by Sher Delva | Aug 1, 2017 | Celebrity, Mental Health, Recovery, Stigma, Therapy
At the age of 18, David Dweck decided he was going to bypass college and get a job working at a recording studio. When everyone heard about his decision, they all told him it would never happen.
Instead of giving up, Dweck responded with “Watch me.”
Soon enough, Dweck was working at a recording studio over the summer in New York City.
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That same tenacity followed Dweck over the course of his career in both the music industry and in real estate. These days, Dweck is a real estate renegade, who leads Florida’s number one real estate club, Boca Real Estate Investment Club (BRIC).
Recently, David Dweck appeared on The Real Deal On… with Dug McGuirk where they discussed the topic of reinvention. Dweck says reinvention has been a major theme in his life both personally and professionally.
Originally, Dweck desired to work in a recording studio as an audio engineer. He was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that goal, even work for free.
Fortunately, his determination paid off. Three stations offered Dweck a job, and he ended up working for a company called Media Sounds.
“I knocked on doors, and I said, ‘I’m hungry, and I’m willing to work for no money, I’m willing to sweep floors,’ and Media Sounds said, ‘Nope, we’ll pay you and we’ll hire you as the night time receptionist,’” he remembers.
Media Sounds was a radio station based out of New York City. Dweck worked the night shift as a receptionist from 4 pm to midnight. Working in the evenings was an exciting time, Dweck says. On one occasion, he even met Mick Jagger.
“A lot of good stuff happens to you at night,” he says. “I walk in for my 4:00 shift and I remember Lisa, the woman I replaced, she got off at four. She goes, ‘You won’t believe who’s downstairs in Studio B!’”
Dweck says it was a “surreal” experience and when he looks back at his time in the music industry, he does not have any regrets.
“I got a taste of it, and that was gratifying,” he says. “No regrets. I sit here today happy with the time I had there.”
Dweck’s Career Revolution
Despite his success, Dweck began to realize how fleeting the career of an audio engineer really was. As a result, he decided to go to college and earn his degree in Communications at the University of Miami. He then spent close to five years working in radio and production sales.
While he was passionate about his career in communications, he eventually decided to pursue a different path. His decision was based on the major shifts he continued to see occurring in the radio industry.
For example, Dweck’s bosses at Media Sound were two very successful, educated men. They put a classified ad in The New York Times that said “Young men with unlimited capital willing to finance legitimate business venture.”
“What was that venture? They financed Woodstock. Those were my bosses. They sold the studio,” he says.
“That’s when the light bulb went out,” he says. “If they’re getting out, that’s a sign.”
Ultimately, Dweck “saw the writing on the wall” and decided to move toward a career in real estate.
“I realized that real estate would be the long term path to benefit my family and to create a life style,” Dweck says.
Still, pursuing real estate did not come without its own set of challenges.
“At the time, I was starting a family, and it was a very big risk to take, and I embraced that,” he says.
Despite the risks, Dweck started his career as a real estate investor. He acquired his real estate license in 1993. He was determined to succeed despite the voices that told him there was no money in real estate and that it was too much hassle to bother with.
“I strategized both short-term and long-term realizing this will be my retirement, so for every house that I bought, built and sold, I also would take that money, reinvest it into a rental property and get bank financing,” he says.
Dweck had to learn the ropes in real estate, so he started studying and learning from mentors. His mentors taught him how to deal in reality and not in theory. This inspired him to create the Boca Real Estate Investment Club.
“That’s one of the reasons why I started the Boca Real Estate Investment Club because there’s really not a how-to manual for investors back in the day, especially down here in South Florida. It’s kind of like the wild, wild west.”
More Challenges: Overcoming the Recession
In 2007, Dweck was faced with another major challenge: the declining economy. Along with the decline in the real estate market, Dweck’s marriage was declining as well.
“When your business is suffering, you want that life time partner, not only behind you but beside you, and I did not have that,” he says.
“That really hurt, so I had to dig in deep because, in 2008, it was on, and I was coming into the office every day and doing damage control, watching the relationships I’ve built and watching people suffer.”
Dweck remembers seeing one of his friends, who was worth 60 million dollars at the time, lose it all.
“I’m thinking ‘Wow, the sky is falling.’ I’m like mystified,” he says.
Fortunately, Dweck was relatively conservative with the risks he took. Still, he began to question whether or not he should give up on his career in real estate.
“I said, ‘Do I hang up, do I just call it a day and reinvent?’”
“The answer, I answered myself, and that answer was a resounding no, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to dig in so deep that whatever it takes, I’m gonna find solutions,” he says
Overall, the experience taught him who his real friends were and how resilient he was.
“You never forget these challenges and how you are able to rise to the challenge,” he continues.
Ultimately, Dweck’s resilience and courage helped him navigate all the obstacles thrown his way. He defines courage as having “balls” and feels this applies to both men and women.
“I think you really have to have a lot of self-belief and have the courage to not just try, but really go for it,” he says.
Reinvention is about having the courage and “balls” to persevere despite life’s challenges. Dweck’s journey defines reinvention. Please check out the full interview for more insights into Dweck’s career in real estate, and hear the crucial advice he gives to those struggling in their own journey.
If you feel like giving up, remember it is never too late to make a transformation. Please reach out if you are struggling. We are here to help. You do not have to do this alone. Call now.
CALL NOW 1-888-922-5398
by Sher Delva | May 16, 2017 | Addiction, Addiction Stigma, Mental Health, Stigma, Therapy
When Frank McKinney graduated high school, he earned his diploma with a less-than-stellar 1.8 GPA. With $50 in his pocket, McKinney left his native state of Indiana and headed to Florida in search of his life’s highest calling. Despite all odds, he managed to become successful.
McKinney is an accomplished author, real-estate artist, and philanthropist. In real estate, McKinney started with a $50,000 fixer upper and worked his way to a $50 million oceanfront mansion. He is a 5-time International Bestselling Author (in 4 genres), and an ultramarathon runner.
The Real Deal On… Reinvention
Recently, McKinney was a guest on The Real Deal On… with Dug McGuirk. The conversation occurred in one of McKinney’s stunning micro mansions where he discussed the theme of reinvention and rediscovery.
In the first 25 years of his real-estate journey, McKinney focused on building huge mansion-like homes for the ultra-wealthy, but later he discovered a shift in the mindset of the rich. McKinney talks about his decision to develop “micro mansions.” He says the experience was a valuable life lesson.
“We realized there was a shift. You can become complacent, you can become in denial, but there’s been a big shift in that the ultra-wealthy are not wanting houses that are as big as they used to. So we took the opulence, the grandeur, the artistry, the beauty [and] shrunk it down to a more manageable size.”
“That was huge— I’ve built bedrooms bigger than this house!” McKinney says. “4,100 sq. ft. is the biggest bedroom I’ve ever built. This [home] is 4,087, so it’s 13 sq. ft. smaller than the bedroom I built.”
“But part of the beauty of reinvention is a reigniting of the soul after you’ve done something for so long…” he explains.
On Running Ultra Marathons
Along with his professional accomplishments, McKinney has run several ultramarathons. An ultra-marathon is a marathon “of any distance longer than a regular marathon” which means it can be a marathon of 35, 50 or 100 miles. The ultra-marathon McKinney runs is an astounding 135 miles.
Known as The Badwater Ultramarathon, it is considered the “world’s toughest footrace” according to National Geographic. It takes place in the Badwater Basin in California’s Death Valley.
Initially, McKinney says the idea of completing the ultramarathon was “unfathomable.”
“It’s 135 miles nonstop through the desert in July where the daytime temperatures are 125 and the pavement temperature, because you’re running on a road, is over 200 degrees,” he says. “You can fry an egg on it. I’ve seen people fry an egg on it.”
“I learned about this race, and I had it—insurmountable, incomprehensible, impossible— lay itself on my heart. I had two choices, to believe that it was those three things…but others had done it?” He says.
“So I hired a coach.”
Although McKinney did not consider himself to be a “coachable” person, he knew it was what he needed to get on the starting line. He explains how runners must be selected to participate in the Badwater Ultramarathon and to apply to the race “is like applying to Harvard or Yale.”
In total, McKinney has run the race ten times and completed the race seven times.
“When I’m in that race, it is a metaphor for life. There are extreme highs, euphoric highs, and then ten miles later, I could be bawling my eyes out because I feel like you-know-what, and I’ve got another 70 miles to go, and I already have blisters on the bottom my feet,” he says.
“What I’ve learned though is with faith, patience and the passage of time, those low points pass. Unfortunately, so does the high points!”
Still, McKinney says he learns from his failures as much as his successes. There were three consecutive races that he did not finish.
“I’ve failed three times in a row. I’m aging out; I’m getting too old,” he admits.
“Last year, […] I wanted to quit so many times, and I had all my meltdowns, problems and issues, but I never let my mind cross over. It wanted to, and it was ready to. I take my shoes off and throw my glasses down… but I never made that cross over,” he says.
“So maybe for somebody who’s going through recovery, you’ve crossed over, you’re sober now; don’t ever allow your mind to cross back over.”
Pushing Through the Internal Dialogue
Later in the interview, Frank McKinney answers how he overcomes the monsters in his head considering all of the risks he’s taken to be successful. Ultimately, he says outside criticism can be a source of motivation. He learned this lesson when he was building a 30 million dollar spec house a while back.
“I was told when we built that house…a guy from M.I.T was quoted in this article in the USA Today saying, ‘There’s no market for a $30 million spec house, there’s no buyer for it. That young man (at the time I was younger), will be dumpster diving in a year.”
“I’m like, ‘Oh my god! What if he’s right!’” he remembers.
“I went out and busted even harder, and I ended up selling that house in a relatively short period of time, and I took the article that was written about that house. I remember cutting it out, and I took a picture of me sitting in a dumpster, and I sent it to the dude at M.I.T.”
The lesson learned, McKinney says, is to take it from the source. Sometimes that inner dialogue can be a tool of productivity, he explains.
“I will always consider the source, and it’s really important to allow the little monster in. It’s okay! I allow some of that in. I want the feedback from the marketplace,” McKinney says.
“It gets back to that creation of your own reality,” he says.
“People that go through recovery […] they’re wired a little bit differently. They’ve got a synapse or two that are different than the rest of us. I think it’s a gift. I think that the person who enters those doors, they struggle. They can be tortured at times with that gift. But if you can turn that into a true gift, as I mentioned before, you’re not going to change, but redirect into something constructive instead of destructive, you can set the world on fire. “
“I have not changed. I still have that addictive personality. I’m addicted to excitement, but I’ve found a constructive outlet.”
The Difference between Motivation, Inspiration, and Aspiration
Whether it’s in recovery or everyday life, many dig for motivation or inspiration to push them along hardships. Looking back, Frank McKinney says an important lesson he learned in life was understanding motivation does not last.
Motivation “washes down the body and goes down the drain with the soap at night,” he says.
“You can read a motivational quote on Facebook, how long does that last? About three seconds?” he says.
“There’s a little bit of relief to know that we are not, as a species, meant to stay motivated.”
As for inspiration, that does not last either.
“Inspiration lasts about as long as a bad sunburn,” he says. “You can read an inspirational book, and it will last for a while. I’ve had some that lasted for a while. Or you watch an inspirational movie. Eventually, it wears off.”
So if motivation does not last and inspiration does not last, what does last? What is it?
“It’s aspiration. When you identify something that really is greater than you can comprehend now,” McKinney says.
Ask Yourself:
- What legacy do you aspire to leave behind for your family?
“If you answer that every single day of your life, you may lose motivation or inspiration, but that aspiration, endeavor or undertaking, you’ll never lose sight of that,” McKinney affirms.
- Who do you aspire to emulate?
- “I aspire to _blank_ which is higher than I can comprehend ”
Overall, love is at the basis of everything, he says. Everyone wants to be happy, but beneath all of that is the want to be loved. Peel all the layers and love is beneath it all.
“Being in love and living in love and having that beautiful word in your life is magic,” McKinney says.
Throughout the 40-minute interview, McKinney discusses taking and embracing risks, the importance of creating a creative space and other powerful lessons learned through his real estate journey. When asked about his greatest accomplishment, he credits his philanthropy work in Haiti, building homes for the less fortunate. Furthermore, he also shares lessons learned in his 27-year marriage. Please watch the full interview to hear more about his incredible journey!
Frank McKinney’s journey shows the importance of recreating your reality and the importance of reinvention. Regardless of the cards handed to you in life; you still have the ability to move forward. If you or someone you know is struggling in recovery, know there is help out there. It is never too late to change. Call now.
CALL NOW 1-888-922-5398
