In this episode of the Morning Upgrade podcast I talk with Zack Boothe about his morning routine, using uncertainty, taking 12 hour walks, how to have confidence and more.
In this episode of the Morning Upgrade podcast I talk with Zack Boothe about his morning routine, using uncertainty, taking 12 hour walks, how to have confidence and more.
Announcer
Welcome to the Morning upgrade podcast with Ryan cote, where we feature casual conversations with entrepreneurs about personal development and growth.
Ryan
Hey, Zack, welcome to the Morning upgrade podcast. How's it going?
Zack
Good, man. Thanks for having me.
Ryan
Yeah, I'm excited to talk to you. Let's kick it off with you telling my audience of mourning upgraders you know who you are, what you do for a living, I think give us either a win or something you're grateful for.
Zack
Love it. So my name is Zach Boothe. I'm out here in Utah, and I do real estate. So I went from pretty broke window cleaner five to seven years ago, to doing real estate, you know, I didn't have a ton of money to start. So I started a strategy known as wholesaling, where I'm basically selling contracts, finding a discounted house and passing it on essentially for a finder's fee. It's known as wholesaling, or a wholesale fee. But I was able to cherry pick my best deals and build a rental portfolio. And then about three and a half years ago, I started helping other people do the same, accidentally, and it's become a passion and what I love doing so now I have a podcast and a YouTube channel and tiktoks and getting on other people's podcasts. So it's a lot of fun. I love helping people find the financial freedom that I discovered, because of my mentor. So that's what I do and something that I'm grateful for. I'm just grateful for life in general, I'm grateful for the struggles that I've had to get to where I'm at. And I'm grateful for the challenges that are still right in front of me that I'm dealing with everyday. Because it helps you discover more about yourself and you find a lot of self, no self worth as you go through these challenges and dig deep and become the person you need to become to accomplish them. So just grateful for life. It really is a special gift.
Ryan
He reminded me of a quote, it was on Good Will Hunting. It's the character of Shawn McGuire, and he says, I think I'll get this right. But you'll have bad times, but I'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to, you know, kind of talking about the challenges you mentioned.
Zack
Yeah, we all everyone has them? Oh, yes.
Ryan
Oh, yeah. Every day, every day, it's a guarantee. I do want to ask you that. Some of the real estate stuff, because we like to go to business questions sometimes. Let's talk about your morning routine. How do you start your days?
Zack
Yeah, so I'm actually like a really so Tony Robbins talks about like all the six human emotional needs, and one of them is diversity or uncertainty is I think, is the exact terminology but you know, having diversity of experiences in life and adventures, and I'm very adventurous, I love just to disappear into the mountains. And I hunt with a bow and arrow, and I love backpacking. And so for me, I hate the same thing over and over. It's probably why I'm an entrepreneur, who's gonna get bored. You know, my most productive days, like my business days, my work days. I like to work out in the morning. So I like to wake up early, go straight to the gym, do a little pre-workout and hit a really hard workout. I like it because it obviously keeps me in shape. But it does something to me where it puts me in this like I did that I can do anything it puts me in a high energy state for the rest of the day. Usually it crashes pretty hard about six 7pm After that, but, but it's definitely one of my favorite things to do in the morning. But I wouldn't say that I have a super set regimen. I'm not a very regimented person just by nature. Unlike my dad who's like the complete opposite. He thinks I'm weird. I think he's weird. So
Ryan
What works best for you, right? I mean, all the episodes I've done 100 plus of his podcasts, I get to hear about morning routines from everyone. And everyone's got a different routine because there's overlap, of course, the gratitude practice or whatever exercise. Everyone's got their own routine, because we're all living our lives and what works for you might not work for someone else, you know, yeah,
Zack
Yeah. And I think that there are certain people that really need that morning routine to get in a good state. But I think a lot of it comes from those emotional and human needs, you know, people that like really scheduled lives really, they like corporate, they like the systematic life, the expected, you know, they find fulfillment and peace and safety in that. And I'm definitely very much the other way. I like that uncertainty. I like that challenge. Like one of my favorite things to do is just throw some food in a cooler and a backpack and just go, you know, I live out here in Utah and just go all over the western US and the different mountains and hike different mountains and not really have a plan. I absolutely love it.
Ryan
I love that. Have you heard of a book called 12 hour walk?
Zack
I think I haven't heard of that one. No.
Ryan
I heard it on a podcast. But I feel like I say that a lot. Because I listen to a lot of podcasts. But it's a book by Guy. It's a concept where he's trying to get more people to do something. I guess he did it and it changed his life or whatever. And now he's trying to get more people to do it. And basically the idea is you go for a 12 hour walk like it says doesn't mean you're constantly moving through 12 hours, but you're gone. You leave it at 6am And you're back by 6pm and you just walk with a backpack, no electronics, no phone, just by yourself just walking, eating, resting, whatever. And he said it really helped him to reset himself. Emotionally. It's I think it's an interesting concept.
Zack
I guess I do that all the time. I just have a backpack and I'm in the middle of nowhere in the forest. You know, I, there's probably not very many mountains in the Western US. I haven't been on at this point. Like, I absolutely just find so much peace and tranquility in that, so I can totally relate with that.
Ryan
That's awesome. And I can relate to your adventures because during COVID We started doing road trips, and we've taken one every week every year. And that in itself is an adventure especially if you have three young kids, but that sounds exhausting. Thank God for phones. Yeah, extend the car to six, seven hours at a clip going from city to city hotel to hotel. It is an adventure. I thought I was gonna hate it when we first started doing it. And now I'm obsessed with it. Because it's an adventure. And I think there's a lot of that variety, seeing new things, experiencing new things, just getting through it, figuring it all out. It's very exciting.
Zack
That's awesome. Well, next time we do a road trip, come down to Utah. Have you been down this way? Yeah.
Ryan
Utah. No, we haven't made our way that way there. Yeah, we're starting to think about the West Coast we're going to. So the idea is we're going to hit all 50 states, and we're at 28 now and 50th as like the Grand Celebration will be Hawaii. But we haven't made it to the West Coast yet. So we have to figure out are we driving? Are we flying? I don't know. But love
Zack
Well, Utah as did Utah. So cool. Because it is so diverse. You got the northern part where you've got the Alpine just, you know, reminds me a lot of southern Idaho and parts of Wyoming. But then you've got all the red rock and all the different Red Rock, national parks, Canyonlands, and Zions and just arches. It's beautiful, absolutely amazing. State. I love it here.
Ryan
That's cool. So let's talk about your business. I think what I wanted to pull out of you for anyone that's listening that's was in the position that you were in window washing, you said you weren't making a lot of money and think about what you said you tried in like, like what you were doing. And then you had ambition, courage, whatever. Where do you want to use to try something new? So that gap in between of like, how did you get from doing what you hate to then moving into something new? That was probably a little scary? Like, how did you do that? Like what lessons can we pull from you?
Zack
Yeah, so I had read Rich Dad, Poor Dad when I was 14. So my dad cut me off financially. At 16, he told me I was a man and I was responsible for my finances. So he gave me $200 A year and housing and food and I paid for the rest. And he's like, if you want a truck, you'll pay for it cash like I did, he wouldn't even cosign alone. You know, out of necessity, I was making money, doing a lot of different jobs from when I was 11 Till I started my first business at 17. That was a window cleaning business. And so I had run that for about a decade. In the last three, four years of doing it, I was sick of it, I was burnout. Now outside looking in, I was pretty successful. But you know, I wasn't making more than 50 $60,000 a year net. And, you know, started having kids and it just wasn't quite enough. And so I was listening to podcasts, listening to books while I was out on the job sites, and just trying to figure out a way to like, get out of where I was, I felt like I had hit my full potential in that space. I hated it. I hated the employees, they hated me. I brought on a business partner, and we had different visions and desires with the company. And it was just that I just felt stuck. I felt so stuck. Especially because I had a family depending on me, and it just felt really crappy about myself because I didn't, you know, I wasn't proud of how I was doing. Even though I was working so hard. I should have been more proud of myself, but it was, you know, I think sometimes, man, we want to do so good. And a lot of times we attach our self worth to how we take care of our families. And you know, Are we worthy of love or not? And so I was kind of in a dark place too emotionally. And you know, it's kind of scary to share that openly. But I was you know, and so I was listening to books and podcasts and I heard you know, read Rich Dad Poor Dad was 14. So I started listening to real estate stuff. And I discovered something called wholesaling. Right? I mentioned before, and I was like, Oh, it's too good to be true. No one would give their house at such a discount that I can then sell it for a profit to an investor that also needs it at a discount as I can even if I couldn't get it that much of a discount. I'm stealing their equity. Like, I don't want to be a bottom feeder. I don't want to be dishonest and I was really skeptical. I was like, Yeah, that sounds too good to be true. It's you know, I don't know. And then I had an experience where I met a guy who was Washington, his windows, very wealthy gentleman, big old house. His name was Stan and I asked Dan what he had done. He's like, as real, I'm a real estate developer. I still do it. He's like 80 years old. And he's just, you know, he's got to multimillion dollar developments. And so, I was so intrigued. I was asking this guy all kinds of questions. And at the end of the conversation, you know, I was like, Man, if I just get two rentals, it'd be amazing. And he's like, Oh, that's convenient. I got these two properties. I haven't dealt with the hammer collected rents in four months. The property manager bailed on me. You know, my real estate agent wants me to do all this stuff to him. I still want to deal with it. Do you want to Like, yeah, you gave them to me seller finance couple $1,000 down. Like he just basically gifted them to me. I couldn't believe it and he gave it to me at such a discount that I put tenancy, I cleaned them up, kicked other tenants out, put new tenants in. And I did what's called an option to buy a lease with an option to buy. So they were renting it from me, but they had an option if they wanted to buy it from me. And they had two years to buy it. And both of them exercise the right to buy the next year. So I made over $100,000 profit selling it to the tenants. And it blew my mind. You know, it made me realize that there's people that want speed and convenience over price. People are more educated than people who aren't wealthy, even real estate professionals sometimes have assets they just don't want to deal with. And I was like, oh, man, that was a deal of a lifetime. And I've heard that you can find deals like this every single day, if not every single week, right? And so I was like, Well, this is what I want to do. I want to pursue this. And so when I had that, that experience, I believed and since I believed I started looking for a mentor. So I found those deals in September, they didn't cash out till the next year, but I knew what I had, you know, I knew I had just a ton of equity, I knew I could get there. Even though I didn't have a lot of cash in the bank, I went and found a mentor, I put a lot of it on a credit card and I quit window cleaning before I'd ever done one of these traditional wholesale deals, When did my business partner and march 2 On my birthday, and I said, Hey, I quit, I'm gonna go do this full time. He's like, You're crazy. You haven't even done a deal. It's too good to be true. But I had a mentor and I went for it. And it completely changed my life. Within the first eight months, I made over six figures doing it. And then the next year, just shy of a half a million and the third year to 1.2 million. So it quickly just completely changed what I thought was even possible for myself.
Ryan
So it doesn't sound like you were very nervous making it because it sounds like you were right. You were right to make the decision. You were fed up with where you're at. And it's funny, like I'm a religious person, I consider myself more spiritual, still trying to figure that out. But
Zack
I think we all are right.
Ryan
It's funny how that guy showed up at that moment when you needed him, like, what are the chances of that? Think about it. You know,
Zack
The funny thing is Stan became like, I'm kind of like you. So I actually grew up super religious. I served a Mormon mission down in San Paulo, Brazil speaking Portuguese, from 19 to 21. And, you know, I was raised in the religion, I was very devout and had some experiences of my life where I'm not so sure now, you know, and I don't know too much. I don't know God's plan. I don't know. I mean that but I believe that there is something more. And Stan I don't totally believe was a gift. And one of the reasons for that is I accidentally became a coach a few years later, and I found so many people in the same position I was in before I met Stan, where they're like, I want to get into real estate, but it's too good to be true. I'm not capable, I'm not smart enough. They have all these, like inner doubts that I had, and all these fears that kept him from really taking action. And so I was like, man, like, God gave me this Stan, or coincidence, whatever you want to call it. And I was like, could I give that same gift to others? And so I was up super late one night, like thinking how can I help other people and give them this belief, and I had this idea to go do a challenge of, you know, flying across the country with you know, so I was somewhere I'd never been, and only got 1000 bucks. And the goal is to make the average American income in 40 days. So I wanted to make 40 grand in 40 days. And so I prayed, you know, before I did it, and I was like, God, please give me a stamp. Like, please let me document meeting a stand, finding a stand and getting paid. Right? Like, I want to give the same gift that I was given. And day four dude, I called the wrong number. And I met a guy named Jerry Treadwell. And Jerry was my Stan wealthy investor who had three properties didn't want to deal with and gave them to me over six figures in profits. You know, I was pretty emotional, I was really choked up because it was what I asked for. And it's like, was it God? I think so. Could it not be sure, but more than anything, it was like such a special challenge that I did and was able to give that gift to everybody for free. Like I wanted to, you know, it's on my YouTube channel. And, you know, people can go watch that. But yeah, I think that Stan was definitely a very special moment in my life that gave me courage, where I was lacking before.
Ryan
With the belief that you have now in the confidence, is there anything you do to feed that?
Zack
like my confidence in the potential that I have to be successful?
Ryan
First of all, taking the plunge to do the wholesaling. I've been doing this challenge that you mentioned on YouTube, like all these things you're doing to push forward like where do you? Where does the belief in yourself come from?
Zack
Well, I think confidence is earned a lot of times. If you just sit on the couch and you don't ever challenge yourself and you don't ever accomplish anything that you set out to do. You'll never really realize how much potential you have as a person. And so as I've set a goal and I've accomplished the goal and then I set another goal and accomplish that goal i i spiral upwards. One of my favorite self help people that I really respect and admire is named Tony Robbins. He actually talks about the cycle of success, and I like his model more than anyone. One that I've seen, he talks about how, you know, to become successful, but most people think it starts with a massive amount of action. And he argues, it actually starts with that faith and that belief. And if you have zero faith, like, you know, let's talk about the negative, if you don't have that faith in that belief, if you don't have that faith and belief, the next step is half hearted effort. Right. And if you don't give it 100%, you're not going to get very good results. And when you don't get very good results, you'll be like, See, I knew I was a loser, I knew I couldn't do it, and you're going to have less belief and less belief. And you're going to spiral downwards in a state of almost depression or, or lack of confidence and self esteem. And the opposite is true if you can find it within yourself to have that hope and belief, to give it 100%, you'll get the results that you deserve. And when you get those results, you see, you'll say, Yeah, I knew I could do it. I knew I was capable. And with that extra confidence you take on your next challenge and your next challenge and your next challenge. And so I feel like, you know, what gave me that belief is yes, that experience was Stan. But beyond that, you know, I met that Stan, but I went and found a mentor, I went and found a guide that not only was doing it himself, but also getting a ton of other successful students and seeing their success stories and being able to talk to them, and then being able to just follow the outline and the action steps of that coach. That's what really propelled me forward in wholesaling, right? Yes, Stan gave me the permission to go hire the coach and enough belief to go take the action on that and take the action steps on my coach's action, you know, work that he gave me. But I feel like starting as a teenager doing the window cleaning business, having some success, and really being able to take care of myself. And I've just continued to propel forward and most of that has come because I've had advisors, I've had mentors, I still to this day have coaches and consultants within my business. I pay a lot of money. I'm paying 20 to $25,000 a month right now for my own self improvement coaching consulting business consultants within my businesses.
Ryan
I'm big into masterminds. I don't have a one-on-one coach yet, but masterminds have been a huge part of my life for the last four years. And I love that you're investing yourself that much. That's huge. I meant that. Think that.
Zack
Oh, yeah, masterminds are incredible. I'm in one called the family. I'm actually wearing their shirt right now. That's funny. But yeah, I totally believe in that. Like that's surrounding yourself with not only advisors and people that have been there and done that, but also have the experience of helping other people get through the process you're in. And then also like masterminds surrounding yourself with people that are doing what you're trying to accomplish and feeding off each other's energy and also actions that you're taking to find results. Like it's, you know, we don't have to go at this alone. And that's been a huge part of the growth that I've had. It's not because I'm super smart or smarter, or I even work harder is none of that. Like it's not me. It's truly a combination of yes, my work ethic, but having other people that are smarter than me giving me those action steps.
Ryan
Excellent advice. Thanks for everything you shared today. Zach, this was really good. If people want to learn more about you. Where should we send them?
Zack
Yeah, so if you guys want to go watch that 40 Day Challenge, that's like a great place to go see what I do and like, actually see it in action. I ended up making a lot of money on that challenge. It was really awesome. But there's a quick link you can go to d f d stands for driving for dollars, d f d challenge.com. There's a quick link to the 40 day challenge or you can catch me on my podcast driving for dollars mastery, or my YouTube channel or Tik Tok or any of those places. So awesome.
Ryan
We'll link those up in the show notes. Thanks, Zack.
Zack
Of course. Thanks for having me.
Announcer
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai