusing on my strengths and my assets that I had in my life right and then another asset that I used to see as a liability was the time in the car so I started listening to podcasts oh you know and and then it turned into wait I don't even want to go into work yet because this this podcast episode is amazing and I'm learning so much you know Bigger Pockets and all the other real estate podcasts and different investing podcasts and um started using   that mental bandwidth instead of focusing on National media stories that I have zero influence over uh here's something that I can actually take action on and so um in mid 2015 uh I I I went part-time and and just so happens that at uh DOD it's one of the few agencies in the in the federal government where you can go part-time and still keep your benefits so I still had health insurance for my family you know most people don't have that option necessarily but oh oh well I did so that's what I did and and um you   know that's uh again decided decided to start building my my other streams of income outside of my W2 um had my circumstances been different if I was single I probably would have just quit the whole thing right but I was able to have that kind of laded approach I guess or tiered approach to kind of ripping off the Band-Aid yeah yeah no that that that's awesome I love just the idea of of taking ownership of your your life right like everybody has those moments where they're feeling sorry fors um but but the successful people they   don't sit there and stay in that that mindset they they move on they you're going to be there sometimes but you've got to get out of and you got to say okay what what can I control what can I change and you don't say you don't give other people the power to control you and your mindset and how you feel about your life right like that's that's that's the thing like if if you if you're constantly blaming someone else or saying this happened to me rather what can I do to get myself out of it then you're going to be stuck there   forever you're you're going to be you're going to be spinning your wheels forever um and a lot of that I think helps because you said you don't listen you don't watch the news I don't either it's a waste of time what control what does that do for us it's if I do watch it I literally do it for entertainment and you look at it as an entertain I look at it like I'm watching sports almost absolutely I I look at it like this is funny like I can you know what I mean you kind of analyze like this is funny   this guyy saying this in a debate this guy's saying that it's not taking it as fact and news and this is how I should live my life because of what they're saying absolutely and it's not to say that none of these topics are you know important right I mean right Glo Global you know war or I mean politics poverty global warming whatever that's all very important but I have zero control over it almost zero right and then um you know the other thing is fear sells and that's that's what they're selling and so doesn't mean that every   story is invented and it's all fake fake news but it it just doesn't serve me and so I'd rather focus on you know go ground up and kind of uh you just I see it in people maybe older people in my own life now who maybe are retired and and they watch the news all day and it's like they won't travel because they saw a news story that the airports are packed or something and you know it's I'm sure that story was was accurate right but it but the but the news can filter out and and you end up only focusing on the negative really and   it just didn't serve me so yeah um during that La the second seven years I was able to build out my wife and I were doing single family real estate investing and doing a lot of the Burr method that maybe some of your your audience is familiar with uh um and so kind of putting that Capital back into the the rental property um machine and expanding our portfolio um and then eventually last year Well in in 2018 I made the pivot I kept the rental properties but made a pivot to also add on mortgage not   investing and that's been my primary focus as of late um and uh if you want I can tell the story quickly about how I actually quit my job in 2022 I I think it's kind of kind of a funny one absolutely let's do it all right so um I uh so two years ago uh I was playing bad mitton and um I'd been doing now mind you I used to be like tough you know athlete and like I did you know did Jiu-Jitsu for three years right up before this and you know used to lift Waits a lot and still do it here and there but you know I think I'm tough   right and uh ruptured my achilles playing bad mitton so that's an ego blow uh to add on to the physical pain that you know especially with the recovery so I ruptured my achilles a little over two years ago today and um I was out of work it was my right right foot and the reason I bring this up is not for sympathy but um to say you know I couldn't drive for three months so I actually yeah and I had tons of leave from from work and by this time I was tired really tired of my I was pretty much checked out like I think you you   might have been at your uh your big law uh job but um that's right I was I was checked out I mean I I wasn't the best employee at this point and so I took as much leave as I as I could you know reasonably right and so but couldn't drive and so I was out for three months and I come back so come back into work and I'd had discussions with my wife about about leaving it was just a matter of of when not if um I can tell you truthfully had no idea that I was going to quit this day but I came back in from   having been out for three months mind you no one gave me a call no one from work no one from my management gave me a call the entire three months I was out other than to say to ask me are you vaccinated because you have to be vaccinated to be to get inside the building now I don't want this to turn into some controversial vaccine discussion or get your your podcast banned from something but um yes I'd been vaccinated to to answer the question but no one asked me how's your how's your recovery going like how what   do you you know how's your life you know what's it's just are you vaccinated you need to get that shot before you come in okay great thanks I really feel welcome here so I'm already just you know you know what screw this place right um come back in and just go to my desk and this is this is an office space kind of thing where I go to my desk and there's some there's an a force kid at my desk and long story short they' kind of move me somewhere else without telling me I can't find my desk I finally find it   it's got a box with my name on it with you know monitors sideways and all and clearly not a functioning uh desk and um you know office space so I literally quit that day and I just say that it's just like I knew 100% I was done I my wife didn't know I was I quit but I I quit that day still worked for another month or two but I I was there was no question zero question in my mind I'm done with this place so uh that was March of 2022 and ever since then I've just focused on building out my businesses and having   looked back that's awesome sometimes you just know right like sometimes it's time you just knew I I love that story man for me it was a little bit you already know the story but you know for me it was a little bit more of someone else's decision I got fired I mean and men that you know you you weren't the best employee at that point correct you know I knew the same thing and it's great to have awareness and perspective and kind of looking back now you're like I would have done the same thing like this guy   doesn't want to be here his output isn't what it should be like nope he's got he's got to go I mean he's not he's not the best employee and and as a you know as a business owner now I can you know I have really good perspective of that and and seeing that and they did they were doing me a favor by being like hey like your heart's not in it is it and I'm like no it's not it's not yeah yeah the reality is for me it's really hard to work you know when once you go part-time I mean I knew I was casting a vote   against my career progression there so as soon as I went part-time in 2015 I wasn't saying I'm in this for the Long Haul guys this is this is my focus you know it's the writing's somewhat on the wall looking back it's almost surprising I lasted as long as I did um but so yeah uh haven't looked back and just love love the entrepreneurial you know day-to-day and freedom that you alluded to and and just the multiple streams of income and certainly has its challenges I I probably work harder now than ever   than I ever have um but it's by choice right so I love it exactly same here man I mean it's you know my my days are long I mean I I get up way before I used to get up when I when I had a 95 I worked past when I would have worked a 9 to-5 and it definitely more hours but when you're doing it for yourself and you're doing it because you're working towards something that you believe in yeah it doesn't feel like it's you're putting that much time in definitely I I wake up early a lot of days it's not not on   purpose it's because I'm just excited to get Kracken so yeah yeah absolutely yeah well let's let's kind of get into your current business I know you you had mentioned that you focused on your strengths and your assets um and you know I think it's important I'll just I'll just say it's important to take an inventory of what your strengths are when you're kind of considering going into something else um because a lot of our listeners are attorneys they're doctors folks like that they kind of feel like maybe they're they're pigeon   hold right like well if I'm not an attorney what the hell else can I do right like I don't know anything about real estate investing or node investing or starting a business or anything like that but if you really take a step back you you probably have a lot of skills that you've learned and honed in your career that you can use for something else moving forward and that was that's what you were able to do definitely and one thing I'd say is that um you know one thing that's always comforting for   me is nobody knows everything right so you can always find somebody who knows more than you in a certain area um you know there's one quote about every man is my Superior in in in something right so um basically it gets me a lot of comfort to know like just because an attorney listening to your show knows way more than I do about a particular topic and probably many many other topics that doesn't mean I'm less of a person or you know I don't know more than that attorney does in another area so it's   okay I'm never going to know everything there are other people who've already figured it out so um you know that's that's always comforting to me is and when I say look to your strength it's also looking to the people in your network who know and can help you get to where you want to go um so yeah I mean so many things we take for granted that we do know and um you know example when I started working at a title company fresh out of college because it was my first real job and it paid you know a a   salary um I realized quickly how little I knew about title insurance settlements you know just just basic stuff now looking back pretty basic stuff but you don't know that unless you work for a title company or you're heavily involved in this you don't you're not trained in that in school typically right so you know you forget and so your your listener out there the the attorney the doctor I guarantee they have a lot of life experience not just from their professional world but just life experience that that they shouldn't take   for granted and the fact that you can go through law school and then be you know Be an Effective attorney or go through medical school and Be an Effective doctor that that means you you can learn things right and so again I go back to life has Seasons I mean you've shown that in your own story Seth like you know um it's uh it doesn't mean just because I started a certain business doesn't mean that's going to be what I'm going to be doing for the next 20 years or just because I'm an attorney now   doesn't mean that's what I have to do for the rest of my life so we always have options I mean you might look back and wish you'd done something differently or something but you only have one chance at this and so you know you just make the most of it and and just keep I think keep learning constantly um is critical I I just hired a business coach we've had one call um but one of his motos is um you know one of his sayings is that he's always he's in permanent beta so he's always changing always improving he's always   growing so I'm trying to trying to implement that as well yeah I love that permanent beta I haven't heard that before but I like that I like that phrase like that phrase um so tell me about your current business tell me about mortgage node investing start with the basics um sure what is it yeah so and and I'll try to keep it uh there's so much to it but again none of it is difficult it's just a lot of moving parts and you've got to you know it takes time to learn um we buy debt so we buy a mortgage note   and that could be performing or non-performing the the real highlevel version is is um a performing note is kind of like a a long-term Buy and Hold rental property but you're buying the debt and becoming the lender becoming the bank if you will um and so you're buying that performing note for cash flow so I buy a performing note the barer now pays me through a loan servicer and I get monthly payments so that's a great way to go the the problem with that is you can't really add value to that asset very well you're kind of   it is what it is and in fact with mortgage notes the value actually goes down over time generally speaking because the principal balance goes down so it's just it's worth less than you know than uh you know than it would than it was when you bought it then on the other side the non-performing side of things we buy those uh as well and those are more like a Fix and Flip property so um although we're still buying the debt we're not buying the property but there's a chance to add value There's an opportunity to buy distressed asset and   add value to that asset and then sell that that non-performing note either well I should say sell that asset whether that's as a rep performing note or as uh through the the real estate itself there there are a few different ways you can exit a non-performing uh note deal and but but back to your kind of one of the the themes um thus far one of the reasons I got into specifically that space was that I understood the real estate space so I understood the single family residential real estate space so it wasn't a huge   leap for me to go from owning the property to now owning the debt on that property whereas it would have been a lot bigger leap for me to say oh I want to start buying distressed you know multif family debt um which I know you could probably help me understand better but that you know it's like incremental progress and and and change isn't that scary so I kind of expanded my um you know toolbox if you will and got into the mortgage note space so we have a couple of note funds one is open um currently and they're they're they're   all for accredited investors um and uh the the income fund that's open pays a monthly uh aims to pay a a monthly uh per referred return I know you and a lot of your listeners are attorneys so I got to hold the line here and uh so the fund is structured to pay uh to aim to pay a a monthly return uh of 8% it's not a there's no growth in that fund it's literally a cash flow play and um diversification play you're putting your your capital in we buy assets across the country we we've bought notes in in probably 25 States at this point   um and so the investment is Diversified across Geographic areas across borrower types and um you know we buy for a certain yield we take a small management fee and then we um ideally uh pay a pay the preferred return that we're aiming for to our to our investors yeah nice 506c you're able to talk about it it's uh ACC credit investors only just want to throw that out there um so yeah I mean so just going back to the basics a little bit and we'll get back into the fund like how do you how do you even   find these things I mean how do you get started how do you find these things so I mean that is an ongoing challenge I'm not going to lie to you that's one of the the things that truthfully a a passive investor who doesn't have time to to develop the network to go find these assets they're just not going to have success um you know they might here and there but it takes time it's a it's a word of mouth industry just like real estate itself is and um so we've built out a network of of Sellers and you know that could   be quite honestly I I've never had luck buying directly from Banks it's really either a larger uh mortgage note fund that's closing so it might be a three-year fund and then they've got to they've got to liquidate they've got to figure out how to sell off what to do with these assets um and so that's a great opportunity to buy is just a fund that's closing or somebody a note investor who's getting out of note investing or they've had a life change or something um you know where they just uh there's an opportunity to buy from   them as well um and so there there are other you know I guess we buy from hedge funds note investors other note funds um those are there are also note Brokers as well out there um there are also some online exchanges like paper stack and a couple of others that you can go and I've bought and sold on on paper stack and other exchanges as well um and you know you can you can find assets there um but at the end of the day we have our list that we list of people that we work with regularly and I would say one thing   is that doing due diligence on a note seller is just as important as uh due diligence on the assets that they're selling and so it's it's taken some work and it's it's a work in progress always um but it is the million-dollar question is where do you where do you find these assets yeah so that's that's the hard part right that finding these assets is the hard part um have you ever had to foreclose on on any of these notes and actually acquire the property and I guess a followup question is do you ever   look at a non-performing note like hey I actually want to own that property great questions yeah great questions um to be clear we're not trying to kick people you know Grandma out on onto the street or anything like that um you know that's not our our goal typically well that's never our goal but we're never trying to kick someone out of their home um but the reality is some people honestly need a little bit of a kick in the pants and often times that's not really the best them staying in the house is not often   The best scenario for them I know that might sound sound harsh but at the end of the day if someone can't afford to live somewhere sometimes these people are living in squal and they really need a change of of environment um to answer your question about do we target the property yes sometimes we do in fact we just closed on two they're called uh heckum loans or reverse mortgages where the borrowers are deceased the property is underwater meaning you know the the loan amount is high greater than the   property value and it should be a quick exit through the property so HUD will sell off these uh big pool of of reverse mortgages and we were able to purchase two of them very recently it's a vacant property you're not doing an eviction borrower is deceased you've got to work through the airs or or foreclosure um and get and exit the property that way um if your listener wants to go to my website I've got a really good um it's a Jacksonville blog post I've got a couple of blog posts about this deal I still hold this rental   today and it was a non-performing note that we purchased a few years ago and um I had no intention of exiting through the property or holding holding the the property as a rental property but uh running the numbers it just was too good to to let go and so long story but we we uh you know ended up doing a deed in Lee of foreclosure actually in this case and got the property back and now it's a long-term Buy and Hold property for my own rental uh portfolio yeah that makes sense that makes sense there's there's always   multiple ways to look at an investment right um but it does sound you know is not something that that I've executed on myself but it sounds like this is an active business right and that's why you've put together an income fund for people that want to get involved passively um because as as everybody knows there's active Investments there's passive Investments if you're going to do something active maybe your returns are going to be a little bit better but you're going to give up a lot of time and effort to to get those returns   um so if you want to go to the passive side if you if you're still full-time in your career you're you're a full-time doctor or lawyer or or whatever you are you know these passive Investments are the way to go without having to know every single detail about a new business yeah and I don't know if you can see this but I I wore this specifically for your for this show there it is there it is passive income um you're absolutely right you know these gurus some of the some of the node investing gurus out   there will try to sell you know notes as passive um we have another blog post that talks about uh just the it's a spectrum there's active and passive on either end but at the end of the day if you're gonna node investing in my world is very very active and we have a non-performing note fund that's considerably more active than the Performing note fund so um you're dealing with foreclosures bankruptcies deed and L tracking delinquent property taxes do I have to physically go anywhere no but it is not passive um but   that's why we offer the passive investment to for you know people who like you said have maybe more Capital than time or energy and they want to put that Capital to work that's right there there are certain gurus out there that you know whatever it is that they are pitching it's they they tend to always pitch it as as passive even though it is an active business whether that's ma money yeah whether that's a mortgage note or I mean people pitch Airbnb short-term rentals as passive they're like well you can delegate this and you   can you know you can automate that and there's software for all these things but you still got to put all that stuff together you've still got to monitor all those things you you've still got to you still got to oversee all these different aspects of a business and that's what it is it's a business that you're running and it's not passive like it's not it's not and and it is on a spectrum some things are more passive than others but when you're inves in you know as a passive investor into some sort of a   fund or a syndication that's really leaning really far into the the passive side absolutely 100% and I and I'm as you are Seth I'm I'm I'm I I assume you are I know you're an active investor but I I do have passive Investments myself in other other funds other note funds and and my own my own note funds as well and so nothing wrong with doing both but I would say you need to be careful about you know you got to make a decision at some point do you want to scale this thing and and make this really a   business or do you do you are you satisfied with potentially a little bit lower return and you are giving up some control but much you know much fewer headaches and just a lot less work right right yeah and a lot of you know a lot of the listeners are high income earning professionals so they've already dedic put a lot of time and effort into being able ble to earn this much money from their W2 and absolutely that's probably your best bet to be honest with you I've been there I was in those shoes you're   probably better off putting your head down like let's grind for a few years let's let's not spend every single dollar that we make on all the new stuff on a on a new car every two years or every year in a bigger house that you don't need like let's set aside some of that and invest it passively and then maybe one of those will stick maybe one of those passive investments will be a mortgage note fund where you're like man I kind like this business like I like the sound of it I've learned about it   and then you start maybe progressing on the active side and maybe that takes over and and you want to get into that as a as a business as an entrepreneur but um a great way to kind of dip your toe in the water is to become a passive investor um that's the way that I did it into you know multif family syndications I invested passively in a number of deals first and kind of learned about it learned the ropes and I'm like I can do this and then that's when I made the transition yeah definitely it's it   really comes down to what you what your goals are and what your situation is for sure I I'll say I was too passive initially when I went into notes um because personally I just don't you're you're you were probably a little better student Seth not that I was a bad student but you know I I invest unless I'm actively in investing you know I'm just not going to learn a lot so the reality is yeah it's fine to learn about the asset class you definitely should learn about the operator for sure if you're putting Capital with them but   you're not going to once you're getting your checks and your dispersements you're not going to probably learn a whole lot about how to do that on the active side and so that's what we're here for yeah yeah it's more of like a spark of an interest right like may you already have that spark and then you invest passively then you're like okay well now I'm invested like let me learn about this you have to you have to actively go out there and educate yourself and network and talk to people that are in the business definitely 100   per. all right man before we jump into the Freedom Four you have one last gold nugget for our listeners oh man um I would say within when it comes to investing um you know take the long-term view um don't chase immediate returns um you know I do think just yeah it's certainly we all want to make a million dollars tomorrow but I think it's it's play the long game when it comes to investing I think that's critical love that man all right let's jump into the Freedom Four what's the best thing you do to keep your mind body   healthy yeah I mean one thing that I instituted this year actually um is breath work and it's um you know it's so it takes 10 minutes um and per day for me at least and it's been phenomenal and it's something that quite honestly as a as a you know athlete back in the day or even in the military I would have scoffed at something like this to be honest with you because it's just you know it's not manly or whatever it's like it is phenomenal so uh breath work I mean I do other things for sure but that's certainly this year it's been a   game Cher for me I just feel like it resets my central nervous system and it just gets me focused and uh I know there are other physiological benefits that you can ask uh Dr Andrew huberman or somebody else about cool I have to look into that actually have I mean obviously everybody talks about it's a Hot Topic I haven't gotten into it I haven't gotten into that plus like the cold plunges and that sort of thing um but I really want to explore that a little bit I don't know how much you can cut this out if we   don't have time but I had a I'm just going to be be open about this I just had a you know in late December I got a viral infection like a neuro virus and then I had I had a what I think was a pretty severe panic attack and it was super scary and so that's why I started uh doing this and somebody on my team actually sent me a a I guess we'll call it an implement or a tool that uh I use for the breath work it's BL there's a Bluetooth connection to your phone and it's pretty cool so it's structured and   back to that discipline right but um yeah so it's there was a reason I started doing it and um it's it's so accessible five to 10 minutes a day you can start doing it so yeah very cool highly recommend cool thanks for sharing that man um with all your success what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it um I think just uh you know being afraid to you know that you have to be perfect right so um I used to be an editor back in the day and so many things would just not get done   or not get completed within our team our organization um because it had to be perfect and and it's like I think as I've progressed into more of the entrepreneurial lifestyle and and uh it's just it's not a it's not an option anymore um so um yeah I think just taking action has kind of overcome that limiting belief of of of chasing Perfection yeah yeah I can I can I can agree with you there done not perfect um as you know my background as an attorney I mean we're we're paid to be perfect like we can't make mistakes especially   in contracts and the way that we write things but when you kind of make that transition over to being an entrepreneur there's too much there's too much to to be to be perfect you got you just got to get it done good enough absolutely good enough has to you have to be open um willing to accept that for sure y what's one actionable step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom so I'll use the military here you can um which is where I learned U kind of reverse backwards planning reverse   planning so literally just and I'm not going to tell you I'm perfect at this um but you know think about what create a vivid vision for your life in in the next three to five years pick a pick three years out from today and what do you want your life to look like and then backwards plan and now I'm not saying you need to plan every minute of every day but you can be that will that will increase the urgency uh sense of urgency in your life and the intentionality of every every hour and every day because you realize this is   doable but I got to take ownership of of my current situation if I want this to be the reality in three years so I would say create a vivid vision and and kind of reverse or backwards plan to get there perfect perfect last but not least how has passive income made your life better yeah I mean I think in multiple ways but a big one that stands out is is giving me I guess we'll call it margin um to take some more risks on the entrepreneurial side and because I do have alternative sources of income   passive income um it's allowed me that kind of mental and financial bandwidth or margin to maybe invest in a company that even if it doesn't per go perfectly it doesn't go well it's not profitable that's okay I still have that cushion um for for me and my family so that's yeah it's a huge it's been a huge factor in that regard yeah absolutely Game Changer man it just changes your mindset changes your life in so many ways uh Jamie this has been incredible dude you've got so much great content to to share in your   brain man you got to get it out there um I know you've got an awesome podcast that I was on adversity to abundance everybody should check that out um other than that Jamie where else can people find out more about you yeah just two things I'll mention very quickly uh literally got my book delivered today like an hour before I hopped on here it's uh from adversity to abundance it is based on the podcast so I encourage your listener to check that out from adversity to abundance is the book that's out and then Labrador   lending.com l b r a d o r.com is where you can check us out all right man awesome I'll drop all that in the show notes thanks again for coming on brother thanks for having me Seth this has been great Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nU0TtMAFc https://www.instagram.com/p/C2sKtrAPX50/ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid029mGsZgw2DFvrvFV6QPkwf2U2ewUxCGoRmnjGvuBicaWmM9oHWbemP7NCVFFXz8jxl&id=100089126144055   Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en   Jamie Bateman's Links: https://x.com/batemanjames https://www.facebook.com/batemanjames https://www.threads.com/@batemanjames11? https://www.instagram.com/batemanjames11/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-bateman-5359a811/ https://labradorlending.com/about/

This week we had the glorious GNA return and we got LIT. We got insanely off-topic and Devin got destroyed as usual and we give some programming updates. As always be sure to drink and riff responsibly!

In this episode of the Energy News Beat Daily Standup, the hosts, Stuart Turley and Michael Tanner break down key global energy developments, including risks to UK North Sea oil jobs from anti-fossil policies, Brazil's expanding LNG power and clean energy mix, and Russia's shifting LNG trade outside the U.S. dollar via the dark fleet. They warn that the growing move away from dollar-based oil trading could threaten the USD's reserve status. The episode also highlights Texas' $5B energy fund expansion and pro-natural gas legislation, plus oil market reactions to geopolitical tensions and Canadian wildfire disruptions.Highlights of the Podcast 00:00 - Intro01:10 - UK North Sea Oil and Gas: Jobs at Risk, Costs Skyrocketing, and the Anti-Fossil Fuel Push03:50 - Brazil's GNA launches second LNG power plant06:27 - Russian LNG Exports Dip Amid Sanctions and EU Clampdown: The Dark Fleet's Role in Russia's Energy Trade09:16 - The 2025 Regular Texas Legislative Session Concludes: Key Energy, Oil, and Natural Gas Bills Analyzed15:10 - Markets Update16:57 - OutroPlease see the links below or articles that we discuss in the podcast.UK North Sea Oil and Gas: Jobs at Risk, Costs Skyrocketing, and the Anti-Fossil Fuel PushBrazil's GNA launches second LNG power plantRussian LNG Exports Dip Amid Sanctions and EU Clampdown: The Dark Fleet's Role in Russia's Energy TradeThe 2025 Regular Texas Legislative Session Concludes: Key Energy, Oil, and Natural Gas Bills AnalyzedFollow Stuart On LinkedIn and TwitterFollow Michael On LinkedIn and TwitterENB Top NewsEnergy DashboardENB PodcastENB SubstackENB Trading DeskOil & Gas Investing– Get in Contact With The Show –

Dr. John Smirniotopoulos, an interventional radiologist at Georgetown/MedStar Washington Hospital Center, discusses the intricacies of genicular nerve ablation (GNA) for pain management in patients with osteoarthritis and post-surgical knee pain. He delves into the history and evolution of GNA, outlines the neurovascular anatomy, and explains his specific rationale for targeting various nerves for ablation. --- SYNPOSIS Dr. Smirniotopoulos also compares GNA with other procedures such as corticosteroid injections, hyaluronic acid injections, and genicular artery embolization (GAE). He emphasizes the importance of managing patient expectations, the role of physical therapy, and explores different modalities of GNA, including the use of cryoablation versus radiofrequency technology. The episode offers a comprehensive overview of expert insights for evaluating knee pain and performing effective GNA. --- TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introduction 03:13 - Understanding Genicular Nerve Anatomy 12:06 - Tailoring GNA Treatment to Each Patient 22:39 - Comparing Ablation Devices and Methods 28:06 - GNA in Surgical and Post-Traumatic Patients 33:19 - Patient-Centered Decision Making 38:50 - Evaluating Functional Outcomes 43:39 - Comparing Treatment Modalities 49:34 - Post-Procedure Counseling and Expectations 58:40 - Future Directions in GNA Research --- RESOURCES Safety and efficacy comparison of three- vs four-needle technique in the management of moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee using cooled radiofrequency ablation (Wong, et al 2021): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32968824/

On the latest episode of Beyond the Numbers by Weaver, host Vince Houk, Partner-in-Charge, International Tax Services at Weaver, delves deep into the world of strategic transfer pricing and how businesses can use it to their advantage. Joining him is Josh Finfrock, Director, Transfer Pricing Services at Weaver, an expert with a wealth of knowledge in the field. Key Points: One overlooked opportunity in utilizing FDII is to analyze the expense allocation with GNA expenses and allocate accordingly based on genuine benefit, which can help derive a better benefit. Other opportunities include looking at services provided by the U.S. company that may qualify for the FDII benefit and reviewing the IP structure to potentially move IP into the U.S. The U.S. provides a jurisdiction with substance, a good treaty network, and potentially lower tax rates compared to other countries, making it an attractive option for IP ownership and maintaining key operations. How can firms shift their perception and utilize transfer pricing as an asset rather than a burden? And what lies beyond the surface of transfer pricing, and how can businesses harness its potential to enhance their global operations? Clients often overlook how strategic transfer pricing can be and how it can be a tax saver and assist in cash management efficiency. For example, there is cash repatriation leakage that can be planned around with transfer pricing. Rate differentials between countries can be another challenge that transfer pricing adjustments can help save. Finfrock stated, “If we can do a strategic transfer pricing review with the company, we're going to come in and be able to look at, get a holistic view of the company, the global structure, understand where all the moving pieces are. That way, then we really know where those levers are, what our range of outcomes can be in different places, and then we can find those opportunities for savings.” Subscribe and listen to future episodes of Beyond the Numbers on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. ©2023

What's up Bros? Its Potomac time and we are thoroughly enjoying this season. It feels like we can comfortably say that Potomac is back. In this episode, Mia gets ready for her 40th birthday party. Ashley talks with Uncle Lump about her divorce and her journey over the past few years. Gizelle and Ashley host a GnA event as they continue their rebrand into... we're not entirely sure what the rebrand is yet but we will keep you updated. Mia brings up Gordon and Inc. and lets the ladies know some very personal info regarding the love triangle. The group is taken aback but overly supportive to Mia. That is until they get to the party later and bring up the family photoshoot at the pool not 24 hours after the fact, in which Gordon and Inc can be seen having a drink together for some family time. The whole situation is messy to say the least but it is impossible to look away from. Karen has her court date but it gets postponed until September. While she says in a confessional she just wishes it was over... in real time her attorney says that the postponement was their goal. So conflicting information there... At Wendy's party (and Ashley's actual birthday) we get to see a whole different side to TJ and it is a horrible look. The way he talks to Stacey is all of the red flags on the planet. Wendy and Eddie are making up with Eddie's siblings which is nice to see. But the party takes a left turn when the group addresses Mia and the photoshoot after Mia lets slip (intentionally) that she needs the FATHERS of her children to get along... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join me as I get into the latest episode of RHOP! Check out the visual on YouTube! I discuss Karen's court date (she is waiting to tell her truth), GNA fusion (I guess and Ashley...the vocals my dear...they're trash...next question)/Wendy's party (how did she get off the boat) and Mia...GIRLUHHH! Please support the podcast HERE.Support the show

Wendy preps for her 40th birthday bash and tries to bring her extended family together; Karen's big day in court arrives. Ashley performs her new single at a GnA event; Gizelle and Mia's confrontation causes issues within the group. #RHOP #GizelleBryant #KarenHuger If You'd Like To Support This Channel: Cashapp: $bwashley5 Connect With Me: Blog: thebrookeashley.com Bluesky: thebrookeashley.bsky.social IG: thebrookeashley_ Tik Tok: thebrookeashley1 For Business/Promo Inquiries: Email: thebrookeashley5@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whats up Bros? The ladies of Potomac head to Lake Norman. This season has been a breath of fresh air and the newbies are performing very well. In this episode, Mia is upset with Karen for not taking accountability in her DUI. Gizelle also has to have a convo with Karen in regards to the award show/ GnA event debacle. Jaqueline claims to want to get out from under Mia's shadow, but in the same breath takes offense when Jassi claims she is Mia's NEW sidekick... Stacey is still upset with Ashley for outing her new man to the group. Karen takes out her frustrations on Jaqueline for telling everyone that she called her drunk during the birthday party. The group addresses Stacey being "boring". Things get interesting at dinner when Mia lets Karen know that she was privy to a butt-dial conversation... "The ladies think I'm with Ray"... Is Karen up to no good? Perhaps the return of blue eyes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RHONJ may be off the air but many of our favs, who may or may not be returning, have been making quite the headlines this past week. Teresa is urging, or begging based on how you read it, everyone to sign up for some website where we can all make free money to the tune of 50K a year. We break down this very strange biz venture, share updates on Louie's other biz ventures and answer just what is going on across the river in the Giudice / Ruelas household. Jennifer Aydin cannot seem to accept her fate that she is probably not returning to RHONJ, claims she has spoken to Andy Cohen, slams Tamra as thirsty and backtracks on many of her current statements regarding her cast mates and future of the show. Finally, Melissa Gorga shades Teresa and explains why she follows all the rules unlike her beloved sister in law. In other news, RHOP Season 9, Episode 3. The Grand Dame is in the hot seat as everyone has questions about her DUI, Gizelle remains mad over the GNA event and public headlines arise that her attorney's motion to dismiss the case against her due to a lack of Miranda Rights has been denied. In other words, the Grand Dame in headed to face a jury for her fateful actions the night she got behind the wheel of the car, allegedly, intoxicated.  Mia is messy AF, Stacey becomes enraged with Ashley, Gizelle and Wendy are actually getting along and, even though we are only in episode three, the ladies prepare to head on a cast trip to the far away and exotic state of North Carolina. How exciting.  @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef Listen Now: https://www.patreon.com/c/behindthevelvetrope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 COLD OPEN - 00:00-14:08 (Pop Culture Round-Up: VPR's return?? And Lala on Jeff Lewis)RHOP RECAP - 14:08We're picking up where we left off in Potomac, with Gizelle giving Mia, Jassi, and Stacey the boot from her GnA event and the aftermath. But let's be real, this episode is building towards the ultimate Karen vs Gizelle showdown, and what better place for the prize fight than on the trip Mia's hosting for the ladies in North Carolina! We're breaking down it all, hope you enjoy!Support the showSUBSCRIBE TO PREMIUM ON PATREON HERE OR APPLE PODCASTS HERE - FOR EXCLUSIVE RHONY RECAPS, SELLING THE OC SEASON 3 RECAPS, SOUTHERN CHARM REWATCHES AND MORE! BUY US A COCKTAIL OR HERBAL REFRESHMENT! IG @reality.bites.podcast ‘Like, Comment, Rate and Review' on all platforms!DISCLAIMER: The opinions, views and conjectures expressed by anyone on the podcast "Reality Bites" are their own and do not reflect the views or opinions of any networks, streaming platforms or digital platforms mentioned or related to the reality television shows discussed. These opinions and views are solely based on their personal experiences and perspectives as a viewer and reality TV producers. Any statements made on the podcast, social media or any other mediums are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered as facts or representative of any network or platform. The opinions and conjectures presented are subjective and should be taken as such. Reality Bites bears no responsibility for any action or decision based on the information provided during the podcast or any other platform.

What's up Bros? It's Potomac time and we are so happy that this season is off to such a good start. Gizelle kicks the ladies out of her GnA event despite only being 4 minutes late. However, she recognizes later that they were just collateral damage and to EVERYONES surprise... SHE APOLOGIZES! It seems like her and Karen are geared up to face off all season. Wendy and Gizelle continue to further their friendship and we are liking that duo. Ashley calls out Karen for the shady behavior regarding the awards show. We get to meet Inc and hear more about Mia's coparenting situation/ living situation with G. Gizelle fears that the newbies are falling under Karen's spell already so she makes an effort to get to know them. Stacey introduces us to TJ in a very strange scene, and then finds out that Ashley Darby may not be who she says she is... The crew heads to Lake Norman (great spot) for Mia's cast trip. En route Mia points out to Karen that this is a criminal charge against her, and despite her not discussing it, it is out there on the internet and eventually Karen will hit a breaking point. The biggest bummer for us is watching Karen take zero accountability on the issue. The victim mentality when you get your second DUI is a bold strategy and we don't see it panning out for her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shocked by the dramatic GnA ousting, the group seeks answers and apologies; Keiarna settles in at her boyfriend's house; Mia and Inc have a staycation to get some space of their own; Stacey's close friend TJ comes to town. #RHOP #GizelleBryant #KarenHuger If You'd Like To Support This Channel: Cashapp: $bwashley5 Connect With Me: Blog: thebrookeashley.com IG: thebrookeashley_ Twitter: thebrookeash Tik Tok: thebrookeashley1 For Business/Promo Inquiries: Email: thebrookeashley5@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RHOP Season 9, Episode 2. The P is back in our lives and there is no shortage of drama baybee as Karen and Gizelle's minute long frenemyship has gone completely south with competing events - Karen's out of no where Femme Powered salute and Gizelle and Ashley's rebranded GNA launch.  In other news, Mia sobs, Stacey lets us know she is celibate, Keiarna Stewart - aka K - makes her debut, Wendy teaches Gizelle how to eat oysters as we, the audience, are left asking, Robyn and Candiace who? Heading west, Alexis Bellino demands sympathy the same as Shannon, lets us know all the reasons how and why this season has been hard for her and talks upcoming nuptials to the one and only Johnny J.  Speaking of John Janssen, he makes it clear why Shannon has no case of blackmail or extortion against him for any rumored videos of Shannon the night of her DUI.  Rumors of a Tamra / Shannon reconciliation a la the RHOC reunion arise, rumors of a Shannon / Vicki breakup get started and Tamra announces who she will never, ever speak to again. Finally, RHONY chugs along with Episode 3, Season 15 as this fragmented cast head to The Hamptons where, based on history, things never seem to end well. Thanks for hosting Erin.  All this and more as we break down all of this week's hottest Bravo goss, shows and more. @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef Listen Now: https://www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been too long! We catch up with each other and all of the happenings as well as recap RHOP and RHONY. Over in Potomac, it's the battle of events with GNA vs Femme Powered. Was Karen getting honored for running into a tree? In New York, the women head to the Hamptons where Erin has a full spread for the ladies and we are trying to figure out who is the pigeon. Come judge with us!You can find us:Instagram & Threads: @twojudgeygirlsFacebook: www.facebook.com/twojudgeygirlsPodcast: ACast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you listen!Merch: www.etsy.com/shop/twojudgeygirls Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's up Bros? Potomac is off to a great start this season and we couldn't be happier. It seems as though this cast has found its way to making entertaining TV again. Whether that's the absence of Robyn or the shady yet lovely friendship between Karen and Gizelle, we're only 2 episodes in but we are optimistic. In this episode. Gizelle and Wendy sit down in an attempt to reignite some sort of friendship. They are able to hear one another out, and while Gizelle sees a path to be besties... Wendy sees it as a step in the right direction. Gizelle is throwing an event for GNA in honor of her late father and partnering with the Brain Tumor Society. Karen informs Gizelle she's being presented with an award during her and Ashley's GNA event, so she will be attending later. The next morning however, Karen extends an invite to the whole group even though they are all planning on (and have been for awhile) going to Gizelle's event. Double events and shady invites are what we love to see and it forces the group to choose. Although some of the ladies plan on attending both, the timing of the bus back to Gizelle's event makes that next to impossible. We learn more about Stacey and her home life, and while she still lives with her husband despite separation, we definitely don't need Ashley of all people commenting on it. Things escalate when the majority of the group is not present at Gizelle's event. Some of the housewives decide to stay at Karen's event to see her receive her award (namely Wendy which should cause some strain in her newfound friendship with Gizelle) and a few decide to show up late to Gizelle's and are promptly met by security. RHOP seems to have found its way back, and it is just fun to watch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a text Clashing Events & Confessions RHOP Season 9, Episode 2 - "Double Trouble" This episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac centers around tensions brewing between the ladies during a birthday lunch, two simultaneous events, and ongoing relationship drama.The episode opens at the end of the birthday lunch where Mia is emotional in the bathroom, comforted by Jassi, Stacey, and Jacqueline, while Wendy discusses Mia's role as a mother with Karen and Giselle. Giselle then gifts hats to the ladies, symbolizing their place in the group, with Giselle taking the "Queen" hat.Afterward, Mia and Jacqueline rejoin the table where apologies are exchanged.Personal storylines emerge: Stacey's complex family dynamics are highlighted as she manages co-living with her separated husband while dating and raising her daughter Arabella. Ashley also visits Stacey to discuss relationships, race, and parenting.Later, tensions rise during a lunch between Wendy and Giselle. They address unresolved issues, with Wendy voicing her frustration about feeling alienated, while Giselle offers to communicate more directly in the future.Karen's award event and Giselle's GNA event overlap, causing friction. Giselle suggests everyone attend Karen's event to avoid chaos, but some of the ladies try to juggle both events, leading to an awkward split and Giselle's frustration with the divided loyalties.The episode wraps with tensions unresolved as Giselle sees Mia, Jassi, and Stacey arrive late to her GNA event and confronts them.TakeawaysMia was upset about her parenting being questioned.Giselle's behavior is often hypocritical.Wendy's fashion choices were deemed inappropriate for lunch.Giselle and Wendy agree to communicate better.Stacey's daughter is trilingual, showcasing her family's diversity.Ashley identifies as a black woman despite her biracial background.Kiarna is building a house with her partner, indicating a serious relationship.Karen's advice to Kiarna about relationships may be overstepping.The dynamics of friendship in Potomac are complex and often contentious.Giselle's invitation choices reflect her alliances within the group. The GNA event sparked significant drama among the cast.Friendship dynamics are complex, especially between Giselle and Karen.Giselle's new venture is influenced by her father's passing.Karen's actions during the event were seen as opportunistic.The fallout from the events could lead to lasting consequences.Production insights reveal the behind-the-scenes workings of Potomac.Personal reflections on health and drinking habits were shared.The hosts feel the episodes of Potomac fly by quickly.The rivalry between Karen and Giselle is a central theme this season.The importance of supporting friends during difficult times was emphasized.Emotional Support Water Bottlehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emotional-support-water-bottle/id1672867717Emotional Support Water BottleSupport the show

The fallout from Karen's `hattitude' birthday continues as a few of the ladies try to reel in the drama; Gizelle and Wendy meet to hash out their issues; Gizelle and Ashley's GnA event is challenged by the Grande Dame. #RHOP #GizelleBryant #KarenHuger If You'd Like To Support This Channel: Cashapp: $bwashley5 Connect With Me: Blog: thebrookeashley.com IG: thebrookeashley_ Twitter: thebrookeash Tik Tok: thebrookeashley1 For Business/Promo Inquiries: Email: thebrookeashley5@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ladies must choose between Karen's award ceremony and Gizelle's GNA event on The Real Housewives of Potomac. Someone's bound to be upset, but it's great for the audience! To watch this recap on video, listen to all of our bonus episodes, and join in our new community chat, go to Patreon.com/watchwhatcrappensSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dorit continues to wear her wedding ring, has started filming the new season of RHOBH with and without PK, has sat down with Kyle to work out the issues that remain from last season and trudges along amidst her separation from PK. Real or Fake seems to be the question most of you are asking and we take a little deep dive down that path.  In other news, Kathy Hilton returns, Bozoma Saint John, Eva LaRue and Jennifer Tilly are all set to join Season 14 in some capacity, Annemarie cannot stop slamming Crystal despite Season 13 being long gone and Lisa Rinna proves, once again, she is the Princess of Re-invention with “Mommy Meanest”.  RHOC picks cameras back up thanks to Ryan Boyajian's Gambling MLB drama, Tamra shades Jennifer Pedranti, Jennifer slams back and we cannot help ourselves but to get involved. Long live The TamRat.  Finally, we spill the tea on the new season of RHOP - newbies, a united GnA, a vocal Grand Dame and much, much more. @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS & AD FREE EPISODES Available at - www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope  BROUGHT TO YOU BY: QUINCE - quince.com/velvetrope (Get Free Shipping and 365 Day Returns on Elevated Luxury Without Paying Luxury Prices)  ASTEPRO - asteproallergy.com (Get Fast Acting Nasal Allergy Symptom Relief with Astepro. Discount Available on Website) THE KARDASHIANS (New Season Starts May 23rd Only On Hulu) BUBLY - bubly.com (Introducing Bubly Burst - Sparkling Water with an Extra Burst of Fruit Flavor, an Extra Burst of Fun. Purchase At a Store Near You)  INDEED - indeed.com/velvet (Seventy Five Dollar $75 Sponsored Job Credit To Get Your Jobs More Visibility)  INDACLOUD - indacloud.co/spring24  (30% Off Discreet Delivery Off Top Shelf THC Products)   ADVERTISING INQUIRIES - Please contact David@advertising-execs.com MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 51 | Strategic IT BudgetingThe Big Themes:Integrated investment approach: Wayne advocates for aligning IT investments with broader company goals, urging against treating IT as a separate entity. This approach ensures that IT projects are evaluated alongside other investments, prioritizing those with the highest strategic value.Time allocation for CIOs: Wayne recommends that CIOs dedicate around 20-25% of their time to budget-related activities, including engaging with business stakeholders, discussing investment priorities, and strategic planning. This time investment is critical for ensuring that IT initiatives are aligned with broader business objectives.Comprehensive project costing: A transparent and comprehensive approach to project costing, where expenses are aggregated to provide a holistic view of total project costs can be beneficial. This strategy prevents budget overruns and facilitates better decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.The Big Quote: “Don't budget only for implementation. I see this all the time. If the project is going to be $10 million to put it in, what's your first year, first 18 months of costs? People say my project is to put in Product X. Now when the product is done, there's the ongoing cost — especially in the SaaS [software-as-a-service] world, that's not insignificant."

As The Traitors Season 3 prepares to film, we address the many rumors of who will be joining the cast separating fact from fiction in regards to Paris, Nicole, Teresa, Dorinda, Kenya and Jax as potential cast mates. Next we break down Paris & Nicole's new unscripted show, Jax slams Lala, Scheana and the rest of the VPR cast, Jax and Brittany have more marital troubles, The Valley Season 2 is green lit and we prepare for tonight's Part I of the VPR reunion. Over in the P, Gizelle kicks Mia and the newbies out of her GnA event as Karen befriends them. Finally, Dorit claps back at fans, sits down with Kyle, and reacts as PK storms out of meeting with Mauricio and off the RHOBH set. @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trident Royalties is a royalty company with a large portfolio of royalties in various commodities. They aim to build a diversified portfolio and have exposure to lithium, copper, mineral sands, iron ore, gold, and silver. Their Thacker Pass lithium royalty is a significant asset that is expected to generate substantial cash flow. Trident Royalties trades on the AIM in the UK and the OTC in the US. They have a revolving credit facility with BMO and CIBC to finance their acquisitions. The company is generating free cash flow and has a conservative GNA of $4 million per year.

In this episode, I will deep dive into the final part of The Real Housewives of Potomac Reunion part 3. I talk about the ups and downs of Gordon & Mia's relationship and where I see them heading in the future, Nneka's storyline or lack thereof and her season exhausting fueled with Dr. Wendy, Candice Departure from the show, Robyn's shady departure from the show, whether or not Kierna is a great fit with the group, Dr. Wendy's storyline, the GNA brawl that left Kierna in the hopsital, and where I see this group going from here & SOOOOOO MUCH MORE......

Another wild week in March. How much more can we take? Monday's news about P Diddy's homes being raided by Homeland Security and his sons being cuffed, while he was allegedly flying around the islands on a private jet. Real Housewives of Potomac has us talking - the finale was definitely worth watching. There's a physical fight at the GNA party. And Mia and Gordon are getting divorced: Mia's been having an affair, and she and Gordon aren't sure whether their son is Gordon's or Mia's on-and-off affair partner. So this is going to be *quite* the reunion. We have an interesting theory on what might actually be behind Simon Guobadia's recent call to the police. Miami filming is delayed - we've got some thoughts on why. Why are we finding out so much more about Kyle and Mauricio's separation on Buying Beverly Hills? Last but not least, congrats to Ariana from VPR on the purchase of her new house. A quick update on where things stand with her house battle with Tom.    This week's episode of Cocktails and Gossip is brought to you by our sponsors: - Get 20% off your entire order at Honeylove! Go to honeylove.com/GOSSIP for bras so comfortable you'll forget you're wearing them.  - Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair with Nutrafol - get your first month's subscription for $10 off and free shipping at Nutrafol.com/GOSSIP - Get 15% off your first OneSkin purchase using the code GOSSIP when you checkout at oneskin.co - Head to factormeals.com/gossip50 and use code gossip50 to get 50% off.   

Emma and Isabel begin with (in their opinion) this season's best episode of Vanderpump - the Scheana and Schwartz "kiss", Katie and Max, and the Jo of it all.POTOMAC (~33:00)Then, they get into the RHOP finale, which breaks down the fight at the GnA fashion show, and dives realllyyyyy deep into Mia and G's marriage situation. Plus, news that Candiace will not be returning, and Karen's DWI charges.SUMMER HOUSE (~48:00) Finally, another week of analyzing Lindsay and Carl in the Hamptons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emma and Isabel begin with (in their opinion) this season's best episode of Vanderpump - the Scheana and Schwartz “kiss”, Katie and Max, and the Jo of it all. POTOMAC (~33:00) Then, they get into the RHOP finale, which breaks down the fight at the GnA fashion show, and dives realllyyyyy deep into Mia and G's marriage situation. Plus, news that Candiace will not be returning, and Karen's DWI charges. SUMMER HOUSE (~48:00)  Finally, another week of analyzing Lindsay and Carl in the Hamptons.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode, Eamon & Merlin talk Rupaul's Drag Race where the queens get their HGTV on and Q copes with Sapphira's win, sorta. Then, they talk the Season Finale of Real Housewives of Potomac featuring the aftermath of the GNA brawl and the aftermath of Mia and Gordon's marriage. And finally, the Season Premiere of Summer House: Martha's Vineyard where it's a Silas-less summer that still has tons of great drama. 4:44 - RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 16, Episode 12 49:42 - Real Housewives of Potomac: Season 08, Episode 18 1:50:00 - Summer House: Martha's Vineyard: Season 02, Episode 01 We are Eamon and Merlin, a queer married couple from Texas living in Pittsburgh, PA. We love reality television, wrestling, drag queens, and pretty much anything that can be called even kinda gay. A Gay & His Enby is a podcast where we talk about everything we love in terms of media and pop culture; everything thats gay and gay adjacent; basically all the conversations we have in our living room we are now putting in front of a microphone and on the internet for you. We have launched our MERCH STORE! We are so excited to bring you these designs, all made by Merlin, commemorating some of our favorite iconic moments! Shop now at https://AGayAndHisEnby.Threadless.com Every week, we have the pleasure and privilege of recording from Sorgatron Media Studios in Pittsburgh. Our theme song is Pulsar by Shane Ivers which you can find at https://www.silvermansound.com All of our social media can be found at our linktree: https://linktr.ee/agayandhisenby In recent years, states have pushed forward a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The current obession with Drag Queens is no exception. This is a thinly veiled attempt to outlaw gender expressions that do not fall within the cisheteronormative guidelines. Please consider donating to one of the following charities to help make the US a safer place for Queer folks to live in peace. American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights) Trevor Project (https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout) PFLAG (https://pflag.org/donate/) True Colors United (https://my.truecolorsunited.org/give/107399/#!/donation/checkout) OutRight International (https://outrightinternational.org/take-action/give) Lambda Legal (https://support.lambdalegal.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30130a?df_id=6680&mfc_pref=T&6680.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=D3311163DF16F06EEA5520010BAF90B5) GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (https://donate.glad.org/give/123741/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=webheader) Human Rights Campaign (https://give.hrc.org/page/118560/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=or_gnr_hrc_homepage2022) It Gets Better Project (https://give.itgetsbetter.org/give/250737/#!/donation/checkout)

Purple Pants Podcast | An Iconic Ending It's been a season! @Jtiaphd & @brice return to recap the season finale of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' We're covering the GNA brawl, the photo shoot release party, Gordon and Mia‘s demise, plus discussing which cast members will not be returning and so much more. Tune in for this week's RHOP Recap! You can also watch along on Brice Izyah's YouTube channel to watch us break it all down. https://youtube.com/@BriceIzyah215?si=CvofnwY4WQXA12xE   LISTEN! Subscribe to the Purple Pants podcast feed by visiting https://robhasawebsite.com/feed/purplepants/ WATCH! Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube SUPPORT! Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks! Previously on the Purple Pants Podcast Feed: Purple Pants Podcast Archives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode, Eamon & Merlin talk Part Three of the Real Housewives of Miami reunion that ends a phenomenal season of television with a remix we couldn't believe. Then, they talk the last two episodes of Real Housewives of Potomac where Charrisse's crabs are as under seasoned as GNA fashion. Also, two new episodes of Vanderpump Rules that see Sandoval give us the worst lesson in who Scott Petersen is. And finally, Part Three of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion where Sutton takes a trip to the hospital, leaving Kyle to stall for as long as possible. 4:16 - Real Housewives of Miami: Season 06, Episode 20 47:46 - Real Housewives of Potomac: Season 08, Episode 16 & 17 1:29:25 - Vanderpump Rules: Season 11, Episode 07 & 08 2:33:32 - Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Season 13, Episode 20 We are Eamon and Merlin, a queer married couple from Texas living in Pittsburgh, PA. We love reality television, wrestling, drag queens, and pretty much anything that can be called even kinda gay. A Gay & His Enby is a podcast where we talk about everything we love in terms of media and pop culture; everything thats gay and gay adjacent; basically all the conversations we have in our living room we are now putting in front of a microphone and on the internet for you. We have launched our MERCH STORE! We are so excited to bring you these designs, all made by Merlin, commemorating some of our favorite iconic moments! Shop now at https://AGayAndHisEnby.Threadless.com Every week, we have the pleasure and privilege of recording from Sorgatron Media Studios in Pittsburgh. Our theme song is Pulsar by Shane Ivers which you can find at https://www.silvermansound.com All of our social media can be found at our linktree: https://linktr.ee/agayandhisenby In recent years, states have pushed forward a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The current obession with Drag Queens is no exception. This is a thinly veiled attempt to outlaw gender expressions that do not fall within the cisheteronormative guidelines. Please consider donating to one of the following charities to help make the US a safer place for Queer folks to live in peace. American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights) Trevor Project (https://give.thetrevorproject.org/give/63307/#!/donation/checkout) PFLAG (https://pflag.org/donate/) True Colors United (https://my.truecolorsunited.org/give/107399/#!/donation/checkout) OutRight International (https://outrightinternational.org/take-action/give) Lambda Legal (https://support.lambdalegal.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30130a?df_id=6680&mfc_pref=T&6680.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=D3311163DF16F06EEA5520010BAF90B5) GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (https://donate.glad.org/give/123741/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=webheader) Human Rights Campaign (https://give.hrc.org/page/118560/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=or_gnr_hrc_homepage2022) It Gets Better Project (https://give.itgetsbetter.org/give/250737/#!/donation/checkout)

On the eve of this season's Potomac finale, Mia Thornton stops by the studio to bring us up to speed on all the mess. She gets real about the personal journey she's been on the last few years, and why she hasn't shied away from sharing it all on camera. Later, she and Dylan talk through some of the larger issues the group is facing this year, and whether the reunion might bring much-needed resolution. Also, Mia breaks down the situation with Deborah at the GNA fashion show, and why things go left when people shoot their shot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we break down the GNA fashion show, The Wendy Show, Robyn's Glow 30 Spa and so much more.

Purple Pants Podcast | Fashion Show-Down   @Jtiaphd & @brice return to delve into episode Seventeen of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' Join us as we break down the GNA fashion show, The Wendy Show, Robyn's Glow 30 Spa and so much more. Tune in for this week's RHOP Recap! You can also watch along on Brice Izyah's YouTube channel to watch us break it all down. https://youtube.com/@BriceIzyah215?si=CvofnwY4WQXA12xE   LISTEN! Subscribe to the Purple Pants podcast feed by visiting https://robhasawebsite.com/feed/purplepants/ WATCH! Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube SUPPORT! Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks! Previously on the Purple Pants Podcast Feed: Purple Pants Podcast Archives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we break down the GNA fashion show, The Wendy Show, Robyn's Glow 30 Spa and so much more.

Join us as we break down the GNA fashion show, The Wendy Show, Robyn's Glow 30 Spa and so much more.

Trevor McConchie joins The Stump to talk about the Good Neighbor Authority. What is Good Neighbor Authority, GNA for short? How does it fit into the management of Forest Service lands? How is GNA implemented in Washington State? Trevor leads the Good Neighbor Authority program in Washington State for the Department of Natural Resources. With a relatively small but passionate team of foresters, engineers, and other natural resource professionals, DNR is working with federal land managers on critical work that benefits both the environment and society. The GNA program produces a variety of tangible and intangible benefits, from wood for the marketplace, road maintenance for access, recreation opportunities, water and habitat improvement work, and jobs in rural communities. All are done more efficiently than can often be obtained through Federal Government contracting methods. You can learn more about the Good Neighbor Authority at the links below: U.S. Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/farm-bill/gna National Association of State Foresters: https://www.stateforesters.org/state-defined-solutions/good-neighbor-authority/ Western Forestry Leadership Coalition: https://www.thewflc.org/partnerships/gna-information-and-resources Washington State Department of Natural Resources: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/gna

“Don't Sign the Pope's Document

www.atravelpath.com   00:00 Introduction 05:37 What Did Your Travel and Work Life Look Like? 08:06 How Did Your Plans Change? 09:21 Money Saving Tips 10:26 How Did You Find Campsites? 13:06 Recreation.gov 14:11 How Do You Travel with Children? 17:06 What is the Junior Ranger Program? 20:06 Did Bringing a Child on Your Road Trip Hold You Back from Anything? 21:47 The Impact of Travel at an Early Age 22:06 Get Your Child's Input 22:51 Bringing Your Dog to National Parks 24:19 How Long Did It Take to Plan Your Road Trip? 26:41 Homeschooling Tips 30:36 Travel Frustrations 32:41 What Was Your Coolest Travel Experience? 34:36 What Is One Thing You Can't Live Without While Traveling? 35:06 How Did You Transition Back to “Normal” Life? 36:06 How Did You Take Care of Your House? 37:22 What is One Thing Someone Could do to Get Started with a Road Trip? 39:26 What Are Your Favorite YouTube Travel Channels?   Laura and Jason on Social: YouTube Facebook Instagram Olympic National Park Video 5 Tips for Hiking with Kids 75 Day Road Trip Playlist   We had a great time chatting Laura, Jason, and special guest Alexis during this episode of The Travel Path Podcast! In today's show you will hear all about:

www.atravelpath.com   00:00 Introduction 01:15 How many times have you been to Disney World? 02:13 What is there to do apart from the main attractions? 03:15 How long should someone spend in Disney World? 05:10 When is the best time to go to Disney World? 06:30 Disney Crowd Calendars 07:00 How far ahead should someone plan? 07:52 Disney Park Passes 08:39 Disney Genie+ 11:20 Night life/adult activities in Disney World 12:30 Favorite restaurants 14:00 Alien Encounter ride 15:00 What are three things to do around Disney World? 17:50 Two complaints someone would have at Disney World 20:20 Crowds/weather in Disney 21:40 What is one thing you can't leave Disney without doing? 22:40 Favorite ride?       Ericka on Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/@ErickaAdventures https://www.instagram.com/ericka.adventures/     Links Planning https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ Crowd calendar Annual passes Disney Genie+ Video   Restaurants Homecomin' Kitchen La Cava del Tequila Satu'li Canteen in Animal Kingdom   To Do Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort Magic Kingdom Fireworks Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind   Outside of Disney Universal Orlando   #travelpodcast #disney #disneyguide #disneyworld #erickaadventures   *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   Transcript from YouTube: Erica thank you for joining hope and I on this episode of the travel path podcast thanks for having me yes we know you on YouTube and Instagram as Erica Adventures that's Erica e r i c Ka a um you've got content and videos featuring everything from your travel Vlogs all over the country you've got some backpack Packing Tips you have some book recommendations so a lot of variety there and then you also have a ton of Disney so we're excited to jump in here um why don't you start by sharing a little about yourself and then letting our audience know your current lifestyle looks like yeah so um I am a travel content creator on the side I do have a full-time 9-to-5 job but um on Eric Adventures I just love sharing tips and tricks on all of my Adventures whether that's theme parks or Beyond so that's kind of what my lifestyle looks like right now no that's awesome you definitely have some awesome content I've enjoyed watching it I've learned a lot from you about places that you've gone so I'm excited to jump in here um before we dive too deep into your actual current travel lifestyle we want to take a step back and talk about um when you studied abroad in Rome yeah so that was a very very special time in my life yeah that was my junior going into senior year of college I did six weeks there I think I don't know the time time's crazy there but um yeah that was an incredible opportunity I really got to live in Rome I lived in an apartment um really got to like live in the culture there and explore all of Rome the Coliseum um everything and it was a truly life-changing experience and I cannot recommend doing a study AB broad if it's an opportunity for you like I think everyone should do that um if they can in college it just take you don't have to take the whole like semester off like I just went in the summer and just go for go for a couple weeks and it's going to change your life and give you a whole new perspective oh yeah that's awesome now did you have any initial fears or concerns doing that and if someone you know was thinking about going abroad what would your advice for them be yeah I mean I was excited and nervous I think that's everyone's feeling towards that especially that was my first time really going like out of the country um so you know I had to get my passport and like make sure all my travel documents were in order but I was really lucky to go with some solid friends so I knew I had people um that I knew very well going but I definitely met amazing people along the way so I just feel like it's that you just kind of have to take the jump and do it because it's only like a once in a-lifetime Opportunity you can't you know go back later and do it like study abroad you can go back and travel to Europe but you know actually being in the city for that long and and experiencing the lifestyle that's that's like a once in a-lifetime chance yeah absolutely definitely too with you know your group of friends and at that age you just experience things so much different than you know you do when you travel and you get a little bit older yeah absolutely and you mentioned six to eight weeks and that's news to me might not be news to our audience but I always thought like studying abroad you were there for like a year or a semester so I think that almost answers that question hope had originally where like if you have a concern or you're a little bit afraid to do that well you can actually do it for just 6 to8 weeks can you go for shorter or is that like the quickest time frame you can do in a broad study well for me so I went to Michigan State which has a huge study abroad program and a lot of the study AB Brads were semester and I had you know I didn't really want to take a semester off college cuz that's an experience in itself I really want to have the college experience um so I feel like 6 weeks was the shortest one at my school at the time uh there still might be other opportunities it's maybe four weeks but yeah it wasn't too long um it was I feel like it was the perfect amount of time to get that experience but also like come back home too what was the dayto day in like week to week like in Rome when you were there I pretty much had classes every day during the week so that was basically my morning to my afternoon some of those classes did involve like field trips going to like an historic site or something like that um but basically I I had a pretty similar schedule to what I'd have at home like I went to class and then i' come home and I'd either make dinner go out to dinner because I mean I ate pasta every day when I was in Italy that's kind of what like the week schedule looked like and then on the weekends that was free for us to do whatever some people actually would leave the country and go to like Spain or Barcelona for the weekend because you know that was like a short train right away and we did like a mai Coast or went to Florence so we tried to like explore outside of Rome too uh on the weekends awesome yeah it sounds like a really awesome time there yeah well great um I guess we can fast forward a little bit to your current travel lifestyle where you are now so growing up you've been traveling pretty consistently you've been back and forth the Disney World in Florida and you've lived pretty much all over Michigan has that always been a part of you and did that make you want to continue traveling absolutely I feel like I've always like I almost like live to leave I say sometimes like what really gets me excited is having a trip booked or like knowing I'm about to go experience somewhere new like that's always been a part of me I think I get that from my mom like she's always like let's go let's go here let's go there like yeah like let's do it and I've never really had any reservations about that that's just always been who I am and kind of like how I've grown up just I I I I love to go new places experience new things I do love being at home but I can't be at home for tooo long I have to go somewhere at some point so that's kind of always been a part of me so it sounds like the travel came first like when you're looking for your job your full-time job after your graduated college the travel part was a non-negotiable so how are you able to land a job so that you could have that opportunity how it's how it came to be so I've had two jobs since I've graduated college my first job was in retail which gave me five weeks off um a year so I was like perfect like plenty of time to travel um but I soon realized that that career path wasn't for me so I wanted to switch careers which I did and now I'm in marketing at my current job and I was supposed to be not fully remote like I was supposed to be in the office every day but when I got hired it was March 2020 and life happened and I got sent home and everything kind of shifted at this new company I worked for and everyone's like okay well you can work from home now just because that became our Norm so I feel like you know of course 2020 has its highs and lows for sure but I would say maybe like a good thing that came out of it is that there's so many more opportunities to work from home and that really helps like with travel because I can work you know from home and then leave right to the airport after like I I feel like it just gives me way more flexibility so I feel like in today's society we have so many opportunities so many um job opport unities that we can you know work remote or even hybrid my fiance Works hybrid and that still works with our travel schedule when you're working from home it's great you have the opportunity you can travel more you're not making that commute to work but your work and your boss like they kind of always know you're on call if that makes sense does that make your work hours longer than they might typically be or what does that look like yeah so because I do work in marketing so a lot of my job is communicating with our customers and you know if there's anything that they need um whatever time of day it is I'm just always like okay yeah I'll answer them I work a lot in our social media too so if someone messages us at 10 p.m. I'll need to message that customer back and that's just kind of how it goes thankfully I have a really great team where we always like you know pick each other up if I'm on vacation or traveling you know my boss will be like oh don't worry I got this or or whatever but we just really have a great collaborative team and I think that makes it makes such a difference when you have people that understand on your team that like okay this person traveling will help pick up you know anything that's going on at the office sure yeah finding a job in a team where you're like-minded it's group effort and get things done that way yeah what are some of the biggest frustrations you find with this lifestyle I would say that I feel like there's so much to do and so many places to travel to and I only have so much PTO or we have only so much time off and it's hard to like pick everything and then when you go to that destination it's like okay well there's like a hundred things I could do in Rome in Paris at a theme park like how do I you know pick and choose and I feel like that's kind of like the beauty of travel also is like we're never gonna be able to see it all you know so it's Al it's always like I love to do my plan and research ahead of time so that way I know like okay these are my priorities but I always feel like oh I left a place I'm like oh I didn't get to do that or that and it's like I don't know that's like a little struggle I have personally no I definitely feel that like when we're driving through a state it's like which way do we want to go right like there's so much up here on the Northern side and there's so much on the southern side so we definitely struggle with trying to you know feel like what you can get done in that time frame when you actually have off right and then you come back home and people are like so did you do that and you know and you're like no I didn't do that like oh well you missed out and it's like oh but I was doing this really cool thing it's like ah you know you know it's so true we did a cross country Loop we went North out and then back towards the middle of the country and we thought like once we did that we never have to like do that loop again but like what we found was we could drive that same exact Road the whole exact same path out and back and we could have a completely different experience because there's just so many things that we missed right along the way that we didn't get get to do yeah absolutely so it's funny to bring that up because you do go to and I know we're going to touch on this in part two of the Disney World in Orlando studios and all that but so if anyone's looking to plan a trip to Disney definitely tune into part two here but you mentioned there's a ton of places million one things to do and see but you're always going back and forth to Disney and you've been going there since you were a kid I guess we can do like a little bit of a teaser for the next episode is there something that makes that place so special for you yeah I mean well first of all I think the Nostalgia factor for me since I've been going there since I was a kid it's it's always been very nostalgic for me it's always felt like a place I mean kind of like a a second home in a way like I just always feel at peace when I'm there and it's it's just a place I go to when I just want to have fun like I just want to have a good time I want to be entertained and like just have a ball and honestly have permission to be a kid again and just have that Disney escapism um some people call it the Disney bubble like as soon as you enter Disney World all of your problems at home they don't exist anymore you get to kind of be in this like pretend world and just just have fun and just be a kid again so that's something that I do love about theme parks in Disney World like I just love to go and just just be a kid have a good time I love roller coasters and the entertainment so it's just a place I like to visit for sure yeah and they're always making more and more new rides and yeah yeah so everyone tune in to part two we'll be talking about that in the next episode so we'll transition a little bit to some of the budgeting and finance when you're on the road now we typically ask this question what does a monthly budget look like obviously you're not traveling full-time living in a van or an RV so how long are you typically gone for and then what does that budget typically look like yeah so it really depends on the trip um it could be a weekend trip or a week trip but I feel like when it comes to budgeting I really focus a lot of my budgeting when I'm at home like I I budget the most there so that I can save up for those travel experiences so for instance like I rarely really eat at eat out when I'm home like I actually moved to a new city um it's been over a year now and some people ask me like oh like what are your favorite restaurants in the new city you live and I'm kind of like oh I don't really try a ton because I kind of save that money to then eat out when I travel and do other experiences so it really just depends and then when it comes to like a a week or weekend trip if I can drive there that's what I'm going to do just to save some money there so it's all about kind of like saving money leading up to the trip so that way when I'm there I don't have to think so much about you know like oh should I really spend this much it's like well I've been saving for a month now for this trip so I want to spend that money on this experience that I can only get in this city sure yeah saving up when you're back home and yeah splurging when you take that vacation yeah that's kind of how I balance it that's a good point you're bring up and it's it's interesting because we learn that same thing I think the pandemic brought out a lot of people actually going out and exploring their own backyard because for a while like we have like some air Bean bees and people would ask us like oh the best places to eat at and things to do in the area and we'd be like yeah we'd actually never we'd be recommending things but we're like we actually haven't done these things before we spent like one day a couple years ago and just did everything we could in Mystic and it was like like this is such a fun you know such a fun time I remember you worked at a at a shop in one of the in the village and like people were coming in who've lived in this area for like their entire life and they're like I never knew this was here you know once you know there's a shutdown and people are forced to stay home and stay in their hometowns then they get out and explore but yeah it is funny how like little we knew about our hometown until we were like we should probably know more about this yeah no that actually that reminds me of something I saw on Instagram a couple weeks ago and it was this guy I think he was in Switzerland and he was at a bar and the guy next to him was like oh yeah like I'm a local here and he's like oh well tell me all the cool stuff to see and the Local's like no you want to talk to all the tourists at that table because they've done their research they know what to do it's like we're always bad that bad about being tourists in our own town but that's just funny you know that that happens so when you are staying is it air BNB Hotel how does that look mostly hotels um I guess my in September I did stay in Airbnb because we were there for a week and there was six of us we wanted a little bit more space a kitchen and everything but I would say you know if it's like a short trip four days or less I'm I usually do a hotel um but longer I think Airbnb works out best and how many trips a year are you taking I think well I guess I'll think I'll talk about this year because I feel like I got all my trips like in my brain now for this year it's might be like every month to two months which is exciting I'm excited for this year because I'm going to go finally back to Europe because I haven't been since the study abroad that'll be my honeymoon trip so I'm very excited about that so it'll be a big year of travel for me awesome awesome what are some money-saving travel tips you've discovered along the way I love trying to fly during the weekday that really saves a lot I always like looking at Google flights like I love tracking flight prices too to make sure I'm getting the best deal um I also do have a travel card that helps me a lot I earn a lot of miles on that so that helps pay for flights um but yeah I would say just I I really that's probably my number one thing is I really try and save leading up to the trip and that way when I'm there I don't have to worry so much about you know my budget while I'm experiencing what I want to experience yeah so true which travel car do you have I have the Delta AMX card does that get you into the lounges well you know they they changed that rule so I think I was leading up to I think I had to get so many miles and then I could get in but now I don't know they changed the rules and I'm like okay whatever like yeah that's like something we just or I think you had known about it but I just discovered it like you walk in the airports and you see these lounges and I've never thought twice about it but apparently if you have the right card you can just you know get in there and do your work and it seems like the perfect opportunity for someone who is traveling you know fulltime or you know they're away for a while and they just want to get some work done like some of these places have like free food showers it's like you have to be travel obviously but you could get there like half you know half a day early and crank out some work super nice if you have a long layover actually now that we're talking about it I think it might be I have to pay like a certain fee like maybe $50 but I think that includes your food while you're there too so yeah I forget but I know they just changed that rule so it's like people were all upset about that so I was like okay maybe I won't be getting into those lounges but oh well so you don't have kids but you do have two dogs right yep so what would you say to someone who wants to travel but has pets and are worth that's too much of a commitment what would you tell them how do you manage it yeah so I have a couple points on this so first of all yeah I do have two dogs so it can be a little bit bit of a barrier when I'm trying to travel it makes it a little bit harder to do last minute trips because who's going to watch the dogs you know they can't just be home alone um so first of all thankfully we do have family that are so obsessed with our dogs that they'll be like yeah like we'll take them and they get so excited so sometimes they stay with them but also I don't always just want to like dump our dogs on our family you know everyone has busy schedules too so we do board them as well and I feel like just dog boarding has really come a long way in the past couple of years like I remember as a kid when we used to board our dog she didn't really like it because she was just like in a kennel all day but these dog boarding places are like little mini Resorts now they have doggy playtime and like they get like walks and everything so I'm like okay I'm basically taking my dog on vacation while I while I go on vacation so that's really nice too um and then I'll also say like we like to take our dogs when we can um travel especially when we go to Northern Michigan we definitely bring our dogs along and I think they have more fun than us when we go honestly like they love being up there so there's I feel like there's a lot of opportunity nowadays to take your pets with you my my fiance and I just took a trip to Chicago not too long ago and when I was looking up hotels I swear all of them were like dog friendly and I feel like you wouldn't have seen that like five years ago like I don't know I was like wow like all these places are dog friendly not that we were planning on bringing our dogs but it was nice to know that that is an option nowadays so definitely just like do your research there's really cool places you can take your pets with you one word of caution I will just mention because we just took a trip to Florida and we had our dog scheduled to do the daycare we were boarding them and we got a message like I don't know like a week before and they told us that the puppy Co Kettle cough was going around we ended up having someone that just we paid her to stay at her house so there's always fallback plans like Rover um there's different things you can do too so I guess the word of advice would be to just have some sort of fallback plan and they do get pretty pricey right how much typically are you spending to have your dog be boarded we've been because we've moved around a lot in Michigan so we've seen a lot of different um kennels and they can be pricey some of them have been $50 per dog so when you have two dogs that adds up a lot um but sometimes they give a discount on the second dog which is nice but our recent kennel that we just found um really comes out to $30 per day for dog so that's way more reasonable so you just have to kind of do your research I feel like dog doggy daycares and kennels are popping up everywhere so just do your research and you might be able to find one that's not too expensive but again if it is maybe you just take a shorter trip so you can kind of balance out that yeah 30 bucks they must not have the balcony and the hot tub in their sweet for that price right all right awesome we'll transition we'll start wrapping up a little bit here what has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling so that is such a hard question because I feel like oh my gosh there's so many I could choose from but I think the one I want to talk about is a recent one I've had so in September of 2023 I went to bamp National Park which is like in the heart of the Canadian rocky and it was our first day there and we had signed up for horseback riding and we were riding these horses literally through the mountains I mean you couldn't have pictured a more beautiful place and I'm on a horse I feel like I'm living the cowgirl dream and it's like it was like a pinch me moment like this can't be real the beauty and just the experience was just like so awe inspiring and it was like that moment I was like yep I'm in love with this place like this place is so cool and just to like kind of do an Excursion instead of just like hiking the trails being on a horse was like really really really cool so let me ask you this and I think I know what the answer is going to be but would that experience be a contender if there were no horses involved do you think well I think it would still I mean maybe because it was also my first day so I was just still like whoa like with these mountains cuz I I'd never seen mountains like that before and the lakes and we even walk the horse through like a river so I was like oh my gosh like this is so cool I felt and also at the time I was watching Yellowstone which is like a huge like cowboy show so I was like okay like I am totally living living the dream right now but yeah just it was like one of those like Pinch Me moments for sure yeah I guess I asked that because we had a similar experience we did Cody Wyoming we went horseback riding completely different terrain it was red rock and we were in the in the woods but yeah if we had hiked it it wouldn't have been the same as just you know going I me we don't ride horses regularly that was like I don't know your first time right riding a horse and I think like my third time so just doing that just makes it so I guess my advice would be if you're looking to do something like this and there's like a horse back riding option available for the family look into it it's GNA be something your children your guys are going to remember for a long time it's it makes that moment just that much more special yeah I totally agree with that I mean it would have been cool on foot as much but like to be on the horse and I it's just a different experience and just added added a little something extra to it yeah everything you shared from that looked amazing and I think every single person that probably saw your post were like okay that's got to be a a bucket list travel next year so you've been traveling pretty much your entire life what is one thing you've learned that you can't live without while you're traveling and one thing you learned that you don't need okay so things I can't live without I have to mention two things first has to do all with packing because I love packing I love like I feel like that's just as exciting as going on a trip it gets me so excited to go and once I discovered packing cubes I swear it changed the packing game for me I just love it because it organizes your stuff I swear you can pack more stuff with them because it kind of like compresses it and I feel like it just makes traveling so much easier and again more organized especially let's say you're going to Europe and you're doing a couple countries in one trip just like kind of having everything in one spot is so nice and then the second thing I have learned is you always always should wear good comfortable shoes because nothing ruins a trip than blisters or sore feet like I I tell you just find the most comfortable shoes you can wear because whether you're going to the theme parks out on a hike or walking the streets of Europe like you should have good shoes it's going to like make your trip so much better and then the thing I realize that I can live without I feel like I I've learned that you know you don't have to have a new outfit every day of your trip I feel like for girls or anyone on Instagram like we always get this pressure to be like okay like we have to like pack all these things so that we have the best trip and the best photos but that's not really what it's about like I feel like I used to get into that like mindset that it's like oh I should you know have the perfect outfit for this perfect photo or whatever but you know what be an outfit repeater it's cool to do no one really cares and just it's that's not about what travel is travel is being there in the moment yeah such good advice now do you have any recommendations on shoes oh yeah um okay so one pair of shoes I love is called All Birds they are extremely comfortable shoes I love them I've worn them on so many trips and then the second pair of shoe that I've recently discovered are vessie shoes and what's really cool about them is they are 100% waterproof but they're like a tennis shoe and they're knit material so it still like gives you that nice comfortable tennis shoe feel but I mean I I can dump a bucket of water on them and water is not going to get through so I've worn those to Disney World in Orlando where it can rain at any moment and then I did wear them to bamp just because I wasn't sure and honestly they were great hiking shoes too I kind of had like this tennis shoe boot style from them and I love those shoes they're just so comfortable so those definitely those two Brands I really recommend we fit an insane amount of things in our van that I thought was not going to fit and then somehow she stuffed everything in the cube and we had like room to spare so packing cubes invest in your Footwear and it's kind of similar like an analogy is like your mattress you spend a lot of time sleeping you spend a lot of time on your feet know Splurge there because your body's going to thank you you know 20 30 years down the road you've been traveling your entire life did you have any YouTube or other influencers that influenced you to travel or maybe people have recommended books too yeah I think really I dove into the whole YouTube travel Community um especially during 2020 cuz all I wanted to do was go somewhere and I couldn't so like that was my escapism was to just like watch people go on trips um on YouTube so I would say a lot of those were Disney YouTubes because I was just missing Disney World so I watched um Disney food blog is a great Channel they have so many great tips on Disney World um there's another she's also like life style but Rogan Tate on YouTube is awesome she does a lot of travel um in Europe and also to Disney park so those are like two that I love to watch and just give a lot of tips from so we'll link those channels in the show notes below and while our audience is checking out those channels where can they find out more about you yeah so I am on Instagram and YouTube both erica. Adventures AA spelled e r i c Ka um and yeah that's where you can find me I have travel Vlogs a little bit of Lifestyle Vlogs too on my YouTube channel and a lot of travel content on my Instagram great Erica thank you for coming on thank you so much for having me this was so much fun

Purple Pants Podcast | First Come, First Served Welcome to this week's Purple Pants Podcast! Join @briceizyah and @Jtiaphd as they break down episode eleven of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' Get ready for a deep dive into GNA, Karen's grandmother's home, Nneka vs Wendy, and so much more! Don't miss out on this […]

Purple Pants Podcast | First Come, First Served Welcome to this week's Purple Pants Podcast! Join @briceizyah and @Jtiaphd as they break down episode eleven of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' Get ready for a deep dive into GNA, Karen's grandmother's home, Nneka vs Wendy, and so much more! Don't miss out on this […]

Purple Pants Podcast | First Come, First Served Welcome to this week's Purple Pants Podcast! Join @briceizyah and @Jtiaphd as they break down episode eleven of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' Get ready for a deep dive into GNA, Karen's grandmother's home, Nneka vs Wendy, and so much more! Don't miss out on this week's RHOP Recap. You can also watch along on Brice Izyah's YouTube channel to watch us break it all down. https://youtube.com/channel/UCFlglGPPamVHaNAb0tL_s7g Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Purple Pants Podcast | First Come, First Served Welcome to this week's Purple Pants Podcast! Join @briceizyah and @Jtiaphd as they break down episode eleven of Bravo's ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac.' Get ready for a deep dive into GNA, Karen's grandmother's home, Nneka vs Wendy, and so much more! Don't miss out on this […]

www.atravelpath.com   00:00 Intro 01:06 Studying abroad in Rome 04:48 Have you always wanted to travel? 05:44 How were you able to get a job so you could travel so much? 07:20 Does remote work mean you are always “on call?” 08:12 What are the biggest frustrations you find with travel? 10:10 What makes Disney so special to you? 11:15 What does your travel budget look like? 13:50 What types of places are you staying in? 14:45 What are some money saving travel tips? 15:15 Delta AmEx card 16:30 Traveling with dogs 19:40 What has been your coolest travel experience? 22:00 What can't you live without while traveling? 23:13 What have you learned you don't need while traveling? 23:56 Shoe recommendations 25:09 Travel influencers   We had a fun time talking with Ericka from Ericka's Adventures today! In this episode you can expect to hear all about how:   ✈️Her study abroad in Rome

We're back! After a year long hiatus Cecil has resurrected the GNA back to life with a helping hand from some old timers. The crew gets deep for a little bit as they touch on their journeys for the past year. Come join Erin, Zyber and Cecil as they fire up the new year with some laughs!.

www.atravelpath.com   00:00 Introduction 07:10 How do claims and damages work? 12:26 How often are your clients calling and texting you? 14:55 What are the biggest frustrations with renting your RVs? 14:30 How many people do you need to manage 37 RV rentals? 18:00 How many RVs did it take to turn your side hustle to a business? 19:00 How much time and money is involved in a turnover? 10:30 Do you have a home base for dumping and refilling? 21:27 What do you provide your renters with? 26:14 Do you only have camper trailers? 26:58 What is the difference between Class A, B, C, and trailer RVs? 28:32 Where do you keep your RVs? 29:05 Have you dealt with DigiSure? 33:45 What is your worst renter experience so far?   Luis and Robyn Website and Social: Bout that RV Life - YouTube WELCOME (lrvaldezrentals.com) Luis R Valdez (@boutthatrvlife) • Instagram photos and videos Log in | TikTok Boutthatrvlife (@Boutthatrvlife1) / X (twitter.com)  Core Sports Cards and Collectables   Do you have an RV parked at your house that is costing you money? Are you looking for a new way to make some extra income? In today's episode, Luis and Robin share how they turned their unused RV into a full time business. Hear all about:  

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www.atravelpath.com Ryan and Katy's Social and Website: https://www.instagram.com/smilkos_lens/ https://smilkoslens.com/ In today's segment of Travel Tips, Ryan and Katy Smilko join us again to share one of their favorite destinations, Redwood National Park. Having been to 49.5 states (tune in to Part 1 for the explanation!), over 40 national parks, and have explored all over California, they know a thing or two about travel. This was a super informative guide for any first time or returning visitors to Redwood National and State Parks. A few quick clarifications from today's show: We (Tyler and Hope) saw our elk on Bald Hill Road near where it turns into dirt road. The sunset location we mentioned in the video was the Redwood Creek Overlook, not far from Bald Hill Road. This location is about an hour south of the Klamath River Overlook that Ryan and Katy mentioned. Dogs ARE allowed in Mt. Rainier National Park but must be leashed and only allowed in campgrounds, parking lots, and paved roads. Resources: https://smilkoslens.com/booking-travel-with-points/ https://smilkoslens.com/credit-cards/ https://smilkoslens.com/activities-in-redwood-national-park/ https://smilkoslens.com/redwood-national-and-state-park/ Elk Farmhouse: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/28871227?source_impression_id=p3_1700937679_ukelVdhQBMvpf7bF Internet:  https://soliswifi.co/ https://www.starlink.com/   Epic California Map & Guide https://www.rexby.com/Smilkos_Lens/unitedstates Within the above map/guide, there is an itinerary for Redwood National Park. If it's easier to link to that directly, you can use: https://www.rexby.com/Smilkos_Lens/i/B4saWK_JTcanSHqGSwxV2Q Other services/links for travel hacks https://www.going.com/ https://www.google.com/travel/flights https://www.travelzoo.com/   Transcript: All right Ryan and Katy so thank you for coming back to the show we had an awesome time chatting with you guys the other day so let's now talk about destinations so let me know where we're going to talk about and where have you guys spent a lot of time this was really tough um you know we've been to 49 and a half States and we've spent an enormous amount of time exploring California in particular but uh we decided to nail it down to one place in California which is Redwood National and state parks for those who don't know it's in the far Northwestern corner of California so it's kind of out in the middle of nowhere uh not really near any major cities or anything um and we've probably spent a week or two their total um combined because you're originally from California right I am I'm from California but I'm from the Bay Area and despite it being called Northern California uh I think it's about a seven hour drive still from the Bay Area to Redwoods so redwoods what would you say it's a great destination for someone who likes to do what soft Adventures it is definitely a soft Adventure Park soft Adventures for us is um hikes and things that are accessible to the majority of people and you know you don't have to be an expert hiker or Backcountry camper or rock climber or anything like that so typically hikes that are less than like three to four miles yeah scenic drives Scenic overlooks you know things that most people W could and would want to do so there's no like specialty or special skill sets required yeah and we're big on that is that a term you guys coin yourselves soft adventurers or is that I wish yeah we definitely cannot take credit for that honestly I don't know where I saw it became like a daily term like we were with people who were very hard adventurers and I was like this is not for me this is I'm very soft adventure and like we started using it so much in our daily life we're like oh like this is our like how we Define what we do because when you're traveling people like for some reason gravitate towards rock climbing or like the hardest hike or like the 14,000 foot you know Peak Pikes and I'm like you guys can just skip inviting me if you need a bear canister I probably don't want to go yeah it's a good gauge but um that is one thing we love about redwoods is um it actually so it's a national park and state park so there's I think three state parks uh California state parks that make up Redwood National Park and it's the only National Park in the US that is a joint partnership between state parks and National Park it's ideal for people who like to be surrounded and immersed in nature and trees in particular so it's just um I mean it's just a magical place the trees are bigger than you could possibly imagine and it feels like there will be like a fairy that will pop out behind every corner and like it's just one of the most peaceful places and I think what most people don't maybe think of when they think of like a Redwood National Park is that it butts up to the ocean so it's really where like the forest meets the California coast and it's just like a really special place that I feel like you have to see in person to understand like the magic of it all I always call it Fern Gully because it if you remember that movie from way back when but it you just really made yourself old I know I did I mean if people could see the video the white in my beard would give it away first but um the I mean these trees are so big that you can drive through them they are you can walk through them can walk through some I mean they're almost 2,000 years old they are literally just towering sky scraper trees but it's also super-duper Lush there's Fern and yeah it's just incredibly beautiful and magical and it's one of the easier parks to visit to hi hike to experience um and so it's we also love a good drivable park where you get a lot of the views from the road um or if it's just beautiful from the road just you feel like you're in it without having to hike seven miles to get to that one Lake that everyone takes a picture of um so we love that about redwoods yeah oh that's awesome so how do you what would you say you need to spend in Redwoods to really enjoy that full like Redwood experience see all the big spot you know do that drive how many days are we talking because of its remoteness um drive time and travel time definitely needs to be factored in um for anyone who's flying in to visit at the park they're likely either going to fly into the San Francisco Bay area or maybe Eugene Oregon um further north and both of those are going to be basically a six to seven hour drive and so day one and then the last day of the trip are basically just travel days yeah so excluding those I would say two to three days is absolutely perfect it would allow someone to really kind of hit all the top spots best hike the best views scenic drives family fun adventures and experiences and really get to go home feeling like they saw it all oh awesome now and as far as time frame during the year what would you recommend as the best time to go that's really tough I think the blanket answer would be any time of year um California especially along the coasts the temperatures are pretty temperate and don't change drastically with the seasons so at worst in the winters I think the average high is about 40 um which is chilly it's not super fun for being out but you don't have to worry about six feet of snow or ice or you know freezing cold temp like the low even at that high the low would probably be like 35 like it would be such a small window and then in the summer at its warmest the high is maybe like 75 really I would guess that wow yeah it's pretty temperate most of the time um and because it's so remote it's also not a heavily trafficked Park so it's not like you're going to a Yos or a Grand Canyon or Yellowstone where you're going to have millions of visitors there every single day um so you don't really have to worry a ton about massive crowds but I think our preference if you could pick it would be spring or fall and I think one interesting thing to think about um when visiting this park is it doesn't have like you don't go for fall full foliage the trees don't turn for someone who doesn't like pay attention to that it would be like a maybe a letdown if they went for fall thinking I'm going to drive by trees it'll be pretty um so that's something to consider if you're looking for a fall destination yeah that's a really good point because the there's not those like drastic seasonality changes to it that does mean that people wanting to visit have a lot of flexibility because if they decide you know if they go I can only go in June or the only time I can get time off is in October it's not like they're going to go and have a completely different experience at the park than if they went at a different time of year so from a flexibility standpoint I think it's a great destination all right so I know you guys have Junior so obviously you're always on the hunt for those dog friendly um places and trails and just places and things you can do um but do you notice is there a lot of dogs when you go are there a lot of kids I mean there's not a lot of anyone but um it's not a very dog friendly Park unfortunately um but luckily if you're van traveling because it's always temperate you don't have to worry about the dog when you're hiking I mean not dog friendly like hotels or not dog friendly Airbnb's are not dog friendly um there are definitely accommodations that are dog friendly but they're pretty spread out and in some cases you might be paying quite a bit more or might not be convenient based on location you found campgrounds the three each of the state parks that makes up the National Park have campgrounds and all of the campgrounds are dog friendly so whether they're tent camping or RV camping or otherwise um those places are dog friendly I would say it's very kid-friendly though it is very kid and as someone who doesn't have kids from a dog friendliness perspective I would say um and this is sort of getting to one of the upcoming questions but it would be our only complaint I think of the park sure I find that a lot of national parks too like they're not allowed in the park but there's just a lot of trails where they're not allowed to be on the trails and I think I think one of the parks Mount Rainier actually there were no dogs allowed anywhere I think you remember that yeah so that's definitely something if you're going to National Park just keep an eye out when you're going to plan that we were actually just going over there's I think 17 dog friendly national parks Junior's been to 16 of them oh no kidding which one is he missing Alaska oh that's very interesting about Rainer I really want to look that up because for the most part dogs can enter but they have to stay in parking lots and paved that's good yeah definitely fact check us on Mount Rainier let know you find we'll put we'll put the uh I think you are right I think it is they can go in they just can't like you said they have to stick to the pave Trail but we'll put the answer in the description here down below so cool thanks I'll look for it yeah um so as far as like nighttime what is there to do or what have you guys done or like to do when you know the sun goes down because you're kind of in that that you know secluded area uh we're definitely not your nighttime crowd yeah uh we are early sleepers um and Ryan mentioned the remoteness so there's not like a city life or night life if you so our our ideal night life is like campfire um hanging out and just like enjoying definitely like a Sunset and yeah if there's campfire involved we're there I would also say because of its remoteness and the fact that there isn't any kind of major city nearby means that there's not a ton of light pollution and so from a night sky perspective it is definitely a beautiful place to sit outside and stargaze or look for way so that would be those would be kind of our those would be our nighttime activities yeah that's perfect that's what it's all about right up our alley yeah how about um speaking of nighttime what about sleeping Arrangements like where do you guys find that you can sleep when you're visiting um redwoods I would say that you know a lot of our travels we look for places that are free and legally allowed to park and um gosh why am I drawing a blank on the word Boondock boondocking I had no idea what he was saying thank you I was like you know you think after living in a van for two years that would beat you in these years but yeah there's not a lot available up there in terms of that California doesn't really have a lot of um like BLM land or free land that you can just go drive out and park on and so for the most part if you're in a van or an RV of some sort um it's going to be one of the state park campgrounds there are some RV parks scattered about the area as well that's typically what we do we did stay at an Airbnb once um during one of our visits which we loved it was there's a river up there and it was right on the river so you know whether it be for Sunrise or Sunset it was very beautiful and closely located to the parks I would say camping and campgrounds are going to be the best way to stay and EXP experience the parks but there are Airbnb's and hotels very nearby for those who aren't looking to Camp or families or you know or if it's in those colder temperatures it's just not fun yeah you're not GNA find me in a tent in a cold temperature yeah us NE it's not a soft Adventure no our we're glamping here with our with our same that's a borderline medium Adventure yeah yeah yes temperature does play into how soft our adventures are definitely it's good point what have you experienced with wildlife in the in Redwoods uh deer and Elk yeah I think are the only two that we've come across the elk are everywhere outside of the park um there's actually a place called Elk Meadow every day the elk migrate from one area to another and there's like a road crossing and it happens daily and so it's like if you are at that spot at the wrong time of day or the right time or the right time you're basically stuck there for like 30 minutes as this massive herd of elk just migrate from one area to another and then there's actually an Airbnb that the elk might like go into the front yard and I'm talking like 50 50 elk go into the front yard of this like Farmhouse Airbnb every single morning and just lay there and graze and it's absolutely incredible we've never stayed there but we've gone past it multiple times and seen people where they're just out there on the patio sipping their coffee and there's 50 elk just in the front yard hanging out can't be that is that that's actually inside the park I take it you know I'd have to double check and look it's weird because there's the park is made up of three state parks and they don't all they don't all up against it to one another and so there's kind of like gaps in between each section of the of the Park yeah elk and deer we've seen deer on the trails yeah they come really close too yeah they're like not really scared of people anymore yeah but it definitely adds to the beauty of the park and just sort of the majestic Ness of it you know being out there to see these beautiful animals just you know yeah it's incredible I know when we went to Redwoods we saw plenty we were up I think on the more southern part of the national park it was on our way out and we went to we went to the Elk Lodge or the elk crossing where you're supposed to be able to see him and we didn't see him over there but we drove up this hill um to eventually completely cleared out and it didn't look like Redwood National Park at all and then we just saw a bunch of them grazing never find yeah it's so fun just sitting there you know recording watching them you pull over for you know 10 20 minutes just watching them hang out we definitely did that every time we saw them it's like every time it's different right doesn't matter how many times you see them or how many different Parks you just have to sit there and watch you can never take too many videos and photos that's so true problem it's a good problem to have do you have a special sunrise or Sunset spot at redwoods or something where you've enjoyed in the past um Sunset would be the gold gold Bluffs Beach yeah um is really beautiful um that's actually where one of the campgrounds is also um so it's a great place to stay and experience sunrise and sunset nice obviously Sunrise would be on the opposite side of the sky so you're not getting it over the water but um still get the beautiful colors you still and to have the ocean right there is really really ma amazing I'm wondering if the Overlook that we went to for Sunset is the same one you guys went to because it sounds very similar but there's the I think the river that runs through is called the clamo river the place we went to is called clamo River Overlook and you drive up like up a a road and you get up there and there's just like a small parking lot and it overlooks the ocean and the river yeah that does sound like where we were I'm pretty sure the just said vist to overlook maybe there was another sign but that does sound because I remember something on the Internet different than like the actual signage yeah so I remember like we saw looked at the ocean we couldn't it was like kind of the neatest thing because we were looking at the ocean but there was a layer of fog where we couldn't see the ocean but we could see on top of the fog and it was something you know coming from the East we had never seen anything like that before and then there were clouds on top of that with the sun set and yeah that was it was like magical that was really cool how many videos do you think you have of that too many we had two phones and a camera so we had all three of them going I can tell you oh my goodness that would be us also y it's just like you can't you you can't stop yeah because we did have to drive a little bit for it so I think we that's one of the things why we enjoyed it so much and why we stayed there so long is cuz it was one other couple they watched sunrise or Sunset and then they left but like Tyler said we like when you wait a little bit afterwards and that whole Sky just lights up and like everyone's left cuz I think oh the sun went down so that's what we always wait for I do remember the bugs came out so I don't know same with you guys but we were fortunate we had bug spray and like there were mosquitoes that came out of nowhere once it that sun kind of set and it got dark so I don't know if that's uh well I guess September SE last year when we've been it's been cooler I don't think yeah I know we went in November once yeah it might have been it might have been cool enough that the bugs were yeah that sounds terrible though they came out of the Woodworks for us yeah so I guess just bring it in case you need it hopefully don't but we definitely did that night and we're glad we had it wonderful all right awesome so we're going to move to this next segment it's called the final four countdown we have four more questions and the first question is going to start with actually Four answers so um in Redwoods National Park or outside nearby um what are some of your favorite breakfast lunch dinner and dessert spots got to be careful at redwoods not a not a ton of uh hip happen in spots you know many of the places are kind of like small roadside gas station type places um um so I don't I don't have any specific dining spots whether it be for breakfast lunch or dinner the two nearest cities that kind of bookend the parks there's Crescent City which is at the North and then there's Eureka at the South um that's where you're going to find the largest cities and the most options in terms of dining and restaurants outside of that if you're kind of in the three state parks or the you know the overarching national park at all you're really going to be on your own for food want to pack it in you're going to want to pack it in and pack it out um which is typically what we do anyways I'm glad I asked someone might not know that and they don't show up with any food so that's good to know yeah I think that's a a very good you uh eat out of the van when you were there or probably we yeah we did most most of it was eating little Weber que we'd open up and you know PB and JS for lunch you know yes ham sandwiches and whatever we found usually you know Farmers Market stuff we'd Chef up for dinner nice yeah that's yeah stay at a campground bring all the grilling fixin and Grill some food at the campground that's that's the way to go what are three things to do in or around Redwood that somebody might not be aware of if they hadn't spent um a little bit of time there this is uh ideal for anyone who might be coming up from sort of the San Franc San Francisco Bay Area about an hour or so south of the park um there's a few really cool experiences there's a place called uh Avenue of Giants and it's basically a Scenic Drive that is I think like 10 15 miles long and it's just beautiful redwoods on both sides of the road and it's one of the one of the best places to kind of get a Scenic Drive type experience while surrounding yourself with the Redwoods there is a place called driveth through Tree Park and inside this park I think you pay $ five dollar to go in but there is a tree called the chandelier tree that the base is cut out and you can actually drive through the tree providing your vehicle is small enough I think the I think it's like six and a half feet by 6 and a half feet or something so Vans are not going to fit but if you've got you know a sedan or a smaller size SUV they will definitely fit but even if you don't drive through it it's a really neat place to park you can walk through it they've got a bunch of different things in the surrounding area um that are um you know we've got like gift shop and there's some little hiking spots that you can kind of walk around and peruse the area it's great for families kids adults Etc there's a place called Skywalk Redwood Skywalk it's some something Skywalk but essentially it's two things one they have a zoo it's called seoa Zoo cool and then the other one is they've got these uh like canopy Bridges where you can go up and actually walk walk among like up above amongst all the trees and so you got kind of get to experience the giant redwoods from above ground um I think it's like 50 feet in the air or something W you kind of get to learn about the trees they've got different um you know stations and displays and things to kind of help educate you of the surrounding areas and how the Redwoods came to be and how they Thrive and all that kind of fun stuff so those are three things that I would say aren't typically super common or well known when people are going into the Redwoods um they're all south of the park and kind of give you a different experience of not just going into the park and going on a hiking trail and sure yeah they're all they're all three things we did not do on our trip so yeah thanks for pointing that out there're some nice soft Adventures for us for next time I'm to go back they're great for families yeah they're very very accessible things to do so if somebody were to have two complaints not necessar NE complaints about the park but things that they might not be aware of or wish they had known prior what would they be we think the dog friendliness was kind of a bummer for us um and just that two two days basically our travel days so like the remoteness of the park um if you think people think they can go to California and like fly to San Francisco and then visit LA and visit like we have family come and they're like well we want to see the giant trees we're like well that's a whole another week trip so um those would be our two great and one last question what is the one thing you simply can't leave Redwood without doing that is really really difficult can we both answer one we can both answer yeah yeah I mean I think the scenic drives I can't pick one the scenic drives and uh okay so you go with the scenic drive that's perfect so similar to The Avenue of Giants that I mentioned earlier there is a en drive inside um the park called Newton bewery Scenic byway and similar to the other one it's like 10 or 15 miles long and it's in our opinion it's better than the Avenue of Giants it's the trees are bigger and wider and taller and the fact that it's inside the park um The Avenue of Giants is because it's outside of the park there are some kind of suburban areas that are kind of like intertwined with it and around it whereas be Drury it's just you and the trees and it's one of the most beautiful scenic drives that we've been on anywhere in the in the country I think the other one would be um there is a there's a couple Trails within the park where you can actually walk through a tree that has fallen over at some point and they basically carved out a section of the tree where you can walk through it um one of them is is not soft adventury so I'm not going to mention that one the other one is and it's sort of a combination of two Trails so depending on if you're looking on all Trails or if you're looking on the Redwood National Park website you might see different names for it but it's the Carl nap Trail and it's in addition to the tree that you can walk through it is also one of the just prettiest most MJ Majestic Trails that we've hiked in the park there's Fern everywhere it's one of the places we saw a bunch of deer um there's many many red giant redwood trees that you can just stand right up against and just you know have them towering over you and so I think those two really kind of give you some you know really cool and beautiful and unique experiences awesome yeah thank you for sharing that that was this has been such an informative video on Redwood National Park I think everything you mentioned pretty much we had not done before unless we did the same sunset at some point I'll have to find that out but you're totally right when you're driving through the that's it yeah but when you're driving through the Redwood National Park it's you're totally right when you're looking at these trees like I remember they're impressive when you're looking right out at them but it's not until like you start looking up and you can't see how high they are it's like oh my gosh these things are like massive that's when it kind of hits you like they're incredible yeah yeah it's when you start to do the pan and you're like this is a 25 second video and I haven't reached the top of the tree yet yes that's exactly it yeah good stuff all right guys hey thanks again for um spending the time chatting with us about Redwood National Park and previously your adventures and how you got started with Van life and everything else abolutely great talking with you guys and hope to do it again sometime we do have uh quick Shameless plug um on our on our website and blog we do have two different articles that we've written specifically on Redwood National Park and so kind of touch on how to plan your visit and so the drive times where to stay when the best time is to go that type of information and then we have a separate one that touches on like things to do inside and around the park and again all the things that we've talked about here are listed there as well um so that's smilkoslens.com and then we also have an interactive map for California um that we have um points of interest national parks hikes Trails accommodations wineries breweries Scenic views scenic drives you name it all the best places that you might might want to visit in California we have this interactive map within that we also have an itinerary um specific to Redwood National Park so if someone wanted to check any of that out those are available um the interactive map is easiest to access by going to our Instagram smilkos_lens and within the links in our bio we have a California map link there great and we'll be sure to link those both those two articles in your map I want to check that out we'll link that in the description below and yeah thanks again guys absolutely thanks for having us   *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. 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