From Losing it All to Abundance with Purpose: Damion Lupo’s Blueprint for Resilience and Financial Freedom

Speaker 0

On today's episode, we sit down with Damien Lupo. He's a seasoned entrepreneur who has launched and grown over seventy companies. He's had a lot of ups and downs. He went from making millions of dollars to being homeless for a brief period of time in the two thousand eight crash. We also talk about a a cool story where, in one of the colleges he attended, he, put the bookstore out of business. So the school kicked him out, because he was putting the the store out of business by, filling a need for students. He he brings a lot of really valuable advice. We do talk a good bit about real estate, but, ultimately, it's more about business and mindset and how AI is gonna be revolutionizing things going forward and how there's gonna be a real separation, a real gap between those who are intentional about their life and adding value to others and those who are more passive and consumeristic, if you will. I don't know if that's a word, but this this is definitely an episode I'm gonna listen to again. He just he just really brings it with so much valuable information and passion. And and it's funny. We talk about the difference between purpose and passion. We talk a lot about how after he made his first, few million, he thought he was the richest man, and he was so he he was very arrogant and prideful and thought he was the smartest guy in town. And then he lost it all. And so he had to learn a really hard lesson about the fact that purpose in serving others is way more valuable and way more important than focusing on yourself and and accumulating assets and money. And now he's found that the money just comes when he is focused on the future and focused on serving others and his purpose and his mission. And he also gets a little vulnerable about, relationships. So you're gonna wanna listen to this this whole episode. He gives some awesome tips, some really good book recommendations toward the end. So I hope you enjoy it. 

Speaker 1

Welcome to From Adversity to Abundance, the go to podcast for real estate entrepreneurs seeking not just to thrive, but to conquer with resilience and mental sharpness. Each week, join us as we dive into the compelling world of real estate through the lens of mental fitness, where challenges transform into opportunities. Get ready to transform your mindset and expand your understanding of what it takes to succeed in real estate. Let's explore these stories of triumph and resilience together. 

Speaker 0

Welcome, everybody, to another episode of the From Adversity to Abundance podcast. I am your host, Jamie Bateman. And today, I'm thrilled to have with us Damien Lupo. Damien, how are you doing today? 

Speaker 2

I'm good, Jamie. It's good to be here. Thanks for having me. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. This is gonna be a fun one. We were chatting a little bit beforehand, and I'm excited to, learn more than I already know about your story. For the listener who may be unfamiliar with you, who are you, and what are you up to today? 

Speaker 2

I'm I'm a I'm a long term, entrepreneur. I think I was creating businesses in the womb fifty years ago, And and I'm and that that hadn't really stopped. Every time I try to do something different, I end up getting derailed. Like, in twenty ten when I I went and volunteered as a I was like a nonpaid employee and got fired as a volunteer because I'm just not good at that. I'm better at creating new systems and disrupting things. And so that that's what I'm doing in the housing space today. 

Speaker 0

Got it. Yeah. I I I didn't realize myself how much of that entrepreneurial kind of thread was was in my own story until looking back. It's like, no. I I I had a lot of little businesses I'd start and gumball machine business and things I don't even tell people about. But, so yeah. So so before we jump back into your backstory, I know you have a pretty cool story about, when you were in college. What do you walk us through a little bit more of the kind of the maybe the abundance that you experience on a day by day or week to week basis today. 

Speaker 2

Well, the I think the the biggest example of the abundance is that there's been a shift from this this idea of working when I was in the 2000s. We'll talk about that in a minute. When I was working to create more millions of dollars, there was like this the focus on the the outcome. And the abundance today is that there's so much money coming in as a side effect of solving a problem and creating a benefit externally for other people that the once that was really embraced, and that took losing everything in two thousand eight, but once that was embraced, it really is it's not just a cliche thing to focus on your purpose and the money follows, But the abundance that that I live in now has everything to do with focusing on solving a problem and serving other people. And now it's there's there's more money than than anybody could, you know, really do anything with in their lifetime unless they want Boeing business jets, which some people 

Speaker 0

1. Got it. Yeah. No. I I appreciate that. I think there's a ton of truth that you just, just alluded to and just mentioned for sure. And, yeah. So so let's jump back. So your your your textbook story, story about, bucking the the system, if you will, when you were in college. Let's talk about that. What what what's the deal with that? 

Speaker 2

So I went to I went to college four different times, and the the first time I had the experience of selling books, like most people, you you buy a book for a hundred bucks, you sell it back for fifty. And then if you want somebody else wants to buy the same book five seconds later, they buy it back for seventy five. And it's a pretty big margin business, and we're all we we used traditionally had been stuck in that thing. And before there was a lot before there was Amazon, I was sitting there in college in New Mexico, and I I said, this seems like a a racket, and I bet I could do better. I bet I could do better for everybody. So I set up a little business, convinced the post office to let me put slips in everybody's mailbox without a stamp, which is probably a felony. I mean, who knows? Statue of limitations is probably ex expired, I hope. Right. But, you know, I I did that and and said, hey. If you wanna if you want more money for your books, send drop me a a list of all your books and, that you that you have for sale and and those that you wanna get, let me know. And so I ended up with, like, hundreds of these slips in my box over a couple of days, and I spent the last week of school running books around because I didn't have any money. So this is being creative and hustling. I I was literally going and grabbing books from Bob to run over to to Sally and give to Sally. Sally gave me money, and then I ran the money back to Bob. And I did this that last week and paid for school, but the administration got pissed off and said you're literally putting the bookstore out of business because this is how they make all their money, and we'd like to have them here the rest of the semester. And I said, well, yeah, this is how I'm paying for school. And they said, well, either stop or we're gonna throw you out. So I didn't stop, and I I left, but I was basically told to leave. And that was it it was a great experience. If you're gonna try to disrupt something, you're gonna irritate some legacy system. Just kinda like what's gonna happen in DC here in twenty twenty five. A lot of people are gonna be really pissed off, but that's what happens when you're disrupting something. 

Speaker 0

That's a that's really good. So yeah. And just briefly before we move on, what was, like, put some numbers behind, like, maybe a typical, you know, case what was a case study, you know, for for one book sale that you did, and then how many times did you do that? 

Speaker 2

So I I I think what what happened on that on that hundred dollar book, I probably bought it back for, like, sixty six, sixty seven and sold it for, you know, like, seventy three or, you know, whatever it was. So, basically, I was just I was squeezing that margin. Instead of a twenty five dollar margin, it ended up being, like, a ten. And when when that was the case, then, you know, people are every everybody's happy because they're getting more money and they're spending less money. Sure. So, you know, you you do that a thousand times and literally paid for college. 

Speaker 0

Right. So even then, you were you were really I mean, sounds like the pain you experienced the pain personally, but then you were kinda listening to the market and saying, I mean, there was a clearly demand to solve this problem for a lot of other people. So and then you you went to school three other times at three other colleges? 

Speaker 2

Yeah. The first time, I was I was gonna be a fighter pilot. And and at the end of the semester or the end of the year, they said, unfortunately, your eyes aren't perfect, and so you you can fly a desk, but not a jet. And I said, bye. That was the end of that. I wasn't wasn't really interested in being a bureaucrat or or a desk jockey. So left it there left there. And and the other times, it was still I was still doing it for the wrong reasons. Like, one time I went because it was what everybody said I should do, and I and I got tired of listening to people and and saying no. No. No. And they kept saying do this. And the last time was actually kind of funny. I went to the University of Texas full time, and I I lasted forty five minutes. And it was because I ended up in a government class. The teacher was younger than me. And what we would what we've seen now is that there these colleges are full of communist, socialist, and her her government dogma was that the government was the the reason we have government is to create things and develop resources to be able to distribute to the population. That was literally what she thought our system was, And I thought, I need to get the hell out of here before I get indoctrinated with this nonsense. And so I I ran off campus, and that was the end of end of college for me. 

Speaker 0

Wow. Okay. So let's fast forward. I know two thousand eight, you know, for the listener who may be unfamiliar, the two thousand eight real estate crash was a huge deal. If you're if you're not familiar with it, Google it. But, Damien, how what did your business look like heading into two thousand eight? 

Speaker 2

So it's interesting if you go back a couple of years, two thousand four, two thousand five, I'd been buying houses when it wasn't sexy. I was buying houses when dot coms were, you know, pet pet food dot com or whatever was a gazillion dollar company, and people were thinking, oh, that was the way. And I was over there buying houses and taking over mortgages. And so I did all this stuff that was, like, contrarian, very contrarian. I was doing that stuff, and I ended up buying a hundred and fifty houses over a period of a few years. And then in o four and o five, sold off virtually all the houses, made millions of dollars, thought I was I was King Kong and had all this cash. And the the smartest thing I ever did was sell them. The dumbest thing I did was go back into the market and say, oh, you know what? I'm so smart. I'm ten feet tall, bulletproof, and and brilliant. And I was I my timing was great. And sometimes if you're willing to be in activity and action, your timing will you'll run into that. It's just when opportunity meets preparation. And that's, I mean, that's that's luck. So in two thousand eight, I had seven projects that were running condo development, apartment rehabilitation, building multimillion dollar houses, all sorts of flippings things. And with I was, in theory, all of them were gonna make me a million dollars each or more. And within twelve months, they went from making me a million to losing over a million, and I had a twenty million dollar portfolio that went to negative five million in one year. So that I I went from American Express, black card, and Ferraris to living out of my truck, and my Mamex got declined trying to buy toilet paper at Costco, which is embarrassing. But that's what the experience was. I needed to have all that stuff to to learn and get through it and and shift to where I am 

Speaker 0

today. Wow. There's there's, I mean, that's probably several podcast episodes just just in that couple of few years there. That's that's so much. So, I mean yeah. So so looking back, what were the lessons you learned from that? I mean, sound sounds like I I don't wanna put words in your mouth, but it sounds like pride or ego was was a was a factor. What else did you learn from that that whole that time frame? 

Speaker 2

Well, so fast forward, what I've noticed in myself and other people, the first time people make a bunch of money, their ego and pride thinks it's them, and they think they're invincible, and and they think they're more important and smarter. I've watched that with people I work with today. I mean, there's people in different facets, you know, internally, externally. I just watch when people, all of a sudden, they go from wherever they were, which is sort of like cruising along in middle class and they end up with millions of dollars, and they turn into giant assholes. And and it's and I'm I'm certain I was no different because I wouldn't have wanted to if I met the guy I was fifteen years ago, I would run away. I would literally be like Teflon bounce off like terrible because there's an arrogance, and nobody likes it. Like, we like confidence. We like people that are certain. When when Michael Jordan says I'm the best or LeBron James or whoever Right. It's not arrogance. It's certainty because they've earned it. And Sure. A problem with making a bunch of money pretty quick, especially young, but really at any time, is that you think that you are so smart. I mean, that's the very normal thing or a lottery winner thinks, oh, yeah. I earned this hundred million dollars or today the Powerball's a billion. And they'll, you know, they'll lose it within a few years with more. They'll be homeless. And so the lesson there was one, be stay humble. So now when I'm making, you know, the millions and millions and tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, that's the reality of my life. Not a whole lot changes. Another million comes in, and I go, okay. Interesting. It's kinda like Elon when they said, you're the most you just became the most the richest person in the world. He said, Interesting. Went right back to work. It didn't matter because it was just a scorecard. It wasn't the identity. And for me, that was the identity Yeah. Yeah. Back in two thousand six and seven. And so the lesson was, alright. This is this is cyclical. What what's real wealth is the confidence you you gain by going through it. And just because you win a bunch does not mean you have any confidence. It's it it literally can mean that you have a bunch of arrogance that you think that you are you're you're God's gift to to everything and and the money you're entitled to. I I had to understand that that there are cycles I'm not gonna win all the time. In fact, I'm probably gonna lose more. I've I've started more than seventy companies, and the majority of those have not made money. They've been really great learning opportunities. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

That's that that's what an entrepreneur has to embrace, that you're going to be wrong more than you will be right. Yeah. And being one right one out of ten or one out of a hundred is all you need to to absolutely crush it. But most people don't really understand that, and they they get tied up in the wins and the losses as if that's who they are. And so that was a huge part of that process. 

Speaker 0

Got it. No. And it's like, we like to keep it real on the show. And the fact is, you know, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not easy. You've gotta be willing to work through those ups and downs for sure and take a lot of losses, but but learn from them as well, like you said. So okay. So you ended up homeless. Right? How long were you homeless for? What did that look like? 

Speaker 2

So that was that that was there's a transition period where I mean, there were some days where I was in my vehicle, and and this was you know, this is less than a month where I was in this process, but I was sometimes in a vehicle. And sometimes I was I was sleeping on a couch, but sometimes I was in a place where there wasn't a couch, and I was trying to figure out where I was gonna live. I had given my house that I was living in back to the bank, and and I was, you know, I was just kinda wandering, figuring out my next stop in life and what that was gonna look like. So it you know, one day isn't really that big of a deal. Like, being homeless is basically camping if it's one day. It doesn't matter. Right. But when you're when you don't have an address, like, I didn't have I had the UPS store. And so people you know, my my driver's license was really not really valid because there's no residence. And and what's interesting is I found out you can you can have a hotel as your address, your actual residence. Really? Yeah. You can put it on your driver's license. It's it's legal, as far as I know in every state because some people actually do live in hotels, and it can be a residence. So, you know, you learn a lot of weird things in this in this cycle. You also realize how cold it is when you because we're Yeah. We're we're very, we're used to creature comforts. We're used to things being easy. I think we generally become very soft, especially in this in this country in America. It's very easy to just get by, and we really haven't been tested to any any real in any real way like people were during the depression or the world wars or the civil war. We've had it pretty damn easy. And most people I think with what's coming with AI and robotics and everything, it's gonna be very, very challenging for most people because they don't know how to adapt. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. That's a good point. Yeah. I just, a few months ago, read the book, Comfort Crisis. I can't remember the author's name, but it's that's a that's a good one for the listener to check out. Okay. So walk us through from a business standpoint how you recovered from all that. I mean, what what was your how after you after you were homeless for a month, I mean, what were your first steps, and how did that progress? 

Speaker 2

So I I did what is what's interesting to me, I'm seeing some people do this. Like, I I decided to go volunteer for a political campaign. Really? And it seemed like yeah. And, you know, when you're lost, you just sort of bounce around like a ping pong ball or a pinball. And and I didn't know where I was gonna land. I didn't know what to do. Part the the big problem is I didn't really go deep into the truth. Like, I I had to do work after I left that campaign in twenty ten. I had to go work on me. So I spent a couple years with a therapist coach, and we just dug, man. Like, we we peeled back the layers, and it was really figuring out who I was. Because what I'd been doing is I'd been I'd been chasing surface level hedonistic enjoyment and getting a lot of stuff and a lot of fun feelings, and and I wasn't really doing anything that was fulfilling. I I in twenty twelve, I wrote a book called Reinvented Life, and that was kind of the culmination of the work I'd been doing. 

Speaker 0

Okay. 

Speaker 2

And one of the chapters is called success versus fulfillment. I was really good at success with all the shiny objects Yeah. But there wasn't really much fulfilled in my life. And this this was the switch. There was a switch to doing something that was more external meaning for for other people and not just for me and taking and and consuming. So that was that was the big shift. And that's that's what it took. It took a couple years of doing very hard work, and that's the hardest work anybody's ever gonna do is on themselves. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. No. Another book just popped into my head is, I think it's called The Second Mountain, David Brooks, which he talks basically about that is is the first half of his life, so to speak, is is about chasing success, and and then the second half is more about purpose and serving others and and being fulfilled through that. So before we move on, I mean, that's two thousand ten. I mean, that's pretty early. Every a lot of people talk about working on themselves now, and and I think it's important. I'm not brushing, you know, minimizing that at all. I just think now it's a popular buzzword and buzz term. For you, you know, that was fourteen to twelve years ago. What did that look like, really? And you don't you know, you can get as personal as you want, but but what what does that mean working on yourself in your case? 

Speaker 2

Well, I I mean, the first thing is is acknowledging the truth. And so that was the question for eighteen straight months. Every week, I went in, and Frank and I sat down. And it basically, the the question was, what is true? And we just kept going deeper with more onion layers. And what that looked like is when I looked back, I was like, wow. I was an asshole. And it was about more for Damien. And it wasn't it I like, I was helping people with their housing, but it was like, okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna help with their housing so I can get cash. Like, that was that was the focus 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

Instead of letting the cash happen because there was a mission to improve housing. Now this the the shift today, which is the opposite of that, is is all about lowering pricing, lowering making it more affordable by solving the housing crisis with these ten million missing units that we have. And it had to be there had to be a shift, and the shift was really triggered big time in twenty thirteen when I was talking to my dad right before he died. And it was because this conversation where he looked at me and he said, you know, there were so many things that I wanted to do, and it wasn't about going and getting more stuff. My dad was a hoarder. Like, he had everything. 

Speaker 0

He 

Speaker 2

found eBay, and his life became way fuller. It was crazy, and I had to clean out all his crap when he died. Yeah. But it was it it was it was a shift from this idea of just getting more stuff to creating more experiences for more people. And and I realized that most people were playing safe. They were tiptoeing safely to death's door, and they weren't really going for it, and they were being delusional. And so I spent all my time now thinking about money and finances. Why? Because it's objective truth. Like, you can't you can either like, you're gonna be real about the numbers Yeah. Or or you're gonna lie. You can do all sorts of lying about doing work on yourself. Easy to be subjective, and it's hard to pin it down with money. Look. Either you're in debt or you're not in debt. Yeah. You're spending more than you make or you're not. You've got more than enough for your life or not. That is true. It's a good thing. It's true. I mean, like, there's just truth with the money. 

Speaker 0

Right. And 

Speaker 2

so that that was that was the shift. It was it was saying, okay. What's real? What am I really doing? Why am I taking on debt? What do I do I even believe that I'm worth a million or ten million or a hundred million? What's my connection to that? What's my thermostat? And I I wasn't thinking about any of that stuff. And so I the the idea of doing personal development, working on yourself Yeah. It is not a weekend course. It is a daily practice. It's a Sure. Every Sunday, that's what I'm doing. People are out there watching football, drinking beer, whatever. Yeah. Whatever floats your boat. Sure. I'm spending time thinking and writing and reflecting and then asking myself, how can I be better? And, ultimately, that's the work that you have to do. It's it's a consistency. It's not a weekend event. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Yeah. No. That's really good. And I'm glad you said that because, yeah, you may have kind of done kind of a a sprint, if you will, on the self development side in two thousand ten, you know, for eighteen months, but you're still there's still work to be done. You're never done. Right? You're never done done. So from a business standpoint, real estate investment standpoint, practically speaking, what did that look like? What have the last fifteen years looked like for you specifically? 

Speaker 2

So what was interesting is after getting burned, part of the process of of the, you know, of of going through that, I was very gun shy about doing anything. I certainly didn't wanna touch real estate. And so part of the problem with being in the penalty box after you go through mayhem is you miss opportunities. So I missed opportunities for about five years when there was a ton of opportunity because everything was beaten down. Being a proper contrarian, two thousand nine, two thousand ten, two thousand eleven were incredible years. I was not in the game. I was, like, in the bleachers or out the parking lot. I was gone. And and so of it took me about ten years to actually buy real estate again, and that was just a primary residence. I was I was happy to not own real estate because that sucker burned me bad. Sure. And it was it was that now was the process. So I missed that stuff. Most of the real estate that I'm involved with now is stuff that I'm using. It's kinda like Patrick Bet David. He doesn't go and invest in stuff. He's investing in businesses. He has real estate, so do I. And it's whether I'm living in it or I have factories or I have teams, like, it's it's all business. I don't my personal preferences and the my thinking around opportunity is the opportunity is in business because there's too much cash chasing fixed assets. It doesn't matter what the fixed asset is, but especially real estate. There's so much dumb money chasing it. It's driving down yields, driving up prices. Yeah. And I'm not a speculator. I may have been in the past, but I'm not anymore. So I I'm interested in building things, building Got it. Whether it's, you know, it's companies, manufacturing companies, building people. It's about building things that I can actually influence, not hoping that the market is is crazier than I was yesterday, tomorrow. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Yeah. No. I love that. And it's, I used to think the word creative meant to be, like, artistic and that kind of thing. And and the more real and where I've talked to entrepreneurs and and process, it's like, no. I'm actually creative too. I I like building thing. When you're building something, you're creating something. Right? Adding value. Maybe it's not necessarily from scratch. Maybe it is. But so business wise, what are, you know, what is it point out one or two of your your, the businesses you're most proud of that you've been a part of or that you've started in the last ten years. 

Speaker 2

So there's there's a theme for everything, and that that's to take a step back, the question is, what why am I doing a business? Because people oftentimes are trying to figure out what to do. What business should I do? What should I invest in? And my question is, what problem are you trying to solve? And if there's if there's a deep mission and why, it'll become very obvious. Not only will it become a yes for something, it'll become a no for almost everything. 

Speaker 0

If you 

Speaker 2

don't have a mission, if you don't have a why, if there's not something that really drives your core, like your deep mission, your heart, your soul, then you're gonna be chasing all sorts of shiny nuts. You'll you'll be like a drunk squirrel chasing shiny nuts. It's really bad. And I I look at that and I say, okay. So what what matters to me? What matters to me is people are enslaved by money. And so the mission for the last fifteen years has been to free people from financial slavery to break their shackles, their financial shackles, and have at least a million people freed. And so that that started off with this helping people with their retirement money because that's where most people's net worth is. And I don't count your house because your house you're living in, you're not gonna eat your house. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

So their retirement accounts, they had all this money. There's fifty trillion dollars in retirement accounts. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

So I realized people didn't really have control. They didn't really know what was going on. It was kind of a lottery event. And I and I started the EQRP company where I was helping people direct their retirement accounts into real estate and Bitcoin and gold. 

Speaker 0

Other alternative investments. 

Speaker 2

Yep. Alternative investments. And that that was so that and then there was a there's a precious metals company, and then ultimately, the private equity where we're we're building things like FrameTech. And it's all these things are centered on this mission of freeing people. So, like, FrameTech, we have four hundred plus investors. They get to be a part of something that's creating housing, and they're gonna be they're gonna become very, very wealthy financially and helping them break into financial shackles because of this. So everything is about that. The amount of wealth that's created for Damian is a massive side effect, but it's not it's not the focus. I didn't go in here and say, I'm gonna make a hundred million or a billion dollars. That's just gonna happen as a side effect with a lot of damn work. It's not 

Speaker 0

it's not 

Speaker 2

it's not an accident. I mean, there's there's a grind and there's a there's a a discipline and a pain because you have to give up virtually everything else. If you want a gold medal, I mean, ask Michael Phelps. What did he have in his life for ten years? Swimming and eating. That was it. Right. There was there was nothing else. I mean, literally, probably half and half, 

Speaker 0

you know, the amount of time he spent eating and swimming. Right. Yeah. He he ate a lot of calories. Yeah. I'm from the So that's that's I'm from the area where he's from. Yeah. 

Speaker 2

Yeah. So, I mean, that's that's where that's where it is today. 

Speaker 0

Sure. It 

Speaker 2

it's that process of of becoming obsessed about the thing that's gonna have the biggest impact on the biggest part of society, and that's and then everything stems from that. 

Speaker 0

No. I love it. And and like you said, you're you're passionate about it, so that adds yes, there's ton a ton of work. Not downplaying that at all. But if you don't have that passion or that drive or that why behind it, you're not gonna be putting in the hours and the the effort. It's just not gonna happen. Right? So, what else does you you mentioned Sundays. You mentioned kind of a weekly routine you have. We don't need to go through hour by hour, but what does a week look like for you? What kind of where does that discipline surface and that work ethic? What does that look like? 

Speaker 2

So just I I'll get into that stuff. One of the things I think is really important to emphasize here that there's a difference between passion and purpose, and we all over social media, this is one of those things that people are like, find your passion. I'm like Sure. Bunkers, man. Passion is fleeting. Passion is fun. Passion is exciting. I'll tell you what. A lot of the last few years, a lot last ten years has not been passion. It's been grind and pain. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I'm I'm only I'm look. I'm bald, so there's no I can't lose any more hair. And it's and and that's that's part of the process. You're gonna give up you're gonna give up certain things. You're not gonna have people say, well, you you know, you work all the time. And, yeah, I actually love it. And even when it's painful, I do. But I love that I'm doing something that's fulfilling my potential. So at the end of my life, I'm not gonna wake up one day and go, this is my last day, and I I feel like there's no regret. So I I think that that that's important for people to find purpose. 

Speaker 0

For sure. 

Speaker 2

Let forget about the passion for a second. Figure out the purpose. What do you and and and really what purpose is all about, serving other people and not just necessary. 

Speaker 0

Point out. The big difference is passion is focused on yourself and what you enjoy and what you like and what and the purpose is is really about serving others. I do think that there's some crossover because you mentioned you enjoy the work, you know, and and and your purpose the fact that you have such a high level of purpose with your work, I think, adds to the the fact that you enjoy your work. And so that, but you're you're definitely right. You know, I think purpose is a much bigger and more long lasting principle or, you know, thing to to to solve for. So but from a from a work ethic or just day to day grind standpoint, are you putting in five hours a day, fifteen hours a day? What does your week look like typically? 

Speaker 2

So, typically, I get up and I'm I'm hitting the ground running and studying. I I'll I'll usually study for a period of time for an hour or two, and then I'm at the gym. And that's that's most days. More often than not, that's the rhythm. There's, like, you there's a mental and a physical part of this whole process, and it's some people think you can think your way into this, and some people think that that's not true. I I think that you have to have both, but you physically, like, I go to I go to the gym to change my state, and it's there's a there's a chemical process. And and so, like, one of the things that I recently did is I gave up drinking completely. And and that's that's a that's a chemistry experiment on my body. It's a physiological improvement because it's a poison. It's it's like having toxic people in your life, putting toxic elements into you from a a bottle or or the toxic food that's everywhere. Mhmm. You know, all these things are I'm be being conscious about this. What what am I choosing? And most people are going through they're just going through these these habits. You know? Yeah. They're not thinking. 

Speaker 0

They're being intentional about it. 

Speaker 2

Yep. Very very unintentional is how our society is, and it's a click world like a bunch of chickens just pecking at things, and and they don't they don't really think. Right. And and so the the process has been, okay, being being deliberate about things, clearing out like, part of my ritual that I do every year in December is clearing out any of the clutter physically, emotionally, people wise, getting rid of the stuff that's that's not serving me and opening up space. And so every day, I'm constantly asking, what what can I let go of? And then building and serving. And so how am I serving other people today? Am I creating content? Am I talking to an investor? Am I am I talking with my team? What am I doing to give the best of me to society and other people? So that I mean, that's that's all day, and that's that's typically all day at the office, all day at my house, and then I'll go somewhere to have some human interaction, 

Speaker 0

and I'll spend 

Speaker 2

another two or three hours doing more work either on the business or creating content. So it's it's it's easily twelve plus hours a day. Gotcha. And does that leave a lot of room for other stuff? Not really. And it's Yeah. And that's that's the choice. And it's not for everybody, like you said earlier. Yeah. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. No. And I I'm glad you pointed out that you have to cut things out. It's a it's you gotta be intentional about what you're not pursuing as well. That's critical for sure, and creating that space to create that clarity about and about what your priorities really should be, where your focus should be. Awesome. I've got a bunch of, several rapid fire questions here. Are you ready? 

Speaker 2

Yeah. Let's do it. 

Speaker 0

What's one thing that people misunderstand about you, Damien? Excuse me. 

Speaker 2

I've heard this for twenty five years. People say, I'll work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy or some some damn saying like that. Mhmm. And I laugh and and I and they don't get it because they don't have anything that's deeply purposeful in their life. Meaning, they might have kids. They might have something. But they when you're trying to change the world, it's very different than somebody that that's not. And and people don't get that. And so they'll tend to say, oh, you just work Friday, Saturday. Like, typical Saturday night, I am working on my goals. I'm thinking about something. I'm studying. And most people are out getting wasted or watching football or whatever they're doing. And and that's that's a a very big misunderstanding. I don't and, you know, you get to a point where you don't care, and that's where the freedom lies when you don't care what other people think. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. No. That's really good. And and the fact is everybody wants to wants the results that you've been able to produce, but and and many people fall into the victim mindset, you know, and say, must be nice to be Damien and have all this money. You know? But we've we've heard clearly, you're putting in the work, and it's very intentional. What's one of your biggest failures that we haven't talked about? Anything come to mind? 

Speaker 2

I mean, one of one of the one of the biggest failures is is in in relationships. They're going into a relationship. Oftentimes, over the years, the relationship has been secondary to the mission. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And and that's that doesn't that doesn't help with longevity of relationships. It tends to make relationships pretty short lived. And so that's I I would look back. If there's something I could change, it would be more intentional. I'll give you an example. In in two thousand five, I had a relationship that ended, and my my ex girlfriend was she she went to therapy, and she said, I'd really like you to go. And I said, well, if you need therapy, then keep going, but, you know, I don't need to go to therapy. She gave me some books, the the five love languages and his needs, her needs. 

Speaker 0

And I 

Speaker 2

I looked at him, and I was like, yeah, whatever. We broke up, and then I went and read those books, and I started going to therapy. And I was like, man, you know what? I was the problem, and it wasn't her. And so that it's it's the arrogance, the ego. It's it's the things, and it was my mistake. And I've done that. I I did that with a number of relationships where I just I was I was being I wasn't allowing myself to open up and and fully commit. What's funny is I'll share that sometimes and I think it gets used against me where somebody says, well, you do this all the time. I'm like, well, actually, it may not be that I'm doing that. It may be that I just don't wanna be in this relationship with you. But in the past, I had great relationships. I just wasn't willing to to be in and be, be open. And so that was, you know, that that was a that was a big part of the past that Yeah. My my intention now is to not repeat those things, try to learn the lesson once. 

Speaker 0

Sure. No. I appreciate you being, you know, just vulnerable and honest, and nobody has it all put together a hundred percent. Right? Yeah. So yeah. If you could go back and if you could have coffee with any historical figure, whom would you choose? 

Speaker 2

Yeah. I I would really love to have known my grandfather who died when I was two. My grandfather and great grandfather died the same year. And so to me, that's a historical figure because it's part of my it's part of who I am. It's it's where I come from, and and I, you know, I I would love that. I'd also like to understand I mean, it'd be nice to have have a a latte with Jesus, and that's just because what, you know, what one person has had more influence on humanity. You know, that's For sure. Pretty pretty big influence. So having a cup of coffee and and and, you know, just saying, hey. I'd like to understand you, you know, first person. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. 

Speaker 2

And that and and, you know, people will say, well, that was the you know, this the Bible's God's word, and and, you know, I I don't I don't under you know, I who knows? But what I what I would like to do is get closer to that source 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And and have that influence. I think that that I don't think that there's a downside for having that level of of connection to something that's so impactful on the entire planet. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. For sure. I mean, the word influencer nowadays has a new meaning, but he there's really Yeah. Probably not a bigger influencer in the history of of of life than than Jesus. If you were given ten million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with it? 

Speaker 2

So it's interesting because I like the question, and I can tell you having had that happen, multiple times where ten million dollars shows up in a different in different ways, you know, I can tell you in recent in the last couple years when it has shown up, nothing changed. It was it was there's still a mission. The the only difference is sometimes I I it's just a reallocation. So it may be that I'm shifting assets and maybe I'm you know, there's more more facility that I'm buying or there's more people that I'm hiring or it's but in terms of, like, losing my mind, which is what I did when I bought my Ferrari and, oh, man, I got millions of dollars. Yeah. Thought I was rich. 

Speaker 0

And I 

Speaker 2

acted like I was super rich, but I was actually just sort of rich, barely rich. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

And and so ten million dollars, like, I actually have a a playbook. It's a one piece of paper. So I know there's a certain thing I do with a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, ten million, and a hundred million. I can tell you from that sheet, there are things I have guidelines. I have guidelines on how I do business. I have guidelines on what I invest in, and and most of those are so I know what to say no to, which is most everything. The there is a there is a list of things that will happen, and I adjust this every quarter because things change. Like, part of it might be I'm gonna pay off this building or I'm gonna do this, you know, this this type of investment. And I may look and say, I'm overweighted in that thing, and I don't need I don't need another facility because I have more capacity in my current facility. These I this is part of what I think about Saturdays, Sundays. Very intentional about what that money is gonna be. The reason that most people lose all their money when they make it, whether it's a million or a billion in a lottery event, they have no freaking idea. And their thermostat, they haven't thought about it, so they repel it. They get rid of it because it's it's, like, very uncomfortable. Mhmm. I don't I it's not uncomfortable to me. Like, a hundred million, I have a playbook for that. So Wow. Yeah. As it comes, it's it's just a normalized thing. 

Speaker 0

Gotcha. I we've I've had a few guests say that really ten million wouldn't, you know, wouldn't change their world. They barely notice it, but I don't think we've had anyone who's been so intentional and already has a process. You know? Basically, it's like plug and play into the, existing system. That's really cool. This one's not on my my sheet here, but who do you look up to? Who do you, take advice from? Who do you follow? 

Speaker 2

So I've had a mentor for the last five, six years, a guy named Jay Geier, who Okay. Teaches dentists. He teaches, doctors how to build practices. And I what I love about him is he's been down the road. He's, you know, he's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and and he's ten years older. So he's been through more cycles. He's been through life. He's very open and transparent. And so I I spend time listening to guys like that and and modeling, and and so I'm looking at and and I'm I'm looking for some new people because as you as you grow through things, it would be like, it'd be very hard for for Elon Musk to go find a mentor. Like, I don't know who that would be. Yeah. And that's probably why he's going to Mars because he's looking for 

Speaker 0

a mentor. 

Speaker 2

You know? He's he's gotta find somebody that's under you know, not of this world. 

Speaker 0

Right. 

Speaker 2

So, I mean, to it's an interesting question because who was who was Bill Gates' mentor? Love him or hate him, who who did he hang out with? Warren Buffett. You know, the guy's Sure. An extra twenty years on him, so there's there's a value. So I I've got people like that that I'm and and I'm and now I'm creating those environments because the ones that I had been in, in a lot of ways, I outgrew just because when you're doing things so fast and so big, you're generally going to you're gonna outgrow a lot of people in your life. And there are certain people you're like, hey. I wanna I want you to stay in my life. I wanna be in your life because we're growing together. Mhmm. But if you're just trying to drag along everybody that is not growing the way you're growing, you're you're gonna get stuck because it's too much weight that's holding you, not propelling you. 

Speaker 0

Love that. It's really good. How about a book or two? You mentioned, your own book. Is there another book or two that you could recommend for my listener? 

Speaker 2

Yeah. I'd so I'd I I really like Mastery by George Leonard. There's another one by by Robert Green, but George Leonard is a professional artist. 

Speaker 0

Robert Robert Greene was one of those that popped into my head when you said that. 

Speaker 2

And and and it's very popular. The one by George Leonard, he he and I are both martial artists, same style with aikido. And it's about the the mastery because in martial arts you're often doing the same thing literally for years and you're like man nothing is happening and it's a it's a plateau process and I really I got this and I think it's important for everybody. There is a process in life where you're you're gonna feel like you're just going through motions. Nothing is happening. If you've got something that if your if your quest is mastery, eventually you'll pop and you go, woah. It's like easy. And it's just like it's like I'm not even doing anything. It's just happening. And that's the the the there's a process of mastery. You never get to mastery. There's Moe Sensei, the guy that created Aikido, was, like, he literally wanted to be he has to be buried in his white belt, not his black belt. And most people are trying to get to black belt in something instead of living as as a permanent student being curious and and this quest for for mastery. And so I I really appreciate mastery and the the willingness to show up and grind and and bleed and and and that meaning you're gonna go through the pain because there's that is the process for entrepreneurship and building businesses and creating wealth. It is pain. And then when we started talking earlier, talking about how soft society is, most people are looking for the outcome. They look at the highlight reels on social media. They they don't wanna see all the pain. They don't wanna see the struggle, all the crap you gotta learn, all the mistakes you gotta make, all the people laughing at you that they wanna skip past that. They just want the money. And that is that is bold. Like, that is not how it works. You gotta go there and grind and and just and literally hurt. And that's David Goghen's Goghen's I mean, that he talks about this all the time. Like, you you gotta be willing to go through the grind and and and, you know, embrace the suck as Jocko says. For sure. Yeah. That's part of the process. 

Speaker 0

Right. Love it. So you mentioned AI earlier. What do you how do you nobody knows for sure how this is all gonna play out, but how do you envision, you know, maybe the next five years either in your businesses or or just the marketplace in general? How do you see things, shaping up as far as AI is concerned? 

Speaker 2

AI is literally going to disrupt everything. We've throughout history, we've had disruptive things where people said, oh, the jobs are going away because the car is now here and all the horses and and they and they would say things. The TV is gonna disrupt people. And and there's there's new it's creative disruption. We have new technologies. We create new jobs. The difference between now and back then was those things created disruptions that would roll out over decades and and new things would evolve. What we're seeing now is the the acceleration of accelerating change in technology with microprocessing power and AI AI getting to the point where there's the singularity event where it can think like a human. I mean, it's doing art. It's it's doing reporting. It's doing accounting. Like, you think about the robotics and the and the learning with Elon and what he's doing with with Optimus and and this this convergence of all of the network of of thinking and data processing. What you're gonna see, and we're seeing it, it's just gonna happen faster and faster, is that humans, the way that we do work and the way that we interact with society and our value is is going to shift because you're basically gonna either own the processing, own the creation space with the capital and the manufacturing and and the data, or you're gonna be saying, I need I need handouts because I don't have anything of value. I used to pay a guy to transcribe podcasts for me, and and I was paying him, like, three dollars an hour. He lived in Africa. That's all free now. So we're going to the digitization and the and the the the demonetization where it's literally going everything is going to zero. Mhmm. What that means is we've probably got a five year window where there's an opportunity. And fortunately, we have an opportunity in twenty twenty five to where I think we're gonna see a boom. I think we're gonna see an unleashing of capital in the spirit of of entrepreneurism. And that is important because people are on the sidelines waiting or they're going and doing something traditionally. Like, if you go to college for the next five years, I think honestly, you're screwed because you're gonna show up five years later. Your stuff's gonna be irrelevant. You're gonna go way past you we're the the market and the technology is going to change so fast. You're gonna be irrelevant. So now is the time to create something where you've either you've got some type of capital. You've got some type of of creation space. It's I mean, all those things that were sacred, whether it's medicine or accounting or legal or even plumbing, like, this stuff is it's going away. And so you've gotta figure out how you're gonna get in front of that. Raoul Pal talks about this all the time. We've literally got five to ten years. Ten, I think, is is being generous. I think realistically, by twenty thirty, the world will not recognize itself compared to twenty twenty five. 

Speaker 0

So this may be a tough one to answer, but if I'm if I'm a new, say, real estate investor or young entrepreneur, twenty five years old, I'm out of college, what does that mean for me? What steps do I take to embrace AI and get out in front of the curve? 

Speaker 2

I think one of the most valuable things is to attach yourself to whether it's getting involved in a SpaceX or a Tesla or going going to a place where the innovation is happening where you can be immersed in it because you'll naturally start evolving with it. If you're outside of that stuff and it's happening, it's gonna happen faster than you're gonna adapt because you won't pay attention. But if it's your daily experience so you've gotta be in a place you also have to just be realistic about who the people are that are around you if they're all a bunch of of bureaucrats or people that are middle class. And, look, that's where most people are. They're they're in the middle class. You've got a if if you're if you're asking the question, if if somebody's listening and saying, well, what what do I do? You probably need to upgrade your people. Upgrade to the people that are future thinking, that are creating, and don't just stay with the legacy people that are doing Friday and Saturday football and beer. Like, if that's your life, you're gonna end up you're gonna be voting for people that are gonna give you free crap next you know, in the election in four years. That's what you're gonna be asking for and begging for because you're gonna go, I I've I've been obsolete obsolete obsolete 

Speaker 0

made obsolete. I don't know. Yeah. We're 

Speaker 2

gonna we're gonna create words on this show. Yeah. No. You've been totally made obsolete. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. Yeah. 

Speaker 2

So the environment is the ultimate hack, Whether Yeah. Your your people and the environment you're in. If you're Mhmm. Like, if you wanna go to the forefront, you go to Miami, you go to Dubai, you go to Singapore, go go around, go to those places. 

Speaker 0

Mhmm. 

Speaker 2

If you're like, man, I I can't because I got family or whatever. Okay. Fine. But your life is your own damn fault. Like, you are going to be a reflection of your habits, your behaviors, your choices, and most people are gonna end up being pissed off. And it's like, look. You did it. You chose. You're not in prison. You're not in Florence in floor in, Colorado in a in a supermax. If you are, well, don't worry about it because you're just gonna be in a cage no matter what. But the rest of people making that choice Yeah. That's that that is that is your choice. 

Speaker 0

Well, that's really that's a really good answer. I mean and the fact is, you know, it AI doesn't mean we're making all people obsolete. You're you're basically saying that there's there's gonna be a even a greater divide between those who are intentional and and adding value and creating and and those who are not. And so so for the average person who may be a little bit on the fence or not sure which direction to go here, make sure you surround yourself with that first group who is knowledgeable, intentional, plugged into where things are headed because it is ever changing. We can't know exactly now how five years how it's gonna look in five years, but the environment and the people that you surround yourself with are critical. That's really good. What's something that you've never shared on a podcast before that you'd like to share? 

Speaker 2

Which I I I don't think I've been on a podcast with as big of a beard as and and this is this is audio. You have no idea what's happening right now, but, that's, you know, it's We'll throw it on YouTube. 

Speaker 0

People you could check it out on YouTube. See if 

Speaker 2

you can find this. If you're listening, go to YouTube and see the beard. Like, I've I've never I've never shared the level of beard, and we're we're we're trying something different. 

Speaker 0

Yeah. I love it. Damien, what's one thing that I have not asked you that you wish I had? 

Speaker 2

One of the biggest things that I've learned over the last, you know, since the late nineties is how much concern I used to have for what people thought about me. And it's still there. It's not completely gone. 

Speaker 0

Sure. 

Speaker 2

But the but I had a mentor twenty years ago that said you have no idea how free you'll be until you let go of what other people think about you. And I would have made mistakes way faster. I would have fallen. I would have gone bankrupt. I would have it it wouldn't have mattered. There's so much concern about what people think. Even the mistakes, people go and they they look stuff up on the Internet. They're like, oh, man. I heard you did this. Man, that just makes you a bad person. I laugh. I'm like, you can judge all you want. I don't give a shit. Like, it doesn't matter to me what what you think. I'm too busy on my mission. Mhmm. And have embracing that thinking as early as possible, meaning, like, now, twenty years ago, like planting a tree better twenty years ago, the next best time is right now. Sure. And and that was the thing. That that thinking is truly where you become free when you let go of of what other people think. Because quite frankly, they're not thinking about you anyway. They're thinking about their own damn life. 

Speaker 0

Right. And they may not have the best advice for you anyway even if they are thinking about you. But you're right. Everyone's absorbed with their own day to day and their own problems and their own concerns. And I but I I like the fact that you've you've articulated that it doesn't mean when you say that, it doesn't mean you're selfish and you're just focused on yourself. You don't care what anyone thinks whatsoever or what anyone else needs. You've already talked the entire episode about how your businesses are all geared towards serving others and and the purpose you know, solve solving people's problems, and that's your purpose. So it's not like you're just saying it's all Damien, and it's all about me. I'm gonna do me. I don't care about anybody else at all. It's just you don't care necessarily about what the masses think of of you. And so you're gonna do you, but you that means adding value to others. So it's it's And and 

Speaker 2

here's here's the distinction that I think is really important. When you're focusing on a mission for other people, you do care what they think about what you create for them. You don't care what the critics think. And that's the difference. I don't give a single rip about what any if somebody says, man, when I heard from you, you're stupid. I don't care. Because what I'm convinced of, what I'm certain of is that there are other people, might be one, might be a thousand, might be a million other people that are gonna benefit from what I say. So I look. They nobody they don't they don't erect statues for critics. Like, we've heard that before, and it's true. Nobody gives a crap. The critics we had a lot of critics that that have been out there. My adult life, we see all these people that are that are crapping all over people in the media, and I I laugh. And I'm like, yeah. But those people are basically worthless. They're not they're not adding value to society. Yeah. And and so I just don't really care what they think. I do care what the market thinks and the humans that I'm serving. I care what they think. 

Speaker 0

Sure. No. That makes a lot of sense. I just watched a documentary on Teddy Roosevelt, you know, the man in the arena comes to mind. But, Yep. Damien, where can our listener reach you? Where can, we find you online? What's the best way to contact you? 

Speaker 2

Best thing to do is grab a I wrote a book, it's a mini book. It's literally, like, less than ten pages. It's the ten steps to ten million. I have a firm belief that if you're not pursuing ten million in net worth, then you are never going to be free. Meaning, if you go if you bump into a million, which anybody can bump into a million, work at McDonald's, don't spend everything you eat or you make, then you can you can literally get to a million bucks. It's not gonna make you free. A million is like the new, not even middle class. So the I I created this thing having gone through the ten and the hundred million dollar process and building that type of net worth. This is the process that I've seen not just with me, with other people, and it's a it's a step by step approach, and then you gotta do the work. So turnkey retirement dot com, you can download the the ten steps to ten million, and it'll give you a framework for for how I've done it and how a lot of other people have done it. It's not about being lucky enough to to start off as employee seven at WhatsApp and make, you know, a twenty six billion dollar exit or or whatever. It's literally about you having the power, you having the ability, and then the choice, and then you do make the choice every day, and ultimately, you'll wake up. There's nobody literally in the United States that couldn't go from wherever you are to ten million inside of ten years. This playbook will make it happen if you're willing to do the work. 

Speaker 0

Fantastic. That's really, really good. Damien Lupo, anything else we need to address before we hop off? 

Speaker 2

I think everybody needs to take a breath with all that fire hose. 

Speaker 0

That was a lot. That was a lot. I I I definitely need to relisten to that one at this this episode. This was a a lot of, you're spitting fire, my friend. It's really good. So, thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it. Happy to be here. 

Speaker 2

Thanks for having me. Yeah. 

Speaker 0

And to the listener, thank you for spending your your time and your, attention with us. We really appreciate that. We also appreciate it if you do share the episode with a friend or anyone who could benefit from that, and we also love five star reviews. Thanks, everyone. Take care. 

Speaker 1

Thank you for joining us on From Adversity to Abundance. We hope today's episode has equipped you with valuable insights and practical advice to elevate your real estate journey. For more inspiring stories and resources, visit us at w w w dot adversity to abundance dot com. If this episode has inspired you, please share it with a friend who could also benefit from our conversation. Together, let's turn adversity into abundance. Until next time, keep building your mental fitness and your real estate empire.