Welcome to the Growth Guide, a weekly newsletter where I share actionable ideas to help you Live Better, Achieve More and Be Financially Free.

It’s Time to Introduce Myself

My podcast, newsletter and social media presence exist to help 1 billion people:

Live Better
Achieve More
Be Financially Free

But, you’re probably wondering,

Have you done any of those things yourself,

Or, are you sitting in a bean bag chair in your mom’s basement eating Cheetos in your underwear as you write this?

While I do like the occasional Cheeto, it’s been a while since I lived with my mom and I have done these things. Let me share some of the wins and losses with you.

Over the last 15 years, I’ve been fortunate to complete big goals:

CFO
Ironman
Ultramarathon
Wrote a 1st novel
Launched a Podcast
Own $10m of real estate
Multi-millionaire net worth
Husband and father to two sons

CFO

I’ve worked in Finance for 24+ years, the last 14 in real estate and 10 of those with my current employer.

I’ve been blessed to find a shop where I could grow into a role as a CFO, where I'm responsible for a team of 30+ of the best professionals I've worked with in the areas of:

IT
Tax
FP&A
Accounting
Capital raising

We’re one of the largest multi-family residential home developers in Vancouver, BC and build beautiful homes.

We build real homes for real people and I was a proud homeowner for 5+ years before I started working here:

Ironman

Prior to training for the Ironman, I was the type of person who did big things, but it was all in my mind - We'll talk about this a lot in the years to come.

I was daydreaming about Big Things while I Lived Small.

When the decision was made to do the Ironman, I was fat, out of shape and never Got Sh!t Done - heck, my wife didn’t even believe I’d do it.

Two years later, I crossed the finish line at Ironman Canada in 12:19:41, which is when I realized I could do everything if I did the following:

Know what you want
Understand what it takes
Do the work. Day in. Day out

Whether it’s Stephen Covey, Ray Dalio or Scott Young, they all argue for a variant of these three things to get things done and we'll focus on them repeatedly over the years.

Ultramarathon

This was the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done.

Let’s take a step back.

I’d regained some weight after the Ironman with 5+ years focused on growing my career.

While out for a work lunch, we were talking about running and someone pointed at my belly and said, You’re not a runner.

Well…That Hurt…

I’ve said it before, if you want to be something, then DO IT:

Runners, RUN
Writers, WRITE
Creators, CREATE

Within a few weeks of that lunch, I started a run streak.

I ran a minimum of 2 km, slightly over one mile, every day for 1 and 1/2 years and averaged ~ 5 miles.

In the end, I did the ultramarathon.

It was 50 miles (80 km) and it was hell incarnated.

The first marathon went surprisingly well - 4 hours and then the wheels fell off…

I couldn’t run.

My mind shut my legs off.

I walked for 10 miles (16 km) alone and exhausted.

Finally, I could jog again.

Then I saw my family and I could run.

I ran a km and walked a km until I finished the 2018 Mt. Si Trail Run in 9:22:31.

Wrote a 1st novel

Not much to say here.

You’re likely not surprised I like to write.

You’re possibly not surprised I like to create.

If I had to guess, I’ve read 500+ Fantasy Novels in my life.

At some point, I decided to write a Fantasy Series and roped in my sister.

She is amazing.

She’s meant to write.

Her words are poetry on the page.

I have ideas, create the worlds and the arc.

She takes my raw clay and forms it into a work of art.

Book 1 is finished and I need to get on finding an agent or self-publishing with her.

Launched a Podcast

We’ve hosted the Growth Guide Podcast for 2-1/2 years.

It’s my #1 passion in life and we’re getting better every day.

95% of the episodes are conversations with authors on a wide range of topics, meaning I read a book weekly and share it with you.

Own $10m of real estate

I’ve been fortunate with real estate.

I don’t listen to people on market timing.

I worked for someone in the past who had a material impact on me when he talked about two things - He said to buy:

In the path of progress
When there is blood in the streets

We’ve bought 5 townhomes, 1 apartment, a vacation home and our single-family home. We’ve also got one apartment under contract that will close in 2026.

Most of these homes were purchased in the path of progress when real estate was out of favor - we applied what we learned.

The four projects I showed earlier in this post are where 6 of those homes are situated.

I stand by what we build, 100%.

Multi-millionaire net worth

It’s the real estate.

Sure, we’ve got some investments.

But, most of our wealth is our real estate, which also has A LOT of debt in place.

I expect that’s going to shift slightly in the next year or two, but more on that in the future.

Husband and father to two sons

This is what it’s all about.

It hasn’t always been an easy ride.

Any relationship has its ups and downs.

But, we’ve had mostly 28 beautiful years together.

My two boys are now 15 and 12 and becoming amazing young men who we're super proud of.

Why the Share

I write information to help people.

When you read someone's social media posts or newsletters, or you watch their YouTube videos, you want to know you're learning from real people who've lived what they're saying.

They’ve done what they’re telling you to do.

The path they’re preaching is a path they’ve walked.

They aren’t sitting on a bean bag chair eating Cheetos in their underwear in mom’s basement giving you advice on how to live your life…

In case you’re wondering about the bean bag chair, Cheetos, underwear and mom’s basement…I’ve told my boys since they were 8 that if that’s where they are when they’re grown up…we’ve failed…

I don't want it to come across as bragging, because that isn't the point. The point is to let you know who I am and what I've done so you understand I'm more often than not writing to you from a place of lived and learned experience.

It hasn’t all been roses, I’ve:

Been fired
Lost my health
Almost lost my marriage
Been diagnosed with ADHD
Been diagnosed with depression
Had my son stop saying I Love You

I’m like most of you.

I come from humble beginnings, which is a story for another day.

We’ve had an amazing ride, worked our asses off, learned a lot, achieved some cool sh!t and been fortunate enough to build some wealth along the way.

Now, my friends, I want to share what I've learned with you 🙏

Live Better

This week on the Growth Guide Podcast, we talked to Brad Stulberg, author of Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing - Including You.

Brad is a fan and reader of The Growth Guide. Because he wants to give back, he’s opened up exclusive bonuses to our community. If you order Master of Change today, fill out this form to get your bonuses.

Most people are afraid of change.

But, you don't have to be afraid anymore

Change is constant and, conceptually, it's neutral.

The problem is, though, most of us process it negatively.

Brad introduces the concept of Rugged Flexibility as a way to deal with change and Excel With It.

In Master of Change, Brad provides a framework to help you Excel When Everything is Changing - Including You:

Think This 𝐎𝐑 That, not This 𝐀𝐍𝐃 That
Expect life to be tough and choose to stay positive anyway
Respond to change with the Four P’s: Pause, Process, Plan, Proceed
Identify with what you do and your core values, not your possessions
Create routines and rituals for stability, predictability, and automate decisions