What does it take to transform from a successful physician to a real estate entrepreneur helping others build wealth? Dr. Nkem reveals the mindset shifts that changed everything.
Dr. Nkem's journey began as an ER physician facing the harsh reality that medicine was becoming more about business than patient care. Seeking time freedom and financial diversification, she discovered real estate investing—and quickly realized this knowledge wasn't reaching enough of her colleagues in healthcare. This revelation sparked the creation of Phoenix Capital, a venture dedicated to helping busy professionals build wealth beyond their careers by investing in apartment complexes together.
The conversation delves deep into the psychological barriers that prevent even highly successful professionals from exploring investment opportunities. "The biggest thing is fear," Dr. Nkem explains, advocating her philosophy to "feel the fear and do it anyway." She transparently shares how she overcame limiting beliefs about her capabilities as a woman and a physician, discovering that vulnerability and authenticity actually strengthen rather than diminish leadership.
Perhaps most striking is Dr. Nkem's perspective on others' opinions: "It has become none of my business." This liberating mindset allows her to pursue her vision regardless of external judgments—even from those closest to her. She notes that perfectionism often serves as sophisticated procrastination, advocating instead that "done is better than perfect."
The discussion also covers practical aspects of modern investing, including embracing AI to streamline processes and the concept of "buying back your time" through strategic delegation. Dr. Nkem leaves listeners with a powerful definition of living fully: waking up each day knowing you're doing exactly what you're meant to do and touching the lives you're meant to impact.
Want to learn more about investing beyond your career or building the mindset necessary for entrepreneurial success? Connect with Dr. Nkem to discover how your professional expertise can become the foundation for expansive wealth-building opportunities.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heather (00:04):
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I have a special guest and itis none other than Dr Enkem.
Dr Enkem, welcome.
Dr. Nkem (00:14):
Why, thank you, I'm so excited to be here, thank you
for having me, and I'm excitedto jump in.
The whole conversation is asurprise which I think I'm
excited for.
Heather (00:23):
The whole conversation is a surprise, which I think I'm
excited for.
Well, I'm excited and surprisedas well, because you never know
where we're going to go as westart digging in.
But tell us a little bit forpeople that haven't maybe
connected with you on LinkedIn.
I think we've been connectedsix months a year somewhere in
there a lot of mutual investor,friends, things of that nature
(00:43):
but tell them more about PhoenixCapital and yourself.
Dr. Nkem (00:48):
So, again, I'm excited to be here Thank you so much
for having me and my name isInkem Ezemema.
I'm an ER physician first andforemost, and I was working as
an ER physician, but I realizedthat a lot of my time wasn't
mine, and I also realized thatthere were just a lot of changes
in medicine that I wasn'texcited about, and a lot of it
(01:11):
became more of the business ofmedicine than patient care.
So I was just looking for a wayto diversify wealth and I
stumbled upon real estateinvesting and since then I think
my story has kind of justevolved in such a beautiful way,
and I'm so grateful for itbecause I realized I started
investing and I thought whydoesn't more of us know about
(01:33):
this?
And that was just my thought,right, I was like how can we, as
healthcare professionals,figure out a way to like live
beyond our nine to five right,grow wealth beyond our nine to
five?
What does that look like?
And so I started investing,just as a passive investor, when
I realized that I had more of amessage to tell and I realized
that we needed access into thespace.
(01:54):
That's when Phoenix was born,and it has been a wonderful
journey of really just helpinginvestors, busy professionals,
grow wealth outside of theirnine to five by buying apartment
complexes together.
It's pretty much that simpleand it has been a wonderful
journey since then.
Definitely.
Heather (02:12):
The phoenix is rising right.
One of the things yeah, Icouldn't help myself.
One of the things I really lovebecause you and I are both on
LinkedIn a fair amount and weread a lot of different posts,
things of that nature and one ofthe aspects that really striked
me with yours is talking aboutthe mindset and also your
(02:33):
authenticity and vulnerabilityand sharing just you know, here
you are, as you know, as an ERdoc, making great money, but
just all the differentsacrifices since you didn't know
about investing, and that'ssomething, as a broker, I can
relate to too, and I rememberone day a dawning on me of like,
oh my God, there's this wholeother piece of the pie, but you
(02:56):
don't necessarily hear about it.
So I love both that you'rehelping people with the mindset,
because we know that's thebasis of everything, but then
also you lead them from thatinto the next step so that they
can plan the future, because youhear so much about hoping and
it's like good luck.
Dr. Nkem (03:16):
It's true, it's very, very true, and I think, even
before you embark on anythinglike whether it's big or small,
right you have to have the rightmindset, and I, I, I am
grateful that you were able tosee that, because I have done a
lot of work in likeunderstanding who I am, what I
bring to the table, um, you know, like being able to get rid of
(03:40):
some of the limiting beliefsthat you know that says that I
can only be one thing right as awoman, like I can only be a
doctor, and that's it.
But no, I'm saying you knowwhat.
There are multiple facets towho I am and what I'm about, and
I can also do all these otherthings.
And so it's, it's realizingthat you know, like all of that
is so important in who we are,and when we bring that, like
(04:06):
when we are, we allow ourselvesto be vulnerable, we allow
ourselves to show up in allthose different aspects.
My biggest thing is that youdon't know who you're touching,
you don't know who you'rereaching, you don't know who
you're talking to, you don'tknow that your people are
waiting to hear that specificmessage from you.
And it all starts with sharingyour story.
And it is difficult, right,because parts of the stories are
(04:29):
not great, right they're.
They're parts of fear and tearsand vulnerability and all these
other things to the story.
Like it's not all glamour, butI think that we don't need to.
I don't think we need to makeit beautiful and package it in
this nice box to be able to tellit to you know, to be able to
tell our stories.
I think you share it as you are, and people resonate with this,
(04:52):
and I always tell this, like mypeople will be my people, no
matter what you know, and I'mnot going after the whole world
need the whole world right.
I just seen the people who arelike okay, yes, this is my tribe
, these are the right.
This together, we want to growtogether, want to build well
together, we want to liveexpansive lives together.
Heather (05:10):
All of that those people, whatever I say, will
resonate with them well, andthat's where I don't know if it
was ed, my lad or someone, but Ifeel like it's one of those
stories, right?
Do you like ed too?
Yeah?
Dr. Nkem (05:23):
It's not a big smile.
Heather (05:25):
I'm like, oh, I think we have another similarity here,
but he was saying something tothe extent of who you were five
years ago is the people that youcan now help, and I think
that's where, too, as you I'mguessing you're probably also
the type that is a, you know,has done a fair amount of
journaling and writing and justkind of digging through right,
(05:50):
here's my desk one and it's Ithink that's the verbiage Like
don't you think that sometimeswe as humans make it a lot
harder where, if you actuallyjust go in and think of some of
the things, or look back to someof the things that you've said,
or what you were feeling a fewyears ago, five years ago, and
you simply put that into printor market to that you are going
(06:13):
to connect with, you know ourtribe and and how you can help
them and give them resources.
And I think that's where, too,having various offerings really
allows us to serve at a muchfuller capacity.
Dr. Nkem (06:28):
I completely agree with you and you're right
because, like, my ideal avataris me but it was me, I kid you,
not five, six years ago.
And that's exactly that person,or the things that I needed,
the tools I needed to grow, theavenues that I needed to build
wealth.
Like all of that started with.
(06:49):
It was a need, you know, likeit was a pain point that I had,
and I can't remember who I wastalking with or where I heard
this, but it was like you know,when you can meet someone's pain
point, when you can meet theirneed, then like that's what
value is and that will translateto revenue and income, you know
, and so and I've always thoughtabout it like that right, it's
(07:11):
like the next biggest, biggestdiscovery or miracle.
It's just meeting someone'sneed and if you can do that
right, I think you can grow inanything that you put your hands
and your mind and your heart to.
It's that simple, but it's alsoyet that complex.
Heather (07:28):
Exactly, that's the novelty of it, right?
And I think you really hit ontoo, if everyone wants to be
seen and everyone wants to beheard.
So when you can put whatthey've been vocalizing in their
mind to print, that, it's thatsense of wow, you see me, you
get me.
Because so many times if theverbiage isn't right, you know
(07:50):
they feel like you don't get me,you have no idea.
Right, it's a whole differentstoryline.
But as we take this to mindset,it's a whole different
storyline.
But as we take this to mindset,what would you say are maybe
one or two of the mindset shiftsthat, as you're encountering
people, that you're helping themover that hump.
Dr. Nkem (08:08):
I would say the biggest thing is fear.
So fear is something that is soit can really hinder you in the
next step that you need to take,and I think that when you fully
understand that it's just apart of who we are right Like
(08:28):
that fear is a little bit ofexcitement, it's a little bit of
trepidation, it's a little bitof dream, it's a little bit of
hope, right, when you can helpsomeone else understand that
right and that taking to takingit, taking that next step, is
not difficult.
Like I read that book, feel thefear and do it anyways, like we
are all human, you know, evenlike the, the, the most
(08:50):
wealthiest person, think WarrenBuffett or Jeff Bezos or
whatever it is, whoever you'rethinking of right, they were
afraid of something, um, butthey still pushed through that.
So it's figuring out what thatis, what that roadblock is, and
then realizing that, like, youcan overcome it.
Right, it's not.
And when you overcome thatfirst initial trepidation, like
(09:11):
that first initial like I'm soafraid, you realize that then
you're not afraid because thenyou also think about the reason
why you're afraid.
If it's failure, it's okay,like it's not a big deal, like
the biggest, like discoveriescame from failures.
And so when you, oh, you thinkabout the biggest people, they
made mistakes too.
So when you understand thebackground behind the fear, you
(09:33):
realize that, okay, it's fine.
Like, do I really care whatothers think?
No, because I'm like bulldozingmy way, because I know that,
like I have a dream, I have avision, I have a plan, I have a
mission that I'm going after.
I think that's the one thingthat I would tell people is feel
the fear and then just do itanyways, because on the other
side of that fear is growth,it's success.
(09:55):
There's so many things that'tcome out of that.
And imagine if you didn't, ifyou didn't take that leap, if
you didn't cross that threshold,if you didn't take, you know,
if you didn't jump, whatever itis.
I think that's the one thing.
And then also, I will also kindof like, in terms of thinking
about the mindset, right, I havelearned that, truly, the
opinion of others has becomenone of my business.
(10:18):
So I truly, with all duerespect, I really don't care
what you think, what you say.
I will still go ahead and dothe thing that is in my heart,
because I've learned thatpeople's opinions come from
their fears again, and it's.
It's their, maybe their lack ofknowledge, their lack of
discipline, whatever it is right, it's from their lack.
(10:40):
And so I have learned that I'mokay with trying, I'm okay with
leaping, I'm okay with jumping,I'm okay with doing the thing,
and if it doesn't go the way Iplanned.
I guarantee you I will learnone thing from that outcome, one
thing from that situation.
So I have come to understandthat I can love you, but I don't
(11:01):
necessarily need to.
Your opinion is not going tostop me from scaling mountains,
and that's what I want to getothers to understand and to
realize that that can be such alimiting factor, and it could be
.
The hardest and saddest thing isthat it could be the people
that are closest to you, andthat's and so that's your friend
(11:23):
, your spouse, your family.
You know the people that trulycare so much about you.
Sometimes they can be thepeople that limit you so much,
and again it's from their fearor their lack of judgment,
whatever, whatever it is.
So I have learned to shut outthe noise and to really go after
(11:43):
the thing that I know that I'mcalled to do, the people that
I'm called to reach.
I'm not going to stop, but ittakes a level of growth and a
level of discipline to be ableto get there, because it's not
easy.
Definitely a plan to be able toget there, because it's not
easy.
Heather (11:59):
Definitely Well and, if you think about it too right of
confidence.
It's doing something repeatedlyin the sense of you're
delivering on your promise toself and to me.
I think that is core to thechanges I've been able to make,
and I think you'll totally agreethat it's really again that
simple, but yet not in the senseof if you say you're going to
(12:22):
do it, you know, no matterwhat's happening in the day, do
it, because otherwise it's likeyou're chipping away at that
great sculpture of what can beand you're not going to be able
to cross that threshold or yourfinish line.
And I think one other thingthat I want to tie in with that
is also I joke that I'm arecovering perfectionist because
(12:45):
that also right, it's got to beperfect.
You know like, and you know, asthe years pass I realized you
know that was actually just alevel of procrastination, a
level of, you know, fear, allthese different things.
So it's nice when you canidentify those, and the big
(13:08):
difference between people thatdo and don't is they feel the
fear.
They put a plan together andthey do it, and so I think
that's something we're both hereto toot the horn of.
Dr. Nkem (13:19):
I completely agree.
Done is better than perfect and, yes, most times you just put
it out into the world and it'sokay that it's not perfect.
But but then you can iterate itright.
There's nothing wrong with likethat.
Your first idea is not the sameas your 10th idea, that's okay.
But, like you put it there, youlearn what people want and you
(13:40):
learn their needs and you changeit according to that and you
grew who you prove the personyou were at iteration Number one
is not who you are at number 10, but you kept going and that's
growth.
So I completely agree with you100%.
Heather (13:57):
So AI is a huge conversation.
How do you see that affectinginvesting?
Dr. Nkem (14:06):
Okay, so the truth is, I have embraced AI and this is
the.
This is the truth or this isI'm not afraid to say it right,
this is where we're going.
There's no pause, there's noturning back.
It's like we unveiled thecurtain, right, and now the
(14:27):
thing is like, how can we do itbetter?
Or how can we make sure that,like, it is in line with who we
are, our beliefs, our systems,like our values, right, and so I
think that it can only help usand I think that also, like with
investors, it can fine tuneprocesses, right, it can
simplify things that we don'thave to do to make their lives
(14:50):
easier, to make the process ofinvesting easier, right, the
hours and hours we spentunderwriting, like, we can
simplify that process, or youknow whatever that is, or even
distilling out newsletters andemails, simple stuff like that,
right, I'm not even talkingbasics, but when you start even
taking it to another level oflike, even giving, like market
analysis and detail, like,imagine, just imagine the beauty
(15:12):
of all of that, right, that itcan spit out, you know,
demographic from here and hereand compare again, investor
information, investor knowledge,so, whatever you do, or what
you know, like in, like therealm of investing and our real
estate space.
I think it's going to help usand I think that I have to be
ahead of it, and what I mean bythat is, like new ideas, new
(15:34):
technologies.
It is on me because I representmy investors right.
It is on me to go out and learnit and bring it back.
This is what I've learned, thisis what I'm doing, this is what
we're implementing.
This is how we are going to bethe shining light, or the bright
light.
This is how we're going to bethe you know industry lead,
whatever it is, but these arethe things I'm doing, so I
(15:56):
embrace it Every day.
I'm trying to learn somethingnew, you know, and I'm like
bringing it to my team andsaying, like, how can I make
your lives easier and if I cando that so that we do the things
that are important?
You know, the things that areimportant are talking to
investors, liaising with brokers, like those things are things
that we can't, that AI can'ttake away, and so, like, why
(16:18):
don't we free up our time sothat we can do those things?
Well, that's how I see it, andI think it's another way to buy
back your time.
Our time is so precious,definitely.
And I guess the part ofmedicine in me is like the
fragility of life.
Like I see it, it's very, veryobvious to me.
You know, I will go into workat my next shift and someone
(16:39):
might die, and that is normal,right, and there's nothing
morbid about that, it's justlike it is life.
And so because now I understandthat more, you know, I'm able
to say, like how can we buy backour time, like what is like our
?
That's the one resource that wecan't go back.
I cannot go back to 1230 PM,like as much as I want to maybe
(17:01):
prepare for this.
Exactly Go back to that, right,and why not use our time?
Well, why not use it to buildrelationships and conversations
that I think we should spend ourtime doing, and then let AI
help us with those other things,the systems and the processes
that we don't need to do?
That's kind of my two cents.
Heather (17:22):
I agree completely, and to me too, it's the
relationships and those broaderaspects that I find much more
intriguing and fulfilling aswell.
Are you a fan of Dan Martell bychance?
Dr. Nkem (17:36):
I have his book.
Buy Back your Time.
I was right there.
You can't see it, but it's likeright there on the bookshelf I.
Okay, fine, I'll pull it.
I'll pull it.
I'll pull it, yeah there we are.
I love all your highlights.
So, yes, yes, this book hasbeen.
(17:57):
I think, after I read this book, I, within two months, I hired,
um, I hired my assistant, andthat's.
I was just like you know, likewhat is my time worth?
What is my a thousand dollartask versus my ten dollars I
don't need?
Heather (18:10):
oh, definitely that, oh , definitely.
Dr. Nkem (18:12):
Or $50,000, whatever it is right.
That's what I'm needing to bedoing Reading emails and
scheduling.
It's okay if I don't do that.
There's nothing wrong with thatExactly.
Someone's zone of genius.
That's the thing that they loveto do.
Why don't I empower them to dothat, so then I can do the
things that matter for me, forPhoenix, to help us grow.
Heather (18:32):
Exactly, I agree completely.
So my last and this is alwaysthe big question is what does
living fully mean?
Dr. Nkem (18:42):
to you.
This is a good one for me.
I love that.
I love that yeah.
Heather (18:50):
It.
It's the big one.
Dr. Nkem (18:51):
That's why it's, at the end, the icing on top for me
, living fully is waking upevery day knowing that I'm doing
the exact things that I'msupposed to be doing, um, and
the lives that I'm supposed tobe touching, that I'm doing that
you know, it's every day.
Living fully is asking myselfdid I do the thing today to move
(19:14):
the needle forward?
I think for me, if I can answeryes to that, then, like I am,
I'm truly thrilled, I'm excited,like yes, living fully is also,
like you know, like time,freedom and all those other
things, and like traveling theworld.
But if I had to be honest withyou, you know I will say that
ever since and this is not goingdeeper, but you know, ever
(19:39):
since I got on the path ofentrepreneurship and building
right, I have gotten to touchlives and I've really gotten to
like hear people's stories andunderstand how, like, their
personal goals align with theirfinancial goals, which then
align with their family goalsand all these other things,
right, and so, to be able toplay a part, to be able to play
a role in that, I think it's sobeautiful that I would not, I
(20:01):
wouldn't change it for the world.
And so I wake up excited, likeHeather.
I wake up so excited because I'mlike I get to do this cool
thing, I get to build, you know,I get to touch lives, like when
I tell them that I have andjust the, the ideas that I'm
able to create and think andbuild up in the path that I'm on
, I think that I truly am livingan expansive and a full life
(20:26):
and I'm so like I wake up trulyfrom a point of point of
gratitude and I'm able to say,wow, I get to live this cool
life, I get to empower people, Iget to impact people, I get to
build a team.
You know all these things thatare maybe minute.
I think it's just it all addsup to this beautiful big life
(20:48):
that I am fortunate enough tolive it.
So I think that's my definition.
It's waking up, knowing that Ireally am making a difference,
and every day I see it veryclearly.
I see the building blocks, Isee the steps, I see the lives
that I'm touching, even from themedical aspect and then now
from Phoenix.
I'm fortunate.
Heather (21:12):
And my dear, that is alignment, I would say, in the
most beautiful way.
Right, Because you've laid asolid foundation but you're
aligning it, each of thesedifferent values and things that
are heart-driven and life'scalling, and I love that you've
woken up and have accepted thatand share that so freely.
(21:34):
So, Dr M, thank you so much forjoining me.
It was a joy and I look forwardto we'll have to touch base on
another podcast next year andcheck in and see where you're at
with things.
Dr. Nkem (21:46):
I would love to and thank you for having me.
This was.
These are my favorites, right?
It's just, it's a beautifultime to just come and like,
connect, share stories and justgrow together, and we are.
You use the word align, butit's very obvious that we're
aligned on a lot of things yesalright well, thank you so much.
You're welcome.
(22:07):
Have a wonderful rest of yourafternoon, you too.
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I have a special guest and itis none other than Dr Enkem.
Dr Enkem, welcome.
Dr. Nkem (00:14):
Why, thank you, I'm so excited to be here, thank you
for having me, and I'm excitedto jump in.
The whole conversation is asurprise which I think I'm
excited for.
Heather (00:23):
The whole conversation is a surprise, which I think I'm
excited for.
Well, I'm excited and surprisedas well, because you never know
where we're going to go as westart digging in.
But tell us a little bit forpeople that haven't maybe
connected with you on LinkedIn.
I think we've been connectedsix months a year somewhere in
there a lot of mutual investor,friends, things of that nature
(00:43):
but tell them more about PhoenixCapital and yourself.
Dr. Nkem (00:48):
So, again, I'm excited to be here Thank you so much
for having me and my name isInkem Ezemema.
I'm an ER physician first andforemost, and I was working as
an ER physician, but I realizedthat a lot of my time wasn't
mine, and I also realized thatthere were just a lot of changes
in medicine that I wasn'texcited about, and a lot of it
(01:11):
became more of the business ofmedicine than patient care.
So I was just looking for a wayto diversify wealth and I
stumbled upon real estateinvesting and since then I think
my story has kind of justevolved in such a beautiful way,
and I'm so grateful for itbecause I realized I started
investing and I thought whydoesn't more of us know about
(01:33):
this?
And that was just my thought,right, I was like how can we, as
healthcare professionals,figure out a way to like live
beyond our nine to five right,grow wealth beyond our nine to
five?
What does that look like?
And so I started investing,just as a passive investor, when
I realized that I had more of amessage to tell and I realized
that we needed access into thespace.
(01:54):
That's when Phoenix was born,and it has been a wonderful
journey of really just helpinginvestors, busy professionals,
grow wealth outside of theirnine to five by buying apartment
complexes together.
It's pretty much that simpleand it has been a wonderful
journey since then.
Definitely.
Heather (02:12):
The phoenix is rising right.
One of the things yeah, Icouldn't help myself.
One of the things I really lovebecause you and I are both on
LinkedIn a fair amount and weread a lot of different posts,
things of that nature and one ofthe aspects that really striked
me with yours is talking aboutthe mindset and also your
(02:33):
authenticity and vulnerabilityand sharing just you know, here
you are, as you know, as an ERdoc, making great money, but
just all the differentsacrifices since you didn't know
about investing, and that'ssomething, as a broker, I can
relate to too, and I rememberone day a dawning on me of like,
oh my God, there's this wholeother piece of the pie, but you
(02:56):
don't necessarily hear about it.
So I love both that you'rehelping people with the mindset,
because we know that's thebasis of everything, but then
also you lead them from thatinto the next step so that they
can plan the future, because youhear so much about hoping and
it's like good luck.
Dr. Nkem (03:16):
It's true, it's very, very true, and I think, even
before you embark on anythinglike whether it's big or small,
right you have to have the rightmindset, and I, I, I am
grateful that you were able tosee that, because I have done a
lot of work in likeunderstanding who I am, what I
bring to the table, um, you know, like being able to get rid of
(03:40):
some of the limiting beliefsthat you know that says that I
can only be one thing right as awoman, like I can only be a
doctor, and that's it.
But no, I'm saying you knowwhat.
There are multiple facets towho I am and what I'm about, and
I can also do all these otherthings.
And so it's, it's realizingthat you know, like all of that
is so important in who we are,and when we bring that, like
(04:06):
when we are, we allow ourselvesto be vulnerable, we allow
ourselves to show up in allthose different aspects.
My biggest thing is that youdon't know who you're touching,
you don't know who you'rereaching, you don't know who
you're talking to, you don'tknow that your people are
waiting to hear that specificmessage from you.
And it all starts with sharingyour story.
And it is difficult, right,because parts of the stories are
(04:29):
not great, right they're.
They're parts of fear and tearsand vulnerability and all these
other things to the story.
Like it's not all glamour, butI think that we don't need to.
I don't think we need to makeit beautiful and package it in
this nice box to be able to tellit to you know, to be able to
tell our stories.
I think you share it as you are, and people resonate with this,
(04:52):
and I always tell this, like mypeople will be my people, no
matter what you know, and I'mnot going after the whole world
need the whole world right.
I just seen the people who arelike okay, yes, this is my tribe
, these are the right.
This together, we want to growtogether, want to build well
together, we want to liveexpansive lives together.
Heather (05:10):
All of that those people, whatever I say, will
resonate with them well, andthat's where I don't know if it
was ed, my lad or someone, but Ifeel like it's one of those
stories, right?
Do you like ed too?
Yeah?
Dr. Nkem (05:23):
It's not a big smile.
Heather (05:25):
I'm like, oh, I think we have another similarity here,
but he was saying something tothe extent of who you were five
years ago is the people that youcan now help, and I think
that's where, too, as you I'mguessing you're probably also
the type that is a, you know,has done a fair amount of
journaling and writing and justkind of digging through right,
(05:50):
here's my desk one and it's Ithink that's the verbiage Like
don't you think that sometimeswe as humans make it a lot
harder where, if you actuallyjust go in and think of some of
the things, or look back to someof the things that you've said,
or what you were feeling a fewyears ago, five years ago, and
you simply put that into printor market to that you are going
(06:13):
to connect with, you know ourtribe and and how you can help
them and give them resources.
And I think that's where, too,having various offerings really
allows us to serve at a muchfuller capacity.
Dr. Nkem (06:28):
I completely agree with you and you're right
because, like, my ideal avataris me but it was me, I kid you,
not five, six years ago.
And that's exactly that person,or the things that I needed,
the tools I needed to grow, theavenues that I needed to build
wealth.
Like all of that started with.
(06:49):
It was a need, you know, likeit was a pain point that I had,
and I can't remember who I wastalking with or where I heard
this, but it was like you know,when you can meet someone's pain
point, when you can meet theirneed, then like that's what
value is and that will translateto revenue and income, you know
, and so and I've always thoughtabout it like that right, it's
(07:11):
like the next biggest, biggestdiscovery or miracle.
It's just meeting someone'sneed and if you can do that
right, I think you can grow inanything that you put your hands
and your mind and your heart to.
It's that simple, but it's alsoyet that complex.
Heather (07:28):
Exactly, that's the novelty of it, right?
And I think you really hit ontoo, if everyone wants to be
seen and everyone wants to beheard.
So when you can put whatthey've been vocalizing in their
mind to print, that, it's thatsense of wow, you see me, you
get me.
Because so many times if theverbiage isn't right, you know
(07:50):
they feel like you don't get me,you have no idea.
Right, it's a whole differentstoryline.
But as we take this to mindset,it's a whole different
storyline.
But as we take this to mindset,what would you say are maybe
one or two of the mindset shiftsthat, as you're encountering
people, that you're helping themover that hump.
Dr. Nkem (08:08):
I would say the biggest thing is fear.
So fear is something that is soit can really hinder you in the
next step that you need to take,and I think that when you fully
understand that it's just apart of who we are right Like
(08:28):
that fear is a little bit ofexcitement, it's a little bit of
trepidation, it's a little bitof dream, it's a little bit of
hope, right, when you can helpsomeone else understand that
right and that taking to takingit, taking that next step, is
not difficult.
Like I read that book, feel thefear and do it anyways, like we
are all human, you know, evenlike the, the, the most
(08:50):
wealthiest person, think WarrenBuffett or Jeff Bezos or
whatever it is, whoever you'rethinking of right, they were
afraid of something, um, butthey still pushed through that.
So it's figuring out what thatis, what that roadblock is, and
then realizing that, like, youcan overcome it.
Right, it's not.
And when you overcome thatfirst initial trepidation, like
(09:11):
that first initial like I'm soafraid, you realize that then
you're not afraid because thenyou also think about the reason
why you're afraid.
If it's failure, it's okay,like it's not a big deal, like
the biggest, like discoveriescame from failures.
And so when you, oh, you thinkabout the biggest people, they
made mistakes too.
So when you understand thebackground behind the fear, you
(09:33):
realize that, okay, it's fine.
Like, do I really care whatothers think?
No, because I'm like bulldozingmy way, because I know that,
like I have a dream, I have avision, I have a plan, I have a
mission that I'm going after.
I think that's the one thingthat I would tell people is feel
the fear and then just do itanyways, because on the other
side of that fear is growth,it's success.
(09:55):
There's so many things that'tcome out of that.
And imagine if you didn't, ifyou didn't take that leap, if
you didn't cross that threshold,if you didn't take, you know,
if you didn't jump, whatever itis.
I think that's the one thing.
And then also, I will also kindof like, in terms of thinking
about the mindset, right, I havelearned that, truly, the
opinion of others has becomenone of my business.
(10:18):
So I truly, with all duerespect, I really don't care
what you think, what you say.
I will still go ahead and dothe thing that is in my heart,
because I've learned thatpeople's opinions come from
their fears again, and it's.
It's their, maybe their lack ofknowledge, their lack of
discipline, whatever it is right, it's from their lack.
(10:40):
And so I have learned that I'mokay with trying, I'm okay with
leaping, I'm okay with jumping,I'm okay with doing the thing,
and if it doesn't go the way Iplanned.
I guarantee you I will learnone thing from that outcome, one
thing from that situation.
So I have come to understandthat I can love you, but I don't
(11:01):
necessarily need to.
Your opinion is not going tostop me from scaling mountains,
and that's what I want to getothers to understand and to
realize that that can be such alimiting factor, and it could be
.
The hardest and saddest thing isthat it could be the people
that are closest to you, andthat's and so that's your friend
(11:23):
, your spouse, your family.
You know the people that trulycare so much about you.
Sometimes they can be thepeople that limit you so much,
and again it's from their fearor their lack of judgment,
whatever, whatever it is.
So I have learned to shut outthe noise and to really go after
(11:43):
the thing that I know that I'mcalled to do, the people that
I'm called to reach.
I'm not going to stop, but ittakes a level of growth and a
level of discipline to be ableto get there, because it's not
easy.
Definitely a plan to be able toget there, because it's not
easy.
Heather (11:59):
Definitely Well and, if you think about it too right of
confidence.
It's doing something repeatedlyin the sense of you're
delivering on your promise toself and to me.
I think that is core to thechanges I've been able to make,
and I think you'll totally agreethat it's really again that
simple, but yet not in the senseof if you say you're going to
(12:22):
do it, you know, no matterwhat's happening in the day, do
it, because otherwise it's likeyou're chipping away at that
great sculpture of what can beand you're not going to be able
to cross that threshold or yourfinish line.
And I think one other thingthat I want to tie in with that
is also I joke that I'm arecovering perfectionist because
(12:45):
that also right, it's got to beperfect.
You know like, and you know, asthe years pass I realized you
know that was actually just alevel of procrastination, a
level of, you know, fear, allthese different things.
So it's nice when you canidentify those, and the big
(13:08):
difference between people thatdo and don't is they feel the
fear.
They put a plan together andthey do it, and so I think
that's something we're both hereto toot the horn of.
Dr. Nkem (13:19):
I completely agree.
Done is better than perfect and, yes, most times you just put
it out into the world and it'sokay that it's not perfect.
But but then you can iterate itright.
There's nothing wrong with likethat.
Your first idea is not the sameas your 10th idea, that's okay.
But, like you put it there, youlearn what people want and you
(13:40):
learn their needs and you changeit according to that and you
grew who you prove the personyou were at iteration Number one
is not who you are at number 10, but you kept going and that's
growth.
So I completely agree with you100%.
Heather (13:57):
So AI is a huge conversation.
How do you see that affectinginvesting?
Dr. Nkem (14:06):
Okay, so the truth is, I have embraced AI and this is
the.
This is the truth or this isI'm not afraid to say it right,
this is where we're going.
There's no pause, there's noturning back.
It's like we unveiled thecurtain, right, and now the
(14:27):
thing is like, how can we do itbetter?
Or how can we make sure that,like, it is in line with who we
are, our beliefs, our systems,like our values, right, and so I
think that it can only help usand I think that also, like with
investors, it can fine tuneprocesses, right, it can
simplify things that we don'thave to do to make their lives
(14:50):
easier, to make the process ofinvesting easier, right, the
hours and hours we spentunderwriting, like, we can
simplify that process, or youknow whatever that is, or even
distilling out newsletters andemails, simple stuff like that,
right, I'm not even talkingbasics, but when you start even
taking it to another level oflike, even giving, like market
analysis and detail, like,imagine, just imagine the beauty
(15:12):
of all of that, right, that itcan spit out, you know,
demographic from here and hereand compare again, investor
information, investor knowledge,so, whatever you do, or what
you know, like in, like therealm of investing and our real
estate space.
I think it's going to help usand I think that I have to be
ahead of it, and what I mean bythat is, like new ideas, new
(15:34):
technologies.
It is on me because I representmy investors right.
It is on me to go out and learnit and bring it back.
This is what I've learned, thisis what I'm doing, this is what
we're implementing.
This is how we are going to bethe shining light, or the bright
light.
This is how we're going to bethe you know industry lead,
whatever it is, but these arethe things I'm doing, so I
(15:56):
embrace it Every day.
I'm trying to learn somethingnew, you know, and I'm like
bringing it to my team andsaying, like, how can I make
your lives easier and if I cando that so that we do the things
that are important?
You know, the things that areimportant are talking to
investors, liaising with brokers, like those things are things
that we can't, that AI can'ttake away, and so, like, why
(16:18):
don't we free up our time sothat we can do those things?
Well, that's how I see it, andI think it's another way to buy
back your time.
Our time is so precious,definitely.
And I guess the part ofmedicine in me is like the
fragility of life.
Like I see it, it's very, veryobvious to me.
You know, I will go into workat my next shift and someone
(16:39):
might die, and that is normal,right, and there's nothing
morbid about that, it's justlike it is life.
And so because now I understandthat more, you know, I'm able
to say, like how can we buy backour time, like what is like our
?
That's the one resource that wecan't go back.
I cannot go back to 1230 PM,like as much as I want to maybe
(17:01):
prepare for this.
Exactly Go back to that, right,and why not use our time?
Well, why not use it to buildrelationships and conversations
that I think we should spend ourtime doing, and then let AI
help us with those other things,the systems and the processes
that we don't need to do?
That's kind of my two cents.
Heather (17:22):
I agree completely, and to me too, it's the
relationships and those broaderaspects that I find much more
intriguing and fulfilling aswell.
Are you a fan of Dan Martell bychance?
Dr. Nkem (17:36):
I have his book.
Buy Back your Time.
I was right there.
You can't see it, but it's likeright there on the bookshelf I.
Okay, fine, I'll pull it.
I'll pull it.
I'll pull it, yeah there we are.
I love all your highlights.
So, yes, yes, this book hasbeen.
(17:57):
I think, after I read this book, I, within two months, I hired,
um, I hired my assistant, andthat's.
I was just like you know, likewhat is my time worth?
What is my a thousand dollartask versus my ten dollars I
don't need?
Heather (18:10):
oh, definitely that, oh , definitely.
Dr. Nkem (18:12):
Or $50,000, whatever it is right.
That's what I'm needing to bedoing Reading emails and
scheduling.
It's okay if I don't do that.
There's nothing wrong with thatExactly.
Someone's zone of genius.
That's the thing that they loveto do.
Why don't I empower them to dothat, so then I can do the
things that matter for me, forPhoenix, to help us grow.
Heather (18:32):
Exactly, I agree completely.
So my last and this is alwaysthe big question is what does
living fully mean?
Dr. Nkem (18:42):
to you.
This is a good one for me.
I love that.
I love that yeah.
Heather (18:50):
It.
It's the big one.
Dr. Nkem (18:51):
That's why it's, at the end, the icing on top for me
, living fully is waking upevery day knowing that I'm doing
the exact things that I'msupposed to be doing, um, and
the lives that I'm supposed tobe touching, that I'm doing that
you know, it's every day.
Living fully is asking myselfdid I do the thing today to move
(19:14):
the needle forward?
I think for me, if I can answeryes to that, then, like I am,
I'm truly thrilled, I'm excited,like yes, living fully is also,
like you know, like time,freedom and all those other
things, and like traveling theworld.
But if I had to be honest withyou, you know I will say that
ever since and this is not goingdeeper, but you know, ever
(19:39):
since I got on the path ofentrepreneurship and building
right, I have gotten to touchlives and I've really gotten to
like hear people's stories andunderstand how, like, their
personal goals align with theirfinancial goals, which then
align with their family goalsand all these other things,
right, and so, to be able toplay a part, to be able to play
a role in that, I think it's sobeautiful that I would not, I
(20:01):
wouldn't change it for the world.
And so I wake up excited, likeHeather.
I wake up so excited because I'mlike I get to do this cool
thing, I get to build, you know,I get to touch lives, like when
I tell them that I have andjust the, the ideas that I'm
able to create and think andbuild up in the path that I'm on
, I think that I truly am livingan expansive and a full life
(20:26):
and I'm so like I wake up trulyfrom a point of point of
gratitude and I'm able to say,wow, I get to live this cool
life, I get to empower people, Iget to impact people, I get to
build a team.
You know all these things thatare maybe minute.
I think it's just it all addsup to this beautiful big life
(20:48):
that I am fortunate enough tolive it.
So I think that's my definition.
It's waking up, knowing that Ireally am making a difference,
and every day I see it veryclearly.
I see the building blocks, Isee the steps, I see the lives
that I'm touching, even from themedical aspect and then now
from Phoenix.
I'm fortunate.
Heather (21:12):
And my dear, that is alignment, I would say, in the
most beautiful way.
Right, Because you've laid asolid foundation but you're
aligning it, each of thesedifferent values and things that
are heart-driven and life'scalling, and I love that you've
woken up and have accepted thatand share that so freely.
(21:34):
So, Dr M, thank you so much forjoining me.
It was a joy and I look forwardto we'll have to touch base on
another podcast next year andcheck in and see where you're at
with things.
Dr. Nkem (21:46):
I would love to and thank you for having me.
This was.
These are my favorites, right?
It's just, it's a beautifultime to just come and like,
connect, share stories and justgrow together, and we are.
You use the word align, butit's very obvious that we're
aligned on a lot of things yesalright well, thank you so much.
You're welcome.
(22:07):
Have a wonderful rest of yourafternoon, you too.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.