Building a Legacy Through Your Impact on People | Jamil Damji

Today we welcome my longtime friend and collaborator, Jamil Damji, a titan in the real estate investment space. Despite potential competitive dynamics, our relationship stands as a testament to the power of friendship, mutual respect, and shared success in the entrepreneurial journey. Jamil, a celebrated real estate investor, business owner, television personality, and best-selling author, shares his philosophies on business, the essence of meaningful relationships, and the transformative journey of personal growth amidst professional success. This episode is a compelling exploration of what it means to succeed in business while staying true to oneself and one’s values. Jamil Damji’s experiences and insights offer invaluable lessons on the importance of resilience, the power of collaboration, and the profound impact of personal growth on professional success.

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Justin: All right, everybody. Welcome back to another incredible podcast of the entrepreneur DNA. And I have a very close friend for many, many years now, and he’s also within the real estate space. And a lot of people would think we are competitors, but is absolutely not true. This man is a incredible real estate investor, incredible business owner. He is on TV. He has a great show on A&E he’s a best selling author. This man knows business through and through. Mr. Jamil Damji is in the heezy. What’s up, dude?

Jamil: Hey, man, good to see you. Justin, congratulations on this podcast, man. You know, I we’ve known each other a long time, and you’ve always, you’ve always just been, like, one of those inspiring dudes, but this podcast is off the hook, bro, like you’re killing it. And it’s such an important thing that you’re doing, because there’s so many people out there right now that are just completely disillusioned in their lives and are looking for help, they’re looking for information, they’re looking for ways that they can get out of the rat race. And I think it’s super important what you’re doing. So congratulations, and you know, thank you. On behalf of all the listeners that are that are paying attention and getting value from what you’re providing here, it’s beautiful.

Jamil: Bro. First of all, thank you. None of that has lost on me, for you give me that compliment. But then secondly, for you listeners and watchers, did you hear how he just came into this episode? Do you already think he’s my favorite guest? A 100%. So always remembering and Jamil, you’re this is part of who you are, but to be able to give thanks and to appreciate where you came like, that’s who you are. But I think a lot of people who especially where you’re at in business at this point, they don’t act like that. They wouldn’t come on a podcast be like, Hey, bro. All right, more about me now, right? And so I just appreciate how you even just did that intro bro.

Jamil: Well, I didn’t get anywhere by myself, you know, like, it’s, that’s the truth, right? (Yeah). I collaborated with people. I’ve been collaborating with you a long time, and you and I have done deals for like, over a decade, right? And so, you know, thinking back to those days, right? Like I was looking at my text messages, because I don’t erase anything. And I was, like, looking at the, like, history of our relationship, so that I had, you know, just kind of refreshed myself with, like, how long we’ve known each other, and the all the business we and I was just looking back and they were so good dude, like, we did so much collaborating. We did so many JV deals together. We’ve made money together. We’ve broken bread together. We’ve hung out, you know, I mean? It’s just, it’s so important, right? That you you really develop relationships in a way that is meaningful, because at the end of the day, you know, we, we don’t get to leave with the money that we make here like nobody, and also no one’s gonna write on your tombstone your net worth.

Justin: Ain’t that the truth?

Jamil: They’re not, right? They’re not gonna be like, you know, Jamil Damji, 100 million dollars, right? Like, it’s like, no, nobody. Nobody gives crap about that. But you know what people will remember your interactions with them the way that you guys kicked it, and what that was, and what kind of dude you were? or what kind of woman you were? and so, you know, that’s important, because that you know how are with folks, and how you make people feel. That’s the memory, that’s the that’s the legacy that you leave in reality. You won’t remember any of the addresses, and I don’t remember any of the addresses of the deals that we that we did, but I do remember how I felt doing those deals. I don’t remember how much money I made on those deals, but I remembered that you and I had positive interactions, that we were joking around, laughing around, and that it was fun to do business together. And that’s the thing that I took away from it, right? And so, you know, for anybody listening out there, it’s important, like be humble, be a good person, and you’ll be so surprised that at just how life opens for you and how many people will be interested in wanting to help you and open doors for you and give you opportunity because of your character. And (Yeah), you know that that, to me, is just, I think that’s the foundation of success, right? And really looking at it from like the inside out,

Justin: Bro, what a great way to start this podcast. You’re totally right. You know, people don’t remember anything about how you made them feel. That is what (Exactly) will stick with them, right? They won’t remember how much money you made or or the parties you went to, or whatever. They’ll remember how you made them feel, and again, how you just even came into this and we’ve known each other for over a decade, friends, done business together, but just that entrance, I will remember this episode for forever, right? Knowing that entrepreneur DNA is in its infancy, and I’ve had a lot of luck and a lot of work to get it to the top five in the United States, but at the end of the day, this will be great because of that. So kudos to you. Appreciate you. But I think people need to really re listen to even just this beginning and what he says and how he’s saying it, why he’s saying it, because it means absolutely everything. And you know, I’ve been talking a lot about this, and I know you know this is true, but it’s always about the people like Jamil Damji isn’t Jamil the successful real estate investor, the TV star, the author, without other people in his life to help him get there when. Or he asked for it, or they just gave it to him as help. There is nothing more important than the people in your world. (Amen. Amen). So, this is giving me a good one, right? I think for all of you, you need to go, if you don’t know him already, you need to go find this man on Instagram and Facebook. He has an incredible show, triple digit flip on A&E as at least as we record this. He has an incredible best selling book. He is the largest wholesaler of real estate in the nation. He has franchised a wholesale real estate business model, which everyone, including myself, went to lunch with them. I remember the day, he said, Colby, I think I’m, I’m gonna do this. We went and had sushi down Tempe. (Yeah). I think I’m gonna do this. And I’m like, Bro, are you sure you want to try? Like, this is an uphill like, bro, I think I got this one.

Jamil: Man, oh, man, I should have, like, you know, it’s, it’s been super rewarding, right? Being able to franchise a business that people said wasn’t scalable, that you couldn’t, you know, because at the end of the day, people see wholesaling as a hustle, right? It’s, it’s a it’s so bootstrapped and ground and grassroots, just how we do it. And for anybody listening right now, you’re unfamiliar with what wholesaling is. It’s, it’s arbitraging contracts in real estate, right? So why it’s so appealing to beginners is that you don’t need cash, you don’t need credit, you don’t need anything but grit and resolve and, you know, consistency to make money. And that’s how, you know, I cut my teeth in the in the game. I didn’t have a rich dad, I didn’t have access to resources that were going to, you know, put me in in position to win. I had to figure it out. And so, you know, looking at it from that perspective, because wholesale attract so many newcomers to entrepreneurship and real estate in general. The the idea that it’s just this, like, you know, real gritty way to make some cash and then do something else. Like, that’s what it’s so many people have wholesale in their head as, oh, I’m going to start with wholesale, and then I’m going to build my capital, and then I’m going to get into rentals, and I’m going to get into multi family, and then I’m going to get into flipping. And because that’s and because that’s where the real money is made. And, you know, perhaps, right, there’s, there’s absolutely truth to the fact that you can make money and all those things, but they all have a tremendous amount of risk when you look at wholesaling, because you are, you know, essentially you’re looking for property that’s that needs work, right? That has some opportunity for potential gain. Now, when, when I say potential gain, I’m like, let’s, let’s take you guys back to your neighborhoods, right? If you, if, if you’re driving down the road and you see a house with overgrown weeds, you know, newspapers piling up, maybe boarded up windows, whatever that is, you would, you would assume that it’s a vacant home and that, you know, nobody cares for it. And there’s, at any given point in the United States, 5 million or more of those properties at on any given day. Now, those properties are problematic for neighborhoods because they attract the wrong kind of thing, right? They attract drug use, they attract vagrants, they attract crime, and they’re not good for the neighborhood, right? It’s, we’re not talking about, you know, pushing people out of their neighborhoods or anything like that. I’m just talking about cleaning up the stuff that is unloved, and if you can, of course, right, like you and there’s opportunity there. So, what wholesalers do is we go and we contract that property for a good price, and then we find somebody who wants to buy that opportunity from us. So I can put a home under contract, and then I can sell that contract to somebody else and make a $10,000 fee on it. And that’s what wholesaling is. Now, when you do that, and you do that 50, 60, 70, times a month, now you’ve got a real business, right? You can make six, 700, a million dollars a month, and we have million dollar months all the time. So I took that system and then we replicated it and then franchised it and sold it across the United States. So we’ve got Keighley’s all across the country who operate the way that we do in our corporate stores. They use the brand, you know. So there’s a lot of work that I’m having to do in brand development and making sure people are aware of what Keely is and how we can work together. But it’s just been this, this beautiful ride, right? And you’re right. When we sat down and had sushi that day, you were very real with me, yeah? And you said, you know, this is going to be, you know, probably one of the most difficult things to do, but if you get on the other side of it, it’s going to be the most rewarding thing you ever do. But just know that it’s, you know your mountain is high, and you know there’s lots of opportunity for you to stumble your you know, stumble on the mountain. You’re gonna, you’re gonna stub your toe, you’re gonna get cut. You’re gonna have all these things. But if there’s anybody who can do it, it’s you. And so, you know, here we are, right. Years later, we succeeded. It happened. But there were so many things that that could have gone wrong in the process, right?

Justin: I’m sure they did go wrong, right? Yeah? Like (Yeah, of course) you made it like you are here now with, like, nationwide Keighley’s, but trust me, I don’t know intimately. I’m sure you’ve had your…

Jamil: Yeah. I mean, you know, I’ll share one of them, right? Like we had one such. Situation where we had one group that, you know, wanted to come in and buy, like, 14 franchise units, right? And we, you know, when you’re first getting your, you know, launching, that’s exciting, you’re like, okay, yeah. Or you know, 14 units at $100,000 per unit, that’s $1.4 million plus 15% royalty on the, you know, sales. So, we were really pumped about this. And it turns out that the people who were trying to do it were actually running a Ponzi scheme. And so they had collected all this money from people and their goal, what they were really trying to do, was to use the wholesale business to make back the money that they had lost in earlier investments (Sure). And so, you know, this, the whole thing comes tumbling down for them, and it created all kinds of tension for us, because, you know, now we’ve got the Ohio Attorney General wanting to talk to us, and we’re like, okay, of course, yeah, happy to talk and share everything that you guys need to prosecute this situation. This is terrible, you know. And then these, those poor victims out there, right? Like they’re the, you know, the folks who, who perpetrated the crime. You know, it’s white collar, so it’s, it’s like even the punishments are, they’re insulting to the people who, who, you know, ended up losing money. I personally have been taken for a ride on a Ponzi scheme. You know, just this last year, I invested in a in a deal on, on a like, a relationship referral, like somebody really close to me said, Hey, this is a really good opportunity. I’ve been doing really well with it. You should probably take a look. And, you know, because I got referred by somebody that I really trusted. I was, I went in all in, right? And I ended up investing a million bucks. And I just learned, within a few months after doing that, it was all a sham, you know, and it was like, it was okay. I mean, you know, I’m I do well, so I made the money, you know, make the money fast, right? But it was just, it hurt, right? It hurt because, (Of course), you know the person I that I thought was my friend that referred me into the situation, I came to learn that was he was paid a referral to bring me in. And so, you know, that guy made money and and you know, if you’re making a 25% referral to bring investors to the table. How the heck is that going to be a real situation like you should know that, hey, if I can, if somebody says to you, hey, go raise a million bucks, and I’ll give you 250 grand for it, that there’s not a legitimate business there. And I didn’t learn any of this until after the fraud got exposed. And you know, there were documents, and then people had to come and they were deposed, and that all happened last year. Yeah, 23 was a tough year for me, dude, like my best year professionally, we smashed it right in the wholesale business, like, you know, tens of millions of dollars in profits on my coaching, tens of millions of dollars earned. Everything was going really good, right? My YouTube channel is doing well. My social media is doing well. I’m happy. And then, you know, the like, you know, my dog passes away, my dad ends up getting diagnosed with cancer. I lose a million dollars in the Ponzi scheme. My wife and I split up after, you know, 10 years of marriage, which was heartbreaking, and I get this like terrible spinal injury that lands me in the hospital, requiring a C3, 4, 5, 6, 7 spinal fusion, right? It’s just like all of these things just compounded on me and required a lot of resilience to make it through.

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Justin: Well, if anyone in the same conversation we had about, you know, building a franchise model, if anyone’s gonna get there, brother, it’s gonna be you, right? And you obviously are on the other side of the year. I’m sure there’s personal stuff still lingering, but you know, one of the things that I see visually, right? And we were just talking about this, is look at the fitness that you have attained. You dropped a lot of weight. (Yeah, 80 lbs) You did it healthily, (Yeah), you know, you’re not out there doing it in appropriate ways, right? And how much have you lost?

Jamil: 80 pounds. That was a really a liposuction session.

Justin: So, you did it the right way. Listen, you know what? Here’s something I would give a takeaway. And I think this is the type person you are. You never know what’s going on behind those closed doors (Sure), and never once have I ever seen you treat someone crappy, disrespectfully, try to get one over on someone, try to do someone dirty. Basically, say it’s only about me. That has never been your attitude, but you could have had every reason in the book to change your demeanor, your the way you communicate with people, how you present yourself, because of all this personal shit from the Ponzi scheme. Million dollars. I mean, I mean, I don’t give a damn how much money you have. A million dollars is a lot, (It’s a lot. Yeah, it hurts) your dad, you know your for your own health stuff, with your neck and you know your you and your wife. I mean, you had every reason to be a crappy person, and just everything could have triggered you. And never once did I see that come out from you, and so I applaud you. You deserve to be proud of yourself because of that, because you never know what’s happening in between someone’s ears or behind your doors. So, when someone is crappy to you, I would say, if someone could take a takeaway from this, realize it’s not you, it’s them. (Always). Probably something going on personally, (Yeah), that has absolutely nothing to do with you, but they are. They’re taking it out on you. And so listen, I think that’s a huge takeaway.

Jamil: It is, I mean, it, you know what all of it is, I you the thing, the thing about it, right? You know, tough, tough things to go through, right? And, you know, all of it is my creation at the end of the day, and I have to own full responsibility for for all of it, right? And you know, of course, I’m gonna be like, how is your dad having cancer? Your creation? Okay? Well, look how I react to the cancer. Is my creation, how I’m allowing it to affect me. Is my creation, my relationship with him leading to that point is my creation, right? And so if I have guilt, or if I feel like I didn’t do enough, or whatever it is, all that’s my creation. And how I choose to respond with my father and his and his illness is also my creation. And so, you know, I looked at everything and I and it really gave me an opportunity to evaluate, you know, where, where things are, and how I got there, and then how I can possibly transmute it into something different, and where, how can I make lemon, the most delicious lemonade out of these lemons, right? And, and knowing that, that in life, you’re going to have these peaks and valleys in in your experience, and the peaks are incredible, and they’re, you know, a lot of fun, and it’s really easy to be present when it’s all going well, right? Because you’re like, you soak it in, you know, you’re like, man, life is so good. Like, you know, when you had your child, like, you know, the moments you’re holding that your child, and you’re like, you’re looking at them, and you’re looking at your wife, and you’re like, so in love with them, right? And that you can, I’m sure you can get to that moment like that. You can get to the moment the first moment you held your baby. You can get there this quickly, right, because of the presence that you had in that moment. But what I’ve learned is that you need to have that same quality in the bad times. And what we do often is we escape, right? We numb, we escape, we distract, we avoid. And it compounds the grief, it compounds that pain, and it doesn’t let you get through it. And then what ends up happening is those traumas start to leak into other aspects of your life. And then what you explained, where people are crappy to each other, short fuse, you know, just losing their cool, whatever it is, that’s how it manifests itself out into the world with others, right? And so, it starts to sabotage your other relationships. It starts to destroy, it starts to, you know, create distrust, and all these other negative impacts of dominoes will just keep going. But if you can remain present in the pain, and really, really, really understand it and see why it’s there and what it’s teaching you. You learn this incredible discipline of a self regulation, but be the love and compassion that you end up developing for yourself in those moments is just beautiful. And then when you get on the other side of those tough times, you get to take that love and compassion with you and it strengthens you, and it helps pave a new way and a new path for you to continue to, you know, express in the world. And so, I’m just, I’m grateful, dude, I wouldn’t, I don’t. I honestly can say, like, I’m, I’m sad, a lot of it happened, but I wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t trade any of it, right? Like her, you know, like the situation with my wife, right? Like, Dude, I adore this woman, right? Like she’s my best she’s still my best friend, right? And that’ll never change, and even though the way that our relationship, like what our relationship is going to evolve, and but it’s like the two of us, you know, actually, yesterday was our 10 year wedding anniversary, and we are not together, and we went out to lunch together, and we celebrated that love still exists in 10 years, even after a separation, that her and I can sit there at a table together and look at each other in the face and say, I love you and mean it with every cell in our bodies, right? And so, yeah, our relationship evolves. And that’s and, you know, it’s parts of that are are terribly painful. But, you know, sometimes these things have to happen in order for more growth to occur, right? And so it’s just such a it’s such a cool thing, man, to be able to swim through that and gain clarity.

Justin: I’m listening to a new business be born for Jamil Damji here, I’m seeing some self development business being born here.

Jamil: I mean, I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s a business, but for me, it’s just like, This is what I’ve had to go through, right? And I and, you know, maybe that’s where businesses evolve from, is your experiences, and then, you know, they become a thing. But like, dude, I’m just, I’m so happy that I’ve been able to get out of these things with, you know, my character…

Justin: But wouldn’t, Isn’t it ironic to say you had one of the best years, if not the best year in business, and probably hands down, one of the worst personal years you’ve ever had? (It’s crazy, right?) It happens to all of us. The years I’ve done the best are the same years that have just turmoil, going through shit, dealing with shit, whatever those things are in it, I’ve found over and over again, because you and I are in a lot of the same rooms together and on similar stages, a lot of us have a same story, bro. And it’s interesting because those same people, whether we’re speaking on stage or in the mastermind or whatever we’re doing, they tend to be the most successful, even through the pain, the hurt, the challenges, because they don’t quit. They don’t give up on themselves. And I think it’s a big takeaway that you’re sharing with us without saying that is you didn’t give up on yourself in your dream and your desire for greatness and love and excitement in life, right? Because you could, you could just say, dam it. I don’t give a crap,

Jamil: And I don’t want to pretend like I didn’t have the thought right there, like or I absolutely entertained the thought when a lot of it was going down, and you know, it’s like that, choose your own adventure. You know, remember those books when you were growing up? Like, turn to page 56 if you want this to happen, right? So, like, (Great books) yeah, great books. And, like, I at any at every juncture I had get off, you know, like, Hey, do I continue on the road, or do I take the exit and just fade to black, right? And I romanticized that taking the exit. And I thought about it, and there were many times where I was just, like, I had the indicator on, and I was just there, and I could hear that. It’s like, okay, am I gonna take it? Am I gonna take it? I missed it. Let’s keep going. And it’s like, okay, well, good, good, amazing. Like, I wanted to feel that excitement of almost quitting, right? Like, oh, but I won’t do it. I can’t. I just can’t. I’m a warrior. I gotta go. I gotta keep going. And so…

Justin: You’re the definition of a victor, I mean that what you just shared with me right now, I’ve always known this, but for people that don’t know Jamil, that is the definition of a victor, because he could have easily been the victim and again, you probably had the option to keep Keely going, keep everything you make a bunch of money for the rest of your life, most likely, and you’d fade to black, and you’d just be off. And you know, everyone would have lost track of Jamil, and life would have been that for you. And you decided, no, I’m gonna go continue to win, and I’m gonna be a victor, not a victim of all this. And people have those decisions on such a micro level relative to what you just went through. What I think most aspiring entrepreneurs get hit in the face with, is when they get the smallest of challenges, they quit, they give up, they all this is informed me, I can’t do it the market, the interest rates, the this, the that, and I’ll tell you, it is Jamil story, my story. For those that know it, it named the name anyone’s story has a story, and they make a very clear decision in the mirror, saying, I am not going down and staying down. I might go down if I can stay down, right? And that is the difference between everybody. So again, dude, impressive that you are doing what you’re already doing. Let’s talk about taking a business into an area that is literally never been done before. There is another company that has franchised an investing model but has not been strictly wholesaling (Correct). And I don’t know whether they’ve done well or not. I just, I’m aware of them. I think at one point they had a decent amount, but you basically took something that I don’t believe in. I told you that I was like, I don’t know if this is gonna work, because it’s not, you know, there’s no…

Jamil: There wasn’t  like, a yeah, there was no model to follow, right?

Justin: (Yeah). And so, I was blunt with you, and I was like, Dude, I wish you all the luck in the world. I’m hopeful for you. I just go get them. But what does it look like to take a essentially a vertical or what’s the word? I’m blanking on the word, but taking a business has never been somewhere, and going and doing that like, what does that look like?

Jamil: Well, it’s cool that it hadn’t been done, because then we got to trailblaze it, right? We got to, we got to create the path for it. And, you know, it’s difficult, like franchising a company is not child’s play. It requires…

Justin: That’s what I told you, (Yeah) get what you’re trying to do right now.

Jamil: And I didn’t, I had no idea what we were doing, right? So it’s like, I’m like, Yeah, you’ll see, you know? But then, like, you get in it, great, yeah, you get into it. You’re like, Ooh, this is what Justin was talking about. Okay, okay, all right, well, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to it. So there’s this whole thing called the FDD, right? That’s the Franchise Disclosure Document, and it’s this, like, incredibly difficult document to create, because it’s essentially everything that you do in your business, the goods, the bads, the hards, the awesome, all of it’s all in there so that the people who are getting involved have full disclosure. That’s why it’s the Franchise Disclosure Document. It’s the FDD, it’s the it’s the meat and potatoes, the nuts and bolts, the economics, the profit margins, the areas of inefficiency, the areas of efficiencies, all the things are in there so that people can make an informed decision. And so you know that needs to be created. And then in addition to that, you have to get approved and register to this document in each state. And each state has different thresholds, different requirements and things that you have to boxes that you have to check in in order to be legally allowed to sell a franchise in that state. And you know, gratefully, we’re approved in all states. And so, you know, you can have a Keighley in California, New York, and, I mean, those are two of the most difficult states to to operate in, or to get approved in. We’re, you know, named an entrepreneurs, you know, top franchises in on their list. And that’s been, that’s been beautiful, but the process of it is so tedious, because they go in and they want to look at your financials, right, and they audit that, right? And so, like, you know, if anyone’s ever been through an audit, it’s painful, right? Because it’s like, they’re like, Okay, yeah, because you it’s not like you’re lying, like it’s like, “hey, we did, you know, $1.2 million in this, you know, this one month”. Okay, cool, great. Here’s here’s the bank statement, here’s the wires. That’s not enough. What do you mean? It’s not enough? No, no, we need to see all of it. We like all of it, because you could have just wired yourself, like, really, I could have just wired myself that. Okay, so it’s like, you go through all of it, you do every single, (Every single transaction debit, credit deal by government), Yeah, like all of it. (Yeah). And they need to see it, and they want to look at the expenses, and it’s like, why? And everything is completely, everything’s completely itemized. And, you know, the bean it’s like a bean counters wet dream, right? Because it’s just like, they’re like, oh, details, right? So, oh my god, okay, and for entrepreneurs, because typically, as visionaries, details are not our strong suit, right? We’re like, big vision details. We’ll leave that for the integrators, right? Like, let’s get the nerds in here. Everybody call the nerds. We need details, right? So, for you, you know, that’s when you bring those folks in. And I’m so grateful for my business partners, Josiah and Hunter, because they’re the king of nerds, right? These two dudes are the smartest guys in the room all always and I love them, right? They changed. They, I mean, they changed my life because they took this gritty guy, this dude with this you know, kind of weird personality, and that’s me that had this ability to have this vision and this, you know, great expansive idea to do this across the country, but then they helped me make that real, and I am not here today without Hunter. I’m not here without Josiah. I’m not here without Pace, and I’m not here without you. You know, like all of these relationships man? Every single one of them was a stepping stone, was an opportunity, and as every one of those opportunities became more rich, more full, and those relationships developed, you get to this, like, incredible result. And so that was tough, right? Franchising is hard and then, but then you’ve got to do it every year. So, they audit the financials every year.

Justin: Every year they do that?

Jamil: Justin It’s just like, you know? And that’s that’s also really just a pain in the butt, right?

Justin: It’s so crushing. For people like you and me, that is crushing. That’s just like, all right, you guys go do this. Like, I can’t. (Right). Like Josiah and Hunter, you say, go get it. I don’t know. That’s where you guys win. (Yes). Well, there’s a couple things I’m gonna point out here that you say, I’ve been on a massive mission to help people understand that my success, your success, Grant Cardone, name the name, I don’t care. It is more related to the people along the journey. It is about how much money Jamil spent in marketing? (big time) How much, you know, money he put into this investment? Or whatever those things are. And you just sat there and gave praise to, you know, obviously your business partners, Josiah, I know very well Hunter.

Jamil: Sorry I didn’t. I shouldn’t have left her out. I mean, my sister is my like, OG rock, right? Like, I know she’s her and I are so, like, the same that it’s like, I just automatically assume that, you know, she’s just by my side through the whole thing, right? So of course, my sister and then Josiah and Hunter just without them, dude, I’m nothing.

Justin: But if people and literally so I’ve been asked to speak, and I’m saying it’s a lot lately, because I’m going to do a new speech I’ve never given, and I’m naming it good to great. And I’m saying the difference between good and great is people. It is how you treat people first of all, but then how you create opportunities to be around the people, right? You mentioned Pace, a partner of yours, a friend of both of ours. He’s like your brother, right? Like he was in our market for the same amount of time that you and I were doing deals together. But (Yeah) you know, I only met him about five years ago, six years ago, right? You may have met him a little bit earlier in that but like he comes into your life, and you guys then do this incredible thing, change the shape of real estate investing, change the shape of coaching and mentoring and advising. Your company is the leader in our space, and it’s because you and Pace did this together. You talk about Josiah, Hunter. You guys have changed the shape of marketing, salesmanship and creating a company, a marketing, branding company, a publishing company. You did it together. You referenced me. I thank you. Maybe it was because you were like, you Justin, you said, I can’t do this. I’m gonna go do this.

Jammil: No, that’s just out of love bro, like, because you’re legitimately like, one of my first collaborators in town where we would JV deals together, you know? And it’s just like, and even doing that was taboo for wholesale, because, like, back in the day, wholesale was not collaborative. It was not people were not being friendly to each other in the sandbox. Everybody was just pissing each other’s face right? And that’s where wholesale started. That was the energy that the business came from, and it was disgusting. It was gross and that’s why wholesale had such a bad rap for so long. Because the people who were at the top, the leaders of the industry at that time, there were jerks, and they taught people how to be jerks. And because of that, people did jerky stuff out there, and then you get a bad reputation. And that was something that you and I had to clean up, right? But we cleaned it up by honesty, ethics, transparency, all of the things that was at some point, some for, like, one of the first wholesalers, was like, I’m just gonna go out there and lie my butt off and hopefully make some money. And then when I become successful, I’m going to teach everybody else how to lie, and then that will be the business. And so, like, dude, okay, so that’s where it started. And then you’ve got, you know, you say, say to people, like, Hey, so what do you do in real estate, wholesale? They’re like, like, Oh, really, that’s why you feel about it, really. It’s like, yeah, you guys are terrible. Like, what do you mean? Well, first, you don’t, you never tell the truth. Everybody’s lying. You don’t have any money. I’m like, hold on a second. I’ve got lots of money, and I always tell the truth. So, what are we saying here? And because that’s not, that’s not the that’s not what I’m talking about. They’re like, well, we’re talking about the people who do this. They lie about what they’re doing. They’re they, you know, if they can’t, uh. Sell the contract, they cancel the deal. They they’re not checking their numbers, so they’re putting opportunities under contract that don’t make sense, bro. There’s wholesale mentors out there whose entire platform and teaching strategy is this, go lock up a deal, and then on the last day of a close of escrow, renegotiate, and like, when the seller has already left the home. (Right). They’re in a U haul. They’re like, they’re gone, yeah, on that day, call them up and say, I’m not going to close unless you you give me $70,000 off the sale price.

Justin: You and I both know this, that person, whether it’s the coach or the person just doing it in general, who cares? Their burn is going to be fast. They might be hot, and they might go make a boatload of money, (Yeah) in the right time, in the right economy and whatever. And they might think, I don’t give a crap, but I promise that will fizzle out fast, right? And you know that to be true. The only reason that you, I think you’ve done this now 20 years. I’ve done this 16 years like we’ve been around and we’ve had stamina, because we do the right thing. (Right). I’m not going to talk about whether we do the most deals. Make them like, who cares. We do the right things when the time’s happening. And that’s why we’re able to navigate economies. Navigate interest rates going up, interest rates going down, hedge funds coming into Phoenix, hedge funds leaving Phoenix, we can navigate it because we always continue to do the right thing. (Yeah). And again, it goes back to the people. And we then we treat people with intention to make sure things are fair. I remember the days where almost every day I would get the same text from you, Justin, you got any deals? Justin, you got any deals. Just I mean literally every day, right? And you always made sure that there. And you and I would be like, Hey, dude, I got the steal. There’s only three grand in it. You’re like, bro, kick me 500 bucks if I get it sold for you. I don’t care. Let’s go do another one. I mean, you literally say that, like you didn’t need 50/50 be like, give me 500 bucks if I can keep it moving or hungry. (That’s it). That’s it. And I’m like, Well, great. Bring me a buyer, right? I say that because doing the right thing over and over again with people leads to the top of the mountain, because people will literally lift you. You don’t even have to ask (Yeah), and they will give you their shoulder to stand on, because you treated them right, you gave them the right fair shake, right? Not just trying to take, take, take. You essentially would give them opportunity, give them opportunity, give them opportunity, and for that, they could win. And it’s just about doing the right thing at the right time all the time.

Jamil: That’s it, and there’s, here’s the other piece to it, right? And then somebody’s listening to this right now and be like, Well, I’m already off the table because I’ve done crappy things. Well, you know? So to that person that’s listening to this right now, right? No, you’re not. No, you’re not. Because, like, at the end of the day, just because you, you’ve, you’ve made mistakes also it you to every moment is pregnant with the possibility of change and you have that in you that don’t, don’t ever forget that the Spirit of God is in you, even if you’ve done some terrible things, you can redeem yourself. You can be better. You can be at the top of the mountain, and have the most glorious redemption story ever. And that needs to be told, too. People need to hear the story of the criminal who becomes the, you know, the king, because that’s that also is important, and that path exists, and those situations are real and we as human beings, we bump our heads against the wall, we make errors, and it’s the our job to evolve and grow from it, instead of looking at ourselves and saying, Well, I’m disqualified because of my past. You’re not your past, and you can always make a decision to do something differently. And you know, I’m learning that right, even as I go in the world of fatherhood and in the world of husbandry and you know, looking at the how things transpired, and you know, where I could have done better, where I could have paid more attention. You know, it’s funny. I have a daughter who’s growing up in Canada, and she said something to me that was really painful last year, that has affected my life, right? Because, you know, her mother, incredible woman, the mother of my kid is just like, She’s phenomenal. She’s a fantastic girl woman, and you know, we’ve had an incredible co parenting relationship, and she’s graciously allowed me to have charisma often throughout the year, right? So I get her, you know, in the holidays, in winter, like, right after Christmas, she would come with me for a week, and we’d spend New Year’s together. She’d come for me, come to me during her spring break, during her birthday. I’d get her for a month and a half during the summer, and then, you know, other times throughout the year, like, I’d always have opportunities to see her and so it’d be like, four or five times a year that we would hang out. And because I don’t live with her full time, a lot of guys, or maybe dads who are listening to this will be able to relate. But I was like, I had to be fun dad, right? I had to be like, oh, we’re gonna go here. We’re gonna go here, we’re gonna go do this. I’m gonna buy you that. I’m gonna, you know, it’s always just like, adventure, fun gifts, so much goodness, right? (Yeah). And so, you know, my, the TV show was going, and all the things were were going, and my, my daughter is watching me on social media, and I was kind of gloating a little bit with her right now. I’m like, so, you know, what do you think of your dad? Do you think your dad’s a cool, cool guy? She’s like, Yeah. And I’m like, Oh, okay. Like, what’s what? Why? Why you say, like that, right? And she’s like, well, you know, Dad, I noticed that you travel around, you know, the country, you’re in a new city every other day, and, like, and, you know, like, I always wonder if my dad can visit every city in the United States, but he doesn’t find himself here once a month. (Justin: That gave me chills.) Yeah, dude, it broke my heart. Yeah. It broke my heart, yeah. And I just couldn’t, I mean, I couldn’t. I’m like, tearing up right now just thinking about it, you know, because it hurt. And so I made a decision that day that I was going to rent a, you know, I rent a place where she lives down the road from her mom’s house, and I go every month for a week, and I just take her to school, pick her up from school, do homework and do boring dad stuff, like just real dad stuff, right? And it’s and it’s so rewarding, man. It’s like, I’m, I’m I’m just so blessed that she had the the the heart to be honest with me, I’m so I’m so happy that she had the courage to say that, because if she hadn’t, then just imagine if she just let it go and you know, didn’t want to make me feel bad, and then would have resented me. And then would have, you know, as she got older, and then, you know, yeah, right. And then, you know, the relationship is surface level, and she’s just in her head thinking, you know, Dad just tried to buy my love, or dad just tried to, you know, do this or that, and like, he wasn’t really there. And that possibility was I was so close, because it was the path I was on, right? It was how I was doing it. And, you know, now it’s different, right? So it’s just, it’s so cool. And now I’ve got, like, this really, like cool thing with her. And like, we, we’re we FaceTime all the time, and we just like, Guess my like, best friend, you know? Like, I love that.

Justin: Love that dude. Well, because it’s never over. Meaning, to your point, you said something. I’ve never heard this before. I don’t know if you just made it up on the spot, but every moment is pregnant with the possibility of changing. And I don’t know where you got that, but that is, (Yeah), it’s pure gold. (It’s real). I mean, in but you have that moment right now with your daughter, and in the fact that the emotion was so raw with you right now, like I felt it like I could have, for sure, started, like I have a little daughter of three years old right now that just woke up from her. I can hear her right and so, dude, I empathize with you and feel your your love for your daughter, and I just appreciate the fact that you recognized it right? And maybe all of this personal thing that landed on you this last year was for one purpose, that for you to wake up pretty yet your crap together with her. (Yeah). Maybe, I don’t know if that’s right, but you could, you could potentially make an argument. There’s that reason so you can get more connected to her, because she’s your child that you know is going to have the opportunity to change the world in the same way you have dude.

Jamil: I you know, even if she doesn’t, we’re going to be able to, you know, hang out and do it together, right? Whatever it is, like, I mean, I I just, I’m so happy that that little girl loves me the way she does, so that she would be honest with me. You know, (I love it) I wasn’t honest with my parents growing up. I was, I lived a double life, essentially, right? Like I was one kid at home and then I was another kid out in the world. And I never wanted to rock the boat. I was always just trying to make my dad and mom proud. And, you know, Indian parents, it’s like, they’re tough to please anyways. And so, like, it’s just this whole, you know, this, this dance you’re in all the time of, like, you know, of achievement and acceptance, and you’re just, like, begging for it. And that was what I that was the model I had. That was the model I was given, you know, and so I could have done that. I could have decided to have just done what my dad did to me, and made my child kind of earn my love, which was like, hard, you know, but now I’m, like, dealing with it in therapy, right? I don’t want, I don’t want to deal with, I don’t want her to have to deal with that therapy, you know. So it’s just. Like, it’s such a beautiful thing, man, like shining, shining a light on your blind spots.

Justin: Well, you bring

up therapy. And I would tell you, first of all, every human being, in my opinion, should start going through therapy in their early adulthood, 20s, you know, maybe after college, whatever that like, because there’s just so much. I think all people have a quarter life crisis along with a midlife crisis. Everyone’s aware of the midlife crisis. I actually think people have quarter life crisis. I know I went through some, or through one pretty heavily. I know a lot of my members that are younger, I watched them kind of go through this thing. I’m sure you could say the same about your members. You yourself probably have, but I think therapy is the only way to rectify all the other things, whether it’s how you were raised, to what society puts on us these days, to, you know, the fakeness of social media versus reality. So dude, I’m always in I think every marriage, every couple who’s married should be going to therapy, for sure. I think every entrepreneur should be going to therapy. And it could be different. You might need three different therapists. And I’m not even joking, yeah, like, legitimately, like, different subject matters, different things, different issues. Think about all the things that you went through to get to where you’re at in business. How many times would you wish you could be laying on a couch talking to a therapist about all the different things and how to overcome them? Same thing, personally, same thing with your marriage. So good for you on that too. But I think again, to kind of wrap this whole thing in a bow, like understand, doesn’t matter who you think about they could be on the top of the top of the mountain in business, in your eyes, they got crap going on behind their doors that you don’t know. (Yep). And so what I would tell you, just because I have plenty of my own crap going on, like it’s not always puppy dogs and rainbows, just because you make a whole lot of money. Money can absolutely fix problems faster and pay for medical bills and all these, like, Absolutely, I would rather be rich than poor, 100% no brainer. But just recognize people when you see crap on social media, it doesn’t matter.

Jamil: No and to that point Justin, it’s like, so, like, money just amplifies what you are, right? So if you’re kind of a jackass, well, money is just going to bring out more of a jackass, you know, because it’s like, it gives you more time, it gives you more access, it gives you, you know, so many just variables that amplify the fire that you are, right? And so, (Yeah) and so, like, it’s not going to solve anything. And I almost want everybody to have all their dreams come true so they can realize it ain’t it, it ain’t it.

Justin: It ain’t it and so you dude, you’re dead on it ain’t it.

Jamil: You know? And then the work begins.

Justin: That’s right, it’s almost like you want everyone go make all the money, as much as you can, all the dream I want you to become a hundred million. Go do it. (Yeah). Because then watch, then watch what happens. Same thing that happens with a lot of winners. Same thing happens to athletes. It’s gone. And it’s because not about the actual money, it’s about what’s happening internally, what’s happening in between your ears. It’s all of that, bro. This has been a hell of an episode. I could not be happier about how this went, brother. I appreciate you. I love you to death. I’m always here for you. I want you to know that (Thank you, likewise) whatever you need, and thank you for joining us on entrepreneur DNA.

Jamil: Thanks for having me.

Justin: Make sure you follow Jamil Damji on all the platforms. TV star, bestselling author, a incredible friend, incredible business owner. Jamil Damji. Thank you again, brother.

Jamil: Thank you.

Justin: Peace.