Full Transcript for Episode 38: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life | Manuel Lolarga

myself. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:01.280 Um, very rarely do you hear of that that story of like they said go here and I didn't know anything about it, but I did it. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.680 Um, and so what were your thoughts when you started going through the process? 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:07.280 Was it something you enjoyed? 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.120 Like, what did you like about it that made you actually stay with it? 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:20.560 So when I was kind of going through the process, one of the things I want to do is to seek advice from people or people that you know that went into that industry. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:28.079 And I almost didn't go into engineering at the time because one of my older brother's best friend, we were workout partners in grade 12. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.399 And we got a chance to, you know, talk. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:31.600 I said, hey, you know what? 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.199 I'm planning going to engineering. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:34.240 What are your thoughts? 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:34.639 Right. 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:40.480 And he gave me a lot of, let's say, negativity about it because it's not like in high school. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.879 Your professors are not like your teachers, you're taking six courses in six labs, right? 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.560 You're gonna be like living at the campus almost all the time. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:50.720 So I really got discouraged. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:54.160 But then again, I realized that you know what? 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:59.040 Here, I'm getting advice from somebody that actually failed after his first year. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:04:59.439 Right. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:04:59.920 All right. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.879 So I knew I couldn't take advice from somebody from where I want to succeed in. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:05.199 Right. 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:05.680 Right. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:12.480 So this is when I reached out to a distant cousin or sorry, a distant uncle in California who actually owned an engineering firm. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:13.120 Oh, wow. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.399 And that's where he kind of gave me the ins and outs, the goods and the bad. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.120 And so I seek advice from experts, especially somebody that owns it. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:31.839 And once I got a chance to have a really good conversation with him, right, and then that's when I started to pursue uh engineering uh at a higher level with a different kind of perspective going in. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:32.399 Yeah. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:36.720 I mean, perspective is kind of everything uh for anything. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:52.399 Uh and you and I have had a lot of these kinds of conversations about leadership and you know, trying new things and doing new things and getting advice and mentorship, because that's not something that you would hear that a typical probably 18, 19-year-old kid would do. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:06:04.160 He would take advice from his friend about whatever his his career path, about um, you know, money, about you know, buying the car or investing money. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:11.759 Like people just don't take that type of advice and go, you know what, maybe I should think about who I'm getting this advice from. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:12.160 Yes. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.560 So at that young of an age, what made you go? 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:20.560 I should probably take a second, get a second opinion. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:23.680 Well, I shouldn't take advice from this guy that failed. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.000 I should go get advice from someone who succeeded. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:30.800 What I mean, you weren't involved in the leadership development kind of stuff that you were now. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:35.519 So what made you like have that sort of epiphany at that age? 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:43.759 Yeah, well, when I was kind of right before I went to a university, and I guess my my uncle, he actually visited me. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.920 He drove to California from California the winter, and he stayed with us. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:52.639 So when we drove back, that's when I really got a chance to hear the ins in and out. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:07:01.360 Kind of gave me a good uh, you know, good viewpoint of what I can expect, whether it's in school, in the corporate world. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:13.279 And just that's what really kind of got me thinking about I can't really count on people that are, you know, in my sphere of influence because that's where we're your biggest breaks in life, or the people where you want to grow, it's gonna come outside of your sphere of influence. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:13.680 Yeah. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:14.079 Right. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:21.040 I didn't really get a chance to get dive deeper in that into uh when it came to leadership, maybe further on into my career. 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:29.759 But at least in the beginning, right when I was starting school, because I know how difficult it can be, it's just getting advice from the right people because most people are told uh what to do. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.720 But then it's about okay, what what what kind of goal? 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.959 What are you trying to accomplish at that time? 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:35.360 Right. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:40.639 And I know when you're 18, 19 years old, you're probably not, you know, thinking long term and stuff like that. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.839 But I also had to pay my own tuition as well. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:50.560 So that really kind of gave me a little bit more urgency, right, to be able to accomplish something on my own. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:56.319 And I think that's where my maturity and leadership started to begin, because it started with leading yourself. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:56.800 Yeah. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:57.199 Yeah. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.800

I mean, leading yourself is kind of, you know, you kind of you have to, you know. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:05.839 I mean, I look at my career as, you know, uh as a financial advisor. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:18.399 I mean, if I'm constantly broke and constantly living paycheck to paycheck and not saving money and not getting insurance and not doing these things that I tell people to do, um, you know, it's not a very good look. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:23.279 But at the same time, I mean, I've had actually, it's it's it's funny we're having this conversation. 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:34.639 I probably had five or six people, honestly, in the last like two months that have been like, this plan is great and this makes sense, but like show me what you're doing. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:39.440 And I've had to be like, here's exactly what I'm doing, right? 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:44.799 Uh, and it's been like, oh, okay, so you're actually, you know, doing what you preach you're doing, right? 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:53.840 Um so I I love the fact because you are also, you know, you're you're the you're the uh the average of the five people that you hang out with the most, right? 00:08:54.320 --> 00:09:05.519 And so when we're going to school and we're young and we have all these maybe these big dreams and these wild things that other people think that we can't do, or maybe it's gonna be really hard to do. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:13.919 Um, getting advice from people that aren't where we want to be is kind of already setting up a success for uh a failure, right? 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.879 You're not you're not setting yourself up for success, right? 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:22.559 So um so that must have been some interesting conversations that you had with him, knowing that he owned this big firm. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:30.639 Um did did he give you any other lessons besides kind of that when you guys were having these conversations about getting into engineering? 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:37.039 Uh, I think he the biggest thing that he kind of did was he he wasn't afraid to tell me the truth. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:37.519 Right. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:45.279 I think a lot of people would kind of hide that, but he was very, you know, bold, you know, somebody that owned his own engineering firm out west, right? 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.480 And he's very, you know, stern with a lot of his employees. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:55.679 And so that's one of the things that I learned right away about he wasn't worried uh about sugarcoating some of those things. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:57.759 And I really appreciated that, right? 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:05.120 Because I'd rather learn some of those things now versus if when I get into the corporate world, you know, five, six years later, that I know what to expect. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:05.440 Yeah. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:13.840 Yeah, setting up setting up expectations uh are is a big driving factor, I think, for a lot of people.

00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:24.559 Um and we'll get into that a little bit later because I want to hear almost your sort of some of the things that you expect now that you're a principal that at an engineering firm and that kind of stuff. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:30.559 Um, but so okay, so he gave you advice and you decided I'm not following this friend that I work out with. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:32.480 Yeah, I'm gonna go do this thing. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.080 Uh and what were some of the things? 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:40.080 So, like you move away to Kitchener, now you're getting hired by somebody else. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.639 What was the expectation there? 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:43.840 Like, how did you decide? 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:56.080 Well, I'm just gonna go leave this thing that I was good at because of their downsizing, and now I'm gonna go move to a city where I probably don't know a ton of people uh and do a different career. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:56.960 What was that like? 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:04.399 Yeah, I think that was probably one of the most challenging parts of my life because the first time I was actually living permanently from home. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:10.480 I in my in my first job, I was, you know, living in different cities, but it was only okay one or two months at a time. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:15.600 But here, being you know, laid off from work, I realized that you know what? 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:19.519 I had to be able to take ownership of my own decisions. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:24.480 And being away from home for the first time, Kitchener Water in a city, I didn't know anybody. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:25.120 All right. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.960 I think my first week when I started, I was actually living out of a hotel. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:29.679 Oh wow. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:31.919 Yeah, I was living out of a hotel, right? 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:36.320 And then I at that same time when I started to work, I also had to look for a place to stay. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:40.879 All right, Kitchener Waterloo is a little bit different now, but back then it was it was a little bit easier. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:49.919 But just that whole that whole process there, you know, getting a place, you know, you also want to be able to impress because it's a very big firm. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.159 The second company I was with is you know over 10,000 employees at the time. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.919 And I started at one that was coming from like 15 or 12 to 15. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:01.919 So it was definitely a humbling experience to be able to see something that large. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.960 Uh, but it also, I was like, you know what, I almost felt like I have a chip on my shoulder, right? 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:08.320 That I wanted to prove myself. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:11.919 And that's where my sense of urgency really started to kick in. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:15.360 And and then another

area in my career started to grow. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:16.720 Yeah, which was what? 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.440 That is when learning other expertise. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:29.279 So the other automotive industry, I realized there's a lot of engineers that I can be able to, you know, pick from and choose from and to learn from you know experts, right? 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:30.559 And really humble myself. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:37.200 Like, because I think as an engineer, especially when you're young, is that we have a little bit of an entitlement mentality. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.399 At least I see that with a little some of my engineers, right? 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:49.279 And what I've noticed is that when you have an entitlement mentality, right, and then as you go through your career, it starts to turn into egos. 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:49.600 Yeah. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:49.919 Right. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.039 And there's a difference between a strong ego and a big ego, right? 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:59.759 And then I think that's really what stops people from growing and learning or going to that next level in your career or into your life. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:05.440 Because when you get that ego in place, and then now you feel like that you know everything. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:05.840 Right. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.799 And I know engineers or people in my industry are very strong personalities like that. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:18.000 That's one of my goals here to change that narrative when it comes to engineers, because everywhere I talk to, they're surprised that wow, you're really an engineer. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:29.200 So yeah, I would 100% agree with you because uh whenever I have to meet in my career in finance, if I have to meet with an engineer or an accountant, I know that you're gonna be hyper analytical. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:31.919 You're gonna want to pick apart every little detail. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:35.279 And I can't use words like this is just a concept. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.840 Like, let's let's get the understanding of the concept before we start doing numbers. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:41.120 They're like, no, just show me the numbers. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:45.120 And I'm like, you're not gonna understand the numbers until I show you the concept. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:46.799 So let's like back up a little bit. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:14:00.879 And you have to like almost massage around the fact that, like, listen, I get it, you're you're you're smart, you know a lot, you're you can read numbers, but before you can read the numbers, we need to like back up a little bit, right? 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:13.200 Um, do you think that that's something kind of created in the like education of engineering because of the things that engineering does? 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:17.279 I mean, they build buildings, they build bridges, they build all these amazing things. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.759 Do you

think that that just kind of comes along with it? 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:23.759 Or is it just the personality type that you need to be successful at engineering? 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:29.039 Like, what do you think creates that like uh big ego versus the strong ego? 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:29.519 Yeah. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:38.720 So this is something that you know we talked in great lengths because I believe the school system, and not that I'm down on the school system, I did, you know, graduate from University of Windsor. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:46.720 But one of the things I know, especially over the last few years, that the school system teaches you how to learn, but it don't teach you how to succeed. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:53.200 So if you're learning the wrong thing, it's very hard to position yourself for success when you go out in the corporate world. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:53.440 Right. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.720 So that is a really one of the biggest things that I noticed, right? 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:08.799 Because a lot of people that I've seen, they are really good at working hard, but they don't do the harder work, it's just where their mind develop them themselves, or you know, personal growth and development, which I know we talked length is, yeah. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:09.200 Right. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:10.080 I know I get it. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:17.519 There's a lot of people that have certifications, at least in the engineering world, MBA, you might have their PhD and a lot of that, which is great. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:23.200 But at the end of the day, is that really what is going to be the best way to position you for success? 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:23.600 Right. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:34.320 And then when it comes to doing the harder work, uh, that's where I really and a lot it might people say, well, I don't have the personality to become a leader, or I don't have the personality to become a project manager, or that is. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:40.399 And then one of my good friends that was living in Kitchener Waterloo, he said, Manny, it's not a personality thing, it's a mentality. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:42.960 Has anybody even gave you maybe this book? 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:51.759 Or have you ever met this person, or you ever, you know, read this or heard this podcast or audios to kind of change your perspective on how you see yourself, right? 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:56.080 Because when you change the way you see things, the way you some of the things that you see will start to change. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:56.480 Yeah. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.279 And then that was an epitome for me when somebody told me that. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:15:59.919 Yeah. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:10.799 And I'm sure you've seen the uh um Tony Robbins, uh, when he's like, uh he the the newest one is him and Theo Vaughn, the comedian. 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.559 And he's like, Okay, Theo, look around the room, look for anything that's red. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.399 And he picks out things that are red, and then Tony says, Okay, tell me what you saw that was blue. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:20.159 And he's like, uh nothing. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.000 I only looked at the red things, right? 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.720 Uh, and that perspective of being able to say, okay, like, how do I learn? 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:27.759 How do I get better? 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:34.720 Just because I maybe am an introvert doesn't mean I can't learn to become an extrovert in certain situations, right? 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:42.480 So I would 100% agree that that that mentality and the mindset shift um is really big. 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:46.799 And it's and it's not just big for like a you to develop as a person. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:17:03.360 If you want to, like you said, succeed in your career, if you want to succeed in your personal relationships, if you want to succeed with money, you have to be able to look at things differently than the way that we were grown up, um, the way that we were looking at things growing up, right? 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:13.680 Because if you're, you know, if your parents were never good with money and you learned those habits from them, how do you expect to be better with money if you don't look at it from a different perspective? 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:14.240 100%. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:15.039 Right. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.759 Um, and so what was this like then? 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:25.039 So going to Kitchener, you're in this uh whole new environment, you're living away from friends and family for the most part. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:29.440 Um, now you're living at home most of the time versus traveling a lot. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:37.440 Um, where did this like learning is it was it the the mentor that hired you with that company that said, Hey, go read these books, hey, go do these things? 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:41.519 Or was it something that you said, I need to go search these things out myself? 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.400 How did you start to learn some of the concepts? 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:44.799 Yeah. 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:51.599 So I think it's mainly a twist of fate that this happened because I didn't really learn it within the engineering realm, so to speak. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:54.480 Now I knew how to work hard, like I mentioned earlier. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:54.799 Right. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:59.519 I I always said that the best way to be able to lead is by example, right? 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:04.160 So I was always uh one of those hard workers, I was never what I call people are like a nine to five. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:05.440 I was the start to finish. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.759 So that's what really helped grow my career. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:10.559 I developed that when I was really, really, really young. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:17.359 So when it came to you know starting to develop doing the harder work, which

is your mind, it actually came from my neighbors. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:25.920 When I when I uh first moved into the neighbor to that neighborhood, uh my friends there, they uh they're entrepreneurs, all right. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:35.440 They had businesses outside of the careers, they were able to scale it at a high level, all right, and we were to be able to walk away from the corporate careers at the age of 26 and 28. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:41.519 So when I got a chance to learn from their stories, and like, how did they able to be able to position themselves like that? 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:42.000 Yeah, right. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:57.119 And they were talking about, you know, building other assets, other income streams, you know, learning about leadership skills, effective communication, you know, time management, financial literacy, business intelligence, all these things that you're not really taught in school. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:57.759 At least I wasn't. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.160 Yeah. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:59.920 I mean, I was never taught them either. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:00.480 Yes. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:04.559 Uh they teach you even like I took a degree in like business marketing. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:11.440 Yeah, most of the time they talk about marketing businesses, they talk about financial for businesses, how to read corporate ledgers. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:18.960 Yes, no one ever teaches you how to do personal finance or how to market yourself personally, or like none of them talk about any of that stuff, right? 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.720 It's that corporate world mentality, right? 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:22.079 Where never none of us are taught that. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:22.559 Yeah. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:23.119 Yeah. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.039 And that's, I think, one of the biggest things that I've noticed in the school system. 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:30.880 Like you do a lot of calculus algebra, very technical stuff. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:35.920 But if there was, let's say, a public speaking course or effective communications course, right? 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.640 These are skills that you're going to take for the rest of your life, right? 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.160 And that's the best way to position yourself for success, right? 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:43.279 Learning how to network. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:45.119 You know, I know we met at a networking event. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:45.279 Yeah. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:45.680 Right. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:49.759 Just because it's all about who you know, what not what you know. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:50.000 Yeah. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:50.319 Right. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.640 And that always bothered me when I was really young in my career because I was an extreme introvert. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.000 I didn't like talking to people. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:04.319 Literally, if you would have met me maybe 10 years ago, I would you would

be seeing me in the cubicle for eight to ten hours a day, and I probably would talk to nobody. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:05.440 And I was fine with that. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:07.440 And I did that for basically years. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:07.839 Yeah. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:08.319 Right. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:14.480 But then I you're then I realized that if you really want to get to the next level, you have to do things that are uncomfortable. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:14.960 Right. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:25.039 So that's when I started to, when I met that couple who are my neighbors, they taught me a lot about leadership, effective communication, all of these things that I never learned when I was, you know, growing up. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:25.440 Right. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.480 Because your parents are they only know what they know. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:29.119 Correct. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:34.960 So if you don't what what you don't transform, you're gonna transfer it to the next generation. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:39.359 So I knew I had to be able to change that mindset if I can affect more people while I'm here. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:41.359 That's an interesting way to say it. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.160 If you don't transform it, you're gonna transfer it. 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:44.799 Yes. 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:46.559 That's an interesting way to say it. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:47.759 And that could be anything. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:48.880 It could be anything, yeah. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:49.519 Right? 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:56.319 It could be it could be your financial situation, it could be your relationship situation, it could be whatever. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:00.480 If you don't transform something, you're gonna transfer it. 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:01.519 That's an i i I like that. 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:02.079 Yeah. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:08.960 And so okay, so then you start learning all these things from friends, neighbors of yours up in Kitchener Waterloo. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:22.559 Um did you instantaneously start to see like how they could be um transferred into uh the corporate world, into your engineering career? 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.519 Um you know, obviously it's not something that just happened instantaneously. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:28.480 You had to work at it. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.359 Yeah, right. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:39.839 But did you start to see like little things just kind of like, oh, that you know, I'm so glad that I learned this or did that or took this course or whatever because it put me in a position for that thing. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:40.559 Yeah. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.440 So yeah, it doesn't happen, you know, overnight. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:57.839 So when I started to really seek, you know, advice, I went to like networking events, uh, some of the things that they ran, and they talked about the things that I mentioned earlier, and this is where my mindset started this to shift. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.759 But it's not that I was trying to learn. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.079 More things at the time, I had to unlearn a lot of things, right? 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:08.559 Because being in corporate at the time, I think it was about 13 years into my journey. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:24.079 So it was very foreign to some of the concepts because I never, I never, let's say, read a book that's gonna help me, whether it's personally, financially, leadership, like none of those things were ever put in place for me to be able to succeed at that next level. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:24.319 Yeah. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:24.720 All right. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.160 And then in the networking, all of those things took a lot of time. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:40.000 And then when I started to get into certain seminars, leadership seminars, it probably took maybe about six to maybe nine months when I started to now not just learn it, but start to apply it. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:47.440 What kind of things do you think you started to like try to unlearn? 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:53.839 What were some of the things that you were like, this area of my life is not serving me, and I need to change it? 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:54.319 Yeah. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:23:02.640 The biggest one because of my personality as an engineer is my introverted, you know, passive kind of mentality. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:03.200 All right. 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:07.839 I see, let's say, my boss at the time, he was very extroverted. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:08.640 He was very clever. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:09.519 He liked to talk. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:10.720 He liked to talk a lot. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:12.400 Very smart, very intelligent. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:18.640 And I just thinking, and then I see a lot of people in the corporate world that uh, especially people that are higher. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:23.920 I noticed how well they communicate, how they interact with some of their clients, how they interact with their team. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:28.079 As like, that's just not me because my personality is not like them. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.880 But I was trying to, I think I was trying to be like somebody else. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:40.880 And then what I learned from some of my good friends, their big mentors and business partners of mine, is like you're not trying to be somebody else, you're trying to evolve into a better version of you. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:41.599 Right. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.880 And then that's when I started to apply some of the things. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:55.440 Like I read, like I went from you know, reading notebook, now I read about 40 books a year plus anything related to personal growth and development, attending a lot of networking sessions, just meeting new people, right? 00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:00.880 Because it's all about, like I mentioned, who you know, not versus what you know, yeah, and expand my network.

00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:01.599 Yeah. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:07.920 And I I hear a lot of people say that because you hear like two different trains of thought. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:12.000 You hear it's not uh what you know, it's who you know, right? 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:15.359 And that can go in positive and negative, right? 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:28.640 So when when you say it's not what you know, it's who you know, what would you say would be the the one thing that anybody who thinks of that as a negative, right? 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:36.960 Like I didn't get the job because I didn't know the right person and they're doing someone a favor, like that type of mentality. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:51.039 If you had somebody, let's say, that was working for you or that you met at a networking session that was making those types of comments, the negative attribute comments on that topic, what would you tell that person? 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:55.759 The first thing I would actually tell them is you have to change the way you think. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:00.559 One of the things I noticed with people is that they're very hard on themselves, right? 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:04.319 So this comes with you know speaking down in yourself, right? 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:08.960 Because what you say or what you speak is going to turn into reality. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:09.599 All right. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:13.119 And I was very hard on myself early on, like I'll never be like this, I'll never be like that. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.279 So it's called saying positive affirmation. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:21.039 So if you want to change the way your outlook on life, you literally have to change your words or what you say about yourself. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:21.680 All right. 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:26.559 And I think that's like a foreign concept, especially if you're an engineer, is like what is it's as simple as that, right? 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:33.759 Yeah, and it's there's no tangible numbers, there's no tangible formula that says, well, if I do this enough, I'm gonna get X. 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:43.440 Yeah, it's tough when your whole career, your whole degree is like uh verifiable proof and data. 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:43.920 Yeah. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:49.599 And when it comes to like changing the way you think and the way you act, there's no verifiable proof or data. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:51.839 No, they want like hard evidence, yeah, right? 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:52.319 Yes. 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:54.240 It's crazy. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:26:03.920 Um okay, so let's so okay, so you're starting to like learn and change some of the things that you're you're doing. 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:09.920 Uh where did the opportunity then come from going from Kitchener and moving back to Windsor? 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.200 Where did that come from? 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:15.759 So when I got a chance to connect with my neighbors, this was around 2017. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.720 So this is where I had to make a big shift into where I wanted my career to go. 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.799 This is also where I learned a lot of my entrepreneurial spirit because it came from them. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:34.880 So when I started to re to start to grow a side of me that I never seen, right, and then I see my leadership, my effective communication started to grow. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:41.519 One of my old friends that I used to work with back in Windsor, so he saw me started to change and to grow and stuff like that. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:46.240 So he was kind of poaching me over the next, you know, one or next 12 months. 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.920 And I said, I always kind of push him on because I, you know, I love the community that I was. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.240 Yeah. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:55.440 And then the opportunity started to came up, right? 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.640 And sometimes when the opportunity comes up, it's too late to prepare. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.000 So that's when I got a chance to say, you know, he met with me. 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:03.440 We got a chance to connect. 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.680 And then I thought that would be a great time to move. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:06.880 This is right before COVID, too. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.119 So I guess timing really helped on that one. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:11.279 And then I got a chance to do that. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:18.720 I think the hardest part was actually telling the company I was with that I was leaving, because I totally blindsided them. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:19.440 All right. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:34.559 And this is where I was very blessed or you know, hold such such high gratitude for what I've learned because when I got it, when I told them that I was leaving, one of the uh vice presidents of that company, because they were they're all shocked that I was leaving. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:34.880 Yeah. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:38.720 And I told them why I was leaving, you know, and coming back here to Windsor. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.160 And he understood it. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:41.279 He understood why. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:42.960 And he said, you know what, Manny? 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:45.119 You know, because they they like what I've done for the company. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:51.759 It's like if you ever, ever want to come back to Kitchen Waterloo to work for us, just give me a call, you can start the next day. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:52.319 Wow. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:52.720 All right. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:59.279 And that was really, really powerful because all along and I never really knew how much value it was. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:04.960 But over those last two years, just growing and developing, you know, becoming a business developer, right? 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:10.000 It really kind of humbled me right up to where I was going. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:10.559 All right.

00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:15.759 And then that's when you know I became a principal engineer, you know, going to tandem engineering where I am now. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:16.160 Yeah. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:20.480 And did you ever see yourself becoming a principal of an engineering firm? 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:24.880 Like if you went back 10 years ago, I guess you've been here for like almost 10 years. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:34.160 Let's say like 15, 20 years ago, would you have thought like old Manny like would never have had the goals that he had of becoming a principal? 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:41.359 Or would or would he just be like, I'm I'm good living in the corporate world, doing my start to finish? 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:43.039 Yeah, absolutely not. 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:44.240 No, absolutely not. 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:51.039 I was just one of those guys just under my in front of my computer and doing the hard work and just doing that on a day-to-day. 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:58.559 I I just knew how to work hard, but as you start to grow in your career, especially if you're working 80, 90 hours a week, I was at a point where I was like that. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:28:59.599 It was a lot of hours. 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:03.680 And when you start to get a little bit growing into your career, you realize what's the most important thing? 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.200 It's not money, it's time. 00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:05.680 Yeah. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:06.240 Right. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:12.079 And then I knew I had to develop other skills to be able to evolve to that new better version of me. 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:21.519 And then when I started to learn about these other people, people that are principal engineers, people that own their own businesses, I see the way and learning from their stories. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.880 And I can pick and choose how can I apply that to my life? 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:26.160 What are they doing that's differently? 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:29.279 A lot of it happens to habits and the discipline into that. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:32.160 And then that's when I started to say, you know what? 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:33.759 I think I can lead one day. 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:39.759 I can think I can do some business development or be that, you know, part of that, you know, being an entrepreneur of the company. 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:43.440 Basically, that's where I am at tandem engineering, is that business developer. 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:59.920 So did you if you went, okay, so if you went back like let's say 15, 20 years ago, and you're looking at the old version of Manny, would do you think that the old version of Manny would be like, ah, that guy is so lucky that he gets to go on lots of vacations? 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.519 Oh, that guy's so lucky that he's got control of time because I don't. 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:08.960 And would he be like, you know, kind of, I'll call it complaining, I guess. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.240 I don't really know a better word for it. 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:38.640 Complaining that he doesn't have the things that he wants, and then just through understanding communication, understanding goals, understanding um, you know, uh taking an extreme ownership in the in the choices that you make, that taking the the development and the mindset shift that he turned into the Manny Now, where it's just like, if I want the thing, how do I figure it out? 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:45.440 Like, do you think that the old Manny would have been that sort of complaining type person of the things that he didn't have? 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:45.920 Yeah. 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:47.200 Oh, absolutely. 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:54.400 Uh, because I remember being, you know, 15 years younger and just looking at other people, even in my sphere of influence, I see people moving on. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:59.039 And it's like, and I always kind of blame you, maybe my personality, right? 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:12.400 Because, you know, being I was the youngest of five kids and going through school, going through, you know, my first career job, and even my boss told me this too, is that, you know, man, you're too quiet, right? 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:16.000 I don't know if I can put you in front of the client because you don't say anything, right? 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:21.680 So when they what they do, so what's doing that for somebody that's young in the career, even somebody that's young, right? 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:29.759 When you put a when you start to uh put that behavior into a personality, now it becomes an identity for that person. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.960 So growing up, that's what I say. 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:45.920 It's like I can't be that next person because I am this, or I cannot, you know, be like that because I am this, because it's it was an identity that was put down from my sphere of influence, young and growing up into my careers. 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:47.920 And then I just kind of accepted that. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:48.559 Right. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:56.400 It needed, I needed somebody outside of my in uh sphere of influence to be able to break that, I guess, curse and that thinking. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:56.880 Yeah. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:57.279 Right. 00:31:57.440 --> 00:32:04.079 And then that's when really the I started to think differently to be able to say, yeah, you know what, I can do this. 00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:04.319 Yeah. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:04.799 All right. 00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:07.680 And started speaking good about my I call it positive affirmations. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:09.519 Positive affirmations, yeah. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:20.000 And I mean, I'm I'm assuming that now that you're a principal and you have some people working for you, that you're now helping others try to break some of those habits. 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:20.319 Yeah. 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:25.839 What would you say

to like even to a guy like myself, right? 00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:32.960 Jason and I now have, I don't know, 10, 12 sales guys between both avenues of our business. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:36.799 Um, and they probably see themselves as one thing. 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:43.680 How would you go about helping someone see a different side of themselves? 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:43.920 Yeah. 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:47.279 Or see a better version of themselves, or what could be? 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:49.519 How would you how would how do you go about doing that? 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:51.359 Yeah, so that's a really good question. 00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:58.160 Because about, I would say six or seven years ago, I started to evaluate what kind of separates one engineer from another. 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:01.039 They can have equal technical skills, right? 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:03.200 But then their outcomes are very different. 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:12.480 So when I moved to this company here in Windsor, I actually created an internal training system called mind over engineering, right? 00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:14.799 So it really has nothing to do with technical skills. 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:18.960 It's about how did I think during certain situations, right? 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:22.240 Because you can have two engineers look at the same problem. 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:26.559 One guy looks at an obstacle and another guy looks as an opportunity. 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:29.680 So during my mind over engineering, I do it about once a month. 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:36.240 And I start to train my staff to think differently about how they see problems, right? 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:38.400 I always say, don't play to the minimum. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:40.559 That's also kind of how I grew to my career. 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:42.799 I never played, you know, you have a job description. 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:44.160 I never played to the minimum. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:47.519 I always look at, okay, what can I do to become that lead engineer? 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:50.720 Or what can I do to help my project manager and project coordinator? 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:55.039 So when I started to do those tasks, I end the results started to follow me. 00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:55.359 Right. 00:33:55.440 --> 00:34:00.880 And then I was starting to do work that my principal engineer did, doing proposals, meeting the clients, right? 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:05.279 I only can get that to the level when I really started to develop my communication and speaking skills. 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:09.280 So then that's when I started to advance into my career even faster. 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:20.239 So in my mind over engineering training, I talk a lot about, let's say, we call it the soft skills in the industry, which is not something a lot of engineers like to work on, right? 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:23.199 Because maybe they need to see a little bit more tangible evidence. 00:34:23.360

--> 00:34:23.760 Right. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:27.360 And I love teaching that every month. 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:29.280 It's probably one of the most important meetings. 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:37.199 I tell it to my staff all the time, is because this is this is all of the tests that I had through my entire career. 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:41.760 Now I can share that as a testimony so that you don't have to go through the same mistakes as I did. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:42.480 Right. 00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:43.119 Yeah. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:47.679 And so how do you then go about sharing that mind over engineering? 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:53.360 Is it like a you do a little episode podcast like this recording yourself? 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:55.760 Is it like you guys in training learning about something? 00:34:55.920 --> 00:35:01.519 Are you bringing up a past thing that happened and how you solved it and how you problem solved? 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:07.440 Like, how are you bringing this awareness to the the the engineers that are that are training with you? 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:08.079 Yeah. 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:12.239 So when I'm going through, and I do it, yeah, like imagine, I do it once a month. 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:19.360 So I pick certain, let's say, tasks that I've done in the past, and over some of the things that I learned, it's kind of the way I think. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:22.559 And then I'll pick, let's say, for instance, networking. 00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:26.159 I'll give this as a good example because I like sharing this example to my staff. 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:30.559 It's like, this is why it's so important to develop your effective communication skills. 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:32.320 And I gave them one story. 00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:36.159 And that story was, you know, I went to the Windsor Wednesday event. 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:41.760 I connected with a gentleman there who connected me to another networking event that he ran. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:45.039 Uh, I had I made some good connections at the table that I was. 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:47.679 A month later, somebody gave me a call, right? 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:52.239 And then she said, Hey, you know, you don't know who I am, but you met my neighbor there. 00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:53.679 And then we connected. 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:57.360 I ended up interviewing that person, and then that person still works with me today. 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:58.480 It's been four years. 00:35:58.639 --> 00:35:58.960 Wow. 00:35:59.119 --> 00:35:59.519 All right. 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:07.119 So that's kind of like an example of how I show that networking is very important to be able to open up more sphere of influence about who you know. 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:09.519 And I also found clients, business partners that way. 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:09.760 Yeah. 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:16.559 The one I'm gonna be doing this Thursday, literally the topic mind over engineering, is gonna be

called buy back your time. 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:17.440 Yeah. 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:22.320 About developing good time management skills because we all want time management. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:22.719 Yeah. 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:32.800 So that was something when you and I got together last time that was very I'll call it eye-opening, I guess. 00:36:33.119 --> 00:36:37.519 Because Jason and I have talked about this, uh, Dan Martel's book, Buy Back Your Time, great book. 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:45.599 Um, and he talks about doing like uh, you know, a 15-minute check every 15 minutes on what did you spend your time on? 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:48.320 And he says, do it for like two weeks. 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:49.920 Yeah, you did it for like six. 00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:51.199 I did for six weeks. 00:36:51.440 --> 00:37:00.159 Uh and I'm just like, after I left there, I was like, man, like I I don't even have the time to do the thing for two weeks, let alone six. 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:05.280 How did you um how like how did you do it? 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:09.760 Like I'm so al and uh maybe this is just an excuse. 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:10.880 I'm so run off my feet. 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:12.079 I have so much planned. 00:37:12.159 --> 00:37:13.519 I'm doing all these things. 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:16.960 Maybe I'm just not making that that that thing a priority. 00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:27.920 But at the same time, like there's other things that are also as important or more important than doing an Excel document every 15 minutes of what I spent my time on. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:28.239 Yeah. 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:28.719 Right. 00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:32.239 Like, how did you go about doing that for six weeks doing everything that you were doing? 00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:32.719 Yeah. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:39.280 Well, first off, I had to, I was gonna about to do a networking talk about time management. 00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:50.239 And so I said, this is a great way to be able to share personally about systems that I have in place and to be able to take a log on what I do in a day. 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:54.000 Because a lot of people, we've heard of people budgeting their finances. 00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:54.239 Yeah. 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:54.719 Right. 00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:57.440 And some people do, some people do, don't. 00:37:57.519 --> 00:37:57.679 Yeah. 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:01.280 Then I asked the question is, well, when was the last time you audit your time? 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:02.079 Right? 00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:04.880 Because if you think of what's more important, time or money. 00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:05.519 Time. 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:06.400 It's time. 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:09.440 So time is what we want the most, but we treat it the worst. 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:15.760 So when I really started to understand that concept, it's like I have to make this a priority because I need to know where my time is going. 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:16.079 Yeah. 00:38:16.239 --> 00:38:26.159 So once I was able to, and I did it for say, I only wanted to do it for maybe one, maybe two weeks, but I wanted to extend it for six weeks so that I can really get some good data. 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:27.840 Again, it's probably my engineering mind. 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:28.159 Oh, yeah. 00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:31.679 So I can be able to analyze, okay, where am I spending a lot of my time? 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:34.159 Because at that time I was training for a marathon, right? 00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:42.000 You know, we were working a lot of hours at, you know, tandem engineering and then, you know, running a couple other businesses, plus, you know, you know, family events and so on. 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:49.440 So I really need to put a log about where my time is going because there's a difference between being productive versus being busy. 00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:52.880 A lot of people think being busy is being productive. 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:53.039 Yeah. 00:38:53.199 --> 00:39:05.360 And I think that's where a lot, even myself, when I did that that audit, I was like, wow, I still do about 17 to 18 hours a week that are not important and non-productive, which is an eye-opener for me. 00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:15.360 Because what can you do with that you know extra 18 hours to be more productive or to be able to spend time with you know family or so on, or maybe even just exercise. 00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:25.519 So when I did it on myself, it was more of a light bulb moment for me, but I also wanted to share to the people that I got a chance to talk to about when was the last time you audit your time? 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:32.800 Because a lot of people are really difficult when it comes to time management, and they always say that they're busy. 00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:33.519 Right. 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:41.519 When I hear you talk about that, yeah, Jason and I shared something this morning to our staff. 00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:41.920 Yeah. 00:39:42.079 --> 00:39:44.639 Uh this morning, a similar, right? 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:55.760 Where you're growing in your career and you're making maybe more money than your friends are making, or you're having more success than other things, and those other things can sometimes start to go by the wayside. 00:39:55.840 --> 00:39:56.239 Yeah. 00:39:56.559 --> 00:40:02.960 Because our sphere of influence is now a different sphere of influence, right? 00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:13.760 There was overlap in the beginning, and now I've moved into a different, but now I'm also connected to other people, and you're gonna start to kind of progress yourself into a different circle of friends. 00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:24.000 Um when I hear you talk about that, I'm like, okay, there's probably a lot of time that I'm doing things that are not productive. 00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:35.599 Um, but at the same time, like you also don't just want to be a robot always working, never

having fun, not doing things. 00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:45.440 And so, what would you say to the person that maybe works for you that is like, okay, I have a lot of stuff that I'm doing. 00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:52.559 Is it just that I need to be okay and comfort with where I'm at in life because I don't want to change those things? 00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:59.440 Uh, or would you try to encourage that person to change those things because life is better on the other side? 00:40:59.760 --> 00:41:03.599 Um, because there's obviously things that you we only have so much time in a day. 00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:08.800 We have to give up something to grow and get something else, right? 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:18.159 So it's not uh I when I was reading a book the other day, it's not so much a sacrifice, as people would say, it's an investment in something else. 00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:18.800 Right. 00:41:18.880 --> 00:41:29.760 So, yes, I might be quote unquote sacrificing this thing, going out to the bar with friends, whatever, but I'm actually I'm not sacking, I'm choosing to go invest my time somewhere else. 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:35.039 Um what do you what would you tell that person who's like, I don't know if I want to give those things up? 00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:35.360 Yeah. 00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:35.760 Yeah. 00:41:35.840 --> 00:41:40.079 And that's a really good question because it's gonna lead to my talk that I'm gonna be doing on Thursday. 00:41:40.239 --> 00:41:40.480 Right. 00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:46.480 So there's a difference, you know, we all know the concept of you know, spending money versus investing money. 00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:47.119 Right? 00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:52.480 You spend money on food or whatever, you're not really getting an inv uh a rate of return back. 00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:56.079 Yeah, but when you're investing into something, you expect some kind of return. 00:41:57.199 --> 00:41:59.440 It's the same thing with time, right? 00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:05.519 If you spend time on something or somebody, are you gonna is it is it a good investment back? 00:42:05.760 --> 00:42:08.239 And don't get me wrong, I'll spend time with some of my friends. 00:42:08.320 --> 00:42:12.719 I call it like uh having progressive or conservative relationships, right? 00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:15.519 There's people in life where they're gonna, it's like an elevator. 00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:19.360 They're either gonna bring you up, they're gonna bring you down, or they're neutral. 00:42:19.679 --> 00:42:19.920 Right? 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:21.360 They're not gonna be up or down. 00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:25.119 The ones that are gonna bring you down are very easy to spot, right? 00:42:25.199 --> 00:42:26.559 Because they're always negative. 00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:30.960 Maybe if you're going somewhere in life, they would try to pull you down, right? 00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:33.920 Those are very easy to spot, but it could be your best friend. 00:42:34.320 --> 00:42:34.800 Right. 00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:38.320 The the second type of people are the hardest to spot. 00:42:38.400 --> 00:42:39.599 These are the more neutral people. 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:49.760 These are the friends that you kind of hang out with, you know, all the time, but they're not really want to grow, they're not very ambitious about going to that next level, but they're not necessarily negative either, right? 00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:53.039 But then just like in an elevator, there's a capacity, right? 00:42:53.119 --> 00:43:00.000 So if you have so many people in the elevator there, it's eventually going to bring you down because it's gonna stop you from reaching your potential. 00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:04.719 And then there is the third type of people, which is the rare type of people. 00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:10.480 These are the people that are going somewhere in life, they're thinking about the future, right? 00:43:10.559 --> 00:43:18.000 If you look at the people that, and this is the best way to spot neutral people or negative people, the next time you have a conversation, what are you guys talking about? 00:43:18.159 --> 00:43:19.519 Are you talking about the past? 00:43:19.679 --> 00:43:22.639 Yeah, or are you talking about events, things that are happening now? 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:25.440 Usually it's about things that we've done many years ago. 00:43:25.679 --> 00:43:28.880 But the rare conversation, this is when you know you're on the right elevator. 00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:36.639 When you're talking with somebody and they're talking about things that about the future, what they're gonna do, some of their goals, some of the things that they want to accomplish. 00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:39.920 Those are the people that you really want to surround yourself with. 00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:44.159 The challenge is the people that are negative is like the three minute people, right? 00:43:44.400 --> 00:43:49.519 But then we like to spend like three days with the three minute people or three hours with the three minute people. 00:43:49.760 --> 00:43:54.239 But what you really need to do is how do I spend more time with the people that are going somewhere? 00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:59.760 And that's where you have you can start to invest your time properly, like the network invention. 00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:03.840 Know that we go to, I looked at it as an investment because you never know who you're gonna meet. 00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:04.239 Yeah. 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:06.239 Like like we connected there. 00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:06.480 Yeah. 00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:08.400 And I found one of my engineers there. 00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:10.400 I found you know clients there, right? 00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:13.599 So I was able to add a lot of value and and vice versa. 00:44:13.760 --> 00:44:20.800 So that's where I like to spend or invest my time in because you know I'm expecting something in in in return, right? 00:44:20.880 --> 00:44:25.119 Because I

always say if I'm gonna go talk to this person, you know, I'm gonna add value. 00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:27.280 And if something comes back, that's great. 00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:32.000 Or at the at least I'll be able to share part of my story that can probably help them down the road, right? 00:44:32.079 --> 00:44:33.599 Which I've done in the past as well. 00:44:33.760 --> 00:44:34.000 Right. 00:44:34.079 --> 00:44:36.159 So that's the way I look at it when it comes to time. 00:44:36.239 --> 00:44:38.320 It's investing it in the right places. 00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:40.800 So it will add value and help them, right? 00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:42.800 And if it if it returns, that's great. 00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:44.719 But I never think about the return. 00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:49.519 I just know if I'm always doing good, helping other people succeed, I'll eventually succeed along the way. 00:44:49.760 --> 00:44:50.239 Right. 00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:52.480 And then so how are you? 00:44:53.199 --> 00:45:03.760 You obviously have to have a goal in mind of where you're trying to get to, what you're trying to do, if you're gonna be deciding what to invest your time in, not versus not in, right? 00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:16.639 Um you know, and you know, I I love the fact that you're you're here having this podcast because obviously you're giving me an hour of your time and plus, you know, some drive time uh versus somewhere else. 00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:23.119 So how do you decide those goals and what thing makes the most sense to invest in? 00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:23.840 Yeah. 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:28.320 So like you mentioned, it's all about where you want where you want to go, right? 00:45:28.559 --> 00:45:33.280 Because if you don't have a goal, I look at it this way if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every single time. 00:45:33.519 --> 00:45:33.760 Yeah. 00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:34.239 Right. 00:45:34.480 --> 00:45:40.880 And every person that asked, whether it's engineers or people that out and about, I ask, so you know, where do you want to see yourself in two years, five years? 00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:42.159 You know, how do you want to see it? 00:45:42.320 --> 00:45:45.199 And most people draw a blank, which kind of blows my mind. 00:45:45.360 --> 00:45:49.440 But then again, I can understand that mentality because that's how I was 10 years ago. 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:49.840 Right. 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:50.239 Right. 00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:58.320 So once I had an idea where I wanted to be, like, you know, maybe a managing partner here or building other uh businesses, right? 00:45:58.400 --> 00:46:00.719 So I had a goal and a target in mind. 00:46:00.880 --> 00:46:04.639 So now I start to develop the habits to start to get there, right? 00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:07.440 And habits is one thing, but you also got to be disciplined. 00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:12.800 Yeah, that's the challenge for most people because we have a lot of, let's say, habits that we're not proud of. 00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:13.280 Right. 00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:19.039 So the book that I read in Atomic Habits is not about bringing a new one, it's replacing the old one with better ones. 00:46:19.199 --> 00:46:19.360 Right. 00:46:19.519 --> 00:46:23.199 So slowly over time, that's what I've done so that I can be okay. 00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:24.800 Does this align with my goals? 00:46:24.960 --> 00:46:26.559 Does this align with my values? 00:46:26.719 --> 00:46:31.840 So now it's just a decision saying, okay, I am not gonna do this, I'm gonna pursue this. 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:32.239 Right. 00:46:32.320 --> 00:46:38.239 And then when you make those uh small decisions consistently over time, it's gonna start to compound. 00:46:38.320 --> 00:46:38.480 Yeah. 00:46:38.559 --> 00:46:41.119 And then that's when you really start to see some of the results. 00:46:41.360 --> 00:46:41.760 Yeah. 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:42.239 Yeah. 00:46:42.320 --> 00:46:44.000 And I mean, that's true for anything, right? 00:46:44.079 --> 00:46:48.400 It's true for your fitness, it's true for business, it's true for your finances. 00:46:48.559 --> 00:46:59.760 I mean, I always tell people when when people are like starting fresh or they're young people, uh, if they either if they have debt and they're trying to like, well, do I pay off debt or do I save money? 00:47:00.320 --> 00:47:03.679 Honestly, sometimes I'm like, that probably should do both, right? 00:47:04.079 --> 00:47:09.440 You don't go to the gym and pick up a 50-pound dumbbell in one hand and a 25-pound dumbbell in the other hand, right? 00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:14.960 You take two 25s and you start curling both at the same time because you're not going to make one stronger than the other, right? 00:47:15.119 --> 00:47:19.679 You have to say, okay, I'm going to pay off debt and save money at the same time. 00:47:19.840 --> 00:47:20.800 And then I'll get ahead. 00:47:20.880 --> 00:47:26.719 It might be a little slower, but at least if anything comes up emergency-wise, I've got some money set aside, right? 00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.760 Um, and that's just learning habits, right? 00:47:29.840 --> 00:47:39.119 You also can't go from saving zero money to saving a thousand dollars a month because you get this great job because you're not used to saving a thousand dollars a month, right? 00:47:39.199 --> 00:47:41.920 It's that's a big thing to say, right? 00:47:42.079 --> 00:47:47.199 So you have to take those in little strides and like you said, replace the little habits as you're going, right? 00:47:47.519 --> 00:47:49.760 Um, man, Manny, we could talk forever. 00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:53.440 Uh, we're running out of time because uh I think there's somebody else coming in behind us. 00:47:53.679 --> 00:47:56.320 Um I'm gonna end the podcast. 00:47:56.559 --> 00:48:06.559 Uh one question in a second, but is there anything that you want to tell anybody about, you know, tandem, what you guys do, you know, how you

your favorite book? 00:48:06.639 --> 00:48:15.199 Like, is there anything that you would tell anybody listening here that if there was one thing that they could do to like change their life or get in a better place or do whatever, that they they should do this thing? 00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:15.679 Yeah. 00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:20.400 So I think it's easier to put a picture of success versus what it takes to actually be successful. 00:48:20.639 --> 00:48:22.239 So it's those little habits. 00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:26.079 And something I tell my staff all the time is like, okay, what are your habits? 00:48:26.159 --> 00:48:27.039 Are you are you reading? 00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:28.960 Are you putting good nutrients into your mind? 00:48:29.119 --> 00:48:29.360 Right? 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:31.599 Because I think most people are mentally obese. 00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:37.920 So when I started having a fit mind, it started to really strengthen other areas in my life. 00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:45.440 And when I started to implement that into tandem engineering, when I started, you know, many years ago, we're a growing company, or we have an office in Detroit and Windsor. 00:48:45.519 --> 00:48:49.360 We're really ready prime to expand to that next level, right? 00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:52.159 But then it also demands a newer version of yourself. 00:48:52.400 --> 00:49:01.119 So why I want my biggest goal is to be able to transfer a lot of my I'm just wanting to a conduit of wisdom to the other people so that they can start to grow and learn together. 00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:04.559 Because if we're all alignment, then that's what teamwork is, right? 00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:06.800 Together everybody achieves more, right? 00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:12.079 And that's what it that's the standard barrier that I want to have for my team and my staff to go to the next level. 00:49:12.320 --> 00:49:12.559 Yeah. 00:49:12.719 --> 00:49:12.960 Yeah. 00:49:13.039 --> 00:49:14.719 I mean, having a fit mind is huge. 00:49:14.880 --> 00:49:18.239 I mean, you know, everything is, you know, mental. 00:49:18.400 --> 00:49:18.639 Yes. 00:49:18.800 --> 00:49:22.559 And if you can withstand those mental fights, you're you'll you'll be okay. 00:49:23.119 --> 00:49:25.199 Um well, thanks for the time today, Manny. 00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:27.119 Um final question I have here. 00:49:27.280 --> 00:49:32.320 We always end the podcast asking our guest, what does success mean to you? 00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:37.760 Success means that I leave a legacy. 00:49:38.079 --> 00:49:41.039 All right, because there's two there's two deaths in life. 00:49:41.360 --> 00:49:46.320 One when people your true death, the other one is when people start to forget your name. 00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:47.519 Right. 00:49:47.760 --> 00:49:53.280 So when you start to impact people in a positive way while you're here, people are gonna remember that, right? 00:49:53.519 --> 00:50:02.559 So when the legacy continues to grow, when you start to transfer this mindset, right, and then that's what I think true success is because it's just like you know, a flame. 00:50:02.719 --> 00:50:06.480 A flame will never a candle will never lose its flame if you light another candle. 00:50:06.719 --> 00:50:06.960 Right. 00:50:07.039 --> 00:50:17.760 So if you're able to be able to share your story kind of like this, and to be able to share your the the test that you pass, now it becomes a testimony to others. 00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:18.159 Yeah. 00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:33.760 I one of my mind of engineering that I said was, you know, if I'm gonna write a book, if you write a book about yourself from the time you're born to where it is now, and you give it to somebody that is in need of encouragement and they read your book, would it change your life? 00:50:34.559 --> 00:50:38.800 If it wouldn't, then you need to start changing your life so you become better. 00:50:38.960 --> 00:50:42.559 So I know this is just a chapter of where I am, but my book is continuing. 00:50:42.639 --> 00:50:44.000 I'm you're the author of your own life. 00:50:44.079 --> 00:50:44.320 Yeah. 00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:44.800 All right. 00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:58.880 And so that's that's what success to me is that if I when I write a book at the end of my lifetime, I can give it to somebody, and even if it's impacting one person, and that one person could be able to affect generations or thousands, maybe break a generational curse. 00:50:58.960 --> 00:50:59.280 Yeah. 00:50:59.440 --> 00:51:00.960 That's what success is to me. 00:51:01.199 --> 00:51:01.920 I like that. 00:51:02.079 --> 00:51:04.239 I like I like that analogy you used. 00:51:04.400 --> 00:51:08.400 If the the a can a flame on a candle will never go out if it lights another candle. 00:51:08.639 --> 00:51:08.960 Correct. 00:51:09.119 --> 00:51:09.840 That's really good. 00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:10.239 Yeah. 00:51:10.480 --> 00:51:11.039 I like that. 00:51:11.199 --> 00:51:17.679 I think and I and I think it goes to the testament of like, you know, who you are since I've met you. 00:51:17.840 --> 00:51:18.079 Yeah. 00:51:18.159 --> 00:51:20.400 You know, we've had some amazing conversations. 00:51:20.559 --> 00:51:27.280 Um, and it's always just sharing wisdom on how to do anything better, whether it's business, whether it's real estate, whether it's networking. 00:51:27.360 --> 00:51:30.960 Like we've just had some really good conversations over the past, and I know they're going to continue. 00:51:31.119 --> 00:51:31.360 Oh, yeah. 00:51:32.239 --> 00:51:33.840 Um, but uh yeah, we're out of time. 00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:44.880 So uh, Manny, thank you very much for taking the time to chat about leadership and some of the things you guys are doing at tandem to make tandem, you know, a great organization of engineers that are doing something different. 00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:48.000 Um anything else you want to say? 00:51:48.239 --> 00:51:55.039 Yeah, no, I just wanted to just thank you for giving me this opportunity to be able to and use this platform to help other people. 00:51:55.199 --> 00:51:57.519 So I'm really excited to be able to share a little bit about my story. 00:51:57.840 --> 00:51:58.480 I appreciate it. 00:51:58.639 --> 00:52:01.440 And uh I guess I'll probably see you at the next Wisdom Wednesday. 00:52:01.840 --> 00:52:02.320 Oh, hundred percent. 00:52:02.400 --> 00:52:08.000 So uh, ladies and gentlemen, that's another episode of Cracking the Success Vault here with uh Spectre Group. 00:52:08.079 --> 00:52:10.800 And our guest today, Manny La Larga from Tandem Engineering. 00:52:10.960 --> 00:52:20.639 Um, as always, you can find us on all the streaming platforms, the the podcasts, uh, whether it's uh, you know, Spotify, whether it's Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, YouTube, you know where to find us. 00:52:20.800 --> 00:52:21.440 Till next time.