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What happens when you’re pinned to the floor in the middle of a fight? Someone has you in a locked position and you can’t move. You’re sweating, you’re angry, and you start feeling the will to fight flow through your whole body. Although we’re talking about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the legendary trainer and black belt, Ryron Gracie, we could easily be talking about real estate.

So many new real estate investors come into this space being scared of discomfort, wanting to be hand-held, and feeling like there is no way to hit their investing goals. That is until they’re put in the proper position, scenario, or matched up with a great teacher. These are the exact lessons that Ryron shares with us today.

As a lifelong Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, and now a teacher himself, Ryron knows that the same lessons applied on the mat should be applied in everyday life. Lessons like: be comfortable with discomfort, never get pulled into anyone else’s fight, and change the game to fit your needs. This not only makes Ryron a financially successful individual, but a master in martial arts.

Even if you’ve never done martial arts, had any interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or started real estate investing, this episode will help you change your mindset to thrive in situations where you feel lost and helpless, which is something all of us need throughout our lives.

Normally we have two hosts and one guest, but today we have three hosts, and one of them happens to be a guest as well. We welcome Tony J Robinson, host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie Podcast, to the show! Tony has grown a respectable following due to his impressive short-term rental portfolio, his ability to scale quickly, and his made-for-radio voice.

Tony grew up with real estate around him. His dad had a wholesaling company, and when it closed down his father relayed to Tony that his biggest mistake was failing to keep any of the wholesale deals as rentals. With this advice in mind, Tony saw an opportunity to fix up some rental properties in Louisiana. This gave him an intro to real estate funding, and after a few successful deals, he decided to dive in head first.

Now, Tony has short-term rentals in Tennessee and Joshua Tree. He’s started multiple partnerships and speaks on the benefits of having reliable, trustworthy partners, plus how to avoid toxic partnerships that will stop you from scaling. He also lets us in on his free and simple method of finding out whether or not a market will work for short-term rentals.

You wouldn’t think that a farm boy from Ohio would be spending hundreds of thousands if not millions on expensive clothing, high-priced whiskey, and expensive knife sets, would you? Only, he’s not buying these things for himself, he’s buying them for his clients, many of whom are some of the biggest names in business and entertainment. What does John Ruhlin from Giftology see in gift-giving that we don’t?

First, John realized that giving regular corporate gifts, like a stress ball or a free pen, wouldn’t cut it when trying to build long-term relationships. He even went as far as to get courtside NBA tickets paired with a $500 steakhouse dinner to get Cameron Herold (a past guest of ours) on his team, only to find that Cameron was severely disappointed. So he started turning up the personalization of his gifts.

Now, John sends out personally engraved knife sets, world-class food and wine pairings hosted by the best sommelier in the country, and video messages sent in physical boxes (seriously). He’s discovered the art and the science behind gift-giving and wants everyone to know what is, and isn’t an appropriate gift. As he puts it, you need to focus on your ROR (return on relationships) more than your ROI.