November 15, 2024 • 9 mins
Host Vanessa Tyler has a revealing conversation with entrepreneur and financial advisor Eszylfie Taylor. Eszylfie is the president and founder of Taylor Insurance and Financial Services located in the financial district of Pasadena, California. Vanessa and Eszylfie talk about his middle class upbringing, becoming top a financial advisor, and he offers his perspective on building individual wealth through money management and wellness.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
We all want the good life, but how to get
there with all our mistakes regrets?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We can make mistakes and mistakes and mistakes on mistakes.
You know, I'm arguably the biggest failure you've ever met
in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Let's meet this failure who is now a multi millionaire.
His advice you can get there too. Hear the good
life story of a zelfie tailor living lovely in Blackland
and now as a brown person, you just feel so
invisible where we're from. Brothers and sisters are welcome you
(00:36):
to this joyful and day.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We celebrate freedom. Where we are I know someone's heard
something and where we're going.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
We the people means all the people.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
The Black Information Network presents Blackland with your host Vanessa Tyler.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
We work hard and the money is still not quite there.
What is your advice to make financial dreams come true?
A selfie tailor millionaire, not the golden spoon in the
mouth kind, but the self made bootstrap kind who is
ready to share his secrets.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
The first thing is you must visualize what you want
your life to look like. Right. You have to think
about one thing I say a lot to my clients
is that if you aim at nothing, you will hit
it with amazing accuracy. So you have to figure out, Okay,
where do I want to be. The second part is
then you have to do the work. So one of
the most powerful tools I guess or practices that I've
(01:33):
learned in my career that's been tremendous for me is
understanding the difference between goals and desires. Goals are things
that we work for. Goals are things that have a
definitive timetable of completion. Goals are things that are one
hundred percent within our control. I believe in perfect planning
through balance and diversification. So the reality of it is
(01:53):
is you need a short term, moderate and long term plan.
And my advice is for the listeners to align yourself
with a great investment advisor, a great insurance broker, a
great estate planning attorney that can help guide you. It
takes a village. I have been in business for over
twenty five years, and over that period of time, I
have met people that make millions of dollars a year
(02:15):
than they've paidchick to pitcher. I've also met people that
never made more than one hundred thousand a year retire multimillionaires.
So it's not necessarily Okay, you know you make a
lot of moneys, You're going to be successful because it's
not a matter of what you make, is what you keep, right.
I would say that if you have a lower levels
of income, then it is far more imperative for you
to be disciplined and be a good steward of what
(02:36):
you have because you don't have as many you know,
discretionary resources. Right. But I would say this, it's not
so much the amount of money that you have as
much as the length of time and the discipline that
you exhibit in putting it away.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
He makes it sound easy, right, like the money is
just flowing in.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
We can make mistakes and mistakes and mistakes on mistakes,
and you know, I'm arguably the biggest failure you've ever
met in your life. Every way you can fall down, stumble, lose.
I think I've done it. But I don't believe in
winning and losing. I believe in winning and learning, because
ultimately winners are just losers. They tried. One more time.
You show me anybody successful entertainment, sports, business, real estate.
(03:16):
I'll show you somebody who didn't know how they're going
to make their role, who is living in their car.
They couldn't afford groceries. I'll show you that person. But
they just didn't stop. Right. I would say, there's a
difference between something being hard, right, because it doesn't be
hard something being hard, and they're something being impossible. Right.
So if you find yourself okay, I would just say this,
(03:36):
it's okay to make a mistake, just don't keep repeating
the same one. You gotta learn from it. You gotta pivot.
So don't worry about the falling down part. That's okay.
But now what right?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Now what he may have fallen, But from the very
beginning it Zelfie Taylor was what people used to call
a go getter.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I grew up in southern California. You know, had a
you know, pretty good upbringing. I guess middle class when
there was one. Didn't have a didn't have a trust
fund when I turned eighteen, but I had twenty bucks
in my pocket to go to the movies and gable Berger. Right.
And but I started my career with nothing. Right, I
had one hundred bucks of my checking accountant and I
tap on my backside for my parents to go get
(04:15):
after it right, and started my career the big insurance
company here in LA and twenty two years old, did
a little better year over year. By twenty seven, I
was number one in LA for the firm thirteen thousand advisors.
By by thirty I was top fifteen in the country.
But I felt like I was a shark in a
fish tank, right, So I left and I opened my
own independent firm. Today I owned twelve companies from you know,
(04:38):
my finance company, from a business management company, you know,
a production company, restaurant on, a health and fitness studio.
You know. My whole mantra, I was like, I'm gonna
die with memories not dreams. So I'm you know, I'm
swinging right and so part of all the businesses, and like, wow,
how could you do that? Is this idea? Again? Everything
(05:00):
isn't predicated on what he self pytailor does. If everything
only moved, if I move forward, well then I'd be stuck.
I can only go so far right, And so I'm
trying to practice what I preach and be in businesses
again that running is out of me, not because of me.
Add maybe money to it, or add a little bit
of my time or my expertise someone and let them
run that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And you said your parents are from Ghana, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
My father's got KNI and my mother's an American, right, so
I'm the true kit of me of African American. Right.
My mother's from from North North Carolina. So I got
the work ethic and the and the regal you know
a side from my father being a knee and royalty,
and then just got the southern charm and the hospitality
side from my mom, right, And so you know, I'm
(05:46):
just pushing forward and trying to make them proud and
do better every day. Is I've got four daughters myself now, right,
seventeen year old daughters senior in high school, twins who
are fifteen they're freshmen, and the little baby girl right,
And I'm raising those girls right that you know, to
be better than me, right to to not rest on
their laurels and not say, hey, my dad seems to
(06:06):
be doing well. I can chill like you know, if
you got my daughters on this on this interview right
now and ask them what do you have to do
with what your dad leaves you, they'd need to tell
you we got to make it ten times bigger.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
You are listening to the voice of a zelfie tailor
who is helping us get our heads right and put
money in our pockets. Of course, we know money's not everything.
Talk about work life balance and your passion for yoga.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I had, you know, in the yoga community we call
it monkey mind. Right, I'm just all over the place.
I'm in class thinking about all the other things that
I'd need to do in my life and for my family.
And you know, I've learned to detach and in that
space really take a beat, right, and health and wellness
is everything, you know. I played as a forceport letterman
(06:50):
in high school. I played football, basketball, baseballman track, got
of inducted to the Hall of Fame with my high
school for athletics. You know, played collegiately, but you know basketball,
but you know, but I realize those sports are very
hard on your body and very taxing. And you know,
Father Time is undefeated. So I love yoga because it
allows me to get you know, my strengthen my core,
my balance, and not get hurt until for me, it's
(07:12):
been on God sense so much so that I opened
my own studio named Cali. So my baby girl, her
name is Cali So. Cali with Okay Cali Health and Fitness.
I opened that because I want to share that with
other people, right, and so your health and wellness is everything.
Like I said before, no one if I said, hey,
you've got stage four cancer, but you've got one hundred
million dollars in your bank, who cares? Right? Like? Who
(07:35):
cares that you have that money? Right? It's your health
is everything because if you're healthy and you're strong and
your mind is right, then the money will come. Some
of you guys listen to me, are upset and you're
miserable and you're unhappy, and you think that's because you
don't have money. And I want to challenge that in
that if you're a miserable, nasty person and I gave
you one hundred million dollars today, you'd be a miserable,
(07:57):
nasty person with one hundred million dollars.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
What a renaissance man? A selfie tailor can pop up
in the oddest spaces because on top of everything else,
normally you don't put a black man with a mostly
female athletic wear company. But as selfie tailor was connected
to the price the athletic war company Lululemon.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I practiced you know, yoga and and got you know,
recruited if you will, by the brand to h to
represent them in Los Angeles for yoga and that was
a great experience and now since past. But to your point,
I mean, you know, I'm an athlete, you know, you know,
I'm a black man, So a black man that does yoga,
(08:37):
you know, would seemingly be an anomaly. But what I
wanted to do is shed light that, hey, you can
be strong and athletic and muscular and still be into yoga.
It's not just for you know, white women, you know,
soccer moms, right, It's for everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
How can people follow you?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
I'm on every social media platform. My name is very
unique et selfie. I tell people think of a selfie
like you're taking a photo and ian funny sylphie that's
E s Z like zebra y l F like Frank
I E E Slphie Taylor. I'm very easy to find.
Google me. You'll find out that rite ups in FOURB
is in Business Insider and Men's Health and USA Today
(09:14):
and People magazine and the like. So these principles are
just really passionate about sharing across all medians. On my
reality series is coming out mind body Money, so mindbodymoney
dot com. You can check that out the webpage there.
But yeah, I'm here and I'm open to help.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well, that sounds terrific. We are certainly richer for your advice,
is Elfie Taylor. Thank you for joining us. Thank you,
and don't forget to join me next time. I'm Vanessa Tyler.
Like and subscribe to Blackland. A new episode drops every Friday.
We all want the good life, but how to get
there with all our mistakes regrets?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We can make mistakes and mistakes and mistakes on mistakes.
You know, I'm arguably the biggest failure you've ever met
in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Let's meet this failure who is now a multi millionaire.
His advice you can get there too. Hear the good
life story of a zelfie tailor living lovely in Blackland
and now as a brown person, you just feel so
invisible where we're from. Brothers and sisters are welcome you
(00:36):
to this joyful and day.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We celebrate freedom. Where we are I know someone's heard
something and where we're going.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
We the people means all the people.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
The Black Information Network presents Blackland with your host Vanessa Tyler.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
We work hard and the money is still not quite there.
What is your advice to make financial dreams come true?
A selfie tailor millionaire, not the golden spoon in the
mouth kind, but the self made bootstrap kind who is
ready to share his secrets.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
The first thing is you must visualize what you want
your life to look like. Right. You have to think
about one thing I say a lot to my clients
is that if you aim at nothing, you will hit
it with amazing accuracy. So you have to figure out, Okay,
where do I want to be. The second part is
then you have to do the work. So one of
the most powerful tools I guess or practices that I've
(01:33):
learned in my career that's been tremendous for me is
understanding the difference between goals and desires. Goals are things
that we work for. Goals are things that have a
definitive timetable of completion. Goals are things that are one
hundred percent within our control. I believe in perfect planning
through balance and diversification. So the reality of it is
(01:53):
is you need a short term, moderate and long term plan.
And my advice is for the listeners to align yourself
with a great investment advisor, a great insurance broker, a
great estate planning attorney that can help guide you. It
takes a village. I have been in business for over
twenty five years, and over that period of time, I
have met people that make millions of dollars a year
(02:15):
than they've paidchick to pitcher. I've also met people that
never made more than one hundred thousand a year retire multimillionaires.
So it's not necessarily Okay, you know you make a
lot of moneys, You're going to be successful because it's
not a matter of what you make, is what you keep, right.
I would say that if you have a lower levels
of income, then it is far more imperative for you
to be disciplined and be a good steward of what
(02:36):
you have because you don't have as many you know,
discretionary resources. Right. But I would say this, it's not
so much the amount of money that you have as
much as the length of time and the discipline that
you exhibit in putting it away.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
He makes it sound easy, right, like the money is
just flowing in.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
We can make mistakes and mistakes and mistakes on mistakes,
and you know, I'm arguably the biggest failure you've ever
met in your life. Every way you can fall down, stumble, lose.
I think I've done it. But I don't believe in
winning and losing. I believe in winning and learning, because
ultimately winners are just losers. They tried. One more time.
You show me anybody successful entertainment, sports, business, real estate.
(03:16):
I'll show you somebody who didn't know how they're going
to make their role, who is living in their car.
They couldn't afford groceries. I'll show you that person. But
they just didn't stop. Right. I would say, there's a
difference between something being hard, right, because it doesn't be
hard something being hard, and they're something being impossible. Right.
So if you find yourself okay, I would just say this,
(03:36):
it's okay to make a mistake, just don't keep repeating
the same one. You gotta learn from it. You gotta pivot.
So don't worry about the falling down part. That's okay.
But now what right?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Now what he may have fallen, But from the very
beginning it Zelfie Taylor was what people used to call
a go getter.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I grew up in southern California. You know, had a
you know, pretty good upbringing. I guess middle class when
there was one. Didn't have a didn't have a trust
fund when I turned eighteen, but I had twenty bucks
in my pocket to go to the movies and gable Berger. Right.
And but I started my career with nothing. Right, I
had one hundred bucks of my checking accountant and I
tap on my backside for my parents to go get
(04:15):
after it right, and started my career the big insurance
company here in LA and twenty two years old, did
a little better year over year. By twenty seven, I
was number one in LA for the firm thirteen thousand advisors.
By by thirty I was top fifteen in the country.
But I felt like I was a shark in a
fish tank, right, So I left and I opened my
own independent firm. Today I owned twelve companies from you know,
(04:38):
my finance company, from a business management company, you know,
a production company, restaurant on, a health and fitness studio.
You know. My whole mantra, I was like, I'm gonna
die with memories not dreams. So I'm you know, I'm
swinging right and so part of all the businesses, and like, wow,
how could you do that? Is this idea? Again? Everything
(05:00):
isn't predicated on what he self pytailor does. If everything
only moved, if I move forward, well then I'd be stuck.
I can only go so far right, And so I'm
trying to practice what I preach and be in businesses
again that running is out of me, not because of me.
Add maybe money to it, or add a little bit
of my time or my expertise someone and let them
run that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And you said your parents are from Ghana, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
My father's got KNI and my mother's an American, right, so
I'm the true kit of me of African American. Right.
My mother's from from North North Carolina. So I got
the work ethic and the and the regal you know
a side from my father being a knee and royalty,
and then just got the southern charm and the hospitality
side from my mom, right, And so you know, I'm
(05:46):
just pushing forward and trying to make them proud and
do better every day. Is I've got four daughters myself now, right,
seventeen year old daughters senior in high school, twins who
are fifteen they're freshmen, and the little baby girl right,
And I'm raising those girls right that you know, to
be better than me, right to to not rest on
their laurels and not say, hey, my dad seems to
(06:06):
be doing well. I can chill like you know, if
you got my daughters on this on this interview right
now and ask them what do you have to do
with what your dad leaves you, they'd need to tell
you we got to make it ten times bigger.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
You are listening to the voice of a zelfie tailor
who is helping us get our heads right and put
money in our pockets. Of course, we know money's not everything.
Talk about work life balance and your passion for yoga.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I had, you know, in the yoga community we call
it monkey mind. Right, I'm just all over the place.
I'm in class thinking about all the other things that
I'd need to do in my life and for my family.
And you know, I've learned to detach and in that
space really take a beat, right, and health and wellness
is everything, you know. I played as a forceport letterman
(06:50):
in high school. I played football, basketball, baseballman track, got
of inducted to the Hall of Fame with my high
school for athletics. You know, played collegiately, but you know basketball,
but you know, but I realize those sports are very
hard on your body and very taxing. And you know,
Father Time is undefeated. So I love yoga because it
allows me to get you know, my strengthen my core,
my balance, and not get hurt until for me, it's
(07:12):
been on God sense so much so that I opened
my own studio named Cali. So my baby girl, her
name is Cali So. Cali with Okay Cali Health and Fitness.
I opened that because I want to share that with
other people, right, and so your health and wellness is everything.
Like I said before, no one if I said, hey,
you've got stage four cancer, but you've got one hundred
million dollars in your bank, who cares? Right? Like? Who
(07:35):
cares that you have that money? Right? It's your health
is everything because if you're healthy and you're strong and
your mind is right, then the money will come. Some
of you guys listen to me, are upset and you're
miserable and you're unhappy, and you think that's because you
don't have money. And I want to challenge that in
that if you're a miserable, nasty person and I gave
you one hundred million dollars today, you'd be a miserable,
(07:57):
nasty person with one hundred million dollars.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
What a renaissance man? A selfie tailor can pop up
in the oddest spaces because on top of everything else,
normally you don't put a black man with a mostly
female athletic wear company. But as selfie tailor was connected
to the price the athletic war company Lululemon.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I practiced you know, yoga and and got you know,
recruited if you will, by the brand to h to
represent them in Los Angeles for yoga and that was
a great experience and now since past. But to your point,
I mean, you know, I'm an athlete, you know, you know,
I'm a black man, So a black man that does yoga,
(08:37):
you know, would seemingly be an anomaly. But what I
wanted to do is shed light that, hey, you can
be strong and athletic and muscular and still be into yoga.
It's not just for you know, white women, you know,
soccer moms, right, It's for everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
How can people follow you?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
I'm on every social media platform. My name is very
unique et selfie. I tell people think of a selfie
like you're taking a photo and ian funny sylphie that's
E s Z like zebra y l F like Frank
I E E Slphie Taylor. I'm very easy to find.
Google me. You'll find out that rite ups in FOURB
is in Business Insider and Men's Health and USA Today
(09:14):
and People magazine and the like. So these principles are
just really passionate about sharing across all medians. On my
reality series is coming out mind body Money, so mindbodymoney
dot com. You can check that out the webpage there.
But yeah, I'm here and I'm open to help.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well, that sounds terrific. We are certainly richer for your advice,
is Elfie Taylor. Thank you for joining us. Thank you,
and don't forget to join me next time. I'm Vanessa Tyler.
Like and subscribe to Blackland. A new episode drops every Friday.
Host
Vanessa Tyler
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