00:00 - Chase (Host)

The following is an Operation Podcast production.

00:03 - Alvaro (Guest)

I think that people have got into this mentality that the more you do, the more you're going to grow. Sometimes it's about not doing something. I mean about actually choosing to stay in silence, to work on yourself, to have your conversations, because it's a very fast-paced environment, the one that we are living today, and we believe that life rewards the ones that move faster. And it is not always that case. 30-second rule Every time I'm done with something, I record it.

00:33

I was going nuts what have I really learned out of these 150 books? And I was taking notes, I was putting ideas down and I was doing I'm just putting so much in my brain versus really already tapping into what I have. I started to just face these conversations that led into these dark, dark spots that I was like oh my gosh, what am I even thinking? This is insane. And what I found in there is that you can take everything away from me and I'll still be fine. And you know why? Because when you start asking yourself the real raw questions, you start really getting to know you, and what I found out is that all I ever needed is all I've always had. Hey guys, álvaro Núñez here. Entrepreneur, best-selling author, helicopter pilot and ultra-endurance athlete, and today we're going to talk about how to level up your mind and to really turn your obstacles into superpowers. Welcome to Ever Forward Radio in one of your races.

01:32 - Chase (Host)

In one of your videos you talk about how you were hallucinating in the desert, and that's the moment when you realized most people quit way too soon. So what's the hardest thing you've ever done and why didn't you quit?

01:42 - Alvaro (Guest)

yeah, that's a question that I get asked a lot, but it's one of those things that I believe that every challenge that I do it's harder than the previous one. So when I did the hardest challenge, initially it was the toughest food race in the world. It's called Marathon de Sablas. It's six marathons in six days across the Sahara Desert, where you got to carry all your food and supplies with you, and I remember that I was not a professional runner.

02:07

And on the second day, on that second marathon, I was seeing the same person that I was following on social media, that he was so incredibly gifted and talented and he was winning all the races.

02:19

And I saw him right there calling the helicopter because he was quitting. And at that point, halfway through the second marathon, I was peeing blood, I was getting cramps, my feet were completely destroyed and I was starting to bleed on my shoulders from all the weight that I was carrying. But what I didn't tell you is that when I enrolled in this race, I did it because there was a bigger purpose and I did this campaign called the weight of depression, which was really carrying, a weight that represented the way that so many people have been carrying inside that depression that a lot of people don't speak about, and I've had some family members and some friends that committed suicide and I wanted to do something about it and that whole mission was to bring that weight all the way through these conditions, the toughest food race in the world, and then bury that weight at the end of the race. Oh, man.

03:11

So, on that second marathon, when I saw this guy quitting, I thought to myself who am I to even continue? Again, comparison is the thief of joy. I started to compare myself to somebody that I put in this pedestal, but it didn't matter, because at the moment when I dropped my backpack and I was going to grab the walkie-talkie to call the helicopter, I saw that wait, that was the reminder of why I was doing that race. So, instead of quitting, I silenced that voice and I started to hear the why behind this race. So, instead of quitting, I silenced that voice and I started to hear the why behind this race, all the names of all the people that share those struggles with me. So I put that backpack on and I kept on going.

03:55

I finished that second marathon and when every single individual thought it was impossible to continue, I kept going. I no longer was thinking about doing four marathons more. I was thinking about the little steps that I had to do. I was breaking it down into tangible goals that built momentum and the mind kept getting stronger because it was already Attached to that strong why and quitting was no longer an option. So, while my body was breaking down every single step, my mind was getting stronger and you go to the point where, at the end of the race, I was no longer even thinking about just finishing the race. I believed that I could win the race and I crossed that finish line on the last day among the first few people. And this is a testament that when you believe in something bigger than yourself, when you have that mission, that purpose, that devotion, you're capable of the impossible. And I always say motivation fades, devotion stays, yes, yeah.

04:57 - Chase (Host)

And especially when you made it about other people. Sometimes I think people struggle to have or to maintain that higher, calling the bigger purpose when it's just about yourself. But yeah, kind of taking that burden from other people, remembering the burden of other people, kind of takes on a whole new form of empathy and motivation. That is extremely powerful. Clearly it worked for you, fellas. You don't need a nine-step routine or half your bathroom cabinet filled with products. That's why I use caldera lab, a premium men's skincare line built for guys who want great skin without wasting time. It's backed by clinical science. Caldera lab combines clean ingredients with proven results. Whether you're just starting out or you want a couple of high quality products that actually work, their lineup covers the essentials. I'm talking cleanser, serum, moisturizer, even body shampoo, shower and shaving products simple, effective and quick everything. So if you've been wondering where to start or you're ready to upgrade your routine, make the same choice I did years ago and go with Caldera Lab. And because you're part of the Ever Forward community, you can actually save big time on your entire first purchase. See, when you head to calderalabcom, you scoop up any or all of the products of your choice and at checkout you use code ever forward, you're actually going to save 20%. That's huge. I want you to save money and I want you to put your best face forward. Caldera, labcom, c A L D E R A L A, bcom. Check out code ever forward for 20% off your entire first purchase, linked for you as always in the show notes today under episode resources.

06:50

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07:19

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08:10 - Alvaro (Guest)

And I can take it even more to the present right, like that was the first time that I realized the importance of a strong why? Because I've always done things just for the sake of doing them, because I want to challenge myself or because I'm having goals and I want to accomplish them, but it was always about me.

08:29 - Chase (Host)

Yeah.

08:29 - Alvaro (Guest)

Yeah, when you start doing things that go beyond yourself and it's a strong purpose man you become unstoppable. And I carry that same mentality ever since for everything I do, in all the physical challenge, but also in business. And you've got gotta start looking beyond what it is there for you. And just now, when I did this race across America the world's toughest bicycle race 3,000 miles coast to coast in under 12 days, I didn't have a why and I still talk to myself. You know what I have? This gut feeling of Having to do this race not just to push my limits, of having to do this race not just to push my limits physically, mentally, spiritually, but because I have a gut feeling of I need to do this and having the courage of doing it without a why. It takes a lot because you want to quit in so many moments through the training process that having a why gives you that sensation of okay, that's my purpose, I got to keep going.

09:25 - Chase (Host)

The training long before you even get to the actual race. I mean, that's where a lot of people fall. Oh, no, 100%.

09:32 - Alvaro (Guest)

And you know, it's not just the training but all the logistics. And for me at that moment, I definitely was encountering the most difficult challenge that I've ever faced. And it was one of those moments where I realized, okay, I don't have a why, why am I even doing this? I was in the middle of a 10-hour bike session and when I was five hours in, I said, fuck this, I'm done. I'm done Like, why am I even doing this? My body was breaking down.

09:55

I started to think about I'm a month away from the race. I don't have sponsors, I don't have a team. I'm barely able to do 10 hours in a row on a bike. What the hell are you doing Exactly? And at that point I'm like who am I trying to? Even? Like fool, I'm just fooling myself by pretending I'm trying to do this. And I thought to myself you know what this is not for me. I'm wasting my time Like I'm literally just quitting and giving up on so many other things that are so important for me to do this race, because I didn't know it was going to take so much. And then, all of a sudden, I'm doing this like 10 hour bike race per day.

10:32

And in one of those sessions. I'm like mid session and I'm just breaking down and I'm like what is happening? And I started to cry for the first time. And I call one of my friends who has done this race in the past on a team, which means that you divide the miles between the different individuals, and he told me you know, it's like Alvaro, like what you're trying to do is a mission impossible, like why don't you do it the following year? Or with a team, yeah, or with a team? Like what you're trying to do solo, it's just like it makes no sense. And you know, a part of me was like, do I want to listen to this voice or do I want to find a different opinion? And I called my dad, who I've always been very connected with and growing up as a tennis player, I've always had my dad by my side and I called him and before I even told him anything, he said son, I have something to tell you. And he told me I got diagnosed with cancer.

11:27 - Chase (Host)

I have advanced stage cancer for prostate prostate, did he?

11:28 - Alvaro (Guest)

know what you were doing at this time. Yeah, yeah, because I was a month away. So I've been already. I already did the race to qualify, I already did all the training. It's just that it just got more and more intense towards the weeks prior to the race, of course, and when I was calling him, it was to ask him for advice. But before I even got into it, I asked him how he was doing and he told me this. And he took me by surprise. So before I even asked him anything, I said listen, you already gave me the answer before I even asked you. I'm going to go to Spain to be with you for whenever this treatment is taking place. So when is it? And he told me something that surprised me. He said no, you're not coming because it's taking place in the same time that you're doing your race and you're not quitting. And we made this agreement where, if I didn't quit, he wouldn't quit either, and he wanted to be a professional cyclist growing up and to see his son competing at the world's toughest bike race.

12:23

It was unbelievable, and that moment it just changed the whole perspective of what I was doing. I no longer was looking for a why. The why found me, and every pedal since then had a purpose. He was fighting for his life, I was fighting for my soul, and that agreement kept us together and kept us moving, and no longer was a question of whether I was going to do it or not. I was so determined because quitting was no longer in the equation. Yeah, and that was it, man. I think that one time you might have that why sometimes the why will find you.

13:01 - Chase (Host)

Yeah, let's go there next. I think a lot of people are hearing that and it strikes them. Because I think a lot of people are hearing that and it strikes them because I think a lot of people are have been searching for their why. They're trying to create it. Or, you know, I go to school for this thing. Therefore I get this job and therefore I am this person. Or, you know, maybe it's family legacy, I'm taking over the family business or following in my parents footsteps, or whatever it might be. But sometimes, to your point, and I strongly agree your why finds you, or you're finally just in a container, in an environment, in a headspace that is conducive to you being able to hear that calling. How would you recommend, or what has worked for you? Maybe to put yourself in the environment physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to be able to fall into alignment with that why and for it to find you, instead of just always searching, navigating, looking for that purpose and that calling.

13:55 - Alvaro (Guest)

It's a great question, and I think that it all comes down to intentionality. A lot of people do things half-assed. It's about going all in. Whatever you choose to do, go all in. Go with intention, go with purpose, go with something that goes beyond just doing it. If you're going to do something, try to do it at your best and with that process you're going to start unlocking new ways of thinking, new ways of approaching a different goal, and you might realize that this is derailing you or putting you in the same path, but at the end of the day, you're moving. It's about taking action. A lot of people start thinking, thinking, thinking, but they never take action.

14:35 - Chase (Host)

But isn't taking. Sorry to cut you off, but I think just the taking action part, I think, is the difficulty when people don't have a very clear why, like how can I take action? How can I just, you know, put one foot in front of the other if I don't know exactly why, or what is my purpose, or where is this leading to?

14:51 - Alvaro (Guest)

How would you kind of navigate that? We always have options in life, right, like when you have options in front of you, whether it's doing nothing or doing something, what scares you most. And I've always had this mentality where, if I have options in front of me, I will always choose what scares me and that has built a path of growth. That's it, and you will always have options Option of doing nothing, option of doing something. Okay, I'm choosing to do something because it scares me more. Okay, now that I'm going to do something, what options do I have? Do this or do that? This scares me more. I choose this and you start building your own path. But there is always questions that you can ask yourself to start taking action towards something.

15:30 - Chase (Host)

Yeah, yeah, well said, absolutely. You've said grinding 24-7 does not build resilience, but rather silence does. What's one belief about success or resilience? Excuse me, most people get completely wrong in keeping this concept of silence in mind.

15:48 - Alvaro (Guest)

I think that people have got into this mentality that the more you do, the more you're going to grow. Sometimes it's about not doing something and let me rephrase that, because people think that don't doing something is not taking action. I mean about actually choosing to stay in silence, to work on yourself, to have your conversations, because it's a very fast-paced environment, the one that we are living today, and we believe that life rewards the ones that move faster. And it is not always that case. It is also the case of you slowing down and really reflecting on what you're doing. It's like that phrase right, like if you're going to cut a tree, you'll spend seven of the eight hours shaving it to make sure that it's cutting properly.

16:37

So this is the same thing how are you shaping your mind? And for me, shaping my mind is not about always doing, doing, doing. It's about how can I actually do the work by being still and I love to go in that direction of doing these silent retreats, doing these darkness retreats, or even just literally going for a walk with no distractions. People don't often want to be on their own thoughts. To be on their own thoughts, they just want to be attached to the phone, talking to somebody or doing something, and they are avoiding the most important conversation that you could ever have, which is with yourself.

17:12 - Chase (Host)

The one with yourself. Yeah, that's probably one of my biggest and most favorite productivity hacks life hack, health hack is just going for a walk completely alone and alone, meaning not with another person, not with your AirPods, not with anything. It's actually funny timing today. Are you familiar with stoicism? Yeah, so the quote today was from Ryan holidays the daily stoic. It was all about stillness, you know, and kind of finding silence and how that is just like the biggest fear for most people. And are you familiar with this book? Stillness is the game changer for me. Game changer for me, and it truly is. It truly is powerful.

17:54

How, when you slow down as cliche as it is, you slow down you can ramp up even more. And I think it's really finding your why is probably hidden in the stillness that you're avoiding, because it's you have to sift through quite a bit of fear, of imposter syndrome, of curiosity, of creativity, but in that stillness, everything kind of like falls by the wayside. That isn't true to you, and I can't tell you how many times. I'm sure you're the same. Well, I go on walks to be still. You probably go on ultra Ironmans for your stillness practice, but it truly is. So much is on the other side of just getting still and getting quiet for a small amount of time, even stack them up over a couple of days and watch what happens. Watch how much closer you are to your why or clarity around what direction to go in next.

18:42

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20:18 - Alvaro (Guest)

I think, that the answers are in the questions that we are avoiding asking us. And sometimes it's not so much because we don't know the question or because we don't want to do it, it's just that we are so busy doing everything else that we are not taking the time to have that conversation. And look, it might come in on a walk just by yourself, or it might come during a particular ultramarathon. For me, I always seek to actually have that silence. So I've done vipassana retreats, like the 10-day silent retreats. I've done darkness retreat, where I go into a cave and pitch black, and I've done all those things that really require to be just with yourself. In fact, when I go into these climbs where I'm going to some of these big mountains around the world, I I don't call them any more expeditions, it's inspeditions, it's about like getting in Inspedition.

21:04

Yeah, that was with my friend Sean Swarner when I first went to climb one of the seven summits, the first one, actually Kilimanjaro. It was with him, who is a phenomenal individual, you know, great friend of mine, the first cancer survivor to climb Everest. He did it with only one, long after being in coma for a year. Oh my God, incredible guy. And we went on to this expedition and he told me reframe it a little bit, start looking into it as an expedition. It is the time for yourself where we are away from all the noise. You're literally on a mountain and you're getting to be connecting with yourself. And it was beautiful.

21:37

It was one of the most transformative experiences and ever since I've applied this principle every time I get the opportunity to go, either climb a mountain or I'm going into a long run or whatever it is that I'm doing in this particular case, more recently, just going for hours and hours on a bike, you know. So you got to maximize this and I was the type of guy that we go back to the same principle. I thought that, being in stillness type of guy that we go back to the same principle. I thought that, being in stillness, I was wasting time. So I was listening to audiobooks 2x all the time, just telling siri oh, I have this idea, write this down, like you know, like I was all the time like missing the point, and you know it's like this 30 second rule every time I'm done with something, I record it.

22:16

I was going nuts and then I was like, okay, I've read 150 books in one year. I was was like going nuts and I was like what have I really learned out of these 150 books? And I was taking notes, I was putting ideas down and I was like I'm just putting so much in my brain versus really already tapping into what I have not. And again, you don't need to go into these extreme cases, right? But when I went into this darkness retreat, I started to just face these conversations that led into these dark, dark spots that I was like, oh my gosh, what am I even thinking? This is insane. But through that I found the light.

22:52

And one thing I found is that I was just dropping the shield, I was being fully vulnerable in this conversation. I was no longer, you know, putting makeup to the questions. I was just being raw and honest with myself. And he was like, whoa, this is crazy. But you know what happened in there. I found so much peace and what I found in there is that you can take everything away from me and I'll still be fine. And you know why? Because when you start asking yourself the real raw questions, you start really getting to know you, and what I found out is that all I ever needed is all I've always had. So it was one of the most powerful gem drops I've ever had. And it's not because I got it from a book, no, it was just because I had a conversation with myself and I dared to go that route. I dared to ask the vulnerable and raw questions and I was daring also to answer them. And that was scary, that was dark, but through that I found the light and it was beautiful the questions we seek lie.

23:52 - Chase (Host)

No, excuse me, I'm like sexy today. The answers we seek lie in the questions we're too afraid to ask. Yeah, yeah, and it's wild sometimes. I wish I could take credit for that. I'm pretty sure I'm pulling that either from maybe another guest or somebody.

24:06

But this day and age especially, you know, we have so much access I mean to great podcasts like this one, right, and so many other books and resources and audio books, and we have access to people and access to tools and access to references and productivity hacks and just ways to learn and absorb, and absorb, and absorb and absorb. It's all going in Crazy, but where is it staying? And, more importantly, how are we executing on it? What are we doing with all of these hacks and all this knowledge? It's become, I think, a flex and I've gotten caught up in it too over the years of just how much can I do in a short amount of time, how much can I? You know biohack and how much can I?

24:46

You know multitask and which? I think that's the biggest lie of of all multitasking. But you know truly and I'll kind of like put a bow on it here the the most change I've ever noticed in myself, or the soul-stirring questions or the biggest answers I've found to my life, um have all come from just getting still long enough to be uncomfortable with the questions I've been putting off asking of myself. And then, yeah, to your point, it's just, vulnerability is the most natural thing that comes next with that, and then truth, and then clarity, and then you're living in your why, like we're talking about before yeah, 100 you actually have a pretty interesting tattoo suffer intentionality or life will choose your suffering for you.

25:34

Is that your tattoo, or I think we're just referencing to it? Um, oh my, I'm jumbling my notes again, excuse me. So you have a quote that says suffer intentionality or life will choose your suffering for you. So I'm gonna take that, repackage it into if, if you could tattoo one mindset rule across every entrepreneur high achiever, go-getters, forehead.

25:59 - Alvaro (Guest)

What would it be well. That's a tool will be a long thing. I like quotes. You know quotes are beautiful because it really stays with you. I don't love long sentences tattooed in your body but definitely reading them down somewhere.

26:14

What I'll say, though, is that that sentence, it really resonates with any other thing related to it, right? Like? I feel like pressure is a privilege, and I think that a lot of times, people are avoiding that pressure, right? And then I always say that the quality of your life depends on the choices you make on the difficult moments, and by difficult I mean painful, right, because I do believe that, sometimes, when we have this pain that we are facing, I think it's the most beautiful opportunity for you to grow. Whatever you choose to do in that moment is what's going to define the quality of your life, and every time I'm facing something difficult or painful, instead of thinking man, this is tough, I'm like, I'm excited, like wow, now is when we grow. And let me tell you, it is easy to go through all these difficulties when you're trying something new, when you're growing, because it's the growing pains, right. But whenever you already achieve a certain level of success, you might cruise, and that's what happens with a lot of people. They reach success and they start cruising, but you're not really cruising, you're going back down, because life is going to take you down. So, when I'm in this moment, rather than staying here, I try to get uncomfortable again. Going back to the same principle of what we discussed, I keep asking myself okay, what are my two options? Ooh, I'm afraid of this one. I'm choosing this.

27:45

The other day I went skydiving. I haven't been skydiving already for maybe four or five months. Last time I went, I dislocated my shoulder when I was skydiving with the Red Bull team World champion skydiver Fred, great friend of mine. He's crazy, but I was with the team and they were doing all sorts of things. And then I was following him and, of course, I tried to avoid injury on my legs because I was training for the race across America and I had a bad landing Boom, shoulder out. They told me you will never be able to skydive again. You got to get surgery. I said, ok, sure, just tell me whatever the recovery protocol will be. If I am doing therapy. And that's all I did and I believed in it. I saw it in my mind that I was healed, and I healed myself without doing any of that. And now I'm skydiving again without surgery, just a few months later.

28:32 - Chase (Host)

All right, and let me tell you, two weeks later I was skydiving already out of a hotel two weeks later, but the point is that my man can't be stopped no, but you asked me a question before we even started.

28:42 - Alvaro (Guest)

It's like how do you recover from all of this? And I do believe in active recovery. A lot of people, when they get injured, they go the reactive route, which is oh, the doctor tells me, rest, or surgery.

28:56 - Chase (Host)

They take it extreme, they just become completely sedentary.

28:58 - Alvaro (Guest)

And it's like the worst way for you to actually proactively get better. So for me it's like no, give me all the tools to heal and trust me, if you're telling me one hour, I'll do three and I'll be doing it while I'm doing phone calls. I don't care. And I went obsessed into fixing my shoulder because I couldn't even be on my bike. I couldn't be on the bike, I couldn't put pressure on it because my shoulder was bad. So I put all my focus into fixing my shoulder while doing everything else, and this is not multitasking.

29:26

This is really putting priorities in place, because a lot of times and this cracks me up people say I don't have time. Well, you're not making the time, that's it. You are choosing that. That's not a priority for you, it's a choice. Making the time, that's it. You are choosing that. That's not a priority for you, it's a choice. If your son was sick, trust me, you'll make the time to make sure he's not sick anymore. So you're now just telling me that you don't have time, but the reality is that you're not choosing to make that your priority. So for me, fixing my shoulder was a priority. Now my priorities have shifted. Shoulder is good. I'm shifting towards something else, and it doesn't mean that you've got to have only one priority in life. You can have multiple priorities and you've got to break it into different buckets, right.

30:09

Those can even change day to day, week to week, of course, and you can break your day into so many different buckets that you just feel that you can do different things throughout the day. So, look, I think that it all comes down to action, right? It's easy to just say like, oh my God, it's 10 pm, you know, I had a long day. I'm good, I'm just gonna, you know, watch some Netflix. Sometimes 10 pm is when I started my training and I have seven hours bike ride at home at 10 pm.

30:36

You think I wanna do that no, but if you're disciplined and you've already built momentum and this is one of the things that I've always looked into it's not so much about what can I accomplish. I always say the DNA of your success lays in your routines, and the reality is that if I've already developed a routine or habits that have helped me reach a certain level of success whether it's in sports or in business or in relationships, whatever it is why would I let that baseline drop again? The idea is to keep your baseline and see how you can raise it. That's why I love the greatest in anything in business. In sports, it's not because they achieve success, it's because they were able to stay at the top for so long and even move that baseline. A little bit is that obsession towards how can I improve every day, and that's beautiful.

31:28 - Chase (Host)

It is. It's beautiful, it's motivational, it's inspirational, it's admirable. I think even people could say but I got to wonder you've done so much already, which we're going to kind of get into more of these specifics Some of you have even talked about. But at what point? What else is left? When you're summiting the world's biggest, highest tallest mountaintops, when you're skydiving, when you're doing seven marathons and seven continents in one week and all of these things and running successful businesses, At what point do you go? I've done enough? Or even, what else is there?

32:07 - Alvaro (Guest)

That is the question Curiosity. Curiosity is what makes life fun, what it makes it worth living. I like, like what you just said is really the summary of it is being curious. I'm curious for life. I'm curious to see what's out there. I'm curious to see what can I do with this body that we've been given to make the best out of it. And I always seek into this wheel of life on how I can maintain a balanced but extraordinary life.

32:35

It's not so much about oh, because I've done so much in sport, how can I push the needle? And I'll give you a perfect example Skydiving. I've skydived for eight years skydiving the most beautiful exotic destinations have done all the fun, but you will never see me doing maybe a base jump. Why? Because I see the probabilities of people dying doing that and I have lost already over seven friends doing that Just from base jumping, just from base jump. And why would I push so much in something that the reward is really nothing? Now I understand. If that's your passion and that's your life and this is all you do for a living and you want to push that envelope, then go for it. That's why not that I don't feel sorry for those that die doing it because they die doing what they love Right and they knew the risks involved in it. Don't feel sorry for those that die doing it because they died doing what they love right and they knew the risks involved in it.

33:24

For me, I'd rather put that energy and effort into developing other skills in other areas that I'm also excited about. So I've always checked with myself okay, let's go back to the wheel of life and I check every area financially, my career, relationships, physically, with the health, like everything, right. And I start looking into it and I'm like I'm so out of whack in here. Let me put some more effort and focus. And it's about having this extraordinary balanced life. So it's not so much about, oh, I've accomplished so much that I'm done. It's about staying curious on how can I keep expanding, but expanding in a balanced way.

33:58

You know like now I'm more curious about how to become a father, right, you have a six-month kid and you were telling me about how you're going to the pool and doing all these fun things. I'm looking now more towards that area, right? So I'm leaving room on the table to build that path, right, because a lot of times it's not so much about just having the intention, how we talked about. It's not my purpose to be a dad, it's not my why, but I'm going intentionally in that direction.

34:24

Right, and through that intention, purpose will arise, like you are right now looking into your life and you need to think about these kids, right, like a lot of times I speak with dads that are just having these newborns. They're like man, my kid is my purpose now. So it's beautiful, you know, but you don't have a kid all of a sudden. You got to work for it, you got to leave room for it. So maybe, instead of going every single month into these like big expeditions and big trips, plus all these businesses and traveling now maybe chill, quote, unquote, chill but in reality what I'm doing is giving space to be able to build that relationship that will eventually lead to have a family.

35:02 - Chase (Host)

Beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, I love that kind of part of the end about leaving space for you sound like a very calculated man in life and adventures and business and health. How do you really calculate for that white space, so to speak, that curiosity space? Is it actually X amount of time on your calendar, Is it? I've done these amazing physical things, these amazing business things and therefore I have this other tertiary bucket that I have to just keep available. You know, how do you kind of calculate for the white space?

35:35 - Alvaro (Guest)

Well, it's calendar, right? Like, I do believe in consistency. Consistency is what compounds, so it's not so much about doing something one time, a lot and then that's it. It's about how can I place in the calendar the things that I want to do that are going to compound over time. So, rather than, oh, I'm going to do this this weekend because I have time for it, no, I make time for it.

35:55

And this is back to the same thing we spoke about is how can I make time for it? I'm choosing to make time for these things and in order for that, you've got to look into your calendar and be very, very diligent and disciplined with how you manage your time. Right, it's not so much about like, oh, let things flow. I'm also leaving space to let things flow, yeah, but it's time that I chose that I'm going to let things flow, and Time that I chose that I'm going to let things flow. And this is just one of the beautiful things about you being proactive on how you do things in life versus reactively letting life dictate your life. That's it.

36:42 - Chase (Host)

I think that's the big difference right there, for the difference between the person who gets things done or is in flow with their life and feels like they have a why or are in pursuit of it, versus the people that don't and they just go where's the time gone. It's the people that have these ideas and aspirations, even, but then they're just expecting life and circumstances to make time for it. Like oh like. Whenever life just opens up and gives me four extra hours a week or clears my schedule for a day, that's when I will insert my goals and my aspirations, my passion projects, versus like what you're saying.

37:06

This is the difference between the doer is I'm going looking this. I'm clear, or at least clearer, on what I want, what I want my life to look like and feel like. So I'm going to look at my life and I'm going to insert it. I'm going to be active with my life instead of passive. Not to say that you know, maybe circumstances might be right one day, but do you really just want to count on having purpose and fulfillment in life to maybe just happen one day For all the universe and people and life and job and kids to just fall into this magical space to where you can just like. Oh, here it is. By the way, like don't get me wrong.

37:48 - Alvaro (Guest)

Everybody has different circumstances and I can hear the people say like, yeah, but you don't have three kids and depth and this and that, and that's like, ok, well, I know people that have and have actually managed to do it. So it's not about again same thing that I told you about the marathon, the sub list. Comparison is the thief of joy. It's not about you comparing yourself with me or with somebody else or with Chase. It's about really looking at yourself in the mirror and be like, okay, do I want to make a change? If the answer is yes, then do it how you do it, block some time for it. Then do it how you do it, block some time for it. You know, people don't want to block time because they are either afraid of what that could do to their lives, because it might shake things a little bit, or because they don't make it a priority. And something else is more important and that's it.

38:34 - Chase (Host)

It's plain and simple. They don't want it bad enough. Yeah, it's plain and simple.

38:37 - Alvaro (Guest)

It's easier to complain by the way, it's always so much easier to complain. Oh my God, you know, I'll tell you, it's funny because when I do all these challenges and look, I want to use social media also to empower other people. Not just inspire, but empower them right To hey, take action on your own life because you're also capable of doing it. I come from nothing. I come from doing literally just the basics in order to grow and be where I am today. You can do it as well if you want to right Different path, different circumstances, but it's just about knowing that you're capable of doing it if you want to do it. Now, the problem here is that a lot of times when I do something like this, I get friends or followers or people in general that just reach out to me and be like oh my God, you inspire so much, I'm going to do it. And I answer it's like okay, when?

39:25 - Chase (Host)

Well, you know, like Immediate, excuse, immediate blank space instead of I don't know yet, or this is when. This is how I'm figuring it out, Even if you don't have the answer. Just you got to kind of like bullshit yourself almost. This is how I'm figuring it out, Even if you don't have the answer just you got to kind of like bullshit yourself almost.

39:44 - Alvaro (Guest)

This is how I'm going to do it, this is when I'm going to do it. Sign up for something, do something like build momentum towards it. I'm not saying that you got to do it tomorrow, but but build momentum Like what is the? And this is one of the things that I've done. That has always helped me when I have a thought about wanting to do something. I know overthinking, I don't like double guess myself and start having this conversation but why this, why this? No, I just do something that at least is going to put it in motion.

40:09

Through that process, more things will arise. Maybe I'll realize that this is less important than this and that, but at least there is motion.

40:17 - Chase (Host)

And that's the key, are those moments for you? Are they very, case by case, dependent upon the thing that it is that you want to do, or have you developed? Whenever I get this idea, step one is always this Do you have that immediate go-to thing that you do or thing that you think that helps you just get into to therefore stay in the motion that someone might be able to jump on?

40:38 - Alvaro (Guest)

Yeah, it's a good question, and I'll say it's just like put it on the. Yeah, it's a good question and I'll say it's just like put it on the calendar, like make time for it, that's it. I'll come back to the same thing. How do you take action by actually putting it if you're disciplined enough, don't get me wrong Like if you don't follow your own calendar or your own rules, then you're just lying to yourself, right, but at least try to do the effort to put some order in your life. And this is one of the things that you got to look into. What are you good at? What are the things that you can leverage on?

41:06

One of the things that I realized with myself is that I'm disciplined. I've built that from an early age Because growing up, playing tennis, going to school, very disciplined kid that's what my dad and my mom, so my parents, educated me on. It was like here you got to work on this, do this, do that. So the discipline was established from an early age. You might not have discipline, or you might have discipline, but you might have something. And I always say this whatever you got today is all you need to get started Doesn't matter. A lot of people think about what they don't have versus what they got. I've always tried to ask that question backwards. It's like what do I have today to get started? And whatever the answer is, it's valid because it doesn't matter Whatever you have today, it's all you need to get started.

41:54 - Chase (Host)

Again, I agree wholeheartedly, but I just keep putting myself in the shoes of someone listening and going. They're still making an excuse to like I want to lose 30 pounds but I don't have the skillset. I want to go skydiving but I don't know how. I want to start a business but I don't know where to begin. For people, for argument's sake here, let's just bring it back to immediately. They know that they want something, but they immediately are met with an objection. They feel like I can't, I don't, I don't know how. What one little mindset shift would you recommend for them? Is it like to your point of attaching?

42:31

a when as a timeline so just put yourself in action in any way.

42:36 - Alvaro (Guest)

Doesn't matter whatever it is movement Like. You want to lose weight? Go for a run. Don't even think about anything Like what is the path of least resistance To build momentum, to build motion? When I signed up for an Ironman, I didn't overthink it, like I just went for a run and I said to myself it's like I'm going to run as far as I could and whenever I'm done I'll keep going. And that's what happened. I threw up. I said great, this is what I was looking for. I was looking to get to a point where I cannot go in. And now is the breakthrough that I'm going to experience, because I'm not coming back to the same version of who I was Now. It's when I move forward, and this is exactly, sometimes as simple as just putting yourself to the test and if you fail, guess what? You'll try again tomorrow until you find that breakthrough. Because for me at least, it was always about how can I put myself in a position where either I fail or I have that breakthrough, and sometimes the failure is the breakthrough.

43:47 - Chase (Host)

I want to take the audience to these seven marathons in seven continents in one week. Yeah, take us into your mind, your psyche, right here. What was going through your mind when you crossed the finish line, the final world race?

44:09 - Alvaro (Guest)

Well, definitely a lot of satisfaction, a lot of tears coming down due to the fact that I even did this race with two fractured ribs. I fractured my ribs literally three weeks before the race before, not even like it was an injury during the.

44:19 - Chase (Host)

Oh my gosh.

44:20 - Alvaro (Guest)

Three weeks before, and I've been training months for this race, preparing for this race, and three weeks before I break a rip, and doctors don't recommend me to do it because I cannot even breathe walking, oh my god. And I said, okay, how long will it take to heal? They said, well, one month without moving. Long will it take to heal? They said, well, one month without moving. And you have this race in three weeks. So you either don't do nothing for three weeks and show up and try to do it or don't show up at all. And I said to the doctor what if I continue running tomorrow and I go to the race regardless? And they said well, then you're going to make it worse and you're not going to be able to do it. And I said, good, and I'm not.

45:10

Again, I don't want to come in cocky or arrogant, but I come in from a position of confidence. I've been already through situations where I've put my body through the limit and I've already heard the stories of doctors telling me that it's impossible. But they have not been in my shoes. So I will listen If there is a like. If I go to do a heart test and there is something wrong, I'll listen.

45:38

If there is something that is actually really gonna damage my health and it might really take me towards a path of no return, I'll consider that for sure. But a fracture rip what is it gonna do? Is it gonna heal bad if I keep running? It's just gonna take longer to heal. So I said I'll endure it. I'll endure the pain. And what happened is that when you already have that mindset that you've developed over the years of quitting is not an option, you just show up anyways and you'll find a way. And I said to myself look, if I got to walk, I'll walk. I don't care, but I'll make it. And, funny enough, not only I did not walk, I was actually trying to beat my PR and beat everybody.

46:22

And I went nuts into the race to the point where you know, I started to run. Very funny, I started. I actually reached the last marathon in Miami in first position and I was literally running cricket because I couldn't breathe through one rib and my knees started to blow up because I was running all messed up.

46:42

So I'll say that when you endure this type of pain, the reward on the other side is so beautiful, right, because you just prove to yourself that you are capable of more and you don't quit. And when you don't quit and that's the beautiful analogy in life is that no matter what your challenge is in business relationships, whatever it is, if you choose to not quit, the reward on the other side tastes so much better.

47:10 - Chase (Host)

It always does. It always does. And even if you're having difficulty in the beginning, at least kind of wrapping your head around, what is the reward here? Maybe you made it through the hard thing In my experience. Just wait a little bit longer and if you choose to wake up the next day and get out of bed, life is not going to get any easier for you. You're going to develop this relation to that tough time, those difficult times, that injury, that recovery period that is going to just before you realize it. You're going to wake up the next day and just be that much stronger because you have that experience. Like I know what hitting the ground feels like. I know what being immobilized feels. Like I know what recovering from broken bones and rehabilitation feels like. Suddenly, what I'm faced with today isn't as bad. Or if I'm getting real and honest with myself, you know I've been through worse.

48:00

Or somebody else has had a worse, and so I think that's another kind of like psyche point. But even just like true to the human nature experience, a lot of these fears that we have is because we have not experienced them. It's it seems so preposterous for us to put ourselves into harm's way because we've never had to navigate getting out of this tight spot or running with a broken rib or escaping a saber tooth tiger. You know evolutionary speaking. Or you know getting back into shape after a hard injury or a long rehab. But once you have like it becomes possible because you've experienced it before and the brain can like jump to those conclusions a little bit clearer.

48:40 - Alvaro (Guest)

I love that. It's about the calibration right and again, yes it's not so much about what you are going through at the moment is what you've endured in the past. That shifts the way that you think. So I was not probably capable of running with a broken rib when I first started running like I will just stop immediately. I'll be like oh my alarm, alarm.

49:02

I'm going straight to the doctor. I'll take a month off. But because you've already put yourself through so much, your calibration has shifted and that's why I always say like start, start today, and then you'll see that eventually you'll start gaining those little victories. I always say that the reward is wrapped in pain, and that's really what it is. You're never going to get a reward just going through the process of satisfaction and cruising. You're going to find it in the pain. And that's why I always said the quality of your life depends on the actions you take in the painful moments. But I will say that a lot of people don't seek that, because the moment that there's a little bit of discomfort, a little bit of pain, they get off the gas, they put the brakes on, they start listening to everybody but themselves. Are you being honest with yourself? It's easier to hear your mama say oh, your sore throat, stay in bed versus like it's actually not that bad.

50:01

I can go through this, and that's what really starts calibrating your life. So it's just about having those honest conversations with yourself. Literally, that's what it is.

50:10 - Chase (Host)

But you know, there is the yin to the yang, there is the parasympathetic to the sympathetic, there is the rest and recovery to the. You know and bear it, and I believe there's a time and a place for it. And you know, I think I'm even hearing you say there is a form of it where you kind of you know, you periodize it, you know you have this white space as creativity, but specifically physically here, oh yeah, what does that look like for you? Like what is what does downtime look for you? How do you, how do you not go crazy when you're in recovery mode and like, just like you have to have just like an off switch, right, oh, for sure.

50:42 - Alvaro (Guest)

Well, I mean this is funny because I've heard this before and I agree Like the greatest. The big differentiator is that they don't have an off switch, Like they literally just stay on all the time, like David Goggins, I'm pretty sure that guy does not have an off switch. You know, it's always on, but this is the reality. On doesn't mean that you're always doing something. It's that you're always intentionally doing something. That's the difference. So intention is the dividing factor.

51:11

Intention is what makes the difference. I'm intentionally choosing to recover. I'm intentionally wanting my brain to unwind by going for a walk. I'm not just switching it off and seeing what happens. I see, you know what I mean. You take control of your life by always being on, and again, not everybody wants to do that. I don't drink alcohol. Why? Because that turns my switch off.

51:41 - Chase (Host)

I don't drink drugs. Why? Because that turns my switch off. That's an essential choice. Yes, exactly To your point.

51:44 - Alvaro (Guest)

Yeah, but again, if I'm choosing to drink drugs or to drink because I want to turn that off, then I'm wanting to be off for a minute, I'm choosing to stay on the whole time. So anything that is taking me away from that I don't want it. Even when I go to sleep I still want to be on. How I mean again the whole term on might sound a bit off in here have you hacked sleep.

52:11

The man doesn't sleep. No, I do sleep, but, again proactively wanting to control your sleeping patterns, I want to make sure that I'm choosing to sleep X amount of time. I want to have X amount of quality. So what do I need to do in order to do that? Well, do I put certain glasses that protect me from the light at night? Do I eat earlier on and specific meals that I know that help me sleep better? Do I do certain exercises that help me sleep better?

52:37

Whatever it is that you've been doing over time seeking to improve, it is again a choice that you're putting in front of you to be better and to be intentionally right about what you do next. So that's it. I mean, I'm not saying that you got to be a robot. I'm not a robot and in fact, I love going intentionally to spend quality time with my family. And that doesn't mean like, oh, I'm doing this and I'm choosing to do this, and I'm choosing to talk about this and I'm choosing. No, it's not about choosing. You choose blocks. I'm choosing now to be with my family and I'm choosing to engage.

53:08 - Chase (Host)

And that's it. It reminds me of this. I was at this event years ago. Do you know who Bedros Koulian is? Have you heard of CEO or former CEO, but founder now of this fitness franchise called Fit Body Boot Camp? Okay, what's his name? Bedros Koulian.

53:25 - Alvaro (Guest)

Oh, I've heard of him. He lives not far from here. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and he has a podcast too, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've listened to him. He's a tough guy. No, very tough guy.

53:33 - Chase (Host)

Very intense guy, but a family man no-transcript, never have fun. Like, what about your family, your kids? He's like I have fun. I have fun scheduled Friday from 4 PM to 8 PM with my kids and my family. You know, and he was like that If you want to be this version of yourself that you feel called to, or if you want to achieve anything more than what maybe you have, or you just tap into your potential, you have to really get kind of delusionally optimistic with not only your capabilities but like what you can accomplish. And you can't accomplish things if you don't make time for it. And you have to compartmentalize fun. You have to compartmentalize, you have to schedule these things. You have to make time for your body, for your family, for your business, for your finances, for your grocery shopping. It's just so funny. It's like I have, I have fun. I've scheduled fun. You too, can have scheduled fun, yeah.

54:34 - Alvaro (Guest)

Yeah, so a lot of your work, or?

54:35 - Chase (Host)

a lot of your content, I should say, is you know highlighting A lot of your work? Or a lot of your content, I should say, is you know highlighting? You know the struggle and the pain and the endurance and just these accomplishments and these races. So how has your journey shaped your view on global storytelling and branded content? Are you now looking for, you know what's the thing that I can do, because I know it's going to be a great piece of content, or what's you know the coolest edit that I can shoot at the coolest place, and therefore it requires me to be in just this grueling, physically demanding situation. The world right now we're literally looking through the lens so many times for business or for just reach To your point also, empowerment and inspiration. How has that changed for you, or how do you navigate that now?

55:20 - Alvaro (Guest)

It's a good point. Right Like now, everybody's fighting for attention. Attention is one of the strongest currencies and, with social media growing at the speed that it's growing, everybody wants to grab a piece of it. And I'll be lying to you if I say that I don't use social media to benefit from it from a professional standpoint. But I don't really do social media just for the sake of oh, this is my business. Because it's not right, like, yes, I'm going to do something regardless. I don't care really if you watch or you don't watch. I'm actually going to do it because it is something that is inside me that wants to do it.

55:53

Right, like I'm pushing myself, but if I'm able to share my journey with the world in a way that is going to empower others to move on, came on, when I go into conferences and I speak about certain things, some of the stories that we shared here today, like the Marathon des Sables, people are in tears and they take action. And this is one of the beautiful things that I've realized that storytelling matters more than performance. I don't care if I finish first or second or third, but if I'm able to turn that into a story that empowers many people to be better in their lives, then that's it. And sometimes, hey, maybe only one person, but that person was my father and that was enough, you know. So I always seek to do the things that I'm doing for two reasons.

56:39

First, I always seek to do the things that I'm doing for two reasons. First, personal fulfillment, because it really it really fulfills the way that I feel towards life, like it has more purpose. It helps me grow in multiple areas right Physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, whatever it is right but at the same time the second, which now I'm seeing that is even more important the impact that is having in others. So everybody's been put in this world for a reason. I'm not saying that my reason is to go and do the toughest challenges in the world and share that with the world in order to help them become better. If that's the case, then beautiful. I've been talking right now to some producers that want to do documentaries and a series, of course yeah, the screams, Dr Sears, and it's great whatever, but I don't really feel like that's my calling.

57:25

You know, I actually don't want to move that path.

57:29 - Chase (Host)

If it happens, okay, but it's not part of the plan.

57:31 - Alvaro (Guest)

No, but look the reality is that, you know, I started with social media when I was you know, because I'm actually an entrepreneur by heart.

57:37

I have a real estate and a marketing agency and that's how I really found all these fun adventures and hobbies. But the reality is that when I started in real estate, I was not doing traditional real estate. I was actually renting luxury villas in jet set locations and in order to reach to an audience that could afford staying at these luxurious villas, I had to bring on what, back in the day, were public figures right. Nowadays we call them influencers. Everybody's an influencer, so I don't even like that word. But I wanted to reach the people that could afford these things and I realized that the easiest path was to tap into other people's audiences OPAs, right. And if these public figures live out of their brands, if I invite them over to stay for free at a villa that is $5,000 to $10,000 a night in exchange of just some publicity, and to connect me to these individuals, then it came on right and then you started leveraging that and bringing other brands, and it was a lot of fun.

58:34

This was like again eight, seven, eight, nine years ago, when Airbnb was starting outside of the States and it was great because it really realized, like I was really thinking, wow, this is the perfect way for me to tap into luxury lifestyle, to meet interesting people and and it really was a lot of fun but working with all these influencers eventually I realized that, wow, I'm building a brand for, for my business, but I'm not building it on a personal level. This could be interesting. You can make a lot of money with this, you can have a lot of access with it, and that's what I started doing. I started to build also my personal brand and eventually led to the business evolving and doing the sales. Then development it's just been evolving. We host a lot of events. Like it's just been evolving. We host a lot of events.

59:17

So when you ask me about social media, if I do social media for the sake of you know, storytelling or what it is, the purpose behind it I use it for so many things. I use it for business, I use it for storytelling, I use it for anything. But I'll tell you that the foundation of anything that you do on social media, it needs to go beyond just showing a product or showing something. It is something that, in my opinion, is more difficult every day, which is capture the attention, the attention of the person on the other side of the screen, and a lot of times, the reality is that attention has been grabbed in so many different forms. You're a good looking girl. You can grab attention quicker. You're doing something completely silly and irrational. You're grabbing attention, so I tried different hooks back in the day, like jumping out of a plane with a suit. That was a video that got 230 million views. That's what got me viral initially, you know, because everybody started to share this video.

01:00:14 - Chase (Host)

It literally went viral everywhere.

01:00:15 - Alvaro (Guest)

It had like I think almost 320 million views. Like it was ridiculous. Every page was resharing it. It was insane right. And then-.

01:00:24 - Chase (Host)

Did it funnel into anything real tangible? Well, so what happened is-.

01:00:28 - Alvaro (Guest)

Well, an editor of Forbes saw this article.

01:00:30

I mean saw this video and then decided to reach out to write an article on me, and then that article went out and then a lot of people started to reach out to work with me. So it's like an attention domino, yeah. And then what happened is that I started to post more videos and it was already this domino effect where all these other videos were starting to go viral as well, because now all these pages were following me and it kind of created a lot of momentum, so it made me skyrocket. I started to do collaborations, which is not the same collaborations that we see today as collab posts right, yeah, but it was collaborations in terms of creating content. Together with a lot of interesting people, I was able to start reaching out to people and they will be like, oh my God, this guy is interesting right Now.

01:01:06

I don't care, I mean not that my platform has plateaued or not, I just don't seek that virality Now.

01:01:12

I do the things that I love doing because I love doing them. And then, yeah, maybe I should look back into the hooks on how to go viral, but I just see the things that are going viral right now and the game itself on social media and how not saturated but how negative it has become. Right, and I'm not saying anything bad about social media. I think it's a great way to get yourself out there, but it's not the same as before and I think that in order for you to be able to succeed in that game, you got to be committed, you got to be disciplined, you got to be consistent and right now I don't see myself putting the time and effort to want to do that. Now, if two people watch one of my videos and they are empowered and inspired to do something, or if one brand sees it and wants to work with me, or one person says great, that's all I need, right? So I'm not looking so much at the numbers anymore. I'm looking more at the impact which is great and amazing.

01:02:06 - Chase (Host)

But you know, one could maybe even argue well, yeah, of course you can say that now, because you know you, your page excuse me, instagram alone is, you know, a million plus. So it's kind of like, oh, of course the person can, you know, take a step back and choose not to play the game when they've already won, kind of thing. So what would you say to kind of that? That?

01:02:26 - Alvaro (Guest)

person. It's a good point, and I'm like, okay, it's like the same way that if somebody has sold the company for 500 million dollars versus somebody like myself that is trying to build it to be a 500 million dollar company, and and then I will like I can picture the same analogy with the social media. Great, that person doesn't need to work and can just live out of passive income because has all this money. Yeah, so it doesn't matter. Like, the point is that you can compare yourself with me all day long, but it's not gonna change your 10 followers or your thousand followers. If you want to build your business, what is it exactly that you want to do? And I always say the same thing it's not going to change your 10 followers or your 1,000 followers. If you want to build your business, what is it exactly that you want to do? And I always say the same thing it's not so much about your followers, it's not so much about your virality, it's about authenticity.

01:03:07

I think that we're lacking this. Like that's one of the things that it's lacking the most these days authenticity. Are you being authentic to yourself? If you're able to be authentic and to be passionate about the things that you're doing, then you're going to have fun doing it right, like it doesn't matter if 10 people watch it, like. Right now we're just looking for validation. We're thinking that our success lays on how many likes we get, how many views we get, how many followers we have, how many you know things we're accomplishing quote unquote on social media. But the reality is that are you really putting content out there that is authentic? Are you putting content out there that is having some sort of impact? Are you doing something that you're passionate about? Are you doing something that you're willing to do in the long term because this is what you want to do, or you're just doing it for the sake of trying to get viral? And you made it right Like what is it really behind it?

01:03:56 - Chase (Host)

And that is a lot of well, that is some people's strategy, right? It's like intentionally excuse me, intentionally going through this method or using this viral strategy. You know there is strategy to social media, there is strategy to content, but it becomes more difficult to stay authentic through just constantly having strategy. I think I'm hearing you say but I'm curious if I could ask you directly is there a top strategy? Oh yeah, a hundred percent. And I was going to hearing you say but I'm curious if I could ask you directly is there a top strategy? Oh yeah, 100%. And I was going to tell you what is your top strategy.

01:04:20 - Alvaro (Guest)

I was going to tell you Same thing I did before Other people, audiences, opa and OPS, other people's stages you don't have to have an audience Like. You have 1,000 followers. Go to where the audiences are. Yeah, like, how can value-driven content? If you focus on how to add value, trust me, you'll build your page. You'll build your audience.

01:04:42

When I started, I was leveraging what I could add value on. I had nothing but access to a lot of beautiful homes. So I started to invite all these influencers. Guess what I was like? You need to tag me. We got to do content together. We got to like. You know it's part of the perks of like leveraging what you got.

01:05:00

So ask yourself how can I add value? Whatever it is that you can leverage, use it and start looking into the audiences that you want to tap into. When I wanted to build a community in the real estate world, what started to do? I started to build relationships with all these brokers, with architects, with developers, with interior designers. What are the conferences that have all these brokers and people in front? How can I add value to this audience? What is my unique skill set that I can go and add value on? So, whatever it is, just ask yourself and hey, if you are in a, wherever you are in the world, go niche, focus on what are the local news and what is one piece of thing that you can talk about and reach out. I started to reach out to all the editors about interesting things that I could be talking about that were interesting and hey, you might get a nine no's and one yes and then one yes.

01:05:51

That might lead to something else and then you can use that as leverage, because what I did is that when I was doing either a piece of content, collaboration, some news that came out. I will package all of this and use it as leverage to reach out to more people. So it's the domino effect. You just got to get started. The beginning is always the more difficult part, but you just got to again, and I will drill this down. Intentionality, just go with intention. What is it that you want to do? Value-driven, like how can you add value and add intention into whatever action you're taking? So I use the three words that I like the most.

01:06:22

Intention, action and then value.

01:06:25 - Chase (Host)

Can't disagree with you there, man, and I think this is a perfect way to kind of navigate to my final question. The whole purpose of the show is to help me and my audience find amazing stories and people and experts and authors and entrepreneurs and adventurers, to tap into unique areas, or all areas of well-being, so that we can learn how to move forward, and one of them, or all of them, to keep living a life ever forward. I say so of our. What does ever forward mean to you? If I were to say you know how do you live a life ever forward? How would you interpret that?

01:06:57 - Alvaro (Guest)

to keep moving, take to level up. That's really it Through intentionality. I think that this is a summary of what we just discussed. Right now, Like literally ever forward is a summary of this conversation. It's about just intentionality, taking action, adding value and really to not giving up.

01:07:18 - Chase (Host)

There's never a right or wrong answer. I say I always appreciate everyone's interpretation, but I mean it's very, it's been very clear from the whole experience here. You know you embody this philosophy very clearly in life and in business and in venture, and that's exactly what I'm talking about. That's exactly why we're here and that's exactly what I'm looking for whenever I sit down with somebody.

01:07:41

And you do it in such a unique and fun and adventuresome way. And you know, I do understand I think not everybody can really maybe relate. You know I can't go skydiving or I'm, you know, not a luxury real estate guy. But I want to go back to your point of you're focusing on the wrong things. Focus on what you do have and learn how to leverage that to build value, to grow. Oh my God, yes, I think people are sitting on a mountain of gold and they don't even realize it because they're focusing on what they don't have, Thinking that's what they need to get what they want.

01:08:13 - Alvaro (Guest)

You're so right and you know now that I'm thinking about this whole concept of Ever Forward. It's like the relentless purpose-driven action, right, like if you just think about how can I continuously move forward with intention by taking action every day, by trying to become a better version of myself and by adding value throughout the process. It's beautiful.

01:08:37 - Chase (Host)

That's it. Well, where can my audience go to connect with you, to follow along your amazing adventures? Get your book? We'll, of course, have everything in the video description and show notes, but is there one place to just go check you out more now?

01:08:49 - Alvaro (Guest)

Yeah, I mean Instagram is probably where I share the most of the adventures.

01:08:54 - Chase (Host)

It's where you see like these quick reels and then oh my God.

01:08:56 - Alvaro (Guest)

So yeah, instagram Alvaro Nunez. In Amazon you can get the book. Just level up and yeah, anything in between. Just follow the man himself. He's the one that brings all the fun into the podcast.

01:09:08 - Chase (Host)

Thank you, thank you. It makes me, it gets me itching to go see Ida. And again, I've seen this advertised. It's amazing.

01:09:20 - Alvaro (Guest)

They also have hot air balloon jumps. That's what I did the last hot air balloon just a few months ago. Out of the swing. It was so nice.

01:09:28 - Chase (Host)

Maybe my wife might have more attention to me now she's like no, we have a son. Now we got to be more calculated. I was going to tell you that with a six-month year.

01:09:35 - Alvaro (Guest)

I'll tell you this is one of the things that I keep hearing. Is that your risk tolerance changes when you have kids? Absolutely yeah.

01:09:43 - Chase (Host)

it's like eh, normally I would, but now I'm kind of calculating more. Yeah, calculated risk, exactly. Yeah, maybe later on we'll do it together. Beautiful but this was so much fun. Thank you so much, man.

01:09:53 - Alvaro (Guest)

Thank you for having me.

01:10:02 - Chase (Host)

For more information on everything you just heard, make sure to check this episode's show notes or head to everforwardradiocom.