Growth and Success Through Community

Hey, guys. You are gonna absolutely love this conversation that we just had with my guy, Tim Rhode. He is a self made entrepreneur who went from grocery clerk to financially free by the age of 40. After selling 2,500 homes and investing in a 100 plus properties, Tim retired early to pursue his passion of helping others.

He founded a nonprofit, One Life Fully Lived, to equip people with life changing tools and cofounded GoBundance, which is how I get to know him, a mastermind for high achieving individuals seeking purpose and adventure. Tim is also the coauthor of Tribe of Millionaires and The Quitter's Manifesto, which I got to write a chapter in, and has been featured in numerous podcasts.

He now lives with his family, near Reno and continues to, inspire people to live fully and get the goods in the woods. Here is our guy, Tim Rhodes. Hello, and welcome to the Power Up Your Life podcast powered by GoBundance Swimming. I'm Mandy McAllister.

And I'm Kelly Resendez.

Today, we have such a treat. We have this incredible soul, Tim Rhodes, with us. Tim, thank you for joining us. Hey. It's my sincere pleasure. Thanks for having me, ladies. Very excited to to dig in with you. But before we get started, let's start from the beginning. Tell us a little bit about your journey in your own words.

Okay. Well, I'm older now, but I, but I'm a kid at heart. I guess that's the best thing to say. I'm 66 years old going on eight. And yeah. And and I choose to live as a youngster. I think there's too many old people that are just boring, so that's not me.

I was born and raised in a little town called Portola up north of Truckee, California, up Lake Tahoe. Barely graduated high school, never went to college, retired at 40, started getting the goods in the woods to help start the, Gobundance, helped, had my own nonprofit called One Life Fully Lived, made my fortune selling real estate from about, mid eighties to 2,000.

That was my vehicle of choice. Sold a lot of real estate, invested a lot in real estate, tapped out into the big short, around 2,006, and, I haven't worked since in my mind. And maybe I'm working now. So yeah.

Digging into the stuff that really matters. I think that's the thing that Kelly and I noticed a lot of the organization, the women's organization that we get to lead, same as yours, that, you know, once you figure out money to a certain aspect, life becomes about so much more than just that.

But, you know, I you formed these two incredible communities, the one one life fully lived and GoBundance. Talk to me a little bit about your progression and your growth and what a big community has meant to, your growth.

Okay. Well, having barely graduated a high school and come up as a blue collar individual, I I think, the the keyword is is work ethic and kinda being a gym rat of no matter where I am, just focusing on things that really matter, for to myself, my family, the community, and the world. And whatever I've chosen to do, I just put my heart and soul into it.

Let the chips fall where they may, and, I I bet many of your listeners can relate to that because the people who are listening to this podcast, you're willing to do the work. You're willing to do that what others what most others won't. And instead of saying, doggone it, all these obstacles in my way, most of us are figuring out how in the heck are we gonna get around this, quote, current obstacle and get to what's really matters into our life. So I think that's what makes all of us unique and special in our own ways.

Yeah. That's amazing, Timmy. Why would you you know, if somebody's out there, we've got a lot of people that have been doing it on their own. Right? Maybe they've created success, but they've been doing it on their own. What do you see the power of a mastermind really is in their life?

Yeah. I think what I'll give you a good example. There's a guy named Andrew Cushman. I started a business with him called DAPT. David, Andrew, Pat, and Tim. And Andrew is our horse. He's the one who's out there finding these apartment complexes and stuff. And if it wasn't for our tight knit community, I never would have found him.

At a time when when my income had gone down and I was kinda finding looking for what's next and did not wanna do it myself. So because I had helped create this community of high achievers, I think it just helps make it easier for you, a, to find your people that can help you do what you do better, but maybe you can work together with them. And that's what I found with Andrew.

I I no longer wanted to strive and go find things myself, which is what I had done from '86 to, let's say, 2005. But I found Andrew who was who was ninja at finding deals, and then I realized, well, David Osborne can can qualify for the loans. Lot of people know myself. Lot of people know, like, and trust Pat Hyben, and we can help get investors. So I think it just helps you do what you do better.

And and I challenge you. There was a great book called who not how, and that's what I'm talking about here Yeah. Is is not having to do everything yourself. And most of us are, quote, lone wolves. We wanna just try and do everything ourselves, and, man, that for me, that just doesn't work. So

We see that a lot in the women's division too and the feeling of loneliness that that comes from being that lone wolf wolf and thinking that you need to handle everything yourself. You gotta ask for help. That that is so incredibly important.

I, I think you know, you're an unconventional guy, and I think just in general, entrepreneurship leads to a lot of unconventional thinking. I'm curious in terms of the the things that you know to be true. What's something unconventional that you are so certain about that most people might disagree with?

Well, I may ruffle a few feathers here, but, let's just be as gentle as I can put this to say college is not for everybody. Okay? Love it. And yeah. And I think I'm a good example of that.

I've I my and by the way, my dad was at an education, and his best years were his college years. He was a Yale leader at, USC back before the nineteen fifties, and he was a Yale leader at the, LA Coliseum with a 100,000 people there. And those were the best days of his life. And all my time growing up, all I ever heard about is you gotta get that degree and you gotta be, get that master's if you really wanna go somewhere in life.

And I simply was not cut out for education. I realized that, when I was, like, 12 years old and I was learning the periodic tables, for elements. And I'm like, what in the heck? Why am I learning this? There is no way I'm ever gonna use this. And my intuition said, you know what? I'm just not gonna pay attention here. And I'm gonna learn basic math, basic reading, basic English. I'm gonna learn the basics and how to communicate. And and I purposely learned nothing else in school.

And and and my my my intuition and my my unconventional mind, All I want to do and I don't wanna I'm not gonna look out the window, but I just look out the windows to this day and look at mountains and just imagine myself out climbing mountains and doing cool stuff outside. And I remember being 12, 13, 14 years old, sitting in the back of the class, gazing between the mountains and the freaking clock. When's this thing gonna end? And and this torture is gonna end because I for me, that just learning wasn't wasn't there. So Yeah. Yeah.

I think separating learning from growing, because what I know about you is you have a growth mindset. Right? And you're always growing and always contributing to make the world a better place. Like, what how has that supported you? Because I know I completely agree with you that college is not for everyone, and and there's so many alternatives. Right? But what what you can't really do is just stay stuck either in a fixed mindset or you won't create the level of success that you've done. So how have you grown?

Well, what what I think what for me, it was learning what's right in front of me for what I need to get to the next level, if you will. I had to, study to pass my real estate license. I had to study to get my broker's license. And then I wanted to go from, just being a a great salesperson to and and and owning a few rentals, single families, duplexes, land in the path of growth.

Then I want to learn more about commercial, so I took a CCIM course. Hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And from my p brain, let's be nice, it it was so challenging, and especially somebody that didn't go to college and didn't learn study habits and stuff like that. Mhmm. And same thing with brokers. Same thing with the real estate chest. But but it was something, I I knew to get to the next level, I had to go through this three months, six months, nine month course to get to the next level, and I was able to do that.

But for you know, just to, and I probably would have gone to college to do dummy math and dummy English and all the things I really didn't study in high school. There's no way I was gonna sit through that and and listen to some professor drone on about shit that's just not gonna help me moving forward. However, to get my real estate license, to get the CCIM, that really helped me. And you're absolutely right. I've always had a growth mindset, and I'm always learning, what's next.

I I I spent a lot of time in the backcountry, and, I I don't wanna die. So I learned avalanche awareness, backcountry wilderness survival, backcountry first aid. And I've done I've done a lot of things kinda like to be a professional guide in the backcountry. So, a, to keep myself safe, and, b, to make sure that if it goes awry, I'm the one when everything's going nuts. And it's, you know, you you really need to be have your wits out route about you. I wanna be able to take a step back, analyze, and fix the problem. And that and and then every single measure of my life, I wanna be that person.

You know what I mean? Whether when when and and this goes back to selling real estate. When deals were gonna, blow up one way or another, somebody had to just kinda take a step back, analyze the whole situation, and coolly and calmly fix the problem. Don't it's not whose fault it is, who started it. It's it's this is where we are. Let's take a step back, analyze, fix the situation.

So that. I say a lot. You've gotta put truth to the problem. To solve any problem, you gotta put truth to the problem. And especially when something gets super emotional, you gotta go back to the spreadsheets to to put the more truth to it.

I think, you know, we're while we're on this this track of of growth, of, unconventional thinking, you know, in the vein of conventional wisdom and conventional advice that you see happening in business and in leadership, what is the single worst piece of advice that you've ever gotten that falls under under that conventional wisdom being?

Yeah. I'd say, when you're just keep going. And and I, I don't want this to sound wrong. And and I guess I'm just gonna say it. Say yes and figure it out later. I think that is sometimes not the best advice. K?

And and and it has to go with what I was thinking about. Sometimes you're going down a a train track, and it may not be the right track for you. And and times you're going to you know, just going you and and so so things like statements like, just pick any direction. You can't it's better than staying stuck.

Let's go back to what I said a minute ago. Perhaps the best thing you can do is just get quiet, ask, talk to and this goes back to having a great tribe around you, having this personal board of directors that you can lean on. That's where GoBundance women and GoBundance comes in handy is to have people that know you, love you, care about you, and just pick up the phone and say, you know what? I may be going down the wrong track. Let me I'm gonna I'm and and what I would say to that person, why don't you write down what you think you're gonna do? Why don't you write down a few options, and let's get on a call and talk this over? K?

So Jeez, Timmy. You woulda saved me a shit ton of money if I woulda reached out to more people in the last few years over investments I made. Yeah.

Yeah. And I and I, you know, I I invest with Andrew Cushman as well, and and Mandy and I are partners on on multiple things. But I think you nailed it, is a lot of us have been so self sufficient for so long. Like, we're the lone person that we just kinda made decisions in a you know, just we we've just made decisions.

I came off a call with one of our members this morning that was like, my biggest mistake was that I made decisions on my own instead of seeking counsel. And so really taking that deep breath, and and I agree with you on the, you know, say yes and figure it out later.

If we say yes to everyone everything, that's where we get out of alignment. Right? We've gotta be more decisive about how we spend our time.

Yeah. Hey. I wanna say something about GoBundance and GoBundance women and about the power of a mastermind and and and the power of having friends, and and and you said it, Mandy, to to tell you the truth. And there was a time, it was 2011, and I go back to Andrew Cushman. I was doing a one sheet with David Osborne and Pat Hybien, and my income had gone down.

And I was I used to coach real estate investors, and the person I was coaching for, if you had a pulse and a credit card, they'd take your money. And I and that just doesn't work for me because I have this weird weird thing called integrity. Yeah. So it so it, you know, it just didn't jive with me, and they literally kept giving me clients that had no money, no time, and I'm and they're supposed to buy five to 10 homes that year in a declining market. So I so I quit for that.

And and right around that time, my income had gone down. I was going over my one sheet with Pat and Dave, and my income was less than my expenses. And they were just, to use a word, flabbergasted. And and, and they called me out, and they said, Tim, this is bullshit. What are you gonna do? Are you gonna flip homes? You're gonna go back to sell real estate? And I was thinking, I wanna flip homes. I don't wanna sell real estate.

And and it's what I said before. I I the one of the people that I coached with, for this company called foreclosures.com, my best client ever was Andrew Cushman. He was amazing. And and but I wanna go back to what my point is is David and Pat had the courage to tell to pull back the layer to have me, to us together figure out, you know what? This isn't working. You're on the wrong track. You need to change that track.

And I was wise enough after I got and and I gotta be honest. When they said that, I I, how could I I kinda whined about it. I was like, oh, I'm you know? And and nobody likes to hear you're not fully, crushing it, that things aren't, where you want them to be right now. But I give them a lot of credit.

And any of you, in, GoBundance women that are in a pod, please be the David and Pat that Tim needed. And and and think about that. And and, have the license to, tell people something they don't want to hear but need to. And I Right.

Yeah. Create Timmy. I I love that. I I mean, that's Kelly and I hold space for each other in exactly that way. She has told me, that is not your buy box. Why are you running down that rabbit hole, Mandy? Think about it. You know? So I think that is the culture that we've really worked to to create that we're continuing from, the GoBundance side of things.

It matters so incredibly much, because, you know, you you can't me unless you're measuring it, you can't manage it. Right? So you you gotta get to the truth. You gotta get to the numbers. The one sheet and the map, the things that we do to measure where we're at, it's it's so incredibly important.

And one of my favorite things is that we look at being a 100 percenter, that all of your, bills are covered by passive income rather than just chasing net worth for net worth's sake. Thank you for setting up the culture in that way. It matters a lot to me.

Yeah. I I love it. The you know, what I look at that like, it's like we're all fisher people, and we have, fishing lines in the water. And that 100 percenter is passive income streams, and it's just every day working on, making sure that nobody takes the ball and runs away, and you have to go back to doing something you don't wanna do. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Oh my goodness. I one other thing, after you figured out all the money stuff and the passive income stuff and heard the the bad news and figured out another path to keep the passive income going, you know, the thing I know you best for is is your heart and your giving back.

And I always say get two arms for a reason, one to pull yourself up and one to pull other people up with you. And, man, do you pull other people up with you. Talk to me a little bit about what it was like and what the impact piece is for you in One Life Fully Lived.

Well, it was, it was something I started approximately 2010. It was before GoBundance. And I just feel like I'm a blue collar person, came from from nothing and made it and just saw it's it's getting tougher and tougher for the average person to live the life of their dreams. And let's just call it the American dream.

So I, wanted to come up with something. We we called it the the one life road map, and it's available on Amazon, number one life, road map. And we made it for teens and adults, and it's a it's a just a great, how can I put it? Just just something to help people get the foundations of of making a great.

And and we, we want to people to focus on what's your vision, how will you fund it, your relationship with yourself, and and who's your posse, who's your mentors, and how to be, healthy in your mind, body, and spirit. So it's really in my mind the things they should be teaching in school but don't. So that that was yeah.

So and that's what one Life Fully Lived was all about. Kelly, it's funny. I can't remember who I was with recently. She said, we need to have a reunion, a one Life Freedom.

We totally do. There's not like, I showed up in Napa to speak the other day, and the gal was like, I met you at a one Life event in Long Beach. And, you know, it's definitely near and dear to my heart too. It's so important that all of us make contribution a part of our formula for abundance, and that's a big thing at GoBundance that we really try to do.

So, Timmy, we could talk to you forever, but we have to kinda come to an end. And so before we kinda just share a little bit of the feedback, what is one thing that we can do to support you the most besides anyone listening, check out GoBundance and gobundancewomen.com just to, you know, find out how a mastermind might be able to help you. But how what can we do to support you, Timmy? What do you need help with?

I got nothing. I'm, you know, but I do wanna say something. Pat gave me the best gift, like like, three or four years ago. He told me, Tim, you were always so, in his words, transactional. And and I was kinda like a another, what the heck? And he said, think about it. When you sold real estate, you told me the stories. If somebody didn't list with you, they were dead to you. And when somebody, people come in to go bonus and they tell me how wealthy they are, I'd say, good. Give my nonprofit 10,000. And and in my mind, they were kinda I I thought less of them because they didn't choose to support what I'm so, supportive of.

So what's fascinating, ever since he said that, I mean, it's great to to ask for help, but it's also, I have nothing to sell at this point. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I just feel like, so when you said that, that that came to mind. And I just think that's a what a great gift he's given me. And there's a few people in my life, that I've passed that on with just because I know their personalities. No.

Yeah. So Yeah. Kinda Was OneLife still still a nonprofit active? Yes. It is. Well, everybody that's listening, I'm just gonna say it for you. It's a wonderful nonprofit. We're we're making a big impact on people people in inner cities and all over, so take time to do that.

But you've been amazing. The biggest takeaways for me before we wrap this up are really it is that power of proximity, you know, and having those people around you that are gonna have honest conversations. The other thing that you didn't say but you emulate is you had a vision for how you wanted to live your life, and you went after it relentlessly so that you can be in the mountains and you can be in this freedom.

Yeah. There there you go. You even your mountains are calling you, and and you were like, I'm not gonna subscribe to the to the normal programming of you should do this and you should do that. And I've just always been so grateful for our friendship, and you are always in my heart. And so thank you for joining us. What about you, Mandy?

Oh my gosh. So much. I you know, Tim, your your heart is the first thing I see whenever I get to talk with you. I the things that I've I took away from our conversation today, you know, a, that plan that that Kelly was talking about. If you just have a plan and you go look just as far as you can see, that's when you're gonna go further than you ever imagined.

And I I also really, agree with the idea of you've gotta look at the picture as a whole. You know? Say yes and and figure it out later works, but then you're committing to saying no to a bunch of other stuff. Right? So fully understand the impact of the stuff that you're doing, you're saying yes to. You gotta zoom in and zoom out.

So, Timmy, what is the best way for anybody listening to get a hold of you?

You can email me at Tim@TimRoad.com. Road is spelled R H 0 D E, like Rhode Island, or just call me. (209) 403-3533.

Oh my gosh. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. I love it.

I I love having, what is it, individual conversations with people who are trying to better their life, and that's where I'm not very good on stage. Don't like to be on stage.

What a gift. And, I mean, we have so many investors and people starting off in their career and and whatnot. So thank you for that gift. Pleasure.

Well, thank you everyone for joining us on the Power of Your Life podcast powered by GoFundance Women. Don't forget to like and subscribe and share this with anyone who needs to get the goods in the woods like our guy, Timmy. Make sure you're checking out Power Up Your Life now if you need resources to power up your business and your life. We will see you next week.

Awesome. Thanks, Timmy.

Thank you. Thanks for having me on, ladies. Appreciate it.