Coffeez with Joe Shalaby - How to Lead to Victory ft. Mateen Cleaves | Coffeez for Closers Ep. 24

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's up everybody? Welcome to another episode of Coffees for Closers. Today we're thrilled to bring on a profound guest. He's a master of the game, a college basketball icon, and a driving force behind one of the most unforgettable NCAA championships ever won. From dominating college courts to making his mark in the NBA and now as one of the pillars of leadership culture at United Wholesale, his journey is nothing. short of inspirational.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Some of you may know him for his catchphrase. If you're trying to win, tap in. Join me in welcoming the one, the only, Matine Cleaves. Told you, baby. I told you, you know, you just had to hear me out. Yes, if he's trying to win, tap in. One of the best catchphrases ever.

Starting point is 00:00:57 It just came to me one day. I was talking in my car. I was sitting there. I was giving a, I was putting a, some of social media and it just came to me man and then I guess that's how sometimes magic works that's right that's right that's just like your basketball game and a lot of that game came to you yeah it just came just working and doing things and you know good things happen when you just grind what year what year did you get that catchphrase oh this was like probably a year ago yeah right

Starting point is 00:01:23 outside sitting in new park a lot of UWM sitting in my truck it just came to it's been like a coin phrase we use it i can't imagine how many people actually use it you know matina i like to start the podcast with uh something that uh really just opens up uh this conversation so and everybody does this so what's your morning routine like how do you start your day yeah man that's a that's a good question i'm just you know get up in the morning obviously um really it's mine is simple when i'm on my a game i work out you know right now i'm getting back to that now i get up i work out um eat something like getting the car, upbeat music.

Starting point is 00:02:03 That's my thing. Inspiration of music, upbeat music. You know, I go back old school. It's really not old school, but it's old school to the youngsters. It's 90s, you know, hip-hop, 90s R&B, because, you know, it was more uplifting music around those times. So it was 90s hip-hop, 90s R&B, and it's taking probably 35 minutes to get to work.

Starting point is 00:02:25 And then once I get here at UWM, and I like to put out a motivational video, every Monday. And once I sit in my truck and put out my video, I come in, come in to work and get ready to rock and roll. I watch all those videos, by the way. A lot of people watch them. We love them.

Starting point is 00:02:41 People know I don't put, I'm not sitting up writing down what I'm going to say. When I pull up in the parking lot, I just say what comes in my heart. And that's what it is. And that's why I think it comes off so authentic because it's not, it's not scripted. You just started those too. It's been like, what, two years you've been doing the morning? And it started because it's, success track. It was some folks in from success

Starting point is 00:03:02 track and they said, you know, you should put social media content out. And I'm like, okay, you know, that was never, it's never my, like I'm trying to grow my brand and I'm not, I just put it out there organically and hopefully you can connect with someone that need to hear certain things and it can motivate people to

Starting point is 00:03:18 go out and, you know, make it happen. What haven't you tried to grow your brand? I mean, you already had a brand to begin with. Shouldn't be that hard to grow your brand from there. Yeah, and I get it all the time. I have people reaching out like, man, you need you should do more this and do more of that. And I think I am. But the biggest thing is it'll be just to help people. If growing my brand and getting me a broader stage to help others, then that's what I'm going to do.

Starting point is 00:03:41 But it's not for me, selfish reasons. It's more so to help other people because I really do get a kick out of inspiring others and seeing people grow and take it to the next left. And you really have been a true inspiration. You continue to inspire so many. So I think like leveraging the existing brand of Matinquis, because you're, you know, like I don't, you know, like, mentioned in the intro, a basketball, a college basketball icon, millions of people know you from then, and obviously people know you from the NBA, not an icon in the NBA, but still an NBA top draft pick, you know, but, you know, you've carried this huge brand for so many years. I think it's something that you definitely can leverage to inspire millions. Yeah, and you mentioned

Starting point is 00:04:22 it. Like, the good thing about my life is I've been in so many different stages. I've been the best player on the team. I've been, I've been, I'm, um, playing in the NBA where I was just a role player. I've been in the NBA where I didn't even play much. You know, it had to find my way to help add impact to the team. Watching film a guys or being a motivator in the locker room, whatever the case was, I had to find my niche. But I think that's helped build me to the person I am now to be able to help other folks

Starting point is 00:04:51 because I've said in every seat. I've been archer successful. I've been through challenging times. Yeah. You know, something can deter you from wanting to move on. I've been in all those situations. And I think it just helped me now, you know, form this person I am now that made me better in the long run.

Starting point is 00:05:07 You keep getting better. That's something I notice. Every time I even hear you speak, it's like, it's better than the last one. Something you like to live by that saying, it's like Denzel saying, you know, like, I'm not done. I'm not finished. The next one's going to be my next speech here that's going to be better. And you keep getting better. And even your social media content in the morning that you're publishing, it's just flowing better.

Starting point is 00:05:28 Yeah, and I think that's just how we're wider here at UWM, you know, and it goes back to when we played at Michigan State, you know, me and Matt, it was just a certain mindset and mentality that we had at Michigan State that made us successful. And now being, it's funny, the roles have changed a little bit. I was the leader on our team at Michigan. Yeah, yeah. Now Matt is more of the leader, and he inspires me to always want to grow in the mortgage industry. I always want to grow in my role here at UWM and just watching Matt. I mean, I'm lucky to see one of the best in the world, you know, do their thing every day. And to be able to have a front row seat to that, I think that's helping me grow.

Starting point is 00:06:07 Now, I want to talk about a little bit about, like, your childhood life because one thing you always talk about Matina, when I hear you speaking is like, you were so good at basketball because you went, you went to church with the basketball. You slept with the basketball. And you always make that comment. And I always am I always thinking, I got to ask Matina about his childhood life, you know, like, Did you always know you wanted to play ball? You were so dedicated to playing basketball, and that level of dedication, I mean, and you mentioned this all the time, it's like, everybody wants to play in the NBA, you know, and how many people get to play, and how many get to play at that high of a level?

Starting point is 00:06:44 So, you know, so what was childhood like? What inspired you to play basketball at that level? Who was really the catalyst for that? My father was an athlete. He played Division II level football. college football. My brothers all played, you know, varsity sports, basketball, and football. And I was the youngest, five siblings, having five siblings. I mean, I was the youngest. And my brothers were athletes and growing up just watching them play or running up behind them trying to keep up with my

Starting point is 00:07:15 brothers. That's what it was. But I told my mother, man, I probably had to be it in first grade, you know, that I wanted to play in the NBA. And she was a huge influence in me telling me that, well hey do it you know if you want to be an NBA player go get it you know you're going to be an NBA player so my mother is still a lot of self-confidence in me and my father as well and that that helped me but having older brothers that were in sports and trying to keep up with them I think that kind of gave me an edge on some of the other kids that were playing sports did you out hustle your brothers like when it came to your grit your mindset being a younger brother if I didn't work hard I didn't even having a chance to compete with them. And then I have to say I benefited from being younger because

Starting point is 00:08:00 I learned from some of their mistakes. You know, some of my brothers didn't make the best decisions outside the court or the basketball court or field. I had another brother who I thought was the most talented out of all of us, but he was lazy. And he'll tell you. And I learned from that, like, it's not just having talent, man, you have to work hard if you want to get to a certain level. And my goal was not just to make it varsity in high school or make it to college. my goal was to make it to the NBA, and that's something that drove me every day. That's what I want to ask you about. At what age did you know you wanted to accomplish that goal?

Starting point is 00:08:32 It really clicked. I say probably 12 years old when I really, really, really started really paying attention and watching it and watching it with a different eye. Instead of just watching and looking for highlights, watching them trying to learn. You know, Michael Jordan, every team that plays them, they're trying to stop him. But yet he still gets 30 and 40 and 50, 60 points. How? How is he doing that?

Starting point is 00:08:58 You know, Larry Bird back then was the best shooter. How does he continue to get open? Because everybody's trying to take him away. Or point guards. I looked at, you know, Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson. Then I look at John Stockton, who's not as athletically gifted. How is he having success? You know, so I started to look at the game, probably 12 years old, with a different eye,

Starting point is 00:09:18 not just looking for the highlights, but looking to try to learn from it. That eye at 12 years old, like, how do you even accomplish that eye? Like, that is a lot of wisdom to get to that level of discernment. And I guess what that's what kind of separated me from a lot of people was that. It's not just about, and it's something I preach to my son all the time. It's not just about talent. It's not just about, you know, running up or down on the basketball court. You have to read things.

Starting point is 00:09:44 You look at LeBron James, who's a master at it right now in today's game. He sees things before they happen. And if you take this away, well, he know what this guy has. is going to be open. And I think that's a gift. And you have to work at it. And you got to watch a lot of basketball. You have to study basketball. It's a different from watching it and studying it. And nowadays, you know, you can rewind games and stop and pause. I mean, I utilize those tools to teach my son now. But back then, I guess just from being around it all the time, I just took a like it to it and then when you started loving it, you want to do things to help you get better at it.

Starting point is 00:10:19 Love it, love it. I know I talked to you yesterday and you're like, hey, I got to, I got to dip out. I got to go coach my son playing basketball. You've been coaching your kids playing basketball? Yes, I do. And I love it. I love it. And I mean, he might not, but I do. And I just try to push him to be his best. And I am, I try to be a father when I'm off the court. But when I'm there, I push him because his goal is to play in the NBA. And I said, go for it. You know, go for it. And so I challenge him. And not only him, I I challenge all the rest of the kids that's around. And I try to pour into all these other kids because it's a difference.

Starting point is 00:10:57 You know, everybody wanted to play in the NBA, but it's a difference from being driven. And for me, I told them, I don't like slackers. I'm not going to allow you to come in here and not work hard. You're going to work hard. You're going to learn how to compete because whatever you do for the rest of your life, you'll be competing, whether it's sports, whether it's business, me being, you know, having a luxury of playing sports and not being in the business world. Competition is a thing.

Starting point is 00:11:22 Yeah. So you better get used to competing now. So I challenge the kids, and I hold them highly accountable. But on the flip side, I love on them so much. So they know it's coming from a good place. So they allow me to push him a challenge because they know I do care about. How old are your kids? Hello, his son is 26.

Starting point is 00:11:39 And he's doing great, man. He's a leader at Amazon. He's doing good things. He's graduated. He's got to get his master's. He's doing great things. My youngest is 14, and that's who I'm coached right now, and I'm kind of pushing to go to the next level.

Starting point is 00:11:54 So he's already playing high school ball? He's 14, so he's an eighth grade. He'll be a freshman going to next year. He's like a young LeBron happening here. LeBron, you're stretching a little bit, but he has a chance to be good, and I'm going to push him to that. And I always tell him, and I say this when I speak, go for it. Go for it.

Starting point is 00:12:13 Don't ever be the reason why you don't make it. You go give me everything you got. and we'll deal with the results, but you never want to be the person to say, I wish I would have. I wish I would have worked tired. I wish I would have gave a little more. I wish I would have put more into it.

Starting point is 00:12:28 You don't want to be that person. If you go for it, whatever happens, then you'll be able to live with those results. You know, being a leadership coach, and now I know that your older son is doing great things. You obviously have raised great children. And one thing that differentiates you and your children is you grew up in not,

Starting point is 00:12:47 in a world of less abundance than your kids, right? And what you've instilled in your kids is that same grit that you had with no money. Now, how do you instill such, you know, that same mindset of grit and hard work and determination and perseverance in kids who have everything? That's a great question. And it's a challenge because it is different. My son, you know, we go on family vacations. You know, my son, um, You go in his room as like a showcase of all these new shoes.

Starting point is 00:13:22 And I mean, I spoil them because of certain things I didn't have. But I think sharing those stories, sharing those stories. And I tell them about certain people like that certain examples of people that went on to be successful at that had things when they grew up. You know, people that, the parents that were superstars, you're in the basketball world, you look at a Steph Curry. Well, he didn't want for anything. It's dad playing in the NBA.

Starting point is 00:13:45 Hey, Kobe Bryant dad playing in the NBA. Well, they took advantage of the tutelish. They listen. I always try to tell my son, be so, don't be, no, do not. I want to smart enough to take advantage of this book that you have in front of it. Take advantage of it. All right.

Starting point is 00:14:01 So I just, I just always challenge him and I share the stories with him. Or if I see, and he worked hard, but if I want to poke at him a little bit, or I say, oh, you just a spoiled kid. Oh, you already got it all. You don't want to work hard. because you already got it all. If you don't earn a scholarship, you say my daddy will get me a scholarship.

Starting point is 00:14:20 And he hates that. You know, he hates that because he wants to go out and carve his own way. He want to go out and earn his own scholarship. So it's little ways I poke at him, but sometimes they can be challenging when kids, they do have a lot of resources in front of.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Yeah, and that's something we also, you know, question, and I come here on this show, I collaborate with you guys, kind of figure out parenting best practices. You raise good kids, good athletes, scholars. I mean, like, you're doing it. You know, you're implementing that leadership style from here, the UWM campus to the house. Yeah, and thank you for that. And I was blessed to have great parents. I had great parents in my life, my mother, father. They instill so many

Starting point is 00:14:59 things in me. So I was blessed to have them, but my kids, man, my kids are my world. And that's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to pour into our kids. And I always tell my kids, I'm not here to be your friend. So they're will. be times where you get mad at me. There'll be times where you'll be angry and upset with me, but I don't care because down the row, you're going to thank me. And I think back to my parents, when I was held highly accountable, I didn't want it at times, but I think back and I just say, man, I was blessed to have parents that held me accountable and instill certain things in me. So that's my role. I brought, I got two kids. I brought him in his world, so I was supposed to school them.

Starting point is 00:15:40 And even anybody else that I interact with, man, I'm always trying to pour other people. I just, I think I get that from my mom. She was always like that. I always want to other people and just help. My kids, you know, probably lucky enough to benefit from it. You know, you're always popping that happiness pill every day walking around. That big old smile just lights up everybody's day. But sometimes dad comes out and that smile. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't even want to see the disciplinary matine. Oh, yeah. I did it early enough to Rout. I have to do it as much now, but I will go there. And it's all to set my kids up a success. It's all in a set, even sometimes here, you know, meeting with leaders,

Starting point is 00:16:19 man, I have to take off the happy face, you know, and they firm up with some of our leaders here at UWM, but they know it's coming from a good place. So it's always well received if I ever have to go that wrong. God bless you, man. So I want to ask you, who do you think's been your biggest source of inspiration? Man, I know it's, and I don't want to sound redundant, but I got to go back to my parents. I see my mother make it and make it happen with less without all the great resources. I've seen her and my father, you know, find a way. I always have this deal. I don't find an excuse. I find a way. And I've seen that from my parents. And another one that's one of my aspirations right now is my son. You know, my young son, like he grinds, man. My oldest son, I'm so proud of him for what

Starting point is 00:17:10 he's doing now. He's doing great things. But I'm seeing right now, my 14-year-old, the work ethic that he has. You know, he has a goal to want to be successful and to see him strive for that every day, to grind every day. That's inspiring to me. And then another one, I got to go to my little brother, Matt Ishvia, man. I'm blessed to be around Matt Isbier every day. Who has a front row seat to that and to watch him drive? When you talk about, if anybody could kick their feet up and relax and, you know, soapy royal oats or whatever you want to call it, he could do it. But he is so. treading, man. That dude,

Starting point is 00:17:47 he's different. You know, watch his drive every day. It's so inspiring to me. So there's no way in the world. I can come here and give half effort when we see our leader, you know, going hard as he is. So

Starting point is 00:18:02 it was probably the other way around years ago when I was a leader on our Michigan State team, but now I do draw a lot of inspiration of seeing, you know, how dedicated Matt is to making everybody around him great and continue to have success with our company. That's awesome. So growing up, like getting back to that question, and I know you see Matt sort of like a mentor now,

Starting point is 00:18:24 did you have any other great mentors in your life? I mean, you're friends with Magic Johnson. You're friends with Isaiah Thomas. You're friends with the most legendary people I've ever. I had great coaches. My AAU coach, Raymond, he passed away, Raymond Jones. He impacted a lot of kids from our area. My high school coach, Tony Holliday, a high school basketball, basketball coach, my high school football coach, Gary, I had great mentors and just certain, you know, uncles and aunts that poured into me, man. I was blessed, big brothers and sisters, man, I was archer blessed. I would have great influencers. And then you talk about, imagine you have access to Magic Johnson, you know, when I play at Michigan State. You know,

Starting point is 00:19:07 who can call Magic Johnson and get some advice on how to play Point Yard or, you know, advice outside of the, I was blessed to have, you know, different people like that. But, and I'll be on here all day naming people. And if I left you out sorry, you know, I just don't blame it on my mind. Blame it on my heart. I think anyone who ever walked through Michigan, you're friends with, Dion Sanders, Isaiah Tom. Another one, you know, he's a great mentor to me to this day.

Starting point is 00:19:32 You know, he's a guy that started, you know, Matt donated tons of money to Michigan State. But he started it years ago. He donated $2.5 million and gave us a academic center where we could do our home. and get tutored. And so it started back then. So I definitely was blessed. Isaiah Thomas, you know, knowing him now and even being able to pick his brain, you know, a few years ago, I've just been archa blessed.

Starting point is 00:19:54 Time is old, my coach, you know, at Michigan State. So, like I said, I could be here for hours and hours and hours, but I've been archer blessed, you know, knowing Chris Weber. Yeah. So I'm blessed, man. I had a ton of them. Yeah, you got so many great minds. I don't want to be biased, but, I mean, of all those people, you know,

Starting point is 00:20:12 Give me your favorite top two. Oh, man, you're going to get me in trouble. You are three, you know, like not in that order. Steve Smith, because I did spend a lot of time with him at Michigan State. Like, he would come back all the time and just pour into not only me, but all the players that was at Michigan State at the time. You know, coaches, I spent a lot of time with him, man. We not only about basketball, but life and so many different things. So I would probably have to lean more on those too

Starting point is 00:20:43 because that's why I spent more time with. And they were very inspirational in my life. And even I would have to talk about Jeff Bishopia. Matt's dad, he's great. And every time I see him, I have 10 questions for him. I'm always trying to get something from him. And he's an open book. Every time I talk to him, especially about business,

Starting point is 00:21:02 because I'm trying to grow and learn more about business. And any questions I have for him, man, he's always great. And he's answering every question. and then he adds on to him. Oh, you know, think about this. And so he's been a very, very, very influential in my life as I continue to grow. Me and Melinda Wilner, actually, when we did our podcast, we talked about Jeff's as a parent. You know, think about what Jeff raised, you know.

Starting point is 00:21:26 He raised two of the most incredible human beings to ever walk the planet. Like, talk about getting parenting advice from somebody. I always ask them, what did you do? What was how you, you know, raised these mega, like, aren't your successful dudes? man. They were athletes, their scholars, they're billionaires. Like, what else can have to sound? Like, he checked every parenting box that exists. 100% man. And I try to take full advantage of it. But I have always asking him different questions about parenting or business. I do take advantage of it. Yeah, what a great resource.

Starting point is 00:22:00 What a great resource. Your resource Rolodex is, and you talk about that, your Rolodex is just, you know, incredibly fortunate. I try to tell people, get out and build more than relationships. And, you know, my reach is growing. You know, to be able to pick the phone up and call these people that, you know, usually have the answer, but that have had a ton of success, it's such a blessing for me. And I don't take it for granted. Well, I love it. Now, I want to ask you, like, what was the transition like for you going from the NBA court to the UWM campus? Hi, it was different. I laugh at a joke. I said the days were a little long when I first started. And my mind was racing.

Starting point is 00:22:41 I'm trying to figure all this stuff out. I'm trying to get to build relationships with people. And one thing I did when I came in, one thing I did, I humbled myself. I put my pride to the side and I had a bunch of questions. And I'm still asking questions to this day. I'm studying. I'm always pulling folks aside asking different questions. But I put my ego to the side and then became a stooping again.

Starting point is 00:23:06 And I'm still trying to learn. It was a challenge. It was something different. I'd be honest, I didn't think it would be fun. When Matt talked to me about it, I was like, I don't know about mortgages, man. That told me it gets competitive. And that's where it really, that was the hook, you know, the competitive, you know. That was the thing.

Starting point is 00:23:25 But just coming in, it was a big tragedy. It was different. But I humbled myself and had a bunch of questions. And I just rolled my sleeves up. And I took the same mind that I had when I was a freshman at Michigan State. You get there early. You know, you work hard. You work hard than everybody else.

Starting point is 00:23:41 You stay late. When I got an NBA rookie mindset, you get there early. You work hard and everybody else. You stay late. You have a bunch of questions. When I got here to UWM, I will get here early, ask a bunch of questions while I'm here, and stay later and continue to try to learn. And I'm still actually doing that to this day.

Starting point is 00:23:59 You know, one thing I love that you've done for all of UWM, we've got 7500 people here on this campus. you've managed to bring a level of positivity and joy to this campus. Now, what are some of the attributes? How have you successfully been able to accomplish that? First of all, you have to be able to connect with people. They have to know, like, it's real. Because I can get up here and say anything and make it sound good, but I have to tap into people.

Starting point is 00:24:26 I have to really be there for people. I have to sit and talk to people, get to know folks. You know, see a look on someone face and be able to call them in the room and talk to them, And when they say they are all right to know that, no, you're not. I know you enough to know that you're not all right. You know, I can look at your face and tell. So I think just being genuine and not coming in as a celebrity.

Starting point is 00:24:48 I played in the NBA. I didn't come in with none of that. I don't care about that. I came in as, hey, my role is to be a leader on a leadership development team. My role is to help make you a better leader. So that was my way to tap in. And I was, like I said, I came in, humble as ever, and just pour it into people.

Starting point is 00:25:05 Got to get to know folks. Let them know about me. Had a bunch of conversations and interactions with other people. And I think that's why I was received well because they know it's real. It's not me just coming in, doing a job. Nah, it's real.

Starting point is 00:25:20 And I don't want to be perceived as your coach. No, I'm your family member. We're family. And I tell them sometimes, hey, don't look at me as coach. Look at me as your family member because I care about you. And sometimes I might be calling on the weekend and on the Saturday and say, hey, man, how you doing? I know we's met Thursday, but I just want to make sure you good or I make house calls

Starting point is 00:25:41 if I have to do that, you know, because we are family here. And that's what separates us from a lot of different companies. And we put a lot into those little things, you know, knowing everything about other people here, knowing their significant others, you know, what they like, what they don't like, different things like that. I think that helps so much what people know is real and genuine. You sound like my Sunday school teacher or like my priest or something, making house calls, knowing all these things, like checking in on me on the weekend.

Starting point is 00:26:09 You know, that's a true servant. I'm 100%. And I'll tell you too. I mean, I appreciate you letting me have a little shine on here. But you do a heck of a job with it as well. I mean, with your crew and how much you pour into them and, I mean, you bring, I mean, groups and groups and groups of people out here and to grow and get better. And I think that's, I mean, as a leader, that's important. That's very important.

Starting point is 00:26:33 So I want to commend you because you do a heck of a job too and having conversations with you and being around you and feeling how how driven you are. You know, I'm being like if I'm in a circle as you and Matt, well, I know I got to bring my A gang because I got some heavy hitters and some guys that's Archer driven to be successful. So I think we help all kind of bring the best out of each other. But I did want to give you your flowers as well because I think you do a phenomenal job

Starting point is 00:26:58 with you. God bless you. Thank you. You know, I just want to be a dad like you. you though that's that's one thing you're like all we live for you know so this this this is like our breeding ground our training ground for the house it starts in the house of course yeah so one thing you're going to love this question it's like what do you think is a specific trait or mindset that you have to have right now in this day and age to be successful i think the ability to overcome

Starting point is 00:27:23 adversity i really do um when you when you have that it's going to be higher not to be successful because if everything was just going as planned and easy, everybody would be successful. Yeah. But if you have that, you know, that will to win and overcome adversity, man, you send yourself up for success because you are going to, adversity is going to come knocking. Everything is not going to go your way.

Starting point is 00:27:50 And I'm open about, you know, I'm telling people that I've, you know, I've had a lot of success. I've done things you could dream about. And I've gotten those you can get before you break. And those are the moments, man, that you learn about yourself. Those are character-building moments. So having the ability to overcome adversity and just push through it, I think if you have that, man, the eyes of you not winning, man, are very slim. Love it, love it. Now, after all this success you've had, you've been successful

Starting point is 00:28:14 in the NCAA, been successful in the NBA. Now you're a huge success here at UWM. What do you think it is that continues to drive you? Where do you continue to find that motivation? It's that feeling you get when you're successful. And that's why one of my things is telling people, don't chase money. Stop chasing it. Because if that's the case, once you get money or you get to a certain level, then what is the motivation? See, I love being successful. And I look at Matt, that's, that's it. You chase that feeling you get when you have success. There's no better feeling than that. And when I go through something challenging now, I'm like, okay, this is going to be fun. Like, I don't shy away from it. Oh, this is going to be fun.

Starting point is 00:28:55 Because I'm thinking once I get through this, oh my God, it's going to be a great feeling on the other side. Not if, no, once I get through this, it's going to be a great feeling. And that's something I tell our leaders here. Like if we go through some challenging times, I am always to calm. Relax. We will be fine. We'll figure it out. But success, that's what drives me every day.

Starting point is 00:29:17 I love the feeling you get when you have success. And the white behind that, it's funny. when I was, what was it, third or fourth grade, we played a, no, it might have been earlier than that. Might have been first grade. We would be a soccer tournament. We won a soccer tournament. They gave us a popsicle and a first place medal. And that feels so good.

Starting point is 00:29:40 And ever since then, that's what I've been chasing. I love that feeling you get when you have success. You know, you're a leadership coach here at UWM, arguably one of the best leadership coaches ever. you coach leaders and you really foster that talent. What are some of the key attributes to fostering talent right now you feel? I know the big one. I think you have to connect. You have to connect because if they don't trust you,

Starting point is 00:30:08 then they're not going to listen to your advice. So I am super big on connecting, showing them that you care. Like that's the biggie. And now once I connect with you and I get to know more about you, then I kind of know like what angels. to take when I'm leaving. You know what drives you. You know, if you want to be a, you make more money to provide for your family,

Starting point is 00:30:30 if you're a father or mother and that's your thing, you want to take some family on a trip. I know what buttons that push to motivate you. So I think sometimes to break it down so simple, it's the care factor. If you care about that person that you're leading and kind of dive into them and get to know them, then they'll tell you. They'll tell you how to lead them. They'll tell you what's important to them. So I just think having a care.

Starting point is 00:30:53 And then when you care about people, like you'll be so driven to push them to the next level because their success is going to make you feel good. You get gratitude out of that. It makes you feel better. So self-sely, I do get something out of it when people take the next step, when people grow in there better. So I would say just the care, man, you have to care. Once you care and get to know your folks, they'll tell you, you know,

Starting point is 00:31:19 what buttons the push to motivate them. to get him to go to the next lap. You are such a busy guy. I mean, I've been trying to get you to hang out, just outside of, you know, work, you know, every time I've seen you. And, you know, I know because you're busy, you wake up, crack a dawn probably before, grinding all the time. What do you do to actually relax?

Starting point is 00:31:41 Like, when do you actually relax? And what do you do to relax? That's funny. And Matt is the worst person to be around with that. He never does. And I've tried to encourage him to relax sometimes, but he's always going. And I guess you have to be somewhat like that to be great. But I will find sometimes, if I'm not going to a tournament on the weekends or something,

Starting point is 00:32:05 you know, maybe on a weekend or something, I might just relax and, you know, lay on the couch and, you know, watch some college football games or some college sports or if there's any sports on watch some sports and just relax and do nothing. And I won't, sometimes I got to hide my phone, you know, because it's constantly ringing. And if somebody called and, you know, opportunity, you know, for business, you might jump on it, you know. So sometimes I do have to put my phone away and just be a, just be a husband, you know, hang out with my wife. Because sometimes she just want to watch movies. You know, sometimes is that.

Starting point is 00:32:39 But that's what I do. If I'm chilling, man, it's just sitting on a couch, relax and maybe watching the movie or catching the game or two. You still playing any basketball? Not as much. You know, I'm getting old now. And I'm worried about being injured, you know, because I am so busy. So I worry about, you know, if you are out hurt, you know, it would slow me down and what I'm trying to do.

Starting point is 00:32:59 But I play every now and then. Sometimes I play with Matt. We'll get a group of guys together. And mind you, it's just fun. It's just the old dudes that's trying to get a sweat and just trying not to get hurt. So we play. The whole objective is to get a sweat, lab a joke a little bit, but not get hurt. So I will play every now.

Starting point is 00:33:20 but not nothing serious like I used to. You know, we got a team, so I'm still playing a little bit too. And we could use a big man, you know, whenever you're in Cali. I got you. And we'll play old men style, you know, all, you know, got to go hard on the paint. Yeah, in mind you're at this stage in my career, I'm not going to take a lot of shots. So I can screen and get some other guys open and move the ball. So I would be a perfect piece to be.

Starting point is 00:33:44 And honestly, you'd probably be probably the best play on the team. By far, like without you. I got a couple questions. Last final questions here. And one of the questions is a three-prong question. It's a, what's a personal goal that you have for yourself? A family goal that you have for the family and a business goal that you want to achieve for the company.

Starting point is 00:34:04 Wow, wow. And wow. Personal goal, I will say now kind of getting into this space. I do want to be one of the top motivational speakers. I do. I know Eric Thomas and I study, I'm starting to study and look at more motivational speakers around Tony Robbins when he came here. And I think that that's one of my goals, man, to get out in front of more people. So that, that's my personal goal was the trans, I'm never leaving UWM. I'll be here, but be able to do things outside here.

Starting point is 00:34:46 It would probably be one of the top motivation to speak. That ties in your personal brand, Bill. then 100%. So it's a win-win. Thank you for that. Second one, what was it? A family goal that you have for the family goal. It's just, I would say, just find more time to just do family things, you know, make it a point to do, to take family vacations here and there and to just be the father, go out and hang out with my wife, you know, and because sometimes she gets the short end of the stick because I'm always constantly working. And then when I leave, leave here. I'm getting my son and we go into the gym training. And then she's so gracious and she's been being great with it. But find more time to be with her and do more family things. That one. And I say, the personal goal here at UWM, I would say just help us sustain what we're doing, help us grow to continue to get better, like not get sad.

Starting point is 00:35:50 satisfy, continue to drive our leaders to go over and beyond. And I think if our leaders, if I can drive out and help drive our leaders to get better, that'll help our company, continue to push Matt, a guy that's already driven, continue to find ways to challenge him and then push him. So I think just not getting stagnant. That's something, that's one of my goals, not to let us get stagnant, because it's easy to do when you're constantly winning. But we have to remember, man, people, we took the ride where we had to come, you know,

Starting point is 00:36:20 You know, that old saying started from the bottom. Now we're here. We did that. So now everybody's coming for us. And Dan Campbell, who's, you know, my favorite coach in the fair right now, my Detroit Lions, he always like to say, hey, don't, we ain't hard to find. You know, if you look for us, we'll be on your porch. And then that's something that's a UWN, right there.

Starting point is 00:36:39 We ain't, we're not hard to find. So I would just say help help take us to even a higher level than we already at. My last question for you is when you're in front of the pearly gates, what do you think God's going to tell you? My goal, man, is for him to say thank you. Thank you for helping my work. Thank you for pouring into others. Thank you for empowering others.

Starting point is 00:37:03 Thank you for caring about others. So that's it, man. Hopefully I can do enough while I'm here on this earth where he can see me and embrace me and just say thank you for all that you did for other people. You know, that's, I knew in my heart because you're a servant and you live to do God's work. And, you know, when you live a life of purpose to fulfill God's purpose, it's like, you know, I expected an answer like that because you're deserving, you know, and you're worthy. So God bless you, brother. I appreciate you.

Starting point is 00:37:36 I appreciate everything that you're doing for the mortgage community and now, and God willing for the entire world to hear your voice and to inspire millions across the globe. Let's keep winning together. Let's keep winning, baby. I love you, baby. All right, we out.

Coffeez with Joe Shalaby - How to Lead to Victory ft. Mateen Cleaves | Coffeez for Closers Ep. 24

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