Unfiltered - Real Estate, Podcasting & Politics

If you’ve ever crawled a deal to the finish line and wondered why it feels so much harder than it should, you’ll feel seen here. Mark Jones sits down with returning guest Matt Reyna after a last-minute schedule change, and the conversation turns into a raw, useful look at the mindset behind surviving real estate’s peaks and valleys.

We start with the simplest performance tool that actually works: small daily improvement. From there, we get specific about what breaks transactions today, especially in new construction. We talk builder lenders, poor communication, and the ripple effect that hits buyers, realtors, and loan officers when expectations aren’t set upfront. Mark lays out why honest lending conversations beat “rainbows and unicorns,” and how transparency keeps clients from panicking when the file gets messy.

Then we zoom out into podcasting and personal brand building. Matt shares why he talked about launching a show for years, what finally got him to start, and why consistency matters more than perfect cameras. We also touch the third rail topics that show up everywhere now: political polarization, virtue-signaling marketing, media bias, and why long-form dialogue is disappearing. The thread stays the same: ask better questions, do your own research, and keep getting better.

If you got value from this, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find Real Estate AF.

Transcript

Mirror Test And Daily Improvement

SPEAKER_00 0:00

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.

Guest Change And Studio Reset

Mark Jones 0:32

And we're back with another episode of Real Estate AF, where the AF stands for and finance, and I'm your host, Mark Jones, and we are powered by LoneBot, now improved with AI features. And today we had a guest that did not end up joining us. He had some things going on, but the show must go on. So today I'm joined by Matt Reyna, a previous guest of mine, and also someone that uses the podcast studio and has done a phenomenal job of growing his podcast in a short period of time. So without further introduction, Matt Reyna, how you doing, man?

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Well, I guess I'm old faithful. There you go. If I stick around in the studio, good things happen.

Mark Jones 1:12

Amen to that. Yes. So we've got plenty to talk about. And a couple of the things I want to start with is your journey of this podcasting world. For those that know Matt, you know him as a realtor, entrepreneur, very hard worker, and now also a podcaster. For those of you that don't know him, well, you're about to hear a little bit about his journey right now, going through this. So, Matt, tell me first off, tell me a little bit about yourself, and then we'll go into that part of it.

Matt Reyna’s Sales To Real Estate Path

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Well, about myself, you know, like you said, real estate entrepreneur. I've been in real estate about 13 years now. This is my 13th year. Okay. I've been in sales all my life. Yeah. Started off at Radio Shack back in the day. I don't even know if uh a lot of your uh listeners know what Radio Shack is, but probably not. Like, what the heck? Yeah. So uh that was my first sales job when I was 18 years old, and that's when I got the sales bug in me. After that, went to Gold's gym, sold cars, and then eventually got into real estate. Very good. Now, yeah, that journey, man, it's been all over the place, as you know. I think I got in real estate in 2014, something like that.

Mark Jones 2:26

So two years after me. Oh, okay. I was 2012. What is that, May of 2012? That's when I got in and signed my life away.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

It's when you got suckered in.

Mark Jones 2:36

Well, I you know what? I can't even say that suckered in because I'm in love with this game. Oh man. Through and through the ups and the downs, the the uh incredible stress that we go through dealing with consumers, finances, uh advising on the biggest purchase of their life. And everything is contingent upon us most of the time, you know. So yeah, that it's it's been a cool journey, and I'm

Loving The Game Through Valleys

Mark Jones 3:02

glad I'm still doing it.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

So I was just talking to my brother, Xavier, about you know, he's a business owner right now as well, and right now he's going through the growing pains. Sure. It's about three years in. Okay. So you know that a lot of businesses don't even make profit within the first five years. Yep. You know, and obviously, you know, you go through those peaks and valleys.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

And I think a lot of times, man, you just kind of it's hard to just kind of stick with it.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

And the ones that I think stick with it do have a passion and a love for what they do.

Mark Jones 3:32

Yeah. You you almost have to because at a certain point there comes a time where the stress level gets so high, the amount of things, but mind you, if you do it right, the amount of uh tasks, things that you have on your plate, the responsibility that you have for other people below you, et cetera. If you don't have some bit of love for it, it's easy to get out. You know, it's easy to go do something else, especially in let's say for us, for instance, in a market like today, where limited transactions, the ones that are actually closing, are very tough. And in many cases, we're having to drag that buyer along. It it's very easy to look back and go, wow, it's been six months, seven months, and I've only closed four deals type concept. Well, I could go back to my previous job, what have you. Sure. But I think it has a lot to do with the love of the game.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Yeah, go for it. I I agree a hundred percent. And what I was telling him is I was like, man, I I just I want you to do something that you love and something that you're passionate about because days like today, months like today, months like we're in, and then also, you know, maybe the valleys like like we're in right now, that's what gets you through the love that you have for it and being able to do it not like almost with your eyes closed, because I tell people that this is just a part of me now. This is what I do.

SPEAKER_05 4:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

So it's not even necessarily like if I'm, you know, putting on my boots, getting my lunch panel, and going to work. It's I wake up and it's something real estate related. I'm working on a deal, I'm working on financing a deal or whatnot.

Dragging Deals To The Finish

SPEAKER_01 5:02

It's funny, man, that you mentioned that, like dragging your customer or or your client to the finish line because I have one that's going on right now, and it's just like you could go through life and even do a sale just thinking like it's not gonna happen. Right. You know what I'm saying? Right. And I don't subscribe to that type of like. I love that. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Absolutely. Okay, so I I I say that the coin's flipping. Okay. You think it's gonna land your way or not? And he's like, nah. I totally get it. I'm like, I'm like, dude, like, come on, man. Like, have a little faith that it's gonna happen. You know what I'm saying? At the same time, too, man. It can, it can uh me and you, yeah, you know, we're actually working on something. Remember, and I got a little pessimistic about it a couple of uh weeks ago. And I remember you were telling me that yeah, I mean, you're doing everything that you could possibly do to to this point. Now it's out of your hands, correct, you know, and even if it doesn't fall in your favor, you did everything that you should do. So there should be some type of solace in that.

Mark Jones 6:04

Absolutely, and and in addition, there's a little bit of gratitude and and pride that you should take in going down the road in any kind of journey. The the whole idea is not giving up.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Definitely.

Mark Jones 6:18

And for you in this case scenario that we're talking about, you you haven't given up. It's just there are roadblocks that need to be knocked down, and we're in the process of knocking those down so that we can proceed. And even if there was another hurdle that popped up, uh, the mindset that was built based on the let's call it landmines that you've stepped on throughout this journey is what you've gained in value to be able to proceed.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

I used to say that there's no such thing as wasted time, you know, because it's gonna teach you one thing, one way or the other, you know, or many things, you know. And I was telling him, just promise because we kind of hash it out sometimes. He's a personal friend of mine. Yeah, and he was like, Man, you know, you're telling you're telling me to do this, you're telling me to do that, and yet I do not have a guarantee that it's gonna happen. Right. And I'm like, Well, I I can't do that. You know, the only the lender can do that at a particular point with within the transaction. I said, just do me a favor, do not give up. That's right. Because I'm not gonna give up on you, and I'm not gonna give up on the deal, but you don't give up, and I promise you, I'm gonna get you in this right, you know, and sometimes that's that's kind of what it takes. Going back to uh what were we talking about?

Mark Jones 7:27

About no, you're you're elaborating on this concept of the the transaction that you had that is pretty difficult, and the customer itself is at the point where they're at a crossroads. Do I continue and have faith in these people that are advising me, or do I give up? And typically what that means is I'm gonna give up on the whole thing for a little while. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Well, let me ask you this now. Uh, I know where I was going with that concept now. How do you think that that make or makes or breaks people in our industry? Being on our side, you know what I'm saying? They don't want to deal with this, Mark. Yep. You know, they're like, you know what? I thought that this was gonna be a little bit different. This is a lot harder than what I thought it was gonna be. And this is not what I signed up for. Sure.

Why Lenders Must Set Expectations

Mark Jones 8:10

No, that's a great point. And I think it all begins, and and no offense to realtors out there, but it all begins with the lender if they're financing, if they're paying cash, hey, that that's on the buyer and their ability to stroke a check, the property and its passing of inspections, and hopefully you're getting an inspection, even if you're paying cash type concept. But the lender is the one that is supposed to set the expectations up front, good, bad, or indifferent. One thing that I pride myself in is letting the borrower know up front that, hey, this is gonna be a challenge. And here's what we're up against. Are you your your game to move forward, correct? Yes. So that it's not a surprise to them. They've already mentally prepared for it, for the challenges, for the hurdles that are gonna come in way of oh shit, I didn't know I had to provide that. Okay. Well, we didn't either. It's because you provided this that now leads to more things that coincide with that. And I think a lot of lenders are painting rainbows and unicorns to their borrowers when they should just be honest up front.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

And I'm gonna be 100%, I'm gonna tell you who it is after we get off as far as you know the builder that it's with. Yeah. But obviously they're tied into their lender. Of course, and they suck, you know, and they're they're not giving, you know, proper expectations or they're not setting proper expectations and they're not giving updates the way that they should. And that's what's frustrating them the most. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So I agree 100%.

Mark Jones 9:38

I've got a very short list of lenders that, in my opinion, can compete with non-builder lenders. One of them is Casey Hampton. She'll tell you like it is, and she works her ass off to get her borrowers to the finish line, sets proper expectations up front. Can't speak for many of the others, but I do know that that lender working for the builder has more deals that are coming in that they've got to work on that may be less difficult that they're going to then give their attention to. 100%. Do you get what I'm saying? All day, every day. Whereas a mortgage banker, mortgage broker, where's the next one? When's the next one gonna come? Uh-huh. I'm gonna work my ass off on this one and to make sure that this is gonna end up crossing the finish line.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

As a matter of fact, we got an update last. Oh no, it was this week. It was Monday, yeah, yesterday. And it was they told us kind of in so many words, hey, we got we got more important deals. Right. And pretty much I'll I'll let you know. I believe I believe you we got more uh pressing things, pressing issues. We are closing in September. Take it easy, basically. Yeah, wow, is the home not ready? If the home's not ready, okay, yeah. But at the same time, too, it's been so much ups and downs. A lot of people can deal. Oh, that's where I was going uh with it. Uh that not only can the buyers like not kind of deal with that that, you know, but I think sometimes a lot of times the sales consultants and realtors are just like, yeah. Because they've got another one.

Mark Jones 11:06

True got another one coming in the door that it they call it cherry picking, essentially. And uh shame on them.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Well, you think a lot of um agents and and sales consultants are in the position to cherry pick right now? I do still think so.

Mark Jones 11:21

Wow, and the reason being is there is still in the grand scheme of things limited inventory in the pre-owned, especially in a certain price bracket, price range. Okay, so you also have, and again, not to not to shit on realtors. We love you, we love you. But there are a lot of realtors that don't ask the proper questions to get to know their borrower up front to determine whether new construction is the best route or not for them. They just go, oh, you want to be in that payment? Great, let's go drop you off at the builder. And therefore, the builders' lenders do not communicate with realtors the same way a mortgage banker or broker does. Why? Because they don't need to focus on building a relationship with you, they just need to get that borrow across the finish line or not. Not to mention this this particular lender's out of state. So there's time, very little communication.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

I would say there's time difference. There's oh, I didn't get that call, I didn't get that email. And it's just uh it's going back to what I was saying earlier, man, that you really have to have thick skin when it comes to this business and you have to be able to kind of roll with the punches for sure. Because and then also too, you got to make lemon out of lemonade, man, because it's it's it's gonna be like this. So going all the way back to my brother, I'm like, dude, you need to make it before you do. Go ahead.

Mark Jones 12:38

Sometimes you gotta punch back too. Oh, sure. Yeah, no, sometimes you gotta punch back. And and what does punching back look like? Being honest, being transparent, being the person that is going to tell them the truth when everybody else has lied to them to tell them what they want to hear to possibly get a sale, but possibly getting a sale isn't getting a sale. It's kind of throwing the file up against the wall, hoping that it sticks. And that's not a way to run a business or to grow your business either. So go ahead back to your brother.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Well, I was saying whenever you're gonna run into situations like this no matter what you do, you know. So you better love what you do. Yeah. Because these are the these are the difference makers to kind of determine whether you want to keep on moving forward or not. And he's at a crossroads right now where he's just like, Man, is this really for me? Right. Because I I keep on saying that, man, you need to go towards your passion. Because if it's your passion and you love to do that, you love to help people, then it doesn't seem as much as a strenuous process. Right. I mean, you're you're on the money.

Mark Jones 13:38

This lifestyle, so to speak, doesn't quite feel like a job. I work with people that I love. I help people that I know not only are needing this, but I know that each one I had a hand in changing the course of their life, their future, their what have you.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah.

Mark Jones 14:00

And matter of fact, I put a post out last week kind of poking fun at the idea of being a realtor or a lender is semi-like speed dating if you're doing it the wrong way. Why? Because typically you've got a 30 to 45 day window that you communicate with this borrower, you talk to them every single day, buyer seller, etc. And then after the transaction closes, that's that for most of them. Whereas the closing for many others that do a great job and and are able to work their books, book a business, and get business from their book of business, treat that closing as kind of the the entry point to the rest of their life.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Yeah, I was gonna say that it's kind of like a benchmark for future business. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Yeah, definitely. Well, you were right now, you were mentioning something about it being kind of like you know, part of your your life. You wake up, yeah. This is kind of what you

Starting The Podcast Without Perfection

SPEAKER_01 15:00

do. But transitioning into the podcast, you know, I remember Joe Rogan was hitting his stride. And there's only been a few things in my life that I saw, and I was like, that's what I'm gonna do. You know what I'm saying? I've never felt that like that pull.

Mark Jones 15:16

And I will tell you, as we're leading into this conversation, just speaking with you, because it's been a while since you and I have sat across each other and on mics in the studio, totally different. Oh, yeah, totally different. Not only are you control able to control the conversations, articulate your your points and getting those across, you're also able to pivot without any kind of hiccup. So, dude, hats off. I appreciate that. Yeah, so tell me more about that because I've been with you through this journey and it's a lot that goes into it. A lot of people think that it's just sit down, press record, and hit you're good.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Take me through that. Well, you know what? That's what uh took me so long to finally get it started. And and guys, I'm gonna I'm gonna give y'all a quick, quick story. I did a real estate video, right? And I was on the south side of San Antonio saying, hey man, you know, this is where I'm from, this is what I want to do. And in that video, I was trying to hold myself accountable by putting my goals and my aspirations out there. And I said, I'm finally gonna start the podcast. And you talked to some of my friends, man. I've been talking about having a podcast for more than like like I said, when Joe Rogan hit his stride, so it was more than 10 years at that point, and everybody was like kind of getting tired. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Seriously, bro. Yeah, man. And it was funny too, because I was even kind of getting tired of my own, yeah, you know, my own bullshit. And I was like, I was like, you know what? I'm gonna put it out there, yeah. And and so that way I could hold myself a little bit more of a more accountable. And I don't know when's the last time me and you had talked before that. I think we've probably played poker, probably, probably. So Mark reaches out, uh cool the way that you are, man. And you're like, hey, so tell me about this podcast, what's going on? And I'm like, you know, I'm just kind of giving the same deflection. Well, I still need to get my cameras, I still need to do this, I still need to do that. I have a place that I want to do it, I have something in mind. And mind you, Mark, I've been thinking about this, man, for this whole time. So I have this concept of the way that I want it to look. Makes no sense. The way that I I wanted the angles to look, the way that I wanted the lighting to look, everything. I didn't want it to look cheap. I didn't want it to look like we're just doing it with our phone. Absolutely. Which a lot of people are just like, dude, just start. You know, just start, man. It doesn't matter. And I was just like, no. And God works in mysterious ways, man. And I believe in God's timing. And you messaged me, no, you're gonna start now. Yeah.

Mark Jones 17:36

I'm like, sounds like a whole bunch of excuses to me.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

No, you're gonna start now. And I'm like, okay, how are we gonna do this? And you said, whenever I'm not in my studio, you're gonna be in my studio. You just have to promise me one thing that you're not gonna stop. And I was like, right, if you allow me to use that studio, right? Like the one that you're in, I was like, dude, I thought you were gonna put me in another room or something. No, hell you know, I thought like you had like a little uh like a B studio or something. And I was like, if you allow me to use that, I will be there next week. Yeah, you know, and I basically off to the races from there. And I've always kind of just played tricks in my mind of the way that I wanted to talk and the way that I wanted to introduce things and the way I wanted to do. So it kind of I just just kind of hit the ground running a little bit. I mean, of course, it was there's a learning curve. Yeah, it was a learning curve. It was weird to begin with, yeah. But I was just saying it on the other podcast that Kobe says, I've been visualizing this for so long, yeah, for so long, that when it's finally here, it's more like, yeah. It feels like this is where I'm supposed to be for sure. Not like I think they're asking him out after the three-peak. Okay, which is like this monstrous accomplishment, right? And he was just like, Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like, so man, it all happened when it should have. Then also, too, at that point in my life, 10 years ago, I don't think I was ready for a podcast.

Mark Jones 18:56

That makes sense, and everything does happen when it's supposed to happen, regardless. I mean, you can force things in many cases, but when doing that, it doesn't feel natural. Exactly. I mean, for me in my journey of this thing, I did I am very I get the idea. I'm gonna do the idea until it fails, and then when it fails, I'll figure it out from there because I already started type concept. So we did start with the the iPhone cameras and oh god, it took forever to edit one episode, etc. But I'm sure there are people that are like, well, what's Mark getting out of this? Nothing. The gratitude that my studio's being used, someone is actually bettering themselves to get another message, whatever that message is on your podcast on your platform. Definitely. That way you can take it to see whatever it is that it goes from there. And what do I want to be a part of? Nothing. I want to be a the guy that you said, hey, he helped me get started. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Man, I and I and and I I thank you, man, so many times, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. And it's doing something that I did not anticipate happening, yeah. So I always so I watch uh Joe Rogan and Vlad TV. I've told you about Vlad, right? It's it's like a it's more of like a hip hop type of thing, but now he's interviewing people in all walks of life, right? Just anybody with an interesting story, yeah. So I was always like, I'm gonna be the Joe Rogan of San Antonio. That's what I kind of felt like. But and the the concept that I had was that but Joe Rogan interviews like I mean off the wall people, Elon Musk, every interview, even Tyler, James Henfield, you know, like yes, ice cube, like he's I mean, so his and then he'll have a sex therapist on. Oh, yeah, well, for sure. So what I loved about it is that he's interviewing anybody who he finds interesting. Correct. Well, I I was thinking to myself, well, I have the catalog of people that I find interesting, it just so happens that we're not famous, right? You know what I'm saying? So that's I I think that we have just as interesting as of conversation, one thousand percent.

Mark Jones 21:01

And I was gonna do that.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

We don't know how millions of fans like the way that they do.

Mark Jones 21:05

The idea of this famous thing, if how do I put this? If you were waiting or seeking out only people with fame, it almost would be like your clout chasing versus creating your own ecosystem and taking this person, for example, the the gentleman that you had that was running for Congress. Oh, yeah, dude, you gave him a platform, you guys had an incredible conversation, and now he can say, Yeah, I was on his podcast.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Oh, man, it's all just like, and what I love about it is it's just growing little by little, you know, little by little. It's not exploding or anything like that. But what my initial goal was honestly, just kind of selfishly, I've lost some people along the way. And you will. Well, well, I'm talking about

Recording Friends So Stories Survive

SPEAKER_01 21:50

they passed away, my buddy, my buddy Victor, my buddy Johnny, um, and my cousin, my my uncle. And I always thought to myself, man, if we would have had something recorded, sure, you know, yeah, and I started getting that. Lot more. I mean, once we get older in in life, you know, it starts happening more and more often. And it started making me feel like I need to get this going. Yeah. You know, because I'm very close to my circle. I love them a lot. And and my people are my people, you know. And like I said, what's going on? So honestly, it was kind of like for myself, like a little diary for myself. And there's nothing wrong with it. Yeah, no, no, not at all. You know, and and I was like, man, I could look back at this when I'm 80 years old and I could see myself as a young man, you know. But now what's going on is like my buddy John, how he was on my third episode, and then we had him last week, and he was, you know, he's opening up his barber cup. That's right.

Mark Jones 22:36

He's he's progressed within a short period of time.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

You're able to share that with him. And and it's yeah, and he's documenting it on his life. And now he's like, he was telling me, man, I'm looking at the episode, man, and I'm tearing up because I didn't think that this was gonna happen, and we have a document. Isn't that so weird? Going back to what I was saying, that I had a vision for it, I wanted it to look a little a certain way. And going back to Kobe, another one of big time Kobe, he says that you know, the 5 a.m.'s and this and that, he says, your dreams will not come true, something greater will. Like if you keep on putting in the work, you know, and this podcast studio and the angles and the lights and everything, it looks better than what I imagined. Sure, you know what I'm saying? And it just, you know, it makes me think that, like, man, I'm doing the right thing, and at the same time, too, like, God is blessing me, and He's just like, I love that. Hey, keep on doing what you're doing. That's right. And I'm having a blast. Sometimes, too. A lot of people are like, hey man, you know how you can get more views, and you know how you could this and that. And I'm just like, I'm just kind of enjoying the process. Do you ever flip it on him?

Mark Jones 23:41

Because I used to I'm telling you guys to get that too. So you should probably try doing this. And I'm like, hey, where's your podcast? Where do I tune in? Oh, I don't have one. Then shut the up. Yeah, please. Yeah, because you have no idea how hard this is and how long it takes. Matter of fact, Joe was wasn't even on his thousandth episode before people started tuning in, tuning in. So imagine doing that many of them without as many people watching, tuning in. Oh man, do you get what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

No, dude, I've had uh episode 15, you know, and I'm lucky if I crack, you know, hundreds of views, right? At this point, right? But at the same time, too, I'm like, it's been it's gone by really fast. At the same time, I'm like, dude, I could see how a hundred episodes can go by like that.

Mark Jones 24:28

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

You know, like you could just keep on, you could keep on going and keep on going. Absolutely. Didn't Joe two years? Oh, yeah.

Mark Jones 24:34

Two years every week, you're done. Two 100 episodes.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Man, yeah, exactly. 52, right? Wasn't Joe like on like a webcam? Yeah, type of thing, right? Yeah, yeah.

Mark Jones 24:43

You look up his old ones, you go, okay, what? But at the same time, there are plenty of times where I will be watching, let's say, a Joe Rogan podcast. He'll have a returning guest on, and he says that, welcome back. Oh, sure. And I go, Skirt, let me go to the first one. Correct. Yeah. So you'll end up having people based on the conversations go back and check out the other discussions.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

So I'm on mine, I'm developing playlists and things like that. There you go. And I have everybody's stuff like, and then John, who I had again, and then also my buddies who were doing the Spurs ones. Yep, they're all like within the same playlist. So anybody who wants to go back. Let me ask you this.

Dream Guests And Real Curiosity

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Who are your dream guests?

Mark Jones 25:28

I don't have dream guests yet. Oh, come on, Mark. I truly, truly don't. I am I'm I'm open to having conversations with anyone, but I think you said it at the beginning of this. I've got to have some interest. Sure. It is very difficult to fake the funk type thing. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Oh, man. Yeah. A lot of people are like, hey, interview this guy, man. I know him. And I'm like, I don't know anything about it. Yeah, I'm just like cool. Like, let me look into him and let me whatever. Right. But I have three people in mind for next week, the week after, and this and that. You know what I'm saying? Absolutely.

Mark Jones 26:05

So I'm like, now I've done that a couple of times that someone recommended this person, that person. Matter of fact, the the gentleman that's on all the billboards. Thomas J. Henry. No, no, no. He's a real Chris Waters. Christopher Waters. He's got billboards all the way up the I-10 corridor. He's on radio commercials, all that jazz. 444. So the idea was he had reached out and was like, dude, I saw your podcast. I love it. I'd love to be a guest. I had no clue who he was. I did my research, went home, said, Hey, babe, do you know who this Chris Waters guy is? She's like, You mean waters with two T's? So she knew exactly who I was talking about without even saying much. And it turns out that we had an incredible conversation.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

So I love well, and that's how I started to try. I I tried to start off my podcast like that. I tried to, and I'll and I'll tell you the example. When James Hetfield from Metallica is is is across from Joe Rogan, he's like, What's up, man? And uh, you're just like, Whoa, you know what I'm saying? And and I uh I wanted to do a thing as if you're just walking into a conversation, sure. But obviously, James Hetfield, he his reputation proceeds at the time big time, you know. So I think it's cool whenever you're talking to somebody for the first time. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Because there's a whole natural conversation that happens.

Mark Jones 27:27

It truly is, especially if you're interested in the the the overall topic of the conversation. I do believe that there needs to be a topic of discussion versus just a free-for-all. Mind you, I've had some pretty fun free-for-alls, this being one of them. Sure. We're talking about anything and everything with Matt Reyna, baby. I love it. I love it. Yeah, and and I think that there's plenty that can come of these conversations, and for some odd reason, the listeners like these because they don't know what's next.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

You know, I have lunch with people sometimes, or it's been happening a lot, a lot, or this whole time. And I always say this could have been a podcast. Yes, yes. I always said that. So I it's just a natural thing when I saw it. Uh, it was only a couple of things that I've seen. It's like real estate music. Yeah, I love music, and I'm like, man, I'm gonna be involved in music in some capacity, right? And also the podcast. I was like, man, I just I really, really want to document everything for I don't know why. I'm just I just want to do that. Everybody's having a blast with it, and I think that's just the coolest thing in the world, you know.

Mark Jones 28:30

And you know, I'm thinking while you were talking, I'm listening, but I was thinking about what the question that you asked, and who would I want to I got a curve bar after that one too? Yeah, okay, I'm I can't wait. And the reason why I I don't know if if there's any celebrities on my list, not celebrities, just anybody. It has a lot to do with I might actually be starstruck and be taken out of my own element within that moment, if that makes sense, because of the status, stature, etc. I don't know if I want to experience that just yet. Well, I no man, I because I've had some conversations with some pretty serious big dogs, and no problem. We talk the same language, we've got the same goals, we may not be at the same status, but we're at least able to communicate over the same theories and and and concepts and whatnot. Interviewing somebody famous type concept. I'm like, man, I I probably could, but it would be like doing it my first time. Well, that's what I feel.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Okay, I love so man. I've I've just been going for it. Yeah, right. Well, I'm a big, big like metalhead, uh hardcore fan, stuff like that. There's a a post hardcore band out there, their name is He Is Legend. Okay, they're a top five band of mine. I grew up listening to them, I've listened to them for over 20 years, right? And local or or well, yeah. So that's that's the thing. They're they're not as as popular or as mainstream. Yes, as mainstream as, but I mean, man, they're they're amazing, you know. And that I I've been listening to that type of music and just music in general all my life. And I'm talking about Mark, they're like a top five band of mine. Okay, and I'm talking about you put them up against Led Z, like anybody, okay. Top five. So it's classic rock, alternative rock. It's southern rock, is what it is.

Mark Jones 30:12

They're from North Carolina, so great, man. And I have you ever seen the movie The Wood, they say North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Sorry. Um, so yeah, that's uh one of my favorite moves. Same, yeah. So yeah, man, and I reach out and I'm like, hey man, I have this podcast. You just straight up reached out. Hey man, that is so and then also, too, he's like, send me a he tells me, like, send me an episode, send me a couple of episodes to see kind of what it's all about. And I'm like, whoa, right. So then they're in San Antonio, and they they always have a meet and greet and stuff like that. Because, like I said, man, there's a couple hundred people at their shows. Yeah, I'm gonna send you some other stuff, see what you do. Please, yeah. So especially during like a workout or something. And the way that he writes his music, the way that he writes his lyrics, it is so like you gotta, you gotta, it's it's almost like getting into a like a fairy tale. It's it's it's really weird. And then he'll write like from a per a person's perspective, like he has different characters that he writes from and stuff like that. Kind of like Eminem, somewhat like that, and and their stories can gniff. Yeah, yeah, exactly. They're like stories that go from album to album. So if you're a fan of theirs, it's like you can follow it. It's almost like a graphic novel, is what it's like, because then he gets like into like murder and kidnapping and stuff like that. It's it's real, it's like it's kind of like a darker tone to it, but it's it's it's awesome, man. You need to see. But anyway, so I'm like, hey, yeah, I'm telling him. So then I see him in person. I'm saying, hey man, I'm the one who reached out about that. He's like, Oh, dude, he's just like, I'll take a look at a couple of episodes and and I'll see what's up. Now I've gotten to the point where like I'm just cool with him being cool, right? You know what I'm saying? But like you were saying about being starstruck. Now I don't want to bother him, dude. Right, you know what I'm saying?

Mark Jones 31:54

I'm just like, I just like I've planted the seed. If it happens to grow, great. If it doesn't, I hey, at least I reach out.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

He's being the coolest dude in the world and being like, I'll check them out, man. Like, yeah, cool, like keep it up versus just not responding, yeah. Oh, yeah. And I'm I'm like forever grateful about that. And I'm just like, dude, even if he doesn't do it, I right, you know what I'm saying? Like, cool. That was just the monkey is off my back. Yeah, that was just cool for me. But at the same time, too, like I was like, man, it's so crazy that I'm talking about like top five for me, man. So it's almost to it means as much to me sure as uh James Hetfield or or something like that. So you don't have anybody like that, like an entrepreneur or uh an investor.

Mark Jones 32:38

Man, I you know, that's a tough one. That's a tough one because uh Tony Robbins, maybe Tony Robbins, I'd love to, but the fucker would probably charge me. You know, you never know. You never know, man. And and and I'm open to having those conversations because I feel like I would ask them questions that they may not be ready for. That's exactly what I want to do. And I'd never want to have a guest that says, Hey, here's the questions that you're gonna ask me. Oh, really? Yeah, no, thanks. Like that's not how I roll. I never want to have a guest that tries to pay or I have to pay to be on the podcast. That's not what this is about.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

For trying to make money off of this, but I think they'd also have to have a genuine interest in your exact as well.

Mark Jones 33:25

Yes, on the topic, in in me, in what message we're trying to uh portray within this uh platform.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Absolutely. Yeah, like they call it the Joe. Well, it's called the Joe Rogan experience, right? And I know that his guests, I I think Robert Downey said that's exactly what I want to do. I want to go on there and I want to have the Joe Rogan experience. Yes, he said that. So it's cool whenever you collab like that, and everybody appreciates your work as much as you appreciate theirs. And I think that's when you get the lightning in a bottle.

Mark Jones 33:54

You know what? A couple of couple of names just came to mind now that you said that. Industry people, I'd like to podcast with Nikki Salter that works over at Legacy Mutual. Okay. I believe she's a very interesting chick. We've been friends for many years. I would love to interview like a few top realtors that that focus only on the million-dollar listing type concepts. Just to pick their

Political Talk Without Losing Respect

Mark Jones 34:20

brain. Cool. I would love to interview some of our people on the other side of the aisle, and and it doesn't have to be anybody in particular, but I would love to, without getting super political, kind of have a political discussion with some people. Oh, cool. Similar to the way that you had your last one with the the gentleman that was running for for Congress. I thought that was he wasn't trying to sell you anything, it was just educating. No, there's nothing wrong with that. Different perspectives. I'd like to see how this other person thinks, where they come from, not to change them, but to maybe understand where they're coming from and why they think and believe the way that they do. I got the perfect person for that. Does that make sense? I mean, I'm not here to say I'm right. I'm here to say I'm right here and I'm listening. The art of dialogue is gone, man. I know and and it's all hiding behind texts, it's all hiding behind uh Facebook posts and comments.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

I was watching something the other day, and they were saying, you know, it used to be so like not like frowned upon, but if you were like super religious, you know, like and you and and you were like pressing that on people, yeah. But now it seems like what's taken that is is your your politics, yeah, your political affiliations. And they're like disagree with that. Why is that not as like frowned upon that the pushing religion on people is? You see what I'm saying? It still is and should be.

Mark Jones 35:45

Matter of fact, I've got an example that I would like to show because this just came up. I can let's see, how do I do this?

SPEAKER_03 36:59

Okay, so then what I'm gonna do is I'm going to share this with this trust. Oh well. Okay, this is what I'm gonna do.

Mark Jones 37:14

I'm gonna send because I took a screenshot of it this morning because I thought it was just the most outlandish thing I've seen in quite some time. Alyssa, if you can go to the reference view, I'm going to throw something up on screen.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

Let's go here and here.

When Marketing Becomes Virtue Signaling

Mark Jones 37:36

Hopefully, this doesn't get me in trouble with the YouTube people. Okay, so for those of you that are listening, I've on screen have a post from a group that I'm in called What Would You Do Real Estate Edition. And the post is by an individual, I won't say the name, but you can read it there. Says, What do you think about my marketing campaign? I want to work with people who have the same values as me. And in the picture, if you're seeing this, viewing this, you know who it is. From the the audio only, I'm not gonna say his name because then they flag this anywho says, if you vote for DJT, I'm not the realtor for you. I support human rights and basic human decency. So the comments on this are absolutely spot on. You can kill that, and then we'll the comp there's one comment at the top that's like, I love this, blah blah blah. And then everybody else within the group is going, What are you thinking? You realize that you're literally cutting out at minimum half of your demographic of potential customers. Yeah, you're alienating yourself, which goes back to your idea of the two golden rules that there used to be for social media if you're utilizing it for business, which is don't talk religion, don't talk politics. No, and for some odd reason, 2020 came around, 2024 came around, and everybody went, here's what I believe.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

Yeah, man. And don't know why. And not to mention, I mean, I think everybody's opinion is just overly inflated online as well. Yeah, you know, not to mention like the way that you said that that first comment. It's like I don't like the virtue signaling of things. Same here. You know what I'm saying? Same here. Like if somebody is just, I mean, I I don't want to say that they're wrong or anything like that, but it's no need.

Mark Jones 39:36

It's uh you're wrong for posting something like that, in my opinion. Not what you posted, it is the way that you went about it, and you're essentially stunting your growth. Definitely. Because how do you know that there aren't supporters of that side that would make great clients? You guys get along just fine. Have you have you once talked to somebody without asking them what their political beliefs were? I have all the time. Sure. That doesn't come up. Why? Because most of us agree on 90% of everything.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Exactly. Yeah, I was telling Mar Marcus, my buddy, that's running. I was saying, I I think we all have the same sentiment of trying to make our community better. Sure. We're just on different sides of the the aisle, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Mark Jones 40:23

Like, when did that become so because of the internet, because what people see they believe, and there's so much fake out there. I'll give you an example.

Media Bias And Clout Driven Narratives

Mark Jones 40:36

There is a a tragic situation that just occurred recently over the Fourth of July weekend. I won't name any names so that we can still keep this going on the podcast on YouTube. But an individual passed away. I it supposedly as of right now, it's ruled as a drowning. And then you've got other people that are literally making up stories without nothing has been there's no autopsy just yet. There's no investigation that has been publicized yet. So they're literally taking nothing and turning it into something to try and get clout clicks whatever. Okay. I mean, to the point that it's like, yeah, he was killed by his friends and they're trying to hide it.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

And whoa, this person who who passed away, he was a political figure?

Mark Jones 41:27

No.

SPEAKER_01 41:27

Oh, okay.

Mark Jones 41:27

Not at all, just a kid, 18-year-old kid in from college, out party in. Wells is the last name if you want to look it up after this. And uh the idea is there's no real information out yet. So why are you even let's stoke the fire with not factual information for what? Because you have a bias, because you want it to be that? Number, do you even care about this kid? For sure, you know, yeah, it blows my mind.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

Well, then you start jumping into the whole like agendas of of things, and then the agendas of media sometimes, and the agendas of like other media, like a media outlets, absolutely, and who they're like aligned with and things like that.

Mark Jones 42:15

Follow the money, follow the money, follow the money.

SPEAKER_01 42:17

So then what it's doing is it's not even necessarily their job is to, you know, you know, it it project the news, the unbiased news. 1000%. You know what I'm saying? And it that's not that's not what happens. Another example.

Mark Jones 42:32

This is crazy. This is this is strange that this is happening right now, this discussion. Good friend of mine. Shout out Rick, Rick Sanchez. He owns a couple of funerals in town. Very good guy. We talk a lot of politics. He's on one side, I'm on the other. We both love each other, we both respect each other. This morning, he said, Good morning, brother. Hope you're you and your family are doing great. I just heard of ground news. Look it up. It covers right and left side, same story. It cover it covers it and tells you how the right and center to the left are covering it in all places. Thought it was a brilliant idea. I said, I've been a subscriber since it was published. He said, How do you like it? I said, I like it. It shows where the bias lies and how the news and their coverage isn't really news anymore, it's all opinion and based on ratings. That's why I watch podcasts and YouTube.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Definitely, yeah, definitely, man. I stopped watching the news, I mean, a long time ago. It's all fear. Oh, yeah.

Mark Jones 43:33

It's all we need to get clicks, we need to get people to pay attention. Well, what do people pay attention to? Tragedy. Absolutely. You got drama and BS that really doesn't help you much at all. Matter of fact, I'd even go as far as to say that the weather is BS too.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

Maybe. Yeah, man. It's it's so it's so crazy nowadays. I mean, you they were talking about the The the White House card, the UFC White House card. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Joe Rogan kind of alluded to something. He goes, It's so crazy, too, that he said that the it was raining all and and it just missed us. Like almost eerily missed us. Like it just kind of like they had control over it. It wouldn't surprise me nowadays. Not at all. I mean, like, I mean, I know that it they can do.

Mark Jones 44:24

I've always said that they should be paid commission because for as much as they're wrong, they would probably find another job. But hey, that's just me.

SPEAKER_01 44:34

That's just my thoughts. Yeah, yeah. It's uh it's a crazy time that we're living in now, man. And I think you need to kind of look for well, let me ask you this. Sure. I guess like politics and things, how much of it is part of your bandwidth that you're kind of consuming in a day-to-day

Taxes Mobility And Following The Money

SPEAKER_01 44:51

basis?

Mark Jones 44:51

I'll I'll be 1,000% honest. Go ahead. I watch a lot of politics. I pay attention to a lot of politics. I do not put it out there on the podcast like we're doing now, but this to me is a little bit of a special episode. Yeah, I pay attention to both sides. I was one that was on one side until I got to a certain place in my life, achievement-wise, financially, et cetera, that I started paying attention to where the hell my money was going. Like you're expecting me to pay that much just property taxes alone. I mean, the portion of taxes that goes to the school that I really have this much say in where that money gets used is substantial. Then you're talking income taxes, and that money goes to the big pot that then goes to the other pots that we're finding out that there is fraud over here. This money's going that way. Well, yeah, I start paying attention a little bit more. Gotcha. So I'm not one, and I do like to have discussions off script with friends that I know will still respect me after the discussion, but to see what their views are. Like, why do you think this way? Sure. And more times than not, it has a lot to do with life-lived experience. Sure. If that makes sense. Yeah. You only know what you know until the next time you meet somebody that enlightens you or intrigues you enough that you go do your own research because it's all there. Let's face it, most of the things that we do and want to know is easily accessible.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

You know what I think a lot of things like people do not do, and I mean, rightfully so. I mean, you can do you can choose to kind of vote or follow or support whatever you want. A lot of people don't take themselves out of the equation. What do you mean by that? The way that you said those life experiences. Yeah. So it's for what pertains to me. That's right. Not for the greater good. Touche. You see what I'm saying? Yep. And I remember like during COVID, I was like, if we all just band together and lock this shit down for like four weeks, I think we'd be in the clear. Yeah. But everybody's like, no, no, no, no, no. I want to do this, this, and that. You know what I'm saying? So everybody's agenda was all pulled different ways because that's that's a rabbit hole. Oh, yeah. That's a rabbit hole we can go down. Yeah, yeah.

Mark Jones 47:08

Well, it turns out the people that didn't were probably right.

SPEAKER_01 47:11

Very true. Yeah, very true. And and I mean, it's just like I don't know.

Mark Jones 47:16

The immune system went out the window. That that concept of immune system.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Well, okay, so you're right. You're right. Whenever I like this conversation, it ended up it won't go down this way. It's unveiling itself that way. Sure. It did. But during that time, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Is I was like, if we're worried about it getting spread, why don't we just shut this shit down? Nobody move, nobody leave. That's essentially what they attempted to do. Exactly. You know? Yeah. And everybody was like, no. You know what I'm saying? Well, and I don't know if I'm articulating this point correctly, but I'm just saying if we're doing things kind of like game theory, if you're doing things in in unison for the greater good of everybody, right? Then I think that that's going to progress us a little bit more forward than just being like it's a slippery, slippery slope.

Mark Jones 48:03

And and the reason why I say that is because you have things like universal health care. I was I was about to say, well, I do by sounding a little bit more like socialist.

SPEAKER_01 48:13

Yes.

Mark Jones 48:16

Yes, yes, 1000%. Did the power just go out or we're good? Okay, it was just this. Yeah, it's a slippery slope because these things sound great, but then you have to understand how they work. It's like, okay, free doesn't mean free. True. It's being paid by someone. Example, New York. At a certain point, matter of fact, I just I walked in this morning and I went, Alyssa, did you know that Texas started its own stock exchange? Kaboom. Whoa. Kaboom. Exactly. And if you didn't know, now you know. I think it's going to be based out of Dallas. They just established it, etc. And the reason they started it, I don't know if it's the true reason, but the person that I heard it from, pretty credible. They were tired of New York and the way that they are. New York is supposed to be the hub for financial success. You can you can meet people from international, that's where our money is, all of those things, but they want you to prosper. Well, if they want you to prosper, why are they then preaching to everyone else? We're gonna go and tax the people that are prospering so so much, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, well, wait a minute. You're literally trying to take the money of the successful people, they're not gonna stay. Very true. Turns out they're not. Yeah. So within a certain amount of time, I don't know what this isn't a prediction, it's just what can naturally occur is if you're pulling tax money from people that are well off, we'll call it, and if they get tired of it, well, the mobility is super simple these days. You pick up and you go. New state, new tax laws, new the whole nine yards. You don't have to change your business much.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

Joe Rogan was leading led the charge from California to Texas, you know, and everybody just flocked quickly, yeah, quickly with his group and his following.

Mark Jones 50:11

And it absolutely now Austin is known as a pretty solid uh comedy hub.

SPEAKER_01 50:17

Sure.

Mark Jones 50:17

No doubt. Texas may be soon known as another financial spot, simple, just like the concept of New York. I mean, at a certain point, and and then it goes to the idea of well, if we're raising taxes, though, the tax law is already in place, those people left. Who's left to tax? You and me. So are we really getting it free? No, you just kind of pulled the wool over our eyes. Very true. Nobody goes that far in the thought process. They just want the right now, nor do they even want the explanation of where it comes from. Speaking of, I didn't mean to, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:58

Oh, so I'm gonna pivot a little bit.

Noise Misinformation And Rabbit Holes

SPEAKER_01 51:02

Okay, because I want to get this one in here because I was I was thinking about bringing it up with my buddy this this day. Hey, I'm glad we did this. Oh, yeah, man. This is awesome. We've been talking about doing this, right? Absolutely. Uh guys, this is the type of conversation we just have on the regular. So you're but welcome in. Yeah, exactly, right? And and that's I I keep on saying all the time. It's already burned a thing with me, but this is exactly what I wanted. But speaking of not even, I think you said a phrase right now and not even knowing where it came from. Yeah, how do you like our Charlie Kirk trial that's going on right now? I'm not paying attention to it.

Mark Jones 51:34

Oh, you're not paying attention to it? I'm not paying attention to it. And and and the reason why it ties into your the reason why is I'm convinced already that what that he's guilty. In addition, the others that are denying the obvious are doing it for clickbait, they're doing it to grow their matter of fact, I I'll give you an example. What is her name? I used to love her, she's so freaking smart. Candace Owens. Uh Candace Owens. I was a diehard fan of this lady until she started going off the rails. And was she flipped? And yeah. And I don't know if she's doing it intentionally or if she truly, truly, truly believes that, but I do know that she's like one of the most sued people in America right now. Well, she did it after Charlie got the trailer, right? Correct. But she is literally denying facts and trying to nitpick on certain things that it's like, come on now. Like, come on, come on. At what point, Candace, is the the the show, the charade over. Gotcha. You're using your intellect for the wrong things. Now, mind you, it's probably pretty profitable, just like all the race baiting, just like all it's probably pretty profitable, just like the news and them giving us what we want to see, the drama, etc.

SPEAKER_01 52:55

You know, when I see sometimes people's takes, especially like I'm I'm big in sports and stuff like that. I'm like, I could tell when they're trying to just kind of get a rise. Sure. And I'm just like, he's just being a contrarian. You know, he just wants to go against the narrative, and that's the position that needs to be filled, and therefore, you know, like he just wants a hot take. Think about this.

Mark Jones 53:19

Before Charlie Kirk, she had a following, strong following for a good month, all she talked about was Charlie. And guess what? Everybody was watching, and now she's still talking about it. Could you imagine if she just conceded to the fact that that's what actually happened? What else do you have to talk about?

SPEAKER_01 53:45

So the narrative that's being painted right now, it's not bothering you whatsoever. Not at all. Like because if I don't see it, what what does it matter? No, like the this guy being the lone gunman and it being the 306, and it should have like done way more damage to Charlie, and then there's not the back footage, and then he scaled the building and put together the rifle with the with the screwdriver. None of that bothers you.

Mark Jones 54:08

That is the part that's not accurate. Okay, and they've already proven it. Oh, okay. Oh, so I'm late to the party. Yeah, I think I don't know. I mean, when you say, are you watching the trial? Well, yeah, I'm watching the facts of the trial. I don't I don't put stuff out there until I know the facts. Why? Because there's too much noise. Correct. There's way too much noise. Well, my little intent is.

SPEAKER_01 54:34

Well, my theory on everything is I think that there's uh misinformation spread on purpose. 1,000% duh, Matt. No, no, no, but I'm saying the official narrative, I believe it's botched on purpose. Maybe. And and it's because whenever the official narrative was coming out, I was like, dude, if they're trying to get they did a sloppy ass job of doing it because this is just total bullshit. But at the same time, too, I'm like, what if they're feeding us bullshit on purpose? So therefore you can't even get a starting point.

Mark Jones 55:02

And what if we all are hoping that they're feeding us bullshit so we can say I told you so, so that we can continue to watch, continue to tune in, continue to be engaged when, like I said, if the truth is the truth and you concede to it, now what?

SPEAKER_01 55:25

On to the next. True. See what I'm saying? Yeah, but no, but that's the that's the beauty, Mark, of obviously questioning things. Sure. Like, how come the crime scene was just filled with cement or whatever the fuck? You know, like just I get that. You know you know what I'm saying? Like just things that are just very, very eerie about it. Then you kind of start going down the rabbit hole. It's almost just kind of like JFK. Like, who has the power to cover it up? I'm I'm quoting from JFK. I'm quoting from the movie here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who had the power to cover it up and who benefited the most? For sure. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, because unless we're just gonna go with the narrative that it's just this kid, yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Mark Jones 56:01

Which seems a little off to me personally, it doesn't surprise me these days. And the reason being is because of the stuff that we're literally talking about that is being shown on TV, riling these people up that are not okay, that then have the courage or the whatever to do something like that. Sure. There's so much of that right now, and there's so much fake, not I don't want to say fake, it's inflated. No, not not that not that direction. I'm talking about how do I put it? Lluff. No, not flu. People have kind of antagonized these people into believing certain things that are just not true. For example, I don't even care if the show gets gets banned, whatever. No, I need to. I've never thought once that he is a racist. Okay, not once. And there are plenty of celebrities that prior to him being running for president, would tell you the same exact thing, like an Oprah, who was good friends with him until he ran for president. Weird. Sure. Right? Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 57:17

I mean Snoop Dogg. He goes back and forth. Kanye. Kanye. I had to throw all Kanye out there.

Mark Jones 57:25

Yeah. I am I am not the person anymore that feeds into what I see. I'd rather do my own research. Sure. And then if somebody asks, like you did, if you've got time, I'll I'll give you my opinion, but don't take my half-ass opinion. Because that that's almost the same thing as you doing half-ass research by reading headlines only.

SPEAKER_01 57:49

Well, yeah, kind of going back to okay, so like the my approach to COVID or whatnot and my thing, right? He didn't say COVID, he said Ovid. Uh the vid. And and you were like, no, this is I'm you were like, I was like, or am I sounding a little bit more socialist? And you were like, yeah, because X, Y, and Z. Right. And I'm open to that. I'm not like married to, you know what I'm saying? That's that's what I've kind of noticed about myself in my later years or like my most recent years, you know. When I was younger, dude, you couldn't like sway me away from a point. Sure, sure. You know what I'm saying? Now I'm just like, maybe, possibly. I'm just more open to a lot of things nowadays. I'm not married to a lot of things.

Mark Jones 58:29

I think that comes to at a point in time in your life, whether you're 18, 30, doesn't matter. It's same thing with business. You don't think you can succeed until you get into a room with others that have succeeded and compare yourself and go, wait a minute. I know that guy. If he can do it, I can do it. Does that make sense? It makes it now real versus some far-fetched dream, some far-fetched theory. Now you're getting more information and you're able to apply it to your actual situations versus getting the information, having nothing to apply it to, and going, I don't believe that. Okay, because you you've never experienced it. You have more reference points. Thank you. That's that's the that I'm not saying I'm better than anybody, none of that. What I'm saying is you grow through what you go through.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

Well, you know, I I know yeah, I know you're trying to wrap it up, but what what it can't I can't help but think about is the older generation, sure. And you know, the assassination of of John F. Kennedy and things like that, and you see history kind of repeat itself in a sense. And the way that by the way, I was infatuated with the JFK thing.

Mark Jones 59:43

How do you like the movie? Which one with Kevin Costner? Love it. I love that movie, such a long, good movie. It's funny to me and to the left.

SPEAKER_01 59:52

Well, how about in Seinfeld when they do it? Yeah, so so I can't help but wonder the way that you know history tends to repeat itself, and the older generations looking at us going through our stuff now nowadays, and they're like, I remember that. I remember when I was lied to, I remember when they were trying to pull the wood over my eyes and this and that.

Mark Jones 1:00:13

Here's a here's an even bigger one UFOs, UAPs. Hello.

UFOs Curiosity And Better Questions

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Okay, this is my thing on it. Very strange how so much is now coming out. This is my thing on that. Like, they're okay. So they're saying, wow, it's so groundbreaking that the government's all of a sudden admitting this and that. We're numb to it. I was like, We are numb to it. I was like, yeah, and it was probably their intent the whole time. Not only that, but I'm just all like, is there anybody out there who doesn't believe like that there's you have touché. I'm like, Yonner, you live under a rock, right? I think that you would, I think that you know, 90% of people would agree that yeah, there's something out there. There's something, yeah. At the same time, too. Well, like you said, we're numb to it now. I mean, this is 2026, but it's like big deal or what?

Mark Jones 1:00:58

Until one lands on the front lawn and reality hits and talk about no toilet paper at the grocery store.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:08

People just get in line, yes, sir. Yeah, yes, sir. Did you real quick? Did you did you ever hear about that uh that landing where those those kids in like Southern Africa? Yep.

Mark Jones 1:01:20

I always the school kids that drew it and they all drew the same thing. All of them. Absolutely, everything like that. I dude, this is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. Okay, so yeah. When I'm not lending money, I'm UFO researching.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:34

I've always kind of wondered that about you too, because uh I grew up the deep holes. I I don't know if you saw on my other one. I was saying documentaries are my thing. Like I just always have been since I was a little kid. Yeah, it's so weird too. And I think that's why this ties into it so much because I'm interested in people's stories and I'm interested in people's perspective and things like that. Dude, I could watch a Doctor Man on like tennis, yeah, or boat racing or whatever. I don't know why that's just my thing. And a lot of people find it real boring, and I'm just like those are the people that read headlines and formulate their opinion.

Mark Jones 1:02:02

Yeah, unfortunately. That's true, and and and here I'll go even a step further, and you guys can hate me now, but I won't stop now. There are way more of that than the other. Definitely, unfortunately, fortunately, what however which way you want to look at it if that makes sense? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:22

So now I remember like especially seen the movie Idiocracy?

Mark Jones 1:02:29

I have not. What is that of it? Watch that movie. It's happening right now. What is it? Idiocracy is a movie where they're they go into the future, and in the future, we're all a bunch of dumbasses. Why? Because of technology, because of this, because of that, we just become dumber, and the dumber people procreate more than the not so dumber people. So if you got two people dumb procreating, you've got now three, now four, now we're just and it like articulates that Joe Rogan has perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:02

Joe Rogan has a good bit about that, and it's a bit from like the 90s, I think. And he's like, is any is anybody looking after these people? The the smart ones? Yeah, like the people that invented the microphone, or like he's like, are are we making sure that they're safe right now because like these are the people that need to procreate with the other, yes, the other smart people to kind of take us into the next generation? He's just all like, what's in here? Loud shit? I don't I don't know. You're like exactly what's in that light bulb that's idiocy, yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Mark Jones 1:03:29

So it's like matter of fact, uh, to go even further, what's the guy's name? Terry, black dude that's always bouncing his pecs in like white chicks. Uh is it Terry Cruz? I believe so. Okay, he's the president. Uh President Camacho. Gotcha. So we will end with that. But what this discussion kind of alludes to is the fact that we should do this more often. Hell yeah. Maybe even move this off to a separate podcast. I was gonna say let loose. I was gonna say, I don't know if I can create this thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:57

I don't know if I can hang with your other guests that are talking about strictly, you know, you know, uh most of the time it's all business, it's all real estate, it's finance.

Mark Jones 1:04:06

Um, this was this was refreshing, truly. So, Anthony, thank you for allowing this to occur, man. Really appreciate that. Other than that, Matt, thank you for joining me as always. Thank you for continuing to stick to your word and showing up when you say you're gonna be there. I appreciate that more than you even know. My pleasure, brother. For those of you out there listening, we have Lone Bot AI that

LoneBot AI And The Final Mantra

Mark Jones 1:04:30

has launched. We just incorporated the pipeline view uh for loan officers to keep track of their deals, um, to tag realtors, to try their loan partner, communication, tracking, all that good stuff. It's all leading to needle moving activities to grow your business. Visit lone bot.com. But we will continue to bring you conversations similar to this one. This is a rare occurrence, but we appreciate you guys for tuning in. I think we're literally 50 subscribers away from 60,000. So if you know somebody that's getting something out of this or that could get something out of it, please make sure to share with them. Yeah, go for it. If they want to see more conversation like this, they can head to my there you go. So uh and also make sure to tune in to anything and everything with Matt Reyna. He's also on all podcast platforms, including YouTube, where you can see that handsome face of his. Guys, thank you so much for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:22

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for five years, ten years, fifteen years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.