This episode reflects on attending a non-real-estate mastermind in Vermont focused on “return to real” philosophy, highlighting the value of stepping outside industry echo chambers to encounter diverse perspectives, emotional vulnerability, and reconnection with physical experiences that provide grounding in an increasingly digital world.
Key Takeaways:
- Industry Bubbles Limit Perspective First conference outside real estate in nearly a decade revealed how much value exists in encountering people with zero familiarity with your business model or industry.
- Emotional Resonance Signals Depth Multiple attendees shedding tears while discussing business and life direction indicated genuine soul-level grappling with purpose versus surface-level tactical optimization.
- Physical Connection Grounds Digital Work Walking 100+ acres of Vermont farmland with no cell service provided tangible reminder that land investing serves people seeking real connection to physical property, not just spreadsheet returns.
Listen to the full reflection on why stepping outside your comfort zone matters for long-term fulfillment.
(Podcast transcript below)
Welcome to get serious recording this one as I’ve just gotten back from mastermind up in the Vermont area. Crazy travel here. So forgive me if it seems I’m a bit slow here. But this was a roughly 10 person mastermind that
You know, didn’t have anything centered around real estate. This is the first time I’ve done a conference outside of like a somewhat real estate context. And I don’t know how long it’s close to a decade since that’s happened. And first it’s just a, you know, more unique environment when you’re stepping into an area where.
outside of the two folks running the mastermind. Like I had no idea who was showing up. And in fact, there was one other guy who was there that had been in the land space, but switched over to AI consulting. So he knew me and reads the series news newsletter, which I very much appreciate.
But outside of that, like I had, you know, no notoriety for any of them personally and not saying like that’s always going to be the case. I think it’s just a good example that, know, even within your industry or even outside of the, or especially outside of the industry, like no one knows who we are. So it was kind of freeing from that perspective and a good reminder. So like it’s multiple steps removed, right? Like I didn’t have any
personal history with anybody there. They didn’t know who I was or associated with my brand. didn’t know what my brand was. didn’t know, even if they didn’t know my brand, they didn’t know the type of business model we run as a land funding company. And even a step removed beyond that, they didn’t really know the land space at all. So it’s like multiple steps.
removed where there could have been some kind of familiarity with, you know, at least how we operated or our space. So that was kind of a unique flair to the event, but it’s one of the most helpful on Masterminds I had been to. And the guys running it, Ryan Lavec and his business partner, Richard Cousins, you they were famous for the Ask Method, a marketing company that did
extremely well had a big exit from that recently and you know Ryan and his team they kind of shifted around their branding to focus on this return to real concept kind of figuring out that you know a lot of folks are kind of inherently struggling with
making sense of the world and especially their own personal world and, you know, this highly digitally impacted AI impacted environment here where we’re having, you know, less of real connection with ourselves, with others, with the world around us. so he’s kind of trying to tap into where I think a lot of folks are feeling a hole in their life.
And trying to kind of grasp around and you know quote-unquote return to real And that’s actually you know, he’s kind of rebrand which was now like much more Vulnerable like similar how I try to do these podcasts or you know write the newsletters you know versus kind of the Yeah, marketing set up. So like he was one of my first business mentors and we had hadn’t been in touch for like almost You know a decade
but once he kind of shifted branding, we got, or I started following the content again and, know, and I saw this mastermind. really thought, okay, yeah, this is worth, jumping into and, you know, very happy I did, multiple business takeaways that that’s, that’s a story for another time. But, you know, part of it was just being out in this environment. I’d never been to Vermont in a beautiful spot. and,
You know, again, had nice exit. These folks have done very well for themselves and bought a hundred plus acre farm in Vermont, which is beautiful views. And, you know, taking on like this whole homesteading lifestyle. you know, it’s as real as it gets, right? With cows and chickens. And actually it used to be one of my first businesses was trying to run a backyard chicken company and did not go very well. It’s a story for another time as well too.
But it’s like full circle coming back to these backyard chickens here. you know, true like farm to table type of food set up like stuff, you know, we don’t really think about most of us in regards to how we go about our daily lives. So like that was eye opening in and of itself. Like there wasn’t cell service there either. Another unique flair to
to being out in the area. And so like we just got to spend a lot of time on this, you know, property and reflecting as well as doing, you know, work on our own businesses and helping each other, you know, hot seat style, on conference style. It’s always my favorite type of setup. And again, people from like all different industries. hadn’t been to a number of these conferences or masterminds. Like I hadn’t been to one with as many unique
individuals there, especially in terms of just diversity of background, ages, where folks lived, their business in and of itself.
Yeah, I feel like I’m going a little bit all over here just because there were so many takeaways, but I really wanted to center in on just kind of that return to real concept because, you know, oftentimes going to some of these masterminds, especially the higher level ones, you know, tend to be on the younger side or less experienced in terms of business. And so I spent a lot of time listening and trying to get some other folk stories and
Yeah, that’s how you learn, right? And, you know, just maintaining an open mind during all these conversations and hearing again people’s stories and, you know, how they think about problems and the solutions they’re solving for. And, you know, where it’s not an approach that I would necessarily take on my own.
or even really think about necessarily, but it doesn’t make it any less valid. Like it was, it was a very helpful eye-opening experience. Like, okay, but you know, you’re here and you know, these other folks are here both for this return a real concept. mean, also the business help, like I’m always so business driven that it’s like, yeah, just, you know, trying to find the next, the next leg up to, to succeed. but
especially in the land business and everything too, where you’re dealing with so many different types of individuals and needing to know how to connect across a wide array of people, like the buying, the sell side, your own employees, partners, what have you. It was very helpful just to hear a lot of what…
folks were going through and what they’re looking for in their lives. there was a lot of tears shed, which I really appreciate. Sometimes that’ll happen during some of these masterminds. Honestly, I wish tears came to my eye more often. So those are usually very memorable moments when something can impact you in such a profound way. There’s usually a reason for that. And I just noticed that with lot of attendees, they’re really…
feeling at a very deep level, almost spiritually, about where they wanted to take their businesses or earn their lives. And again, really kind of sense that trying to reach for additional connection in a world that’s just increasingly driven by digital decisions and just the whirlwind of AI. And I think that’s…
you know, a microcosm of what’s going on on a much grander scale here. and, and, and something that I found particularly eye-opening and, you know, frankly, beautiful to, to watch. and you, you know, Ryan, again, he’s just, he’s one of the best internet marketers out there. And he’s probably not as familiar in the land and the real estate space. but has, you know, done extremely well on like, know, 7X.
uh, in 5,000 on entrepreneur, um, uh, you know, really knows how to market and build companies. Um, and I remember like 10 years ago, it was just like, you know, killer marketer set up, um, you know, just gunning for building great businesses and all that. Um, which, which, is, which is great, you know, big inspiration. Um, but you know, here, like, yeah, I could tell you as much more like emotionally.
grounded and he toasted us at his house, right? It’s a very special invitation to receive and with his wife and two boys at the house and just seeing the love that he had for them and how grateful he was for all of us to be there as well. I think that type of emotional resonance really
Persisted among us attendees as well. Like again, you know true return to real Experience here So I just wanted to share that as far as I can get into the business takeaways another another time here Of which, you know, they’re very profound and will play out probably over like the next six months or so But you know from a more like metaphysical level just an understanding of where you know
entrepreneurs and humanity as a whole are kind of operating the rules of the road we’re kind of operating from and what folks are looking for. Like this was a very helpful experience from that perspective. And so, I think it’s worth us all taking some time to reflect on what some of those concepts might mean for ourselves and each other.
Accordant relationships That you know might might be closer and more important to you or that you you know, you want to make more important to you And then also like our industry right like the land, you know, it’s called real property, right? Like there’s it doesn’t get more real than that and that was like a great connector point to it’s like I’m so used to You know viewing land from you’re just an aerial perspective or you
photos, drone photos, what have you, and to be able to like walk such a beautiful property. you know, it’s almost like my mind is oriented, like imagining where the contour lines are, okay, there’s some wetlands area, potentially flood zone, etc. So it’s just an interesting perspective to, to kind of keep that mind here and get like true, you know, boots on the ground. Viewing of such a beautiful piece of land.
so lucky to have within our country here. So I think it helps reconnect ourselves to the whole point of our industry. the fact that folks are like that in terms of like single sales and like cash sales, mean, folks are shelling out, know, 50, 100, 500,000, a million dollars for a piece of property. There just aren’t that many businesses out there, especially like on a
You know B2C basis that You know people are making such a large single transaction So I guess it’s a good reminder of just how much value Folks place into you know, something that’s real. So I’ll leave you with that thought Seriouslandcapital for any of your funding needs Land Daily Diligence Facebook group for zero cost review land deals getting back to that tomorrow afternoon have some lined up and lambpricer.ai
Solving more issues on that end as well. Most reliable lamp pricing tool on the market. With that, subscribe and share. Take care everybody. Bye.
