Clear Choices Podcast

Episode 16

In 2009, Chad Goldwasser had it all. A wife, three kids, a very successful real estate business and career, and then, life happened. His controller was caught stealing money from his company, many of his top agents left, and the most difficult of all, his wife left him. Chad went from being on top of the world to spiraling into a deep, dark depression. In today’s episode, you will hear how Chad numbed his pain with drugs and alcohol, what flipped the switch and helped him dig out of the depression, and what he does every day to keep a positive mindset and outlook.

Chad Goldwasser is the founder and CEO of Pure Gold Realty, a residential real estate firm in Austin, Texas. His real estate team helped more than 10,000 families buy and sell real estate, and his sales volume exceeds $1 billion. Chad is a popular public speaker who motivates and enriches lives through his talks about attitude, leadership, and personal growth. He and his wife, Tina, reside in Austin, Texas, with their five children. When Chad is not working, he can be found on the local music scene or getting himself in top physical shape. He is also an active speaker, author, and blogger.

“You have so much opportunity in your life and you are wasting it. And you’re hurting your kids and you’re ruining your life. And you’re never going to live to what God created you for. You’re never going to reach your potential if you continue to go down this path. If you continue to use drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of what you’ve gone through. You need to snap out of it and that’s what I did.”

“I had to go through the challenges to become stronger as a human being to withstand the challenges that I still go through.”

“I have a mission. My mission is to make a positive impact on the lives of millions of people in this world through writing, teaching, speaking, creating, and training people.”

In this episode, you will hear:

- How Chad dealt with his pain in a destructive way

- What it took for him to flip the switch and make positive changes

- What he does every day to keep a positive mindset and outlook

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

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If you have a guest idea or want to connect with me, please visit my website www.clearchoices.live or find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Clear-Choices-104719800920939/. I am also available for speaking engagements.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Check out Chad’s blog and other resources on his website http://www.chadgoldwasser.com/

He is also available for speaking engagements: http://www.chadgoldwasser.com/hirechad

https://www.puregoldrealty.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ChadGoldwasser/

Chad’s books:

Restart: 7 Proven Keys to Unlock Your Potential You can purchase here

Some Assembly Required, A Networking Guide for Real Estate You can purchase here

Episode 15

Life changed in an instant when the plane that Karen Trolan was piloting, hit a downdraft and crashed. Thankfully, all onboard survived including her husband and daughter. Though Karen broke her back and is now a paraplegic, one thing that has not been broken is Karen’s amazing and adventurous spirit. You will not want to miss hearing how Karen’s zest for life continues despite difficult circumstances.

Karen is a wife, mother of three, an inspirational author and speaker, a successful real estate agent and leader, a martial artist, a ski patroller, a first aid instructor, and the list goes on and on. She truly makes the choice, and has the attitude, of the title of her book, “I Can Still Do It.” She is encouraging others who are in her situation, or any difficult situation, to do the same.

“Being in a wheelchair, I had no idea I could do any of the things I did before. Because really all the sports I did before, needs legs. The beauty is everything I did before, I can do today. Maybe adaptive, maybe different, but I still can do it.”

“I think part of my personality is a giver, and I think me being involved, helping people and giving back, whether it’s real estate, search and rescue, that change of focus from myself to somebody else, is what really helped pull me through some of these trying times.”

“I really think I’m very helped because it is my personality. I’m very positive driven. You know, we make choices and that’s the other part of it. Every day, every minute, we’re making choices. The glass is either half full or half empty- and I always want to choose the positives.”

“To me, I can’t doesn’t exist. You know, find the try. I won’t is a negative word. Again, always always look for the positives and that’s a conscious choice.”

In this episode, you will hear:

- How Karen makes choices every day to live her life to the fullest

- The blessings that have come from the crash

- Her words of advice for anyone who is having a tough day

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Karen’s website and how you can order a copy of her book: https://icanstilldoit.com/

Episode 14

If you have been looking for ways to find more joy in your life and make better choices, this episode is for you! Author and entrepreneur, Tyler Lewke, joins us today to talk about his life and how he has made choices to increase his joy- and how you can increase yours too! Tyler love’s one thing the most- moving people. Their thinking, their hearts, their minds, their points of view and perspectives.

Tyler is a son, dad, partner, business guy, and he also runs a Buddhist temple. Clearly, he is a dynamic person! He is obsessed with helping others integrate their inner life and outer life so they can find their joyful life. He is the author of “Empty Empty Happy Happy” and his latest book “Happy With, Happy Without” will be released soon.

"I believe there is only one purpose of a goal, and the purpose of a goal is to define your behavior in the present moment. And so I do spend time getting clear about how I want to feel.”

“So that’s been really beneficial to me is figuring out how I want to feel and then what are the steps I need to put in place in order to achieve that.”

“I’m really concerned about our goal-oriented culture, caring about the wrong definition of a goal. And so it makes it like we are in pursuit of things and objects verses behaviors. And I think that the more we can pursue noble behavior, the faster we will have that joyful life that we’re all, I think, universally seeking.”

In this episode, you will hear:
- Why Tyler prefers pursuing joy and not happiness (and the difference between the two)
- His background and the struggles that he overcame
- How to pursue joy and choose it on a daily basis

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

If you have a guest idea or want to connect with me, please visit my website www.clearchoices.live or find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Clear-Choices-104719800920939/.

I am also available for speaking engagements.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Tyler Lewke’s website https://www.tylerlewke.com/

Empty Empty Happy Happy by Tyler Lewke https://www.emptyemptyhappyhappy.com/

Tim Ferriss Podcast with Gary Keller https://tim.blog/2019/12/12/gary-keller/

The One Thing by Gary Keller https://www.the1thing.com/

Find out more

Episode 13

What choices do you have when you are diagnosed with cancer? Michael Mirisch will tell you that the only choice you have is to fight. He joins me today to talk about his own personal fight since being diagnosed with leukemia in 2006. We talk through how he handled his diagnosis, the lifestyle changes he made, and how cancer has actually made him a better person. Michael’s positive attitude and passion for life has helped him make choices to fight cancer each and every day.

Michael is a husband and father to two amazing teenage girls. He is a producer, promoter, fundraiser, and entrepreneur who is CEO of Hollywood Knights International which is a full service celebrity events production and promotional firm. He is a self-proclaimed workaholic who says “when you love what you do you obviously want to spend as much time doing it.”

"I think the biggest battle is the mental battle. And everybody that I talk to it seems like the mental battle is the biggest battle cause when you get up, there’s two decisions you have to make. You have one to either whine about what’s happening or get up and, you know, carpe diem, seize the day.”

“Here’s the thing with disease, at least in my eyes: I mean, life doesn’t stop. So, I think that the biggest thing to push you is that you accept the fact that you have to keep going regardless of the disease. The disease is not an excuse to let you stop.”

In this episode, you will hear:
- His fears and mental battles and how he overcomes them
- What has helped him to continue to fight cancer each and every day
- Why he made the choice to go back to college late in life

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Michael’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/michael.mirisch

Episode 12

How do you care for an aging family member? What if the family member does not think they need help or is suffering from a disease like dementia or Alzheimer’s? Statistics show that Americans are living longer and with diseases like Alzheimer’s on the rise, more of the American population will need care. On the show today is Bill Cohen, a caregiving support consultant, who provides us with some great information and perspective on the aging community and how best to care for them. He is on Clear Choices to discuss not only the choices that he made to become a consultant later in his life but also the choices that his clients have to make in regards to caring for their aging family members.

Bill is originally from New England but has lived in Oregon for thirty years with his wife and several pets. He has done a lot in his life from being a financial advisor to working for the DMV. His common thread has always been helping people. His life goal and milestones have been delivering value to others. What brought him to his most current role as a caregiver consultant is what he experienced when he took care of his mother whose life was ultimately taken by Alzheimer’s. From then on, he committed himself to providing the help and support he needed, but didn’t have, when caring for his aging mother. He became a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and now provides guidance, advice, and support for caregivers and their aging family members.

"It’s so much better to prepare, be proactive and plan in advance. One of the things I like to say is that if you are thinking that it is time for mom, dad, or whoever, to be getting additional care, it is time. That’s the time to start planning.”

In this episode, you will hear:

- How Bill helps people as a caregiver consultant

- A list of things to consider if you have an aging family member

- How Bill guides clients through difficult choices

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Cohen Caregiving Consultants LLC

https://cohencaregivingsupport.com/

bill@cohencaregivingsupport.com

Bill’s Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/235240217385401/

Episode 11

Have you ever wished you could do what you love for a living? Today’s guest has done just that. Marianne Frantz joins the show to tell her story of how she discovered and developed her passion and was able to create a successful career out of it. She provides us with great insight and tips on how we can make choices in our lives that will lead to happiness and success. She is certain to inspire you and give you pause to think about the choices you are making in your life.

Marianne grew up with a love for theater but was influenced to attain a teaching degree for more job security. She tried teaching but quickly realized that it was not the right fit. She made some pivots and ended up working for American Express producing wine events. She found her passion that intersected her love of theater and teaching when she was in Bordeaux, France, listening to the head of a Chateau teach about wine. She knew she wanted to make people feel the same way she felt that moment. She went back to school to get her diploma and many other qualifications to become a sommelier and a certified wine educator in a male dominated industry- only 12% are female. In 2001, she founded the American Wine School which provides classes, educational events, and tastings. Marianne made some hard choices to find what she loved and turn that into a successful business and career.

"All I knew was it was time to, as you say make a pivot, right, it was time for me to make a change and I realized life wasn’t going to just fall in my lap. I had to sort of go find it.”

“And sometimes there’s hard choices that have to be made and sometimes, it’s not black and white and in front of you. And you might stumble a couple of times, but, especially running your own business, without stumbling a couple of times, you’re probably not doing the best you can do if you don’t fail a couple of times- because boy, you learn quick.”

“I think understanding what makes you happy and understanding how to get there- and it’s gonna be kind of a struggle and there are going to be pivots and choices to be made- but it sure beats letting life happen to you.”

In this episode, you will hear:

- How Marianne made many changes and pivots to find her passion and her career

- How to make choices based on what makes you happy

- Her practical process for making significant decisions and choices

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

If you have a guest idea or want to connect with me, please visit my website www.clearchoices.live or find me on Facebook at here. I am also available for speaking engagements.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:
American Wine School http://americanwineschool.com/

Episode 10

The guest I have today has done something incredibly unique. It is not that he has lived an amazing life, which he has. It is not that he has had a successful career, which he has. What is so incredibly unique is that he made the choice that many of us fantasize about but never have the courage to act on it. Today’s guest, Brian Wilson, made the bold choice to leave the United States and move to a foreign country.

Brian grew up in Portland, Oregon, and was an elite athlete and student. He even played NCAA basketball at Pomona Pitzer College under Gregg Popovich who is now coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He had a very dynamic and successful career as an entrepreneur and corporate executive where he focused on technology innovation and new product development. Once he and his wife retired, they didn’t have an understanding of what they wanted to do next so they decided to try living overseas.

"Well, I think that is a really important word, purpose. The benefit of having some financial security and stability is that you have choices around how to spend your time and what your purpose can or should be. And I’m not fully convinced I have fully found and embraced mine yet.”

“There doesn’t seem to be a real through line to the other experiences I’ve had other than I didn’t want to regret anything. I wanted to be able to say, I tried. I did that because it was important to me.”

“Again, it’s this idea of you make the best choices that you can make given the information you have at any given time and then move on without regret.”

In this episode, you will hear:
- How Brian and his wife decided on which foreign country to reside in and their experience so far
- His philosophy for living and the importance of spending less than you make to enable you to have choices around your time and your purpose
- His process for making big decisions by using his intellect and his gut

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Episode 9

I am thrilled to welcome Pete Gail to the Clear Choices podcast! He is bringing something a little different and unique from others that I have interviewed because he is going to be telling us about how he guides others on making big decisions and choices in their lives as a youth sports consultant.

Youth sports is a big industry in America- a $17 billion industry. To put that in perspective, that is as large as Major League Baseball. Many American families are spending an average of $100-$500 per month on one child. With the increase of parents hoping to get their child athletes into college by way of scholarship, the pressure is on. There is fierce competition because only about 5.5% of high school athletes go on to play college sports. Pete joins us to provide insight into how he helps athletes and families navigate youth sports and the choices they face when trying to play at the college level.

Pete was born in Portland, Oregon, and currently lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with his family. He grew up in a sports family and was a successful soccer player playing at Duke University where he was captain of his team. He went on to play professionally and then later became a coach at Loyola Marymount University. His professional path of coaching and mentoring led him to starting his own business. He is the owner and operator of the PG Method, an athletic recruiting mentorship program which has literally helped hundreds of kids, in multiple sports, find their path to play college sports and obtain college scholarships.

"Mistakes are actually healthy. They help you learn, they help you grow. But I think a lot of parents have a hard time with that.”

"I do think that hunger and drive is essential. At the same time, I think you have to have a healthy love of the sport. That passion has to be there and if it is, you’re going to want to work hard.”

In this episode, you will hear:
- How Pete made choices when faced with his own college decisions
- How he helps student athletes and their families navigate the recruiting and academic college process
- The process of mentorship, guidance, and strategy he provides his student athletes to help them make the best college choices for themselves

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:
https://www.pgmethod.com/

Epsisode 8

I am so excited to introduce to the show, Matt Aitchison, a 31-year-old powerhouse! He is a millennial entrepreneur, seven figure real estate investor, speaker, avid adventurist, and most importantly a proud husband and father to two beautiful girls who make his life a lot richer. He is the creator of The Rich Life planner and is the host of the podcast Millionaire Mindcast.

He is a perfect guest to have on the show because he has made some amazing choices in his life- both good and bad. These choices, and what he learned from them, have enabled him to build success in his career and in his relationships. Matt shares some of his lessons learned, his productivity and intentionality hacks and tools, as well as the process he goes through to make choices and decisions.

“My definition of wealth, honestly, is to be able to look back every single day and say, “Hell yeah, I left it all out on the field.’ ”

"When all is said and done, I can look back in the rear view mirror and say, ‘Damn, that was a hell of a ride. I made some great money but most importantly, I used my money to leave a legacy for my family and to make a big difference in people’s lives.’ And the more money I have, the more I have an opportunity to do that which is ultimately what continues to drive me to chase and go and build more wealth.”

In this episode, you will hear:
- The poor choices Matt made when he was younger and how he turned his life around
- How he uses an intentional approach in every aspect of his life and how this makes him successful
- His hacks and tips on how to live a successful and rich life

Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Other resources and links mentioned in this episode:
The Rich Life Planner https://www.therichlifestore.com/
Millionaire Mindcast http://millionairemindcast.libsyn.com//
Affirmation App Think Up https://thinkup.me/

EP 16: Chad Goldwasser: On Top, Rock Bottom, & Coming Back

Episode 16

EP 15 Karen Trolan: Unstoppable Spirit/Plane Crash Survivor

Episode 15

Ep 14 Tyler Lewke: How to Make Better Choices to Find Joy

Episode 14

Ep 13 Michael Mirisch: Juggling life...BTW I have cancer

Episode 13

Ep 12 Bill Cohen: Journey to being a Caregiver Consultant

Episode 12

EP 11: Marianne Frantz: Choices That Create a Life You Love

Episode 11

EP 10: Brian Wilson: Choices to Make Your Dreams Come True

Episode 10

EP 9 Pete Gail: Leading Others to Their Clear Choices

Episode 9

Ep 8 Matt Aitchison: From Felony Charge to Financial Freedom

Epsisode 8

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