Erik Cabral On Strategies For Dealing With Uncertainty And Making A Career Pivot

Do you think it’s possible to pivot careers and achieve success after more than 20 years in your corporate job? Well, today’s guest is proof that it is. Erik Cabral is a creative, an entrepreneur, a podcaster, and an investor. He is the CEO and Founder of multimedia agency, On Air Brands, where he works with various entrepreneurs to find their brand voice and make the right connections. Erik left his corporate executive job to pursue real estate and now owns a successful brand that provides him financial freedom. He joins Rodney Flowers to share the story of how he got to where he is and the methods that worked to inspire you on your path to actualizing your goals. Listen in for more advice on networking, financial security, and keeping the right mindset to achieve success in all areas of your life.

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Erik Cabral On Strategies For Dealing With Uncertainty And Making A Career Pivot

As always, I’m excited about this episode. I have a great episode lined up for you. We’re going to be talking about how to cross over from one area of work or experience and pivoting into another area. Perhaps, this is the area that you always wanted to be in. Maybe it’s real estate, investing, podcasting or authorship. I don’t know what it is but whatever it is, I have someone who’s been through that process. He was in Corporate America for about twenty years and then he jumped headfirst into real estate investing in order to achieve financial freedom. His name is Erik Cabral.

After jumping ship, he found himself being the Founder and Owner of a media agency called On Air Brands. He’s also the Founder and Owner of an innovative networking and podcasting event called PodMAX. He owns a real estate investment company called Mindado Investment Group. We’re going to talk about how we make that pivot. How do we deal with that area of uncertainty? I know that is, a lot of times, what stops people from making that shift to doing what they truly love in life. “Will I make it or will I fail?” Without further ado, let’s welcome Erik Cabral to the show.

I’m so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Thank you for coming. I’m the one that’s feeling blessed to have you on the show because you’ve done something that a lot of people want to do. The majority of people that I know talk about jumping ship, getting to that next level and doing what they love to do. I know you are. I’m grateful that you’ve done it and you’re giving back, sharing with your audience. You’re going to share with our audience how you’ve done that. Tell us a little bit about that journey and experience of what led you to make that shift.

I could tell my story and hopefully, it will resonate with some of your audience. In the rat race, everything you mentioned and everything we talked about was what was expected of me. I grew up in a lower-middle-class to middle-class upbringing in my family. The family of immigrants came from the Philippines and didn’t know anything or anyone. They were just trying to survive. We grew up in Yonkers, New York, which if you go there, it’s the Bronx section of Yonkers. It was rough and tough. I cut my teeth on getting my street smarts and trying to figure things out as a child.

Eventually, we made our way up to Newburgh, New York, another rough area but had a little bit of a suburb to navigate and have a little bit more safety. They told me all through life, “Get a good job. Get a 9:00 to 5:00. Get that paycheck. Stay there for 30 years and then collect that gold watch at the end, that set of steak knives and bleed corporate blue,” whatever the color of the company was. I did just that. I went to school for four years, got my degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA and then got jobs in creative and building creative agencies within gigantic Fortune 100 companies.

Rodney, it felt like Groundhog Day, if anyone’s ever watched that movie with Bill Murray. I was doing the same thing over and over. Don’t get me wrong, it was wonderful. I gained a lot of experience and met a lot of wonderful people. I learned a ton while getting paid to do so. Being surrounded by the majority of people in Corporate America, if you’re not at the higher levels, they’re in the grind too. They’re trying to figure out how to be happy, how to keep up with the Joneses and spend paycheck to paycheck.

No one’s talking about investing. If you’re not in the financial area, no one’s talking about that stuff. We’re talking about the next sneakers we’re going to buy or the next iPad and what was on television on Netflix that night. That was normal for me. Then I realized, “I can’t do this anymore.” I was being laid off for the second time. I was blessed by only being laid off twice in a twenty-plus-year career. It caused a shift to cause me to think, “What can I do differently? Here I am making the same amount of money I’ve been making for the past five years. I don’t see myself making any more unless I became a partner in one of these Fortune 500s but that’s not going to happen. What else can I do?”

If you play by the rules, they can’t touch you either. It doesn’t matter what color, race, size, age you are. Click To Tweet

During this commute, one hour and a half each way from where I am in Central New Jersey to East Hanover, New Jersey, back and forth, I had a lot of time to think. I was listening to a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It was mind-bending. It was that blue pill that Morpheus handed to Neo. I started to see the 0s and the 1s behind how finances work, how the tax code and all this stuff were written for the rich and how we can break through it. Maybe figure it out for ourselves and play by the rules of the game. The game was set for certain people but if you play by the rules, they can’t touch you either. It doesn’t matter what color, race, size or age you are.

Rodney, when this realization came to me, I was punching the steering wheel out of anger, frustration and inspiration. I was like, “I could do this.” I went home and told my wife, “I’m thinking about doing something new and different. I don’t want to do this creative stuff anymore.” She’s like, “I’m here to support you. What do you want to do?” I’m like, “Real estate.” She’s like, “What the hell are you talking about real estate? You’re a creative guy. You’re an artist. You don’t do that. You don’t understand that.” She allowed me and we agreed. “Let’s do it. Let’s try it. Let’s take the risk. It looks like we have enough savings to play around. You got about a year or so. See what you could do.” If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife that gave me the blessing to do it, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.

You’ve expressed a lot of success with real estate. Talk us through that journey of learning. I’m sure you’ve experienced some failures, setbacks and challenges. Talk about that.

I was alone, Rodney. I didn’t know anyone in real estate. I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t know if it was a real thing, to be honest. It could be a scam. I started realizing, “I need to start looking online for communities and people that I could talk to.” I started reaching out to people. One place led to another. One forum led to a group. I showed up to some local real estate meetings and I started to meet people who are doing it.

Everybody would always stand up at these meetings, tell them what they’re doing and what they’re looking for. It was like, “What have you done right here?” “I did two flips. I did three wholesales. I bought an apartment complex.” I’m like, “These are the people that are doing it.” I always knew I had to align myself with whoever was in the front of the room. Whoever was on stage, whoever was organizing the event of the meeting, I always stayed around long enough to have a one-on-one with them. That’s what I would do.

I have a good friend of mine and a business partner named Justin. I would stay there putting chairs up on tables, cleaning up, packing up the PA system and putting it into the car. Think about it, Rodney. Here I am. I made six figures-plus in Corporate America helping this 23-year-old kid who is doing what I want to do. You’ve got to eat some humble pie sometimes. Just because I was a big corporate executive doesn’t mean that I have nothing more to learn. That’s what I did. I stuck around him. We became good friends and business partners and then we started to do things together. I figured out my first deal and bought my first multifamily complex.

How did you handle mentally a level of uncertainty? Was there a level of uncertainty for you with the shift?

Every day, more so back then. Uncertainty, fear of failure, fear of the unknown and what will people think of me. I had to get past all these hurdles, limiting beliefs and things that were part of me. It was in my operating system and I had to upgrade that operating system.

How did you do that?

Every day, I was listening to something, reading something, surrounding myself with the right people and leveling up everything and everyone around me slowly but surely. It didn’t happen overnight. It took years and it’s still happening. Back then, I was leveling up from hanging out with people who were doing wholesales. Wholesale means you get a house under contract, a house that’s probably under foreclosure. They need a solution and get out of the house or they’re going to lose the house so they’ll sell it cash. That’s what people who wholesale do. They take it, put it under contract and then go sell it to somebody who’s going to flip it. They’ll make a little bit of money on the spread.

Say they bought it for $50,000 and then they go sell it to a real estate investor for $60,000. That’s what wholesale is. There’s a lot of those guys and gals who wholesale. Either you’re doing that or you’re flipping. I was trying to learn all that stuff. Eventually, I started leveling up to the point where I was surrounding myself with people who were buying up huge apartment complexes, resorts, hotels, golf courses and things like that. You could see that it started from here but then as I leveled up my game and the people around me so did everything else. It’s continuing, which is fantastic.

To your point, I knew I had to change a lot of things. It wasn’t just my mindset. That’s a huge piece, if not the piece but it’s my physical game, spiritual game, mental game, financial game and all of that stuff. Do you ever notice those fat cats where there are guys who are rich but they’re out of shape and miserable? They may or may not have a family. If they have that family, they’re not connected to them. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t that person.

I wanted to make sure that every time I put a chip on this stack, I put a chip on that stack. There’s my spiritual, mental and physical game. It may take me longer to get the financial success that I want, need and desire. At least, I got my health and mental game. Everything had to come up at the same time. That’s when I realized, “This is work. I got to put this work in every day.” That’s through a podcast.

I highly recommend YouTube to people all the time. Not just YouTube but YouTube Premium because then you could listen to stuff, find whatever you need and shut the phone off. It’s like a podcast where you can put your headphones on, put it off to the side and listen to some Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Les Brown or something that motivates you. That’s what I did. What I realized that was, Rodney, I was upgrading my operating system. It became a natural part of my day.

How did you mentally make the shift with all of the learning and all of the time that it takes to immerse yourself into something else to the point where you feel comfortable enough to execute on it? What strategies or rituals? Did you have to change any of your habits and things like that in order to pull this off?

It didn’t happen overnight but it’s waking up early little by little. It seems like stuff that’s so obvious but how can you wake up early if you’re going to bed late? I had to figure out, “I can’t wake up early because I’m going to bed at 1:00 AM.” It took a long time to get here. I go to bed at 8:30, 9:00 is the latest. I’m up at 5:00 or 5:30 every day. That took a long time for me to figure out. The thing is prior to that, it was incremental shifts. “I’m not going to bed at midnight. I’m going to bed earlier than that.” Little by little recreating these habits compounded and eventually became a habit where it’s a few years that I’ve been doing that.

As I leveled up my game and the people around me, so did everything else. Click To Tweet

Before that, I’ve been intermittent fasting for a few years. When I first started out, I was like, “I’m going to try this out.” Anyone who doesn’t know what that is, you fast for a certain amount of time. A lot of people think and I even thought this, “How would I fast for that long? That sounds difficult.” A large chunk of that is spent sleeping. The amount of hours that you sleep, 7 to 8 hours, counts towards fasting. I stop eating at 6:00 and then I don’t eat until the next day, 1:00 or 2:00. I’m fasting for 14 to 16 hours. Half of that is sleeping.

That changed my whole body chemistry. It changed my physique and my energy levels. I’m not saying that will work for everyone. It was also the discipline aspect of it because I see what time it is and I’m like, “I’m not going to eat potato chips. It’s after 6:00 or 8:00,” whatever time you decide. It’s a lot about discipline and creating those rituals and habits. They say it takes 21 days to form a ritual habit. As long as you stay consistent and you establish a new habit then you can create another habit.

You have the blueprint for it at that point. You know that you can do it. You talk about discipline, which is probably the most important. At least from my perspective and in my experience, discipline has played a huge part in my success. When I think about going to the next level, I still see areas in my life where I can be even more disciplined. It’s tough at times because you have to hold yourself to a certain standard. They may be new and different.

How did you put your mindset in a place where you are breaking down those mental barriers that were more aligned with your stand in corporate and with you not being an entrepreneur? That’s a lifestyle that was supported by what you did every day. You’ve had to change all of that. I’m sure you have things that you were doing that you didn’t even think about doing before. It required discipline to put those things into place.

Talk to us about the discipline game, the self-talk and how you were able to change your identity. When you’re making that shift from, “I’m a corporate guy and I want to go be an investor or entrepreneur,” it requires an identity shift. You’re talking about physical fitness. If you’re fat and not in shape, there’s identity before being fat and not in shape. You adopt that mindset and that identity. That’s why you’re fat and not in shape. If you’re going to get fit, that’s a whole different identity. It takes a level of discipline to support being fit. That’s in your health and even in your finances. Talk to us a little bit about your discipline game and how that has affected you in your shift.

You mentioned a lot of wonderful things too. I want to get back to make sure I stay on point with the discipline thing. I love the idea of you have to create your standards. What is your standard and your new standard? Let’s take weight, for example. There are lots of people out there and I have close friends of mine who are extremely overweight on the obese scale but they’re crushing it in all aspects of life. They’re a wonderful father and husband. They’re financially free but they can’t get that one part.

The thing is, all your life, this was your standard. The thing is, if you don’t upgrade that standard and change what is in your mind, you’re always going to default to your standard, what you find acceptable. That’s the thing. It doesn’t just apply in weight. You see those people who yo-yo. They go up and down because they never got into their head. “I am worthy of being in shape. I am someone that is this person.” They can’t imagine that and then when they get there, “I’m not worthy of this. This is not who I am.” They have to reprogram who they are and change their standard to a higher level.

The same thing happened with me and all these different pieces and categories throughout life. Whether it’d be finance, spiritual, physical or mental, it’s creating a new standard. What I noticed is that I used to find quotes. I don’t do it as much anymore. I still write down quotes when I hear them that move me but I would create tattoos on my brain. I would print them out or I write it real big and I plaster it all over my office or my room. I post it on my mirror in the bathroom. Things that are like, “That’s a shift right there and I need to read that every single day.”

One of them was, “Failure is success in progress.” That was a massive thing to me. All my life, I’ve been told that failure is not an option. I had to reprogram myself to understand that failure was necessary in order to learn, grow and figure out how to do something new. We’re always told that you can’t fail and it made no sense to me once I started to realize the new mantra. All these little things and pillars within my life, I had to tear those pillars down and replace them with new ones like that. Once I did establish what the new pillars were, I held on to those, Rodney. I then would go around looking for people that had similar pillars and beliefs and understood it.

When I said it wasn’t new to them, they’re like, “That’s me too.” We find more and more. Having the people around you that understood, we’re on the same page and wanted to move forward with you was powerful because I couldn’t do it by myself. The discipline also was coming from me noticing the shift in myself and then also inspiring others to do it. The people around my game always say, “You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with.” I was inspiring the other four. They were inspiring me in other ways and I was inspiring them in other ways. The discipline to help other people was a piece of it. “If I’m shifting and helping myself, it looks like I’m helping others by leading by example.”

Did you have people in your circle that were holding you accountable?

Yeah. That’s when you realize you have to shift, level up your game and maybe replace some people because if you’re the one that’s always holding everyone accountable, maybe it’s time to find another group or keep the ones that are holding you accountable. The five that I’m hanging around with are constantly shifting because as I begin to level up, I need others that are going to hold me accountable as well. You’re right. It wasn’t in the beginning because I was the one that was moving fast and everyone else was still being left behind. I had to find other people that were moving as fast as I was and were levels above me.

How did you deal with those people that were close to you who thought you were crazy?

To be frank, I talk to them less and hang out with them less. It’s unfortunate. I love them like brothers and sisters, 100% lifelong friends but I couldn’t continue to do that and level up my game because I was vulnerable. Any little drip of toxicity that came into my world, I could go back. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m relatively bulletproof, do a barbecue and hang out once in a while. They always say if you put a crazy person and the same person in a room together, lock them in there for a week and open the door a week later, you’re not going to have two sane people. I’m easily influenced by who I’m around. If I’m around people like that, I can only stay this way for so long and then I’ll go back to being whatever I was.

How do you protect yourself?

By hanging out with people and doing the things that I’ve been doing consistently. I’m always trying to find out what the next piece and the next move is. Making sure that anything and anyone around me that’s toxic, I don’t pay attention to it.

It was just incremental shifts, little by little, and it compounded and eventually became a habit. Click To Tweet

Does making the shift been everything that you thought it would be for you?

More because it’s hard to predict, Rodney. I love this that’s Jim Rohn is saying. “Don’t ask how much I’m going to make from this opportunity. Ask what I am going to become.” That was another one of those pillars where I was like, “All my life I’ve been asking, how much am I going to make in that salary? How much are you going to pay me for that project? How much is this? How much am I? Me, me, me.” I’m never realizing, “I’m going to become something else throughout this journey.”

I am eventually going to understand and realize offering value in people’s lives, bringing the lightning and then eventually getting the thunder. I love that one too where if you offer value in people’s lives, that was a weird shift too because it was like, “Am I going to work for free? No.” Eventually, you’re going to have so much value that you can provide and change people’s lives in the business. It’s five minutes of you having a conversation and you’re giving someone so much like, “You’re going to change our lives.”

Eventually, it comes back to you like the thunder. You provide the lightning and then eventually, you get what you deserve. It’s all these weird things but that can’t happen. You understand that that can happen before you do this so you have to change as an individual. You have to go through the journey. You got to get the scars. You have to experience what it’s like before you can understand, “I’m going to bring you value without asking for anything in return.” That’s when the whole spiritual thing unlocked for me because I was like, “That’s from the book.” All this stuff starts to connect. It’s weird.

What you’re saying is powerful. It’s the most misunderstood portion of success, in my opinion. A lot of people look at success as what they’re going to get, not what they’re going to become. When they see the work that’s involved with the process, they turn their back on that but they want the result, destination, vision, yacht, money, house and all of that. They talk to people and say, “You can get that. All you got to do is X, Y and Z.” It’s like, “No, I don’t like X, I don’t like Y and I definitely don’t like Z.” They turn their back on it.

To me, that’s the most valuable part. All of the things that you want or gain are a result of the person that you’ve become. You are creating your success by going through the process, overcoming those challenges and dealing with those failures. It makes you something different. It makes you a different person and then you’re the person that produces the yacht, the money and all of those things in your life. You have those things in your life because you’re the type of person that knows how to produce those things in your life. That’s a result of failing over and over again, going through the hard stuff, putting the discipline at play, figuring out new strategies and building the network. It’s playing the game, essentially. You can’t score if you don’t play. You got to run the play, face the opposition and go through the process.

My wife and I are both in Corporate America and she still is. We created enough of a nest egg for me to do this an opportunity to not collect a paycheck for a year or two but I wanted to make sure of that. I knew going in with this that we were going to be successful. I wanted to make sure that when we make the money, which will eventually come, I had the right mindset because I didn’t want to lose it all like these lotto winners.

The reason they lose all the money is that they never had their mind right. They never got financially educated and financially literate. They never had a success mindset and a growth mindset. They have a scarcity mindset and not an abundance mindset. I wanted to ensure I don’t want to be that lotto winner. I don’t want to be the guy that came into a windfall of money and then it’s all gone. Ensuring that you’re adopting healthy habits along the journey so that when you do make that money, it’s not like, “I won the lotto.” It’s like, “No, this makes sense. This came here for a reason because I created this. I’m not going to squander it and take it for granted because I worked hard for this money.”

The other mindset I had to adopt, Rodney, was having money work for me and you. Money has to make money. There are ways to do that through investing because you put it here, it sits there and generates income while you sleep. I was like, “That makes no sense to me.” When I started to read the books and surround myself with people that do these things, I was like, “That’s how the wealthy continue to get wealthy.” They just sit back and the money continues to work for them.

Are there some pointers, some goldens or must-haves that you would recommend for people who are reading and want to make that shift? Is there something that you would say they do prior to making the jump?

Make sure you have some savings. It doesn’t have to be cash in the bank. A lot of people that I talked to don’t realize they have access to cash like a 401(k) or retirement fund. You have access to these retirement funds if you wanted them. Some people will have five figures in there, at least maybe six figures. They’re like, “No, I don’t touch that. That’s my retirement fund.” Think about it. You educate yourself to the point where you’re confident that you can control that money and put it to better use than some guy who’s sitting up in a gigantic skyscraper and managing your money for you. They’re putting it in a bunch of companies you don’t even know. I’d rather handle it. “Give it to me. I’ll put it where it needs to go and make it grow.”

That’s access people need to get their head around because it’s risky but isn’t it risky in some money marketing fund managers’ hands? You don’t know what they’re doing with the money. That’s one thing. Also surrounding yourself with the right people. If you’re around people who have limiting beliefs, who don’t even see themselves as worthy of success, why would they support, love and lift you up? Eventually, when you lift up and you start to elevate, they’ll be like, “Who the hell do you think you are? Come back down here because you’re making me feel bad about myself. You’re shining a light on me. I can’t do what you’re doing so I’m going to pull you back down.” It’s like the crab in the bucket. That whole concept.

When you realize that, I’m going to go around people that’ll celebrate the successes with me, where I can celebrate a win without feeling bad about it because those guys are crushing it. Me celebrating, “I got a multifamily apartment building,” to a guy who owns a jet, that’s nothing to him. He’ll be like, “It’s so good. Congratulations, Erik. What’s the next move for you?” If you surround yourself with people who are doing big things, they’re not going to look at you and say, “Get back into the bucket,” because their bucket’s big. It’s abundant.

Why did you create some of the businesses and companies you’ve created like On Air Brands, PodMAX and Mindado Investment Group?

Mindado was the first thing I did when I left Corporate America because I wanted to get into real estate. Everything that I do within real estate is under that umbrella. Whether it’s resorts or multifamily and all these things that we do, that’s the entity that operates in real estate investing. Eventually, what I found out was when I started going to meetings and I started talking to a lot of real estate investors, they started to recognize and call me the unicorn in the room. I was the only creative person in the room that does graphic design, logos, branding and marketing. Everyone else is left-brain analytical people that are looking at spreadsheets and trying to analyze the risk on a deal.

People would be like, “I see your website. I see you on social. I see your YouTube channel and all the stuff you’re doing like your podcast. Who’s doing that for you?” It was me, a one-man band. The cymbals between my legs and harmonica on my neck and then I was like, “That’s all me.” Eventually, one person said, “I need your help. Can you help me with my logo?” Another person said, “Can you help me with this video? Can you help me with a podcast?” To the point, Rodney, where I’m like, “I can’t do this by myself. I would hire someone and then hire another.”

Failure is necessary to learn and grow and figure out how to do something new. Click To Tweet

All of a sudden, I realized what was at the time, Cabral Designs became On Air Brands because I was like, “This is becoming a full-fledged company. I don’t want to own the company with my name on it because I want everyone to feel like they have ownership. I want this to be a family dynamic.” I changed it to On Air Brands, which encompasses not just my team but our clients and all the people we are trying to help because I’m going to get you on the air in the moderate sense of the word.

Not on the radio, not on television but I’m going to get you on podcast and on social media. I’m going to get you doing live streaming and all this stuff that the people within that real estate investing network couldn’t get their heads around. They’re like, “I don’t understand social media.” Think of it like ABC, NBC and CBS. You had to get on those channels in order for your business to succeed back in the day. Forget those channels. You can get on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Those are the new ABC and NBC. They’re like, “Oh.” I’d get you on air. That whole investing community helped me create On Air Brands and manifested it.

What about PodMAX?

PodMAX came as a result of On Air Brands producing podcasts for people. All of a sudden, we had a bunch of podcasts and a bunch of people who wanted to get on podcast as a guest like what we’re doing. I said, “Why don’t we have a party where all of you come into the room and I’ll get you on all these shows that we produce?” It became PodMAX over time. It became a networking event and an opportunity for business owners to get on to podcasts and promote themselves.

All of a sudden, all the in-between recording episodes, people were networking. You’re finding new partners, new clients and new friends. I was like, “This is powerful and cool.” That’s how it all happened. It all happened organically. None of this was by design, Rodney. I wish I could say, “I’m a mad genius. I figured this all out.” One thing led to another. It was a domino and it led to creating the next thing.

It is something to be said about making that shift because a lot of times, we get stuck in that structure. We know what the structure is and we get comfortable with that. Whereas sometimes, as an entrepreneur, there’s that uncertainty. Sometimes there’s no structure or lack thereof. You have to operate in that and still figure your way through that. We’re having a team and having people to help you with making decisions and are supportive of your best interest. It’s important that you have those people to lean on, talk to and have discussions about these things. What’s next for you?

I continue to offer value, provide value to people in their lives and in their business through the things we do. Mainly, we’re focused on creating more podcasts for people because it’s such a powerful tool. It’s such a wonderful and unique way to connect with people on a deep level. A lot of people don’t realize it. They think of it as radio. “Erik, help me get a creative podcast because I want to get ads.” I’m like, “It’s not about getting ads on your show. It’s not about getting a 1-800-Mattress commercial. This is something different. This is a deeper relationship-building tool for you if you use it right. Eventually, you can have those things happen.”

I try to manage people’s expectations around what podcasting is, for me personally and for the clients that we serve. As a whole, if anyone gets into podcasting, it’s such a low barrier to entry, Rodney. All they’ve got to do is buy a microphone or not even that. My first podcast or two was on the phone. I took my phone into the basement where the kids weren’t crying. I talked into it and I launched it. I was like, “This is easy.” Me being the guy that’s hungry, I started taking it to the next level. I got a microphone, a camera and then eventually a podcast studio but you don’t have to do all that. You can just do it on your phone. It’s easy.

How has your podcast alone changed you?

It changed me because it gave me access to people I wouldn’t normally have any access to. It became my personal mastermind. If anyone hasn’t experienced what a mastermind is, it’s your network. You surround yourself with people who are doing big things or trying to grow personally and financially through business. You get together on a regular basis. It’s a community that holds you accountable and that’s key. If you don’t have anyone holding you accountable, how do you know what to do or if you’re going to continue doing it if someone isn’t holding your feet to the fire?

The podcast gave me access to all these individuals that I was learning from. I was like, “Give it to me. I’m taking notes. That’s brilliant. That’s a good one.” It got to the point, Rodney, where it happens so much. I’m probably 600, 700, 800 interviews in, collectively. That’s a lot of knowledge. It was like Neo tapping in like, “I know kung fu.” That’s what it became. All of a sudden, I’ll talk and be like, “Who said all that?” It’s because of the collective knowledge of all the hundreds of people I’ve spoken to that are brilliant.

How would you have normally without a podcast? How would I have ever done that? No reason to reach out to Robert Kiyosaki, “We got a podcast. Do you want to be on the show?” There are so many instances but the one that was a big game-changer for me was at an Entrepreneur Magazine event. The Editor In Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine was walking past me, Jason Feifer and I’m like, “Yo, Feif.” It was the end of the event. He was going home. He turned around and I was like, “Real quick, I got a show. It’s called Entrepreneurs Circle. Would you like to be a guest?”

I don’t even know if the show had launched yet. Maybe I was 2 or 3 episodes in. I don’t even remember but it was early. He was like, “Sure. Here’s my card.” That opened doors. We continued to work with each other after that. If I didn’t have a podcast, what would I say? “Feif, can I buy you some coffee?” He’d be like, “No.” I had a podcast and he said yes.

That’s gold. For those that are reading that are looking at podcasts as a way to make money, you can’t make money off podcasts but there’s so much more value in a podcast than just making money. Erik, I want to thank you for coming on the show. This has been a great conversation. How can people connect with you if they want to learn more about you?

I would love people to join me and listen to my show because they probably love your show and adore your show as I do. Entrepreneurs Circle, you can find that at EntrepreneursCircle.com. That’s also on my website, which is ErikCabral.co. You can see everything I’m doing there. We’d love to help and support the audience in any way we can.

Thank you for that, for coming to the show and for the work that you do. For someone who has made the shift that’s out there making it happen, not just flashy and all about the money but helping people change their lives, I want to say thank you for doing that and being an example of what’s possible. A lot of people sometimes don’t think it’s possible for them. They see other people do it but they feel like, “Maybe their circumstances were different. Maybe they’re smarter,” whatever the case. There’s always this limiting belief.

It’s good to see other people. I’m not saying you’re a regular guy. That’s not what I’m saying. To see someone that comes from humble beginnings, go through that process of making the shift and who’s out here making big things happen, it’s an indication that it’s possible. It’s possible for you, for me and for anyone who’s willing to put their ear to the ground and get it done.

Thank you for all those kind words, Rodney. Your audience is blessed to read and gain knowledge from you and your guests. I am a regular dude. I want people to know that they can do whatever I was doing and whatever I’m doing. It’s just believing in yourself, understanding and knowing that everything that’s holding you back is in your head. It’s in your programming and upbringing. You got to deconstruct, tear it all down and burn the boats. Land, figure it out and be like, “There’s no option. I’m not going back.” Yes and no, that’s figuratively okay.

When I told my wife I was going to do this, I was like, “I can always get a job again.” That was always the safety net. If you think about it, if you leave your job and it’s paying you well but you want to do something bigger, always know that if you go try and you “fail”, you can always go back and get the job again. You most likely won’t be homeless. You can go find something that will support you. At least you will know. “I tried it and I can find solace in that,” rather than being on your deathbed like, “I never tried anything. I never took a risk.” I want to leave that to people.

Erik Cabral on the show. Thanks. I appreciate you.

—

There you have it, another successful episode of the show. This is another one of those episodes you want to go read again and again. A lot of great knowledge from a great man who’s doing great things. One of the takeaways that I’m pulling away from the episode is a lot of times we think about the worst thing that’s going to happen. That prevents us from taking a step because that one worst thing might happen. A lot of times, the worst thing isn’t going to happen. If it does happen, it’s not truly the end of the world. It’s just the worst thing that could have happened. Even that is something that we can overcome.

You have to remember that when you go and try to do something, even if it doesn’t work out for you, you’re not the same person that you were before you tried to do it, simply because of the fact that there’s knowledge to be gained in that experience whether it worked out or not. If you look at it the right way, you’ve gained something that you didn’t have before so you’re better than you were before you started, which makes the first step worthwhile. Take the first step.

I love the quote by Thomas Carlyle that said, “Take the first step and once you get there, you can see how you can go further.” At any rate, that’s where we are. That’s maybe where you are. You’re right at taking that first step. Maybe you can’t see what the next 2 steps, 3 steps or 4 steps are and that’s okay. Take the first step because once you get that then perhaps things will open up for you and you can see how to take that next step. If you don’t take the next step, you can’t see and experience your journey. Until next time. Peace and love.

Important links

• On Air Brands
• PodMAX
• Mindado Investment Group
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• ErikCabral.co
• Is Life Knocking You Down? Read Rodney’s inspiring story – Get Up! I Can’t. I Will. I Did… Here’s How!
• Recognize Your Positive Potential – Essential Assertions by Rodney Flowers
• Get Access to Rodney’s Daily Inspiration in your Inbox Today
• Entrepreneurs Circle
• Erik@OnAirBrands.com
• http://RodneyFlowers.com/get-up-book/
• http://RodneyFlowers.com/essential-assertions-book/
• https://RodneyFlowers.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?
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About Erik Cabral

Erik Cabral left corporate America after 20+ years. He jumped head first into real estate investing in order to achieve financial freedom. Educating himself, building networks, and analyzing hundreds of deals he purchased his first multi-family building in less than one year. He’s a partner in the Renault Winery & Resort, which is the 3rd oldest winery in the US, offers private capital to his network of investors for various projects and looks for opportunities to expand and grow his network.