We explore the gap between borrowed voices and our own: the mentors, imagined crowds, and fear that can ghost‑write our choices. Instead of optimizing for approval, we come back to quiet, specific next steps, pick an audience of one, and keep our criteria stable so anxiety and praise don’t move the goalposts. Honoring our voice restores belonging and makes our work simpler and more dependable.

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We explore why chasing admiration often pulls us away from the quiet work that actually helps people. Impact is about someone else being better off; admiration is about being seen. We shift the target to usefulness and reliability—clarity in messy moments, steady updates, and smaller promises we can keep. Visibility isn’t value, proof isn’t promise, and style isn’t stewardship. Let admiration be the echo, not the aim, and measure progress by trust earned rather than attention captured.

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Summary

Mike Deaton left a successful big-tech operations career after a same‑day layoff with his wife, paused to design the life they actually wanted, and built a thriving land‑flipping business. We unpack the pivotal mindset shift from “chasing promotions” to “designing on purpose,” why land is an approachable, low‑complexity model, and how to measure return on effort—not just return on money. Mike shares how community and mentorship compressed his learning curve, what he learned doing multifamily syndications (and why he’s now favoring smaller, longer‑hold rentals), and a “live life bullish” season that changed everything. We close with what he’s building now and how to connect.

Topics Covered

• From corporate ladder to entrepreneurship: values, design, and timing
• Land flipping 101: simple model, short cycles, low barrier—and why ROI on time matters
• The layoff pivot: fear‑setting, reserves, and choosing an intentional path
• Learning faster together: communities, mentors, and tailored strategies
• Syndications: tax benefits, active vs. passive trade‑offs, and shifting to small rentals
• “Live life bullish” moment: travel, relocation, and launching a lifestyle business
• What Mike’s building now: coaching paths (DIY to 1:1), 2026 investing focus, and life in the mountains

Key Takeaway
Design the life first, then build the business to support it. Optimize for return on effort, and let community compress the journey.

• Guest website: https://flippingdirt.us (resources: https://flippingdirt.us/freedom)
• Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedeaton

Publishing cadence
New episodes Monday–Friday at 6:00 AM ET. Long‑form interviews air on Tuesdays.

Later is a moving target. In this short reflection, Eric reframes “living after it’s big” into “living now while we build.” He shares simple practices—protecting small moments of presence, honoring quiet promises to yourself, and letting enough be enough for today—that keep work clean and ambition sustainable without burning out. Results arrive on their own timeline; who we’re becoming shows up now.

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Results get all the attention because they’re easy to point at—but the real outcome shows up earlier and quieter: the person we’re becoming while no one’s keeping score. In this short reflection, we move from outcome-obsession to identity—small, reliable decisions that compound. Keep criteria stable. Do the small thing when you said you would. Practice honesty at the edges (when you’re stretched or tempted to take the easy path). Results arrive on their own timeline, but the person shows up now. Key idea: small is honest, small is repeatable, and small is how identity compounds. If this resonated with you, I’d love to stay connected.

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Control is often what we want, but in commercial real estate—and with any investments—we don’t control rates, headlines, absorption, or the market’s mood on exit day. When control is the goal, we delay while we try to build a world that behaves. We keep adding conditions to feel safe—one more call, one more comp, one more model—often trying to remove uncertainty that won’t be removed. The cost is missed windows and energy spent calming variables that don’t take orders from us. The better aim is clarity and reliability. Clarity names the risks we’re actually taking. Reliability is how we behave in the face of them. That shift changes how we underwrite, communicate, and decide. We move from “I’ll act when it’s easy” to “I’ll act when I’ve answered the material questions, sized the risk, and can explain the bet I’m making.” We can’t control outcomes, but we can control posture and process: stable criteria, conservative assumptions to protect the downside, margin where pain shows up (debt that doesn’t force a sale, real reserves, plans not powered by hope), and time‑boxed decisions that keep “waiting” from becoming a habit. We can also control the size and sequence of calculated risks, how we communicate what’s known/unknown, and how quickly we surface problems. Trust grows when news—good or bad—arrives on time. We can’t control every investment. No one can. But we can control what matters most.

**Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and not investment, legal, or tax advice. Private real estate investments involve risk, including loss of principal and illiquidity. Offers, if any, are made only via official offering documents and to qualified investors. Consult your own advisors.**

Most of the weight we’re carrying isn’t a person. It’s the small promises we keep postponing. Each one looks harmless by itself; together they become background stress that follows us into what matters. Freedom often looks ordinary: a decision that becomes a dated yes or a clean no. Clarity protects relationships because people can plan around it; the soft maybe is what strains trust. We don’t need a grand system to feel the difference—we need one honest window with the calendar so fewer loose ends are asking for us. Fewer promises, kept fully. More room for the people and work already in our care. Not faster—steadier.

Summary
We sit down with brand strategist Charlie Sells to unpack why clarity beats clever every time—how curiosity, simple priorities, and consistency align your message so your work moves faster and further.

Description
In this conversation, Charlie Sells (ClarityOverEverything.com) shares how small businesses get weighed down by “internal taxes” like rushed decisions, duplicated effort, and mixed messages—and why most teams mistake clarity for certainty. We explore a practical path to clean, confident messaging: get curious about what’s working, set context, then commit to consistency, concise communication, and your true competitive edge. Charlie also shares his “live life bullish” leap into solopreneurship, building a flexible practice that lets him lock arms with founders as a trusted, objective partner.

Highlights

• Clarity ≠ certainty: it’s aligned priorities, simple language, and a shared understanding of what’s next.
• The hidden “internal taxes” draining brands: poor (rushed) decisions, duplicated work, low morale, and slow growth.
• Be the clearest, not the cleverest—clarity wins across every touchpoint.
• Start local, speak directly to the people you actually serve; you’re not competing with national brands.
• Charlie’s working lens for messaging: curiosity about what’s working, context for what else is happening, then three filters—consistency everywhere, concise by default, and leaning into your real competitive advantage.
• Audit first: website, socials, sales conversations, customer service, reviews, and competitors—then set a 3–12 week reset and a 3–12 month roadmap.
• “Do it scared”: Charlie’s bullish moment going solo to gain flexibility and partner closely with founders.
• Resource: a quick clarity assessment PDF at ClarityOverEverything.com; book in progress to make clarity practical and repeatable.

Guest

• Charlie Sells — Brand strategist, positioning and clarity
• Website: https://clarityovereverything.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliesells