The Unstoppable Journey with Tim Smith

In this episode of Rise and Grind, host Thurl Bailey sits down with Tim Smith, a leading figure in luxury real estate and the Founder and Principal of the Tim Smith Real Estate Group. With over 25 years of experience and an impressive track record, Tim has achieved more than $6 billion in sales, representing over 2,500 clients in Orange County's most exclusive markets. 

Join us as Tim shares his journey to becoming one of the nation’s foremost leaders in luxury real estate. Discover the strategies that have propelled him to success, including how he set record-breaking prices and what it takes to thrive in a competitive market. Tim opens up about his personal philosophy on client service, the importance of attention to detail, and how he builds lasting relationships with buyers, sellers, and investors. 

Whether you’re an aspiring real estate professional, a luxury market enthusiast, or simply looking for inspiration on achieving excellence in your career, this conversation is packed with valuable insights and practical advice. Tune in to learn how Tim Smith’s relentless pursuit of success can motivate you on your own journey!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments below. Let us know what keeps you showing up for your dreams! 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Rise and Grind! If you enjoyed Thurl Bailey's inspiring basketball journey and insights, be sure to subscribe to the podcast for more powerful stories and motivational conversations. 

Help us spread the word by leaving a review and sharing this episode with friends and fellow basketball enthusiasts. Connect with us on social media to join the conversation and stay updated on future episodes. 

Remember, your journey might have its challenges, but with grit and determination, you can rise above and achieve your dreams. Keep grinding, and we'll see you next time!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I remember when I was a young kid, I'm the youngest of five, three older brothers, and they all love to eat pickles. And I I hated pickles. I don't know what it was. And so I told myself, I'm just gonna eat these pickles. And I don't remember how many pickles I ate or when that actual happened that I liked the pickles, but now I love pickles. And so in life, you have to do the things you don't like first. If you don't, the price that you pay up here for avoiding those things is what's keeping you from greatness.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Clicking in and checking us out. Listen, this is a weekly conversation about how people find the thing that wakes them up before dawn. It's how they push through the days when it tests them and how they turn drive into purpose. Our first guest today, I want to introduce him to you because, full disclosure, I've known this man for a long time and I've seen him grow and I've seen him become successful and stay and stay humble. Let me tell you a little bit more about Tim Smith. He's the founder and principal of the Tim Smith Real Estate Group, one of the nation's foremost leaders in real estate. With more than 25 years of experience, Tim he's achieved over six, get this, six billion dollars in career sales, representing 2,500 plus clients and consistently setting records, breaking records across Orange County. And he's got a bunch of landmark achievements that I'm sure we'll talk about. But he prides himself on his personal service and attention to every single detail, which has led him to a large base of referral and repeat clients, distinguished buyers, sellers, and investors, they trust him to guide them through every step of the real estate process. He ensures all objectives and expectations are exceeded with an expansion network, and he's got proven marketing strategies and a great team behind him, which we'll learn more about as well. So welcome, Tim Smith. Tim, how are you doing, my man?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Doing well. Couldn't be happier to be here with you, Big T. This is episode number one, so we're breaking the seal today. Long overdue. Long overdue for all those people like logging in.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Well, I appreciate that, Tim. Well, the best place to start, obviously, as I disclosed, you and I have known each other for a while, but I want to tap into your origin story. I mean, I want you to tell people about where you were born and and how it was coming up that started, if I'm not mistaken, right here in Utah.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

So let's start the origin story with our with our first meeting, because that's kind of the origin of if it's a daily grind. So this must have been I was nine or ten years old. I lived up in Salt Lake. Thurrow happened to be going over to the Smith's house who owned the Smith's food, like the grocery store chain. I was out there shooting just because it was the only court that I could shoot on. Thurrow comes out, we start talking, and he's like, whatever, we got to do the pleasantries. Like, you should come to my camp. And I said, Well, I'd love to, but I don't have the money to come to a camp. And he looked at me and he looked at the house I was at. And then he's like, I find that hard to believe. But I'm like, just because I'm cool with basketball here, it doesn't mean I live here. So this is the great part of this story. So he actually says, Hey, you come out to the camp. I absolutely will get you in, whatever. So I got the camp, did all this stuff, showed up the first day. I took the bus from Salt Lake to Murray High School, and I get to the sign-in thing, and I get up to the front of the line, and I'm like, I'm on Thurlow Bailey's list. And the lady looks at me and she looks around, she's like, I don't have a list. We thorough doesn't have a list. I'm like, well, you better get him. Because he told me a few months ago. If I showed up, you didn't mean it. And I'm not really that type. And so she's like, he doesn't have a list. I'm like, well, you better go get him. So randomly you walk in and she brought brings you. Yeah, let him in. And so spent my first day in that camp. It was beautiful. After I stayed as long as I could, and I was walking out in the parking lot, going to the bus, and then I see this Cadillac, this beauty Cadillac. You remember that ride, huh? Gold and silver rims. Windows all tinted, pulls up, and it was Thorrow. And Thurrell says, Where are you going? I'm like, I'm riding the bus. And he's like, I don't know, that's unusual. People don't ride the bus in Utah. So he ended up taking me home, and that started our friendship of I guess this is the fourth decade. 40 years ago. 40. You were a sports guy, right? You loved basketball. I love basketball. Even as a young player, as a youngster. But what's funny, so that leads me to the other part of my grind. So me and my two friends growing up, Dan Pierre and Brandon Adams, we used to just go show up at the Salt Palace every night, even though we did have tickets. And we would walk around looking to see if there was a door open here or there. There was never. One day we were walking out. We would do this like every night that we figured out we could go down there. And some guy was walking in. He's like, hey, do you guys need an extra ticket? And we're like, absolutely. And he had a few kids and one extra. And we looked and we saw it was a four seat. And so this was my first taste of making a little money. And so we ended up going to scalp that tick. And I think we sold it for like a hundred bucks back in 87. That was like a lot of that was a lot of coin, right? It was. Then we ended up thinking like this is the greatest night ever. So we bought three tickets and we had enough money to go buy Minnesota Timberwolves expansion hats, and that became our racket. Every night we'd show up, we would start asking people for tickets, and then we would scalp tickets, and then we'd actually sneak in. But I learned from like a young age I really wanted money. Not because probably because we didn't have a lot, but it just gave me options and flexibility. And now you fast forward 40 years, the same principles I was using then I'm using now.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

So why was at that point having money so important to you?

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Well, so if everybody goes back to the so I remember when I was going to get basketball shoes, my mom's like, we can afford payless shoes. And we went to pay less, and I looked at those shoes. I'm like, I ain't wearing those shoes. I'll go barefoot. I ain't wearing those shoes. And so I bought a pair and I'm like, I went to basketball practice over on the west side and I was wearing payless basketball shoes. I'm like, and we lived in a really actually nice neighborhood. We just didn't have a lot of extras. And so from a young age, I'm like, no, I need the Air Jordan threes or the Air Jordan twos. Like, I wanted stuff that we didn't have that I saw. And what's funny, it's like just this a young kid's vision of what they want. And I think about this all the time. It's like to achieve anything, you have to see it, you have to believe it, and you have to be able to do the grind, even though you can't have it, you're holding to that vision, and that's dictating your daily steps, right? And so that become the key.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

So so when you talk about that experience, when you, you know, you were that was your daily grind. Was that your first? I want you to put in perspective, was that your sm first small win that convinced you that other things were possible?

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Was that the start of it? So it was the seeds that that was like the first, but I still remember there was one game. This was probably our third season, and me and my two friends, this was a nightly event. We knew every scalper. We were better because people would rather give young kids tickets than the scalpers that were out there. And so we started running this racket, and then we figured out how to sneak in the game so we could sell our tickets. And even when you would give me tickets or Carl or any of the guys would give us tickets, you would sell them? We you knew we were selling them because you look up on the seats, and then somehow we figured out just sneak in and we get down on the floor. At that time, the people that sat on the floor that didn't use our tickets wouldn't sell them, and so those were the open seats. And I still remember um Joan Burrell was one of the security guards that worked the floor. She knew exactly what we were doing. We had to sneak in before the national anthem because during the national anthem is when we could jump over the fence from the second bowl to the lower bowl, and then once we go down there, and Joan would tell us and we would tip her. And so I still remember there was one night and it was like, I don't think you guys made the playoffs. I just remember Carrie Scurry was my guy because he could jump out of the gym. But there was one night we we we had a fantastic night, and I think all three of us we split the the money. I think we made like 350 or 400 bucks a piece. I was like 10 or 11 years old, and I remember the Air Jordan 3s just came out, and the next day we went to the mall, and all three of us bought Air Jordan 3s, which were about 100 bucks, and that became the symbol. That's still my favorite shoe. That became the symbol for us of like the fruits of our labor. That's the first time.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

That's a great story. Well, as you know, any journey, any journey worth taking, uh, those setbacks. Uh I I call it a lot of times those pit moments. Can you talk about as you started to mature and started to figure out maybe what you wanted to do, or maybe you got to a point in your life where you weren't sure, maybe you were floating a little bit. Any any talk about some of those difficult times as you kind of went through that process or failures that you may have experienced?

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Well, so when I was in college, college for me was like, what can I figure out that I can match my skill set with a career where I can actually really blossom. And so when I was going to college, I still remember there was one year when I was working two jobs, going to school full-time, and the two jobs I was working was serving at just two local like restaurants. One was Sundance and the other one was a freehouse.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

You served me. That's a matter of fact.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

But I remember, I remember there was one, like during the summers when I was up there for a summer, nobody was coming to restaurants. And so I literally was making like, and I think in Utah, you make like $2.19 is like what you make, but it's all tips. And I was working every shift I could, and I couldn't pay my rent. And so there was one month where I literally could pay my rent, and now in retrospect, it seems kind of naive and funny, but I went and sold my Michael Jordan rookie card at a pawn shop to pay my rent. And it was like, in my mind, even though it wasn't, it was a mint 10. That thing was worth hundreds of thousands. I ended up selling that to pay my rent. And that was one of those moments where I'm like, okay, it was a big like motivator for me. The next I couldn't pay my rent. And my friend actually, his family was a rancher, Brett J. Barr, would just give him a little, a little throw out there. He sold one of his cows to help me. And so that was a moment that I felt vulnerable. Like, that's I never want to be there again. And that's become the fuel. Now we I run the largest real estate residential real estate group in Orange County, third largest in the nation. And it's often that my agents are like, I don't get it, dude. Like your drive is unbelievable. Like, what are you doing it for? But it's just like those little moments created a cadence, yeah, just figured out how to continue to transition. And this is my 26th year in the business, and I feel like I'm just getting started.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

So part of that journey as well is the call. Like, I tell people, I talk to people about what called me into wanting to be a basketball player. And I remember the time I saw my first basketball game on TV, my black and white Zenith TV set in my house, sitting next to my dad. I saw Dr. J. I didn't know who he was. Matter of fact, my dad told me it was Dr. J, and I said, Well, doctors can do this. And you know, he said, son, when you're really good, they give you a nickname. So I think that moment called me into wanting to pursue that craft. So, what called you in to what you're doing now? What was it?

SPEAKER_00 12:51

It's funny that you're talking about Dr. J, because every year we help with the NBA Hall of Fame. And so a few years ago, I played golf and I got to choose who I play with, so I played Dr. J. And I just want to talk about basketball. And all he wanted to do is talk about his real estate investments, and then he'd make me look at it between every hole. Then he stopped playing. He's like, Can you start looking like I was his personal analyst? And I'm like, Jay, stop, stop investing in those deals, keep your money. But that's a funny thing. So if you go back to that call, I really liked it, I wanted to figure out with my skill set what I could do that made the most amount of money, number one, but number two, make the biggest influence in my life. Like there was a quote that I love, and it's been one of my kind of mottos or mantras. It's like, touch every life you can and leave them sublimely better by that touch. And so when I really started getting clear, getting out of college, I realized for me, real estate was the was really the channel I could get there. But now after 26 years, it's like I have such an amazing responsibility and such an amazing job where I am actually in with people in their homes, which is the most important place for families to develop. All the good stuff have happens in the home, and I get to be the steward of that. And so it really hit, even though I don't think I could have had the awareness back then, but there was one day when I was actually doing a sales job in LA, just like your Xena TV. I was doing a sales job in LA, and it was just kind of like a dead-end sales job, and I was out at somebody's house, and I still remembered I see this guy roll up, and at the time it was the new Tahoe, and it was blacked out, and that was a new bike cell. He gets out in his suit, and I'm looking at him, and I can remember how the sun and the clouds were part. And he at the time was one of the top realtors in LA. And it's funny because I become friends with him, and now because we are doing so much business, and he doesn't do a lot of business, but that guy was the guy that I saw, and I'm like, I want to do that. That's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Hey guys, time out. You know, you give your best to your work, your family, and your responsibilities. But to keep showing up strong, you've got to stay dialed in. At Game Day Men's Health, the nation's leading men's clinic, they help you get back in the game with a custom game plan built around your labs, your goals, and your performance. Testosterone, peptides, real optimization. Come in today for a free testosterone test and consult. Tell them Big T sent you, and you get 50% off your first year membership. Game Daymenshealth.com. Victory starts within. Welcome back, everybody, to Rise and Grind. We're here talking to Tim Smith, real estate mogul, if you will. Uh Tim, I I wanted to ask you about a typical show-up day. What does that look like for you, especially when motivation might be low? I know you don't have great days every day, but what does that look like for you on a show-up day when your motivation maybe not be may not be where you want it to be?

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Well, fast forward from the starting my career to now, it's a much different thing, but the principles are the same. Like early on, you're just eating what you kill. And I remember I always used to base my life on how much money I had, how many months I could live, and it was just feeding the pipeline. Now I have a large team, I have multiple offices, so it's more of the business side. We have rentals everywhere. But for me now, I mean, the daily grind has to start with a perfect morning routine. And I often notice if I don't do that. So for me, I'm a really early Lebriser, I've never been a sleeper, and I'm going to give you a quote because one of my mentors in the business, Doug Owen, gave me this quote. He was one of the greats, but it was the heights by great men reach and kept were not obtained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night. There's a lot of data that supports if you don't get enough sleep, you're gonna have dementia or whatever. I was never a sleeper. And I used to think it was a curse. And I used to think like, but then I flipped it, which I think we have to do in life. Flip that script. I'm like, maybe I just don't need as much sleep as everybody else. And now I've realized that's my superpower. So wake up 4, 415. I think you have to do something mentally. I think you have to do something spiritually, and you have to do something physically. Whatever that is for you, do it. Because if I don't, it's like putting my armor on so that I can face the day. Is the days now have different problems and different frogs to eat, which we'll talk about. But for me, it's like get your mind right. And I think the really big thing, there's a scripture, I think it's uh by my Hebrews 12, too. It says, do not conform to the ways of the world, but renew but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Up here is where it starts, and I think that can be a scriptural thing, but I think it can be a success thing. You have to plant the seeds because whatever you focus on up here grows. If you're focusing on doubt, negativity, I can't do it, that comes on your life. If you're focusing on the possibilities, if you're f focusing on hope or stories of miracles, whatever it is, it's to support that you can go out there and do that regardless of not knowing of the outcome. Now I say frogs because this has become kind of a little thing in my in my team. Like you got to eat the frogs. But it started, I remember when I was a young kid, I'm the youngest of five, three older brothers, and they all love to eat pickles. And I hated pickles. I don't know what it was. And so I told myself, I'm just gonna eat these pickles. And I don't remember how many pickles I ate or when that actual happened that I liked the pickles, but now I love pickles. And so in life, you have to do the things you don't like first. If you don't, the price that you pay up here for avoiding those things is what's keeping you from greatness. And there's a quote that I really like it's the magic you're looking for in life is the work you're avoiding. So if you have that, prioritize the frogs, and we call it eating frogs because nobody wants to, and I have I love every frog flavor, but it's like attack those things that are distracting you, get those off your plate first, and then your day opens up. So it's like that's really the key. But spiritually, mentally, physically, I have to do a workout every morning when I miss workouts, I can feel the difference in my performance.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

I love that. Not just that physical strength, but the mental attitude as well. I want to ask you, because I know you give a lot of advice when you talk about how do you balance like taking advice with protecting like your own conviction? I know there's people that want to give you advice all the time. I see you shaking your head like, yeah, they're out there. How do you how do you balance taking advice with protecting like your own conviction as well?

SPEAKER_00 20:20

It's interesting to ask that because when people have problems, this is kind of my opinion, whether it's true or not. If you share your problems with more than one person, you're looking for attention, not a solution. So I'm very sensitive to who I bring into and who I talk to about the issues or the things that I'm facing. And I want to emphasize that because if you're one of those people that's going out telling everybody your problems, you get every opinion, get every solution, you're not looking for a solution because the solution's within you. So I think number one, you have to be keenly aware to your inner voice. Number two, I think you have to be very sensitive to your influences and the people in your life. They say you're the average of the five people that you hang out with most. Look at who you hang out with. If you're not where you're not or where you want to be, it has something to do with who you're with. And I can understand that can be scary, letting people go, or not even letting people go, altering. But if you want to be somewhere else, you have to be around people that are doing it, and you have to feel good. And a lot of times we don't feel like enough. We don't feel like we belong. I remember early on in my career, I felt so many times when I was sitting at a table, I didn't belong. And now I think I'm the most important person at every table. And I felt that because it's like my influence where I've come from and what I'm doing. I mean, once I found my voice, my voice is the most important voice in the world I'm creating. So you need to listen to it. Encourage, you know, it's interesting. People talk about courage all the time. You don't have to have talent, you don't have to be the best at anything to show. Show up and have courage and do the thing that you're afraid to do. And if you're not finding in your life, this is physically, this is all aspects of your life. If you're not setting up experiences that will cause you to grow and you're not feeling fear, right, you're probably not living at your peak performance because you should be every day in those feelings of like I'm super afraid, but I'm super excited. That's where growth comes. But you have to embrace that and you have to really get behind it. And then once you have the reward, you're like, okay, I'm gonna do that. But life, I was telling my son the other day, life is one of those things, 12-year-old son loves basketball, but I married a short woman, 5.3 or 5'3, love her dearly, but that's probably not gonna make for a great basketball size. But anyway, I tell him like bricks. It's like it's almost like we're always paddling upstream. If you're sitting still, you're going backwards. You have to be paddling upstream. And that doesn't mean you have to be like paddling aggressively, but you have to be moving forward. I read a book where they talked about climbing Mount Everest, and it was for some reason it like hit me. Like the guys that do it, it's like you're just taking one small step at a time. They're not running to the top, it's just taking that next step, continuing, even if it's a small step, that's how you get to the top, that's how you summon.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

And you're right. I know a lot of people out there suffer with that imposter syndrome where there's like this other self that is talking them out of trying to do something or trying to move forward or trying to keep that padding going. You mentioned this in your last comment. Were there people that you had to distance yourself from because they were kind of undermining your momentum? And if so, what was that like?

SPEAKER_00 23:58

I mean, that's been a constant theme throughout my life. And the funny thing is, is like it's not always easy. And distance means you're protecting your space and setting boundaries. Like, there's a lot of people that live in homes where there's unhealthy and cancerous relationships. You need to have a safe place where you can get your daily grind, that daily morning routine, and set boundaries and figure out what it is. But that's been a constant challenge. I think it's a constant challenge in everybody's world. And the interesting thing is, is now we're working for like all the wealthiest people in Orange County, in the world. And you know what's funny? All of them have that imposter syndrome. There's a part of them that none of them feel worthy or good enough. And generally that's the fuel that drove them to be successful. But I don't think it's just about success in business and money, it's also success in your personal life, in your spiritual life, all those things. Because at the end of the day, you can't take money with you, and we spend 90% of the time in our days building all of this wealth that people cannot take with them. It's kind of actually a funny illusion.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Well, when we come back, I'm gonna find out from Tim maybe what he gave up to keep showing up. We'll be right back with Rise and Grind. Hey guys, time out. You know, you give your best to your work, your family, and your responsibilities. But to keep showing up strong, you've got to stay dialed in. At Game Day Men's Health, the nation's leading men's clinic, they help you get back in the game with a custom game plan built around your labs, your goals, and your performance. Testosterone, peptides, real optimization. Come in today for a free testosterone test and consult. Tell them Big T sent you, and you get 50% off your first year membership. Gamedaymenshealth.com. Victory starts within. Welcome back, everybody, as we continue our discussion with Tim Smith from the Tim Smith group. Uh, Tim, before we went to break, uh, I hinted out that look, I want to find out, is there a trade-off? What did you give up to keep showing up and was it worth it?

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Man, that's an interesting question. I mean, because different phases of my life, I've had to give up different things. My wife would say, and I used to not, I used to take it as kind of an insult. She's like, you're all or nothing. And I realized that being all or nothing is good in some ways. You have to have a balance. But yeah, there's been multiple times in my life where I was clear to get to a place I've never been, I had to be a version of myself that I've never been. And we hold so tightly. Everybody on that's every listener knows deep down right now what's holding you back. Like there's always something. And there was a time, even most recently, probably six or seven months ago, you know, I drinking that whole life, alcohol, things like that, that was something that wasn't serving me. It wasn't serving me as a father, as a husband. And I had to get really clear with it. And I fought it for a long time and I gave it up. And I can tell you right now, it's one of those things that having the peace and the clear mind and the clarity that it's like, hey, we we only get one shot at this. And I think we really have a responsibility where much is given, much is required to be our best self. And I think those are the real hard things. And when we're in that situation, not looking at behavior as good or bad, but just what is going to be best for you, I think everybody knows deep down that thing or those things that are holding them back. And I would say if you're in that situation and you know something needs to change, figure it out. Like literally figure it out. I do believe there is a power greater than us all than knows us. And keenly aware of that. And if you can't figure it out on your own, you gotta ask for his help and you have to develop that relationship because that relationship will be the key to you finding your best inner self.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Well, I appreciate you, my friend, being candid and and forthcoming with your feelings. I want to jump into because you you can't be where you are now as successful as you are without being a good leader. So I want to talk to you about that leadership, and I want to hear about how you can lead by example in a crisis, or how do you handle teammates or colleagues who frankly want to quit.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

There's a lot of thoughts on how you know one of the things that I've found as I've grown, not only just in my career, but as a leader, I think that there's a relationship to risk and reward directly proportionate to your success as a leader. And I've found like as a leader, you need to figure out what you do best and only do that. And I know people will say, no, you should go figure out what your weaknesses are and take those. I don't believe that. I believe you figure out what your best skill set is, what your best use of time is, and you build your life around that. Where I see people get stuck is if you need to hire an assistant, if you need to hire a coach, if you need to hire a marketing director, a CFO, whatever it is, they start getting in their head, going back to that conf that renewal of the mind. I can't afford to do that. I can't take that risk. But what you realize when you get to the other side of that risk, very quickly you realize I can't afford not to. And then you're looking at the next one, and it takes you to the next one. But I mean, taking risk. I was a speaker at a real estate conference in Australia like 20 years ago. I was actually a speaker before Trump, and I was actually more relevant to Trump because it was a bunch of real estate agents in that whole area. But he said something that has stuck with me for years. He said, your ability to handle pressure and take risk is directly proportionate to your trajectory and to your success. And I think that anytime I start thinking smaller, the problem's too big for me to handle, there's some way in there to take a risk, trust yourself and bet on you. And when you do, that's where you unlock your next level. It's almost like the video games. My son plays these video games, they don't understand, but you unlock the next level, and like there's also an unlocking the next level, and I can hear the little sound that the video game plays. It's like a little money sound, and you're like, oh, I just unlocked a new version of myself. So I hope that answered your question.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Oh, that's good. So what would you say to someone who doesn't yet know? I know you talked about your why and kind of your call, but what do you what would you say to someone who doesn't yet know their why, but needs to keep showing up day to day? They just don't and and a lot of a lot of students go through this, right? They go through this process, some call it drifting, but they haven't really decided one way or the other. How do they keep showing up? What would you say to someone who doesn't quite know, but they want to keep showing up and be present?

SPEAKER_00 31:37

Well, school for me is one of those things. I don't know if I'm a huge school guy, and I think as we get further and further and further innovation, I see that more there's an academic obsolescence. Now, I'm not saying drop out of school, but I am saying that I see more people that go, get degrees, can't get a job, they go back to school, get better degrees, only to go work for somebody else. That's totally against my belief. Right now in Southern California, we're in eight of 5,000 electricians. We don't have a subcontractor pool. What I would say is drop out of school, go be an electrician until you know your craft the best, then start an electrical contracting career. But going back to that question, I'd say number one, the hungry guys, the people that are looking to do something, when they see somebody that's out there doing it, the first thing they're saying is, Can I buy you lunch? Can I talk to you? If you don't know how to do it, go find the people that you see or that are out there that are doing it. That helps you unlock and really like get exposure and visibility. Number two, you should be spending a lot of personal and private time reading, praying, meditating because you are special in your own way. You have abilities that nobody else has. If you're not keenly aware what you have to offer, and it's not what I have an offer for a job, what position are you creating for yourself in life? And how are you keeping yourself accountable? Because I see too many like kids that are aimlessly looking for a job, wasting their 20s, trying to find the perfect job, only to find the nice job they worked for three years to go start over. That could be distracting and that could be the slowest way to success. The other thing I would say is get married. Kids, this has this unusual way of centering you, not thinking about yourself, and it allows you to find a gear that you didn't even know you were looking for and didn't know you have. I'm a big proponent of that because I think it's the greatest way for growth. And it's amazing to be a husband and a father, and it's amazing the potential that can be unlocked when you're in that environment. And that can be scary. That's contrary to the world's ways because they're saying, let's wait till you're financially successful and have everything figured out before you become a husband or a wife and a dad or a mom. I think it's totally opposite of how faith works. And going back to that scripture, do not conform to the ways of the world, but be transformed by the daily renewal of your mind. It's like that's the difference because the world's becoming a pretty scary place in the beliefs and all the structures that that are set out there.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Well, you've really given some amazing quotes. I do want to ask you, do you have a particular resource, a book, maybe, or something that you can put out there that that helped you?

SPEAKER_00 34:44

I do, but I can't just throw it out there. So during my late teens and early 20s, I was looking for everything to figure out my path. I was going to conferences, I was trying new jobs, I was doing whatever. And there kept on being mentioned a book that when somebody read it, it changed their life. And so I heard it again. And the last time I heard it, I was up at a conference in Canada with his business, and the speaker was this really successful Canadian guy, and he literally said that somebody gave him this book, and he read it, and then he would read it every year. And he never told the audience what the book was. And so I'm like, obviously, I'm very impressionable. I'm hungry. So I go up to him after and I say, Hey, what was the book? That was kind of weird. You told everybody this book was amazing. He's like, You know why I do that? Because I want the people that are really hungry to do exactly what you did. The book is called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I read it every January. Like the rules within that book unlock. And honestly, Thor, like sometimes it seems maybe that it's not like a good thing to want money. I just wanted as much money as I can make. And now that I've have it and I continue to have success, I've realized it's not so I can drive a Ferrari or I can do these. I have the flexibility. If I want to give to a charity and we give back a ton, may make billions, give millions. Like it's like that is another principle. The more you give, the more you get. And if you look at from a from a religious standpoint, the only time God ever says test me is when he's talking about tithing, which I think is so interesting because it's a principle of just success. But then you look at that, it's like the more you give, the more you get. I'm afraid not to give because I always find a way. And it's not because of my efforts. It comes to me like the quote, luck is a loser's excuse for a winner's commitment. You will go and grind, and then something will be given to you. Your successes will come from outside of you. And I think it's to remind you, this didn't happen because of you. This happened because you were willing to do the principles, whether it's from God, success, the universe, whatever. There is a huge principle on that that I constantly do. And I'm even telling people now like, you're broke, you're like, you need to risk when you don't have the money, you need to give back when you don't have the money. Because once you do have the money, that's the principle that keeps you going. And that's a hard Christian. Again, don't conform to the ways of the world because that's not the way they tell you.

SPEAKER_02 37:27

I love it. And I love the thinking grow rich by Napoleon Hill. I also read a another great book by Napoleon Hill called Outwitting the Devil. Don't know if you've read that one yet, but it's basically it's about it's basically about Napoleon Hill sitting down with what he calls in the book Satan. And he's asking them these questions, and Satan has to be really truthful. So he finds out so much about that that other side, why people fail and why they buy into that other self. So I appreciate that. When we come back, we're gonna close with a nice reflection here with Tim Smith. But come right back and join us on Rise and Grand. Hey guys, time out. You know, you give your best to your work, your family, and your responsibilities. But to keep showing up strong, you've got to stay dialed in. At Game Day Men's Health, the nation's leading men's clinic, they help you get back in the game with a custom game plan built around your labs, your goals, and your performance. Testosterone, peptides, real optimization. Come in today for a free testosterone test and consult. Tell them Big T sent you, and you get 50% off your first year membership. Game Daymenshealth.com. Victory starts within. Welcome back, everybody, to Rise and Grind. And before we let you go, Tim, I want to ask you about celebrating. Now, how do you celebrate the fact that you stayed? You went through the grind, you were called into it, and you went, you started with your origin story when you were that little kid that was sneaking into my games. But talk talk about celebrating the fact that you stayed and taking time to acknowledge it.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

I mean, I think that's probably one of the challenges, celebrating. But if you're not celebrating, I think it's like I'm gonna use another scriptural example just because I think there's so many principles. Like when the Israelites were slaves, they came out with Moses, the Red Sea, they got there, they had the manna. Every day the manna would come, right? And this was God giving them the manna. Some people tried to stock it up and it would go bad. But I think the principle for the mana is you have to remember the miracles, just like you have to remember the successes to have more of them. And it's also one of the principles of gratitude. Gratitude is like it's magical. There was a study done by Harvard and Stanford. They said if you want to take unhappy people and change within 30 days for them to become happy, this is a simple formula. Write 10 things down a day that you're thankful for, say three aloud to somebody you know, so you're verbalizing them, and that was it. You do it from 30 days because what you end up finding is we're focusing so often on what we don't have or what Thurl has. We're constantly looking at that when you start focusing on what you have. Jordan Peterson did a podcast, and I really like Jordan Peterson, but he said it is more likely for you or I, Thurl, or Wit, who I know is on here, to go from where we are economically to billionaires than most of the population's third world population getting to their basic needs. Like, think about that. And he goes on for 40 minutes describing this. At the end of them, I'm like, okay, so I can become a billionaire faster than somebody in a third world country could get their needs. If there is any reason to be grateful, it's like you're focusing on the wrong thing. So I think being grateful, and then I think having, I'm gonna show this, let's see. Having something to do it for. That's my little family. Like having a team, having people in there that can support you. Love my family, my wife, my kids. I have a really willful kid that he knows better than me. And it's been so fun as a dad to hear that and to coach that and to parent that. But having a team and a support system around you and having them, you know, we just I was telling Fleur, we just moved into a new house that we built. It took us 39 months of construction. And I mean, this is one of those houses that I definitely don't belong in. Like these are the houses I sell. And on Friday night for two hours, I sat on the back patio looking over an 82-foot infinity-edge pool that as you look past it, you see Newport Harbor across on a hundred forty-seven-inch Samsung TV wall. And I sat there for two hours and just felt grateful. Like this is my somehow coming from where I came from, you have that. And this is not to boast or to show off, but I was thinking this can be a place. How many people can we help? How many people can we aspire? What can we do with this place to give back? Because that's really what it's about, and that's where the reward comes.

SPEAKER_02 42:35

Well, Tim, and also I appreciate you acknowledging my producer with Johnson, who was in the room where this is happening. Well, I hate to let you go, man, because it's always great to hook up with you and and talk with you about life. I do get to see you about a week to ten days in the summer. Spend some time with you and your family and my family. But my last question to you is you have a person that just walked into your office right now. You've only got 30 seconds. What advice would you give this person?

SPEAKER_00 43:11

It's so funny because I still have that picture when I was like 11, 12 years old when we were friends, and now like fast forward, last year we were on our 65-foot boat with your whole family in Newport Harbor, having a great time. It's amazing how the people like Thurrell, who's become a mentor for me, and not just a mentor, like somebody that was like a huge part of my success, a huge part of just my growth, like having that and being able to reciprocate in a way because he was so such a part of those seeds. But I would say, number one piece of advice. I mean, I'm just gonna go back. Like, I really do think like, do not conform to the ways. The world and do not conform to your mind. Figure out those things you want, listen to them, and make it. And going back to the one thing I'm very clear on the magic everybody's looking for in their life is the work or the things you're avoiding. Stop avoiding them. Like get in there, battle them. Like, I don't think we're in like the medieval times where it's an actual physical battle. It's like the battle and the war is within. And it's like, win that war. And you know what? Don't shame yourself if you had a bad day. Keep on going. Just like that Everest thing. I don't know if you're trying to get out of addiction, whatever. Just take the next step. And sometimes the next step can be an inch, but don't go backwards because you go backwards and you'll stay in that place in your life that you know you don't want to be. Because so many people are doing it. And focus once you get through, really celebrate the rewards and understand the mana. Be grateful for it. So that was a lot of stuff on when.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

Oh, you hit it. You hit it right on the 32nd mark, brother. Yeah, there we go. Tim, thank you so much. I mean, I I sincerely do love you, man. And I I knew I was going to get emotional at the end of this because I've watched you grow. You know, I've I've I've seen where you've been and how our lives intersected. And I won't have a ton of guests like that. That's why I wanted you to be the first on this podcast because you've truly epitomized what I'm trying to do here on Rise and Grind. So thank you so much, my friend, and uh appreciate you joining us.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

We're taking the time to hang out with an 11-year-old and setting him out, putting him out to sea, because that was meaningful. I appreciate you as well. And much love. Thank you, brother.

SPEAKER_02 45:49

Thank you to Tim Smith, and be sure to join us for our next episode of Rise and Grind here on the Thorough Bailey podcast. We'll see you later.