February 20, 2025 • 21 mins
What if you could shift your mindset and unlock the key to financial independence? Join us as we uncover the extraordinary journey of Mustafa Ladha, who traded a promising career in genetics and pharmaceuticals for the realm of real estate investing. Mustafa shares his transformation story and how he harnessed the power of mindset to achieve financial freedom. We discuss the art of tailoring real estate strategies to personal goals and how passive investing can be a vehicle for success. Mustafa passionately emphasizes the importance of aligning investment choices with individual objectives, making it clear that real estate isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.
Throughout our engaging conversation, Mustafa and I explore how viewing money as a tool and maintaining honesty in financial planning can dramatically change investment outcomes. We delve into the significance of conviction in one's investment strategies and the necessity of continuous learning and a growth mindset. Together, we highlight the importance of living a balanced life, using healthy outlets like family and sports to relieve stress and find joy. Mustafa's insights on maximizing time and embracing discomfort for personal growth are invaluable, along with his commitment to sharing knowledge to empower others on their financial journeys. Tune in for a wealth of perspectives on real estate investing, mindset, and living a fulfilling life.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I have a wonderful guest today.
It is none other than MustafaLada Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Thank you so much, heather Nice, to be on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Definitely Well.
It's a pleasure to have you onand we've connected through
LinkedIn, and I really enjoyedlearning about your background
and your transition as aninvestor years ago.
Please share with our audiencea little bit more about you.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sure sure, I know.
Even before the podcast, whenwe were talking, we were just
discussing how real estate issuch a huge space and people are
often looking at that spacethinking how do I get started?
And I think that's alsoindicative of life, like when
you go through college, you know, you have a certain vision of
what you're going to study, andthen you go out into the real
world and get a job and in mostpeople's situation it's nothing
(00:55):
like what they studied incollege, and so that was similar
for me.
I studied genetics, I went tomedical school.
I decided medicine wasn't how Iwanted to help people.
So I came back, I got a job inthe pharmaceutical industry and
in that space I was helpingpeople in terms of drug safety,
which was great.
But it was like how do I kindof scale that impact and help
(01:16):
more people?
Fundamentally, when people aretaking medicine, yeah, they want
it to be safe, but they don'treally understand what goes on
behind the scenes.
So I wanted my impact to bemore germane or more relevant to
the average person.
And so a lot of my friends, alot of people that I was
speaking to, they fundamentallyhad challenges understanding
their money and how to growmoney and I could relate to that
(01:36):
.
So I was on my own journey offinancial independence.
Along the way I took time outto really educate people in my
circles to say, hey, this is howyou invest, this is how you
think of money.
And that's kind of led me towhere I am now, where I help
people passively invest in realestate.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Which is terrific, because there's so many
misnomers on it.
There's just a wealth ofinformation that isn't as
accurate.
So it's nice to have your voiceon LinkedIn and on other
platforms for that.
So you touched on mindset,essentially right.
What is the shift that helpedyou, or what do you notice helps
your clients in shifting into amore wealth mindset?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I think it's a great question because I think when
you get started at least for meor a lot of people that I speak
to I don't think mindset isreally valued or respected or
prioritized as much as it shouldbe, because you can't know what
you don't know.
So early on I was working thatpharmaceutical job.
I live in New Jersey, it's anexpensive state to live in and
(02:39):
I'm looking at it like,fundamentally, if I just rely on
this one job, I'm not going tohit my goals.
And my goals weren't monetary,they were based on impact.
Like, if you want to givecharity, for example, you have
to be able to make money to payyour bills, to help others,
right.
So for me it was very.
I was looking at things likethat and saying, fundamentally,
(02:59):
if I'm not making enough now andif the American dream is X, y,
you know, used to be like thehouse with the white picket
fence.
Now I don't know Now maybeexactly exactly Now it's
probably traveling the world andworking from wherever.
Whatever your version of theAmerican dream is, fundamentally
, it costs money, and then youdon't want to hit 65 and not be
(03:19):
able to afford retirement, whichis the reality for most people.
So then it's like, if you knowthe traditional wisdom is XYZ
and that gets you, you know ABCoutcome and that outcome is
suboptimal, then you have tostart making changes now.
So I think to some degree itwas thinking through that whole
workflow.
Heather, if that makes sense,and my friends to say hey,
(03:42):
fundamentally, or the people inmy circles to say, hey,
fundamentally, what is your goal?
Because real estate is not theanswer for everyone and there's
no answer.
There's no universal, ubiquitousanswer for everyone, because
everyone's problems are uniqueand everyone's challenges are
different.
So it's to understand where isthe person at.
What is the right strategy forthem?
It may be real estate, it maynot be.
(04:03):
And even within real estateHeather, obviously you're very
accomplished.
So you know, like real estate isa big space, but when you're
talking to somebody who's maybenew to the space, it's viewed as
like a nice tidy box.
But it's not Right.
You ask the classes and youwant to peel back the layers to
say, hey, fundamentally I domultifamily real estate, so
(04:25):
layers.
To say, hey, fundamentally I domultifamily real estate, so I
provide housing, that might notbe the right solution for XYZ
investor, right.
So it's kind of aboutunderstanding the person's
concerns, really hearing wherethey're at and treating it as
we're on a journey together.
There's like no pressure inthis process and, fundamentally,
if I'm not the best person tohelp you, I'm going to tell you
early on, because that doesn'thelp anyone long term, right,
(04:48):
that relationship long term over, like you know, 20, 40 years.
How do I optimize value forsomebody?
It's by giving them exactlywhat they're asking for, not
exactly what I want to give them, and there are two differences.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I agree completely, and one of the things I've
really liked about connectingwith you through LinkedIn for
the past I don't know, is itmaybe almost a year somewhere in
that arena of your heart andknowledge really shine through
in your posts.
And so to me, especially whensomeone is getting to know maybe
real estate in general, thedifferent asset classes and how
(05:24):
investments work, what ispassive truly, what is it not?
I think it's really nice howyou genuinely care and really
take the time of getting to knowpeople, because, to your point,
if you don't really know whatsomeone's goals are, you know
what their past is withinvesting or lack thereof, and
(05:45):
their risk tolerances.
All of these are really crucialfactors and you can't guide
them effectively without that.
So I love how you really dotake that step back and look at
it from an impact standpoint ofhow can you create the best
impact in this person's life andthus their wealth.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
And I think, just to add to that Heather life and
thus their wealth, and I thinkjust to add to that Heather,
like it cannot.
It can be a not fun process forpeople in the sense that, like,
real estate is confusing, theyrecognize it's confusing and
they're not taking action.
Then they talk to somebody likeme who more or less is like
here's the forest, we're goingto walk through the forest
together and along the way I'mgoing to stop and I'm going to
(06:23):
talk about this bird, I'm goingto talk about this plant, and
these are like useless thingsfor you, but in three years time
it'll all click and you'll belike okay.
This is why Mustafa was talkingabout tax efficiency and saying
I'm not ready for this, but I'mhappy to talk about it, and
he'll spend 5-10 minutes talkingabout the strategy.
That's not right for me rightnow and it's not right for that
(06:50):
investor right now, because thatstrategy is like you know,
maybe you'll get your money backin three years through a
refinance event, butfundamentally you're holding for
10 years and that investor isright now focused on short term
cash flow.
So they're in a completelydifferent bucket versus like
building generational wealth.
But for me, heather, it'simportant because it really
stems from that mentality of youdon't know what you don't know.
So if no one is taking thattime to kind of educate you on
the things that you should bethinking about in the future,
(07:12):
then you can't decide foryourself if I want to think
about it now or if I want toactually think about it in the
future.
Does that all make sense or notreally?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I think a lot of it.
It's funny one of my earlymentors made that statement of
you don't know what you don'tknow, and I remember at the time
I had heard it and I was likethat is a valuable statement,
because you don't know what toask, you don't know what to look
for or what to seek out, and soto your point.
That's really important and Ithink it's all partnering up.
And to your point I relateeverything to marathons.
You know it's like you can'trun before you walk and you
(07:50):
can't run the marathon until youget some miles under your belt
and you know having thosepivotal markers at each point.
So, similarly to investing, youhave to do it in different
stages and everyone hasdifferent learning curves with
it, risk tolerances, where somemight move really fast and just
(08:11):
go and others aren't there.
So I think it's important ofalmost, if you want to say,
understanding the whole person,because money is a huge part of
life.
And I think too, when peoplefeel that they aren't where
they're at, it's reallyuncomfortable to talk about that
, and that's where I like to.
(08:31):
I would anticipate yourapproach is really just a
completely respectfulunderstanding and helping them
see of like, hey, this is acourageous step, and now you can
move into these next steps andhere's our plan and adjust as
needed.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And I think the beautiful emotional aspect of
this Heather that you'retouching on is that people
unfortunately attribute theirfinancial status to their
personal value, which isillogical, respectfully to
everyone, because where you'reat does not represent who you
are as a person.
(09:05):
There are different strugglesand adversities that you're
overcoming that affect youfinancially, but your mental
resilience, how you show up andhow you respond to that is who
you are as a person.
They're two different things.
So whether somebody has adollar or a hundred million, one
person is not better than theother in my humble opinion.
But we live in america.
(09:25):
America is very capitalistic,so we tend to judge things by,
by numbers, which is notnecessarily bad.
But it's to say, fundamentally,money is a tool.
I would not go around saying,oh hey, I have the nicest
calculator or the nicest pen,the nicest car.
So it's like, hey,fundamentally, if you have a
nicer car, nicer house, nicerpen, nicer calculator, you're
(09:46):
not necessarily a nicer person,right?
So if that's the mentality andyou try to have that mental
shift as an individual or whenyou're talking to individuals,
then it's a very no judgmentspace.
And what I've learned over theyears is like everyone feels
like their background, or peoplelike them are bad with money or
don't like to talk about moneyor have like money sensitivity,
(10:09):
and we all have it in differentforms.
So I think, to some degree,having that conversation is
important, because then you'reable to say, hey, fundamentally,
you are the right profile ofperson to invest in a 10 year
strategy, for example, which islike tax efficiency,
generational wealth, all ofthese buzzwords that you'll see
around like negative K-1s, taxfree, all these keywords.
(10:31):
But if that investor has neverinvested in real estate, it's
okay to admit to yourself or forthem that you're scared, you
have anxiety, you're unsure.
These are not negative emotions.
It just means that the proof ofconcept isn't there.
No one should do anythingunless they're convinced it'll
work out well.
Because if you're doingsomething with low conviction,
(10:51):
it's probably not going to workout well.
Even if it's 100% passive,right, exactly, still room, like
you know, you'll delay sendingthe wire for like six months and
you'll miss out on theopportunity, like one of those
things that if you don't havebuy-in on the approach and the
strategy, nothing's going tohappen.
Positive, like if I go to thedentist and you're saying I need
(11:12):
to floss and I don't floss thenext year.
I'm checking the the hygienistto see is she saying my teeth
are worse?
If she's saying they're notworse, um, and it's the same
with investing fundamentally youneed to see your portfolio
growing to have more buy-in inthat strategy, and that's kind
of what I've noticed.
That's why you know there arestrategies optimized for
short-term return and I tellpeople straight up like,
(11:34):
fundamentally, this strategywill make you good money but
you're going to get taxed a lotat your ordinary income.
It's not the best for growingyour net worth, but're saying
xyz.
So psychologically you need thisto kind of boost yourself up,
to feel comfortable investing insomething outside the stock
market.
And none of that is negative,even though it might be phrased
(11:54):
as you need a psychologicalboost or you need to feel good
about yourself.
Those are not negative thingsthat I would be saying.
It's just to say, fundamentallythere's a roadblock and this is
the detour.
Anytime you see a detour sign,you're not happy, but you
recognize that you need to go onthat detour to get to your
destination and that's kind ofwhat we're doing, if that all
makes sense, heather.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Definitely, and I think a lot of it too is people
want to know that if they havethis input that they'll get this
output and there's always roomfor shifts in the market and
changes and unforeseen things.
You can do a great job of duediligence and sometimes there's
just things that are there thatyou hadn't anticipated.
(12:36):
So with that conversation too,of if someone isn't fully honest
with you about their feelings,about their concerns, their
desires, all these things, youcan't accurately guide them.
That's, like you know, back inthe day, of having a map like
you're in Iowa but you're inIdaho.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's not going to serve you well, right?
Yeah, very true.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
So it's really yeah, it's getting real being
authentic no, I 100 agree.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And the and the, at least from my perspective, the
beautiful thing is there's.
There's never any pressure,like if somebody is looking to
invest or they're not looking toinvest.
Fundamentally, my question isnot are you looking to invest?
It's, are you looking to learn?
Somebody's not looking to learn, there's nothing I can do and
that's perfectly fine.
Um, fundamentally, if it's aconversation based on, hey, this
is what's out there, then it'sa very exciting conversation for
(13:26):
everybody, because you'reshowing up saying, hey, I'm
learning something I don't know,and the person I'm learning
from can be 100 wrong, and thisis important and you touched on
due diligence.
The person that I'm talking tocan be 100 wrong, but they're
sharing their perspective basedon their experiences, so I can
learn from and it can revalidatemy other strategies I could be
(13:47):
investing in.
You know Airbnbs in, likeCalifornia, and this guy can be
doing ground up construction andmultifamily in New Jersey
completely different sector, butCalifornia and New Jersey are
both strong real estate markets.
So if he's feeling pain in NewJersey, then I can say, okay,
hey, I might start to feel painin California, or vice versa.
Or if his build cost is muchless than mine in California.
(14:10):
It's interesting to reflect on,because maybe there's somebody
in California that has his buildcost Right.
So my point is to say that, nomatter where somebody is at, if
you have the right mindset whichis kind of something you
alluded to early on you cantreat every conversation as I
can learn one thing, that onething can make me 1% better and
that 1% better can help meaccomplish XYZ goals.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And that's why I'm really happy in general when you
hear there's a lot of emphasison a growth mindset, which is
what you're sharing here, versusthe fixed mindset of this is
how you know, this is the rootsthat I'm from, this is how the
family is and that kind of likekiss your life goodbye.
There's no option, but I reallylike the mindset that you take
(14:56):
to that.
So the world of investing isobviously busy.
It can be a lot of stress.
There's a lot of variables.
How do you find your ways tode-stress?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So I think early on it was like, you know, when I
was in college, it was like thiswas one of the questions they
asked and I was like, oh, I justgo to sleep.
Then later on you're like eat,there's nothing wrong with that,
you know, in moderation.
But I think, as I've gonethrough life, you you find other
(15:29):
outlets that are, I guess, moretraditionally healthy, like you
find sports.
I play pickleball prettyregularly, I go to the gym, um,
but I think the number one thingis like when I've had a tough
day and I come home and my Ihave two young daughters.
So when my older daughter comesand she runs and gives me a hug
, there's nothing better in myopinion.
So so I tell all the guys whoare like having kids, who are
having, you know, daughters, Isay like listen, I don't have
any sons, so I don't know, butthere's nothing like daughter's
(15:50):
love in terms of like makingyour day amazing, no matter how
stressful it's been.
So I think, heather, for me liketo answer the question pretty
simply I'm pretty traditional inthese things.
Like you know, my time is reallyimportant and to me, like
that's the best thing when itcomes to like drowning out
whatever stress there is in lifebecause, to some degree,
circling back to that growthmindset if you're not stressed,
(16:13):
if you're not uncomfortable,you're probably not growing with
, with all respect, like thereare days where I, or weeks or
whatever, where I'm looking atlike life is too easy or my work
is too like mundane, that meansI'm not like pushing the
envelope, I'm not growing indifferent directions, because I
think for me, part of thementality to maintain a growth
mindset has been beingcomfortable, being uncomfortable
(16:36):
in the sense that I always needto be pushing myself and I
always need to be like oh man,like you know this, this is like
I'm testing the boundaries, I'mlearning something new, I'm
trying something out, and therecomes a point where you start
feeling comfortable in that fluxand that change.
And I think that's important tolike maintaining a growth
(16:57):
mindset and to just beingcurious about what else is out
there that I don't know Rightout there that I don't know
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Well, and I think too that that ties into human
performance, right Of, we allare wired, I think, with
different gifts, and it's amatter of utilizing those gifts,
sharing them with people youknow, kind of like investing of
what a wealth of knowledge, ofinformation.
You can truly transform people'slives with this, and also it's
(17:27):
it just really makes lifebeautiful and it allows you to
know, kind of like where's yourboundaries.
And then how do you go beyondthat kind of what you're saying
and really max life out and Iagree with you completely, it's
if you're too comfortable.
There's an old old sayinganother mentor taught me of
you're either growing or dying,and that ties in with this of I
(17:51):
think it's good to have a littlecomfort after you pushed hard
right.
But then too, it's like it'sthe natural adventure of like
how do I expand, how do Iperform at a higher level so I
can impact more, which issomething that I know is really
important to you.
So, as we bring this home andyou've kind of answered part of
this, but what would you sayliving fully means to you.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's a good question.
I don't know.
I think to some degree, livingfully just means maximizing the
time that we have on earth.
I think for a lot of peoplethat definition is different,
but for me it's one of thosethings that I'm of the mindset
that, like, the next minute'snot guaranteed.
So if that's the case, then youwant to really do what you want
(18:38):
to do and then you need todefine that.
So for me, like, what I want todo is I want to be in a
position to help people.
So if that means that I'mtalking about like money and I'm
educating people about money,that's a form of charity where
you're teaching people about atopic that they don't admit that
they want to learn about,necessarily because it feels
uncomfortable.
So it's like, okay, we have tonavigate this uncomfortable
(18:59):
feeling, no problem, and then wehave to get to this raw data or
and in theory, we have to makeit entertaining as well, or
interesting or or capturepeople's attention.
Because if we just talk aboutspreadsheets which I prefer, um,
and maybe the average person Italk to prefers it might not
resonate with everyone.
So you have to say, okay, thisis fundamentally what it means.
Here's a picture of the asset.
(19:20):
Here is you know what it canmean for your net worth and for,
like, the life that you'retrying to build.
And then, fundamentally, thatputs you in a position where
you're able to help people whoare not able to invest by, you
know, giving back in charity andthings like that.
So for me, heather, it's reallythose are the types of things
that make me feel fulfilled.
But then also it's about kindof realizing that growth is in
(19:44):
multiple directions, so like inthat example where I talked
about stress and my kids.
It's about kind of realizingthat growth is in multiple
directions.
So, like in that example whereI talked about stress and my
kids, it's also to say, hey,fundamentally I don't want to be
just hanging out with my kidswhen I'm stressed and they're
not just a me.
I need to be unstressed.
I need to also have qualitytime with them and I need to
kind of learn that likework-life balance, which I think
is something like maybe two,three years ago I would not have
believed in at all, but part ofthat mindset is kind of keeping
(20:07):
your eyes open and saying, hey,where do I need to consistently
improve?
and so that's something that,like last year, I worked on a
lot, this year I work on.
So it's it's something that, asan individual, I try to improve
on as well, to just figure outwhat that right level of balance
is, and it's different foreveryone.
Some people can be 9010.
Others it can be, you know,5050.
Whatever that looks like isjust to say fundamentally, to
(20:30):
answer your question like howare you taking each minute that
you have and really feeling likeyou've maximized it?
And for me it's to like look atall the different aspects of my
life and knowing I'm doing thebest I can in each aspect,
whether that's like my familylife, my work life, my spiritual
life, etc.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Wonderful.
Well, it was such a pleasureconnecting with you, mustafa.
Thank you for joining me todayand share with our audience.
How can people connect with you?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Sure no, heather.
The conversation has been great.
People can reach out to me onLinkedIn it's Mustafa Ladda.
They can reach out to me viaemail it's ml at
velocecapitalcom.
Feel free to contact me eitherway and I'd be happy to help add
value.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Perfect.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
No problem, have a good one.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
You too.
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I have a wonderful guest today.
It is none other than MustafaLada Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Thank you so much, heather Nice, to be on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Definitely Well.
It's a pleasure to have you onand we've connected through
LinkedIn, and I really enjoyedlearning about your background
and your transition as aninvestor years ago.
Please share with our audiencea little bit more about you.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sure sure, I know.
Even before the podcast, whenwe were talking, we were just
discussing how real estate issuch a huge space and people are
often looking at that spacethinking how do I get started?
And I think that's alsoindicative of life, like when
you go through college, you know, you have a certain vision of
what you're going to study, andthen you go out into the real
world and get a job and in mostpeople's situation it's nothing
(00:55):
like what they studied incollege, and so that was similar
for me.
I studied genetics, I went tomedical school.
I decided medicine wasn't how Iwanted to help people.
So I came back, I got a job inthe pharmaceutical industry and
in that space I was helpingpeople in terms of drug safety,
which was great.
But it was like how do I kindof scale that impact and help
(01:16):
more people?
Fundamentally, when people aretaking medicine, yeah, they want
it to be safe, but they don'treally understand what goes on
behind the scenes.
So I wanted my impact to bemore germane or more relevant to
the average person.
And so a lot of my friends, alot of people that I was
speaking to, they fundamentallyhad challenges understanding
their money and how to growmoney and I could relate to that
(01:36):
.
So I was on my own journey offinancial independence.
Along the way I took time outto really educate people in my
circles to say, hey, this is howyou invest, this is how you
think of money.
And that's kind of led me towhere I am now, where I help
people passively invest in realestate.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Which is terrific, because there's so many
misnomers on it.
There's just a wealth ofinformation that isn't as
accurate.
So it's nice to have your voiceon LinkedIn and on other
platforms for that.
So you touched on mindset,essentially right.
What is the shift that helpedyou, or what do you notice helps
your clients in shifting into amore wealth mindset?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I think it's a great question because I think when
you get started at least for meor a lot of people that I speak
to I don't think mindset isreally valued or respected or
prioritized as much as it shouldbe, because you can't know what
you don't know.
So early on I was working thatpharmaceutical job.
I live in New Jersey, it's anexpensive state to live in and
(02:39):
I'm looking at it like,fundamentally, if I just rely on
this one job, I'm not going tohit my goals.
And my goals weren't monetary,they were based on impact.
Like, if you want to givecharity, for example, you have
to be able to make money to payyour bills, to help others,
right.
So for me it was very.
I was looking at things likethat and saying, fundamentally,
(02:59):
if I'm not making enough now andif the American dream is X, y,
you know, used to be like thehouse with the white picket
fence.
Now I don't know Now maybeexactly exactly Now it's
probably traveling the world andworking from wherever.
Whatever your version of theAmerican dream is, fundamentally
, it costs money, and then youdon't want to hit 65 and not be
(03:19):
able to afford retirement, whichis the reality for most people.
So then it's like, if you knowthe traditional wisdom is XYZ
and that gets you, you know ABCoutcome and that outcome is
suboptimal, then you have tostart making changes now.
So I think to some degree itwas thinking through that whole
workflow.
Heather, if that makes sense,and my friends to say hey,
(03:42):
fundamentally, or the people inmy circles to say, hey,
fundamentally, what is your goal?
Because real estate is not theanswer for everyone and there's
no answer.
There's no universal, ubiquitousanswer for everyone, because
everyone's problems are uniqueand everyone's challenges are
different.
So it's to understand where isthe person at.
What is the right strategy forthem?
It may be real estate, it maynot be.
(04:03):
And even within real estateHeather, obviously you're very
accomplished.
So you know, like real estate isa big space, but when you're
talking to somebody who's maybenew to the space, it's viewed as
like a nice tidy box.
But it's not Right.
You ask the classes and youwant to peel back the layers to
say, hey, fundamentally I domultifamily real estate, so
(04:25):
layers.
To say, hey, fundamentally I domultifamily real estate, so I
provide housing, that might notbe the right solution for XYZ
investor, right.
So it's kind of aboutunderstanding the person's
concerns, really hearing wherethey're at and treating it as
we're on a journey together.
There's like no pressure inthis process and, fundamentally,
if I'm not the best person tohelp you, I'm going to tell you
early on, because that doesn'thelp anyone long term, right,
(04:48):
that relationship long term over, like you know, 20, 40 years.
How do I optimize value forsomebody?
It's by giving them exactlywhat they're asking for, not
exactly what I want to give them, and there are two differences.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I agree completely, and one of the things I've
really liked about connectingwith you through LinkedIn for
the past I don't know, is itmaybe almost a year somewhere in
that arena of your heart andknowledge really shine through
in your posts.
And so to me, especially whensomeone is getting to know maybe
real estate in general, thedifferent asset classes and how
(05:24):
investments work, what ispassive truly, what is it not?
I think it's really nice howyou genuinely care and really
take the time of getting to knowpeople, because, to your point,
if you don't really know whatsomeone's goals are, you know
what their past is withinvesting or lack thereof, and
(05:45):
their risk tolerances.
All of these are really crucialfactors and you can't guide
them effectively without that.
So I love how you really dotake that step back and look at
it from an impact standpoint ofhow can you create the best
impact in this person's life andthus their wealth.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
And I think, just to add to that Heather life and
thus their wealth, and I thinkjust to add to that Heather,
like it cannot.
It can be a not fun process forpeople in the sense that, like,
real estate is confusing, theyrecognize it's confusing and
they're not taking action.
Then they talk to somebody likeme who more or less is like
here's the forest, we're goingto walk through the forest
together and along the way I'mgoing to stop and I'm going to
(06:23):
talk about this bird, I'm goingto talk about this plant, and
these are like useless thingsfor you, but in three years time
it'll all click and you'll belike okay.
This is why Mustafa was talkingabout tax efficiency and saying
I'm not ready for this, but I'mhappy to talk about it, and
he'll spend 5-10 minutes talkingabout the strategy.
That's not right for me rightnow and it's not right for that
(06:50):
investor right now, because thatstrategy is like you know,
maybe you'll get your money backin three years through a
refinance event, butfundamentally you're holding for
10 years and that investor isright now focused on short term
cash flow.
So they're in a completelydifferent bucket versus like
building generational wealth.
But for me, heather, it'simportant because it really
stems from that mentality of youdon't know what you don't know.
So if no one is taking thattime to kind of educate you on
the things that you should bethinking about in the future,
(07:12):
then you can't decide foryourself if I want to think
about it now or if I want toactually think about it in the
future.
Does that all make sense or notreally?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
I think a lot of it.
It's funny one of my earlymentors made that statement of
you don't know what you don'tknow, and I remember at the time
I had heard it and I was likethat is a valuable statement,
because you don't know what toask, you don't know what to look
for or what to seek out, and soto your point.
That's really important and Ithink it's all partnering up.
And to your point I relateeverything to marathons.
You know it's like you can'trun before you walk and you
(07:50):
can't run the marathon until youget some miles under your belt
and you know having thosepivotal markers at each point.
So, similarly to investing, youhave to do it in different
stages and everyone hasdifferent learning curves with
it, risk tolerances, where somemight move really fast and just
(08:11):
go and others aren't there.
So I think it's important ofalmost, if you want to say,
understanding the whole person,because money is a huge part of
life.
And I think too, when peoplefeel that they aren't where
they're at, it's reallyuncomfortable to talk about that
, and that's where I like to.
(08:31):
I would anticipate yourapproach is really just a
completely respectfulunderstanding and helping them
see of like, hey, this is acourageous step, and now you can
move into these next steps andhere's our plan and adjust as
needed.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And I think the beautiful emotional aspect of
this Heather that you'retouching on is that people
unfortunately attribute theirfinancial status to their
personal value, which isillogical, respectfully to
everyone, because where you'reat does not represent who you
are as a person.
(09:05):
There are different strugglesand adversities that you're
overcoming that affect youfinancially, but your mental
resilience, how you show up andhow you respond to that is who
you are as a person.
They're two different things.
So whether somebody has adollar or a hundred million, one
person is not better than theother in my humble opinion.
But we live in america.
(09:25):
America is very capitalistic,so we tend to judge things by,
by numbers, which is notnecessarily bad.
But it's to say, fundamentally,money is a tool.
I would not go around saying,oh hey, I have the nicest
calculator or the nicest pen,the nicest car.
So it's like, hey,fundamentally, if you have a
nicer car, nicer house, nicerpen, nicer calculator, you're
(09:46):
not necessarily a nicer person,right?
So if that's the mentality andyou try to have that mental
shift as an individual or whenyou're talking to individuals,
then it's a very no judgmentspace.
And what I've learned over theyears is like everyone feels
like their background, or peoplelike them are bad with money or
don't like to talk about moneyor have like money sensitivity,
(10:09):
and we all have it in differentforms.
So I think, to some degree,having that conversation is
important, because then you'reable to say, hey, fundamentally,
you are the right profile ofperson to invest in a 10 year
strategy, for example, which islike tax efficiency,
generational wealth, all ofthese buzzwords that you'll see
around like negative K-1s, taxfree, all these keywords.
(10:31):
But if that investor has neverinvested in real estate, it's
okay to admit to yourself or forthem that you're scared, you
have anxiety, you're unsure.
These are not negative emotions.
It just means that the proof ofconcept isn't there.
No one should do anythingunless they're convinced it'll
work out well.
Because if you're doingsomething with low conviction,
(10:51):
it's probably not going to workout well.
Even if it's 100% passive,right, exactly, still room, like
you know, you'll delay sendingthe wire for like six months and
you'll miss out on theopportunity, like one of those
things that if you don't havebuy-in on the approach and the
strategy, nothing's going tohappen.
Positive, like if I go to thedentist and you're saying I need
(11:12):
to floss and I don't floss thenext year.
I'm checking the the hygienistto see is she saying my teeth
are worse?
If she's saying they're notworse, um, and it's the same
with investing fundamentally youneed to see your portfolio
growing to have more buy-in inthat strategy, and that's kind
of what I've noticed.
That's why you know there arestrategies optimized for
short-term return and I tellpeople straight up like,
(11:34):
fundamentally, this strategywill make you good money but
you're going to get taxed a lotat your ordinary income.
It's not the best for growingyour net worth, but're saying
xyz.
So psychologically you need thisto kind of boost yourself up,
to feel comfortable investing insomething outside the stock
market.
And none of that is negative,even though it might be phrased
(11:54):
as you need a psychologicalboost or you need to feel good
about yourself.
Those are not negative thingsthat I would be saying.
It's just to say, fundamentallythere's a roadblock and this is
the detour.
Anytime you see a detour sign,you're not happy, but you
recognize that you need to go onthat detour to get to your
destination and that's kind ofwhat we're doing, if that all
makes sense, heather.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Definitely, and I think a lot of it too is people
want to know that if they havethis input that they'll get this
output and there's always roomfor shifts in the market and
changes and unforeseen things.
You can do a great job of duediligence and sometimes there's
just things that are there thatyou hadn't anticipated.
(12:36):
So with that conversation too,of if someone isn't fully honest
with you about their feelings,about their concerns, their
desires, all these things, youcan't accurately guide them.
That's, like you know, back inthe day, of having a map like
you're in Iowa but you're inIdaho.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's not going to serve you well, right?
Yeah, very true.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
So it's really yeah, it's getting real being
authentic no, I 100 agree.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And the and the, at least from my perspective, the
beautiful thing is there's.
There's never any pressure,like if somebody is looking to
invest or they're not looking toinvest.
Fundamentally, my question isnot are you looking to invest?
It's, are you looking to learn?
Somebody's not looking to learn, there's nothing I can do and
that's perfectly fine.
Um, fundamentally, if it's aconversation based on, hey, this
is what's out there, then it'sa very exciting conversation for
(13:26):
everybody, because you'reshowing up saying, hey, I'm
learning something I don't know,and the person I'm learning
from can be 100 wrong, and thisis important and you touched on
due diligence.
The person that I'm talking tocan be 100 wrong, but they're
sharing their perspective basedon their experiences, so I can
learn from and it can revalidatemy other strategies I could be
(13:47):
investing in.
You know Airbnbs in, likeCalifornia, and this guy can be
doing ground up construction andmultifamily in New Jersey
completely different sector, butCalifornia and New Jersey are
both strong real estate markets.
So if he's feeling pain in NewJersey, then I can say, okay,
hey, I might start to feel painin California, or vice versa.
Or if his build cost is muchless than mine in California.
(14:10):
It's interesting to reflect on,because maybe there's somebody
in California that has his buildcost Right.
So my point is to say that, nomatter where somebody is at, if
you have the right mindset whichis kind of something you
alluded to early on you cantreat every conversation as I
can learn one thing, that onething can make me 1% better and
that 1% better can help meaccomplish XYZ goals.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And that's why I'm really happy in general when you
hear there's a lot of emphasison a growth mindset, which is
what you're sharing here, versusthe fixed mindset of this is
how you know, this is the rootsthat I'm from, this is how the
family is and that kind of likekiss your life goodbye.
There's no option, but I reallylike the mindset that you take
(14:56):
to that.
So the world of investing isobviously busy.
It can be a lot of stress.
There's a lot of variables.
How do you find your ways tode-stress?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So I think early on it was like, you know, when I
was in college, it was like thiswas one of the questions they
asked and I was like, oh, I justgo to sleep.
Then later on you're like eat,there's nothing wrong with that,
you know, in moderation.
But I think, as I've gonethrough life, you you find other
(15:29):
outlets that are, I guess, moretraditionally healthy, like you
find sports.
I play pickleball prettyregularly, I go to the gym, um,
but I think the number one thingis like when I've had a tough
day and I come home and my Ihave two young daughters.
So when my older daughter comesand she runs and gives me a hug
, there's nothing better in myopinion.
So so I tell all the guys whoare like having kids, who are
having, you know, daughters, Isay like listen, I don't have
any sons, so I don't know, butthere's nothing like daughter's
(15:50):
love in terms of like makingyour day amazing, no matter how
stressful it's been.
So I think, heather, for me liketo answer the question pretty
simply I'm pretty traditional inthese things.
Like you know, my time is reallyimportant and to me, like
that's the best thing when itcomes to like drowning out
whatever stress there is in lifebecause, to some degree,
circling back to that growthmindset if you're not stressed,
(16:13):
if you're not uncomfortable,you're probably not growing with
, with all respect, like thereare days where I, or weeks or
whatever, where I'm looking atlike life is too easy or my work
is too like mundane, that meansI'm not like pushing the
envelope, I'm not growing indifferent directions, because I
think for me, part of thementality to maintain a growth
mindset has been beingcomfortable, being uncomfortable
(16:36):
in the sense that I always needto be pushing myself and I
always need to be like oh man,like you know this, this is like
I'm testing the boundaries, I'mlearning something new, I'm
trying something out, and therecomes a point where you start
feeling comfortable in that fluxand that change.
And I think that's important tolike maintaining a growth
(16:57):
mindset and to just beingcurious about what else is out
there that I don't know Rightout there that I don't know
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Well, and I think too that that ties into human
performance, right Of, we allare wired, I think, with
different gifts, and it's amatter of utilizing those gifts,
sharing them with people youknow, kind of like investing of
what a wealth of knowledge, ofinformation.
You can truly transform people'slives with this, and also it's
(17:27):
it just really makes lifebeautiful and it allows you to
know, kind of like where's yourboundaries.
And then how do you go beyondthat kind of what you're saying
and really max life out and Iagree with you completely, it's
if you're too comfortable.
There's an old old sayinganother mentor taught me of
you're either growing or dying,and that ties in with this of I
(17:51):
think it's good to have a littlecomfort after you pushed hard
right.
But then too, it's like it'sthe natural adventure of like
how do I expand, how do Iperform at a higher level so I
can impact more, which issomething that I know is really
important to you.
So, as we bring this home andyou've kind of answered part of
this, but what would you sayliving fully means to you.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's a good question.
I don't know.
I think to some degree, livingfully just means maximizing the
time that we have on earth.
I think for a lot of peoplethat definition is different,
but for me it's one of thosethings that I'm of the mindset
that, like, the next minute'snot guaranteed.
So if that's the case, then youwant to really do what you want
(18:38):
to do and then you need todefine that.
So for me, like, what I want todo is I want to be in a
position to help people.
So if that means that I'mtalking about like money and I'm
educating people about money,that's a form of charity where
you're teaching people about atopic that they don't admit that
they want to learn about,necessarily because it feels
uncomfortable.
So it's like, okay, we have tonavigate this uncomfortable
(18:59):
feeling, no problem, and then wehave to get to this raw data or
and in theory, we have to makeit entertaining as well, or
interesting or or capturepeople's attention.
Because if we just talk aboutspreadsheets which I prefer, um,
and maybe the average person Italk to prefers it might not
resonate with everyone.
So you have to say, okay, thisis fundamentally what it means.
Here's a picture of the asset.
(19:20):
Here is you know what it canmean for your net worth and for,
like, the life that you'retrying to build.
And then, fundamentally, thatputs you in a position where
you're able to help people whoare not able to invest by, you
know, giving back in charity andthings like that.
So for me, heather, it's reallythose are the types of things
that make me feel fulfilled.
But then also it's about kindof realizing that growth is in
(19:44):
multiple directions, so like inthat example where I talked
about stress and my kids.
It's about kind of realizingthat growth is in multiple
directions.
So, like in that example whereI talked about stress and my
kids, it's also to say, hey,fundamentally I don't want to be
just hanging out with my kidswhen I'm stressed and they're
not just a me.
I need to be unstressed.
I need to also have qualitytime with them and I need to
kind of learn that likework-life balance, which I think
is something like maybe two,three years ago I would not have
believed in at all, but part ofthat mindset is kind of keeping
(20:07):
your eyes open and saying, hey,where do I need to consistently
improve?
and so that's something that,like last year, I worked on a
lot, this year I work on.
So it's it's something that, asan individual, I try to improve
on as well, to just figure outwhat that right level of balance
is, and it's different foreveryone.
Some people can be 9010.
Others it can be, you know,5050.
Whatever that looks like isjust to say fundamentally, to
(20:30):
answer your question like howare you taking each minute that
you have and really feeling likeyou've maximized it?
And for me it's to like look atall the different aspects of my
life and knowing I'm doing thebest I can in each aspect,
whether that's like my familylife, my work life, my spiritual
life, etc.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Wonderful.
Well, it was such a pleasureconnecting with you, mustafa.
Thank you for joining me todayand share with our audience.
How can people connect with you?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Sure no, heather.
The conversation has been great.
People can reach out to me onLinkedIn it's Mustafa Ladda.
They can reach out to me viaemail it's ml at
velocecapitalcom.
Feel free to contact me eitherway and I'd be happy to help add
value.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Perfect.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
No problem, have a good one.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
You too.
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