Vison, Favor and Discipline with Jeff Sakamoto

Josh K:

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Raising the Standard, leadership mindset and development for you, the Kingdom Driven Man. I am really excited about the guests that I'm bringing to you today. I'm joined by Jeff Sakamoto. Jeff's an awesome guy, powerful man that I actually met over Instagram. It was crazy because Jeff, you actually recommended the standard to someone and they tagged you and they mentioned something and that's how we got connected. And I saw what you're doing. We had a conversation. about what you're working on and I couldn't wait to bring your story to the men that listen to this show. So first of all, I want to thank you for what you do and I just want to thank you for being on the show today, brother.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Absolutely, I'm a pleasure to be here. I'm humbled to be here and love what you're doing as well. So it's a great fit.

Josh K:

Yeah, thanks, Jeff. So for the for the audience that doesn't know you, I really want I was really captured by your story. You got a phenomenal backstory, things that you've done. You've built a lot. You've accomplished a lot. But there's also been a journey to get to the point that you are right now. And so I'm interested in Jeff the man. If you could just tell us a little bit about your backstory. I know it's powerful. I know it's going to help a lot of guys. So I want the listeners as they hear your story. There's always something that formed us and made us. You know, what we see today when I look at you, when I look at other men, it's really just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot of experiences, trials,

Jeff Sakamoto:

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Josh K:

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Jeff Sakamoto:

was trusted.

Josh K:

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Josh K:

that.

Jeff Sakamoto:

if you can speak to this. Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, when people see you at a certain point in time, right, when now I'm 45 years old and things are going well, they just assume that that's always been the way it has been. And certainly in my case, it has not been. I've certainly been forged by the fire. A lot of trials, a lot of... You know, a lot of experiences and you know, through that time, God's so good. I mean, I just have to say that God is so good and you know, he continues to provide and you know, be there every step along the journey. But it has been a journey and you know, going back, I guess, grew up in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle and you know, was an athlete growing up, ended up playing two sports in college and I thought I was going to be a professional baseball player. ended up getting hurt in college, but at that point I had already gotten married, had a young son, and soon after I graduated another one was on the way. And so it wasn't your traditional college experience for me. You know, I think at that point I just I recognized that I had to provide. I had to grow up at an early age. And so, you know, that that kind of led me to a lot of kind of self-discovery, a lot of you know, we'll call it self-improvement type stuff, which, you know, we can talk more about, where I just, I realized like, you know, I've got to support my family and I had to do it at a very young age and, you know, over the last 20 years, um, had a lot of success. Um, I, uh, I currently develop real estate and so what I do for a living is I, um, own apartment buildings and develop apartment buildings all over the country and it's, I'm so blessed. I'm, you know, it's an awesome profession, awesome career. But it hasn't always been that way. There's been some times when, you know, didn't know how I was going to pay the bills. And so again, it's been a long journey and I'm happy to go more, but high level that's where I'm at.

Josh K:

Yeah, yeah. Well, let's talk about the self-development. I'm interested in that because a lot of the guys that listen to this show, myself included, obviously, we're on a journey to always better ourselves. And there's an investment, various levels of investment. It could be some guy listens to an audiobook, someone else buys a book and actually finishes it, which would actually make you stand out among the people that actually buy books and read them. And then there's obviously programs, there's different levels of investment there. Take me to your approach to self-development and maybe a little bit of your backstory there or or currently what you do.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, so again, you know, I was that athlete growing up that was not the most talented. I mean, I was talented, but I wasn't the most talented. And I had to outwork everybody. And so, again, when I graduated college and I had this family to support, that was kind of my approach, is how am I going to outwork everybody? And I had never done any self-development, never read a book by the time I basically graduated college other than the textbooks that we had to read. And I was handed the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. And honestly, that kind of changed my life in the way that it kind of got me thinking that there's more out there that I haven't learned, that stuff that I haven't been taught in school. And so that spurred this. 20 year plus journey of really trying to invest in myself. Listening to audiobooks as I started my first job that I hated and I was driving to and from, I called it the University on Wheels, where I'm just trying to better myself. I'm trying to put myself in a position to be successful and make more of an impact than we kind of learn on our own. And so, I've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in self-development courses and different programs. And yes, that has led to some success, but it's also led to the situation where you can really, for lack of a better term, be striving.

Josh K:

Mm-hmm.

Jeff Sakamoto:

And that has also led to some downfalls as well. We can talk more about that. There's a balance, I think, between striving and kind of abiding and resting in that.

Josh K:

Yeah, yeah. And I want to get into that because you're you're obviously doing really big things. And for those of you that don't know, Jeff, your portfolio is huge in terms of the companies, the deals that you do. You speak at other masterminds. So you're a man of achieved some some worldly status by what you've built. And with that, and thanks for sharing your back story. So obviously, we're driven. That's who we're speaking to right now. Guys that are driven. And there's nothing wrong with having drive. I believe God gives us inherent in our DNA, a drive and ambition that when we're it's submitted to the Lord, it's really aligned and we can really fly in the right direction and according to his will for our life. But however, many guys we can get off kilter with that. I have and I know that you were just alluding to that as well. Where we start working in our own strength and then it starts turning from like you said resting, it starts turning into striving, it starts turning into what can I accomplish, and then we start getting into the cycle of the grind. So if you could take me there a little bit about maybe what that looked and how you got out of it and where you are today.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, well, you know, it's a great analogy that you kind of put, which is submitting. And, you know, I think that that's been a real purposeful effort on my part over the last five years is just to completely submit to God's will. And the way I view that, kind of like you put, is just living in the center of the bullseye of God's will. And it's so easy to just one degree of separation gets us off track and you don't, you know, you don't know that you're off track until you're 30, 40 degrees off track, right? And so, and oftentimes that's too late. There's, there's bad things that happen as a result of that. And so what I pray for every day, what I, what I've really, um, made the decision to do is just being in God's will every, every day and try to live in the bull's eye of God's will and wherever that takes me is wherever it takes me. Um, but he's got a great plan. I live by the, by the, the verse Jeremiah 29 and 11. You know, I know that he's got great plans for me, and I just need to live in the center of his will, and I need to not take it the way I want to because I am driven. I am kind of a control freak. I want to do it my way, and oftentimes that's not the best way, right? I mean, you know

Josh K:

Right.

Jeff Sakamoto:

how it is, so.

Josh K:

Yeah. So tell me about when you were doing it your way, like, what's the difference between that? Because we have a lot of guys that are listening that that do that or they don't know how or this might sound foreign or they're like, hey, give me some practical steps of, you know, I am pushing or I feel like I'm pushing too hard. I have those conversations with men all the time where they're like, yeah, I think I'm overstepping and what I'm trying to go after. How did you make the pivot in your life from from building and moving from that striving mentality or position into? what you're experiencing these days.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I mean, you know, what really, what really was the impetus for me to recognize that there was change was I went through a divorce. And up until that time, I was making a ton of money. Life looked good from the outside. Everybody was happy. Great family, everything, you know. everything was perfect from the outside, but I was working 80, 90 hours a week, not getting time to my family. And the time that I was, was more to my sons, you know, playing baseball and coaching their teams. And it finally got to the point where my wife was just like, you know what? This, I want more, I want more for my life than this. And so it was a real hard awakening and never wanted to go through divorce or anything else, but it happened. And I think that was a direct result of me trying to achieve all these things that I thought she wanted, that I wanted. you know, the world tells us we want, but the reality is, you know, it led to a lot of things that were not being fulfilled. So.

Josh K:

Yeah. So tell me about the pivot. Like when did things change for you? Because right now you're firing on all cylinders. Things are quite different from what you explained in the past as you were coming up through your journey. What changed for you? What was the turning point? If there was one, or was it a gradual change?

Jeff Sakamoto:

, it was, it was... you know,: 2008

Josh K:

Yeah. So Jeff, how do you define success these days for yourself?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, that's a great question. Honestly, it's exactly what I said earlier. It's living in the center of God's will because I don't know where He's going to take me, but it's doing my part to stay in the center of God's will. And I know that He's got big dreams for me. I've seen that over and over in my life that He has given me messages, and they've all been fulfilled. And so I know he's taking me somewhere and I just need to stay right in line with that. If I start getting off course, that's where I'm in trouble and

Josh K:

Yeah.

Jeff Sakamoto:

I know that.

Josh K:

Yeah. So you basically do you found your zone of this is where this is where I have favor, right? That's like the zone of favor. It's like when I'm here, everything you touch is blessed. And that's that's is that how you know where you are?

Jeff Sakamoto:

That's it. That's exactly it. It is, you know, my girlfriend and my friends joke around. They're like, how do you have all this favor? They use that word favor. And I do too. And it's because I just, I feel like I'm being obedient. I feel like I'm being obedient. And when you're obedient, that favor comes, you know.

Josh K:

Yeah. And I think what's really important about this conversation, especially for guys that are listening to this, and they might be asking like, where's my fever? Like, how do I find it? Right? Like, where's my zone or my place? You know, one of the things I say, Jeff, is that God has a mountain for every man. Doesn't mean you get it on day one. There's a process he uses, just like there was a process in your life to bring you to where you are. And part of that, it's self-discovery as we follow him. It's an adventure. We don't always get the end destination on day one. But as we walk it out, we start to find life, where do I have favor, where do doors open up. And what I love about this is we're talking to business guys. So you're obviously in business. And for some Christians, I don't think we have a lot of guys with this mentality, but in case we do, you know, like we could do ministry wherever we are. It's not that we're trying to have a pulpit ministry or we have to do something religious to be in the center of God's will. It's that he needs guys like you and me infiltrating different spheres of society and influence to bring our influence to the people that we touch. Because that I'll never reach and that other guys that are listening will never reach and likewise it's vice versa as well. So how have you found that you bring influence to your sphere like and when we look at your big goals Jeff of what you're doing and what you're building how do you see that aligning to the Lord's will for your life and how

Jeff Sakamoto:

I'm

Josh K:

you're

Jeff Sakamoto:

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me.

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obviously

Jeff Sakamoto:

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Josh K:

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things

Jeff Sakamoto:

me.

Josh K:

going on I want to talk about the fitness journey as well but I'll let you take me wherever you want to go there and we'll jump into some of these other things that you have going as well.

Jeff Sakamoto:

that you're going to be doing in the future?

Josh K:

Sure.

Jeff Sakamoto:

some of these other things that I have going. And so for me, it's about using that, kind of like shining like stars, like seeing that attraction where they're like, I want that, what does he have that I don't have? And that gives me that forum, that entourage to be able to say, honestly, my faith is a huge piece of that, right? And it's not just faith, it's working hard and everything else, but I think if you don't have this piece, you're missing out. And so I think that's a portion of it. I think that, again, We're blessed to be a blessing and I think that, you know, that's really important to me is to be able to give to causes that I want to support that kind of expand the message. And so I've just been able, I've been blessed to be able to do that.

Josh K:

Yeah, such a great heart, man. That's an awesome vision that you have and how you're using the platform and everything that's God given you that let me say that over and everything that God has given you. So Jeff, I got a question for you when it comes to favor, because I've noticed this and I'm just curious if you can resonate with this or if you have a take on this and I see it in the Bible too. When, when, when the Lord puts favor on someone. It does. It opens doors and it gives them favor with people favor with man. We want favor with God and favor with man. But sometimes there's people that see that favor and they're drawn to it. And others are repelled by it. So sometimes the favors are two way street. And I've seen that in my life. I've had that spoken over me where, you know, there's some things that open. But then I can see there can be a backlash. I mean, the classical example would be Joseph in the Code of Many Colors. And maybe he didn't handle his favor right. You know, and that's that's what. some things with his brothers, but we can see that when God puts his hand upon you, it can open doors, but it can also cause a little bit of resistance as well. Just curious from your perspective if you have an opinion on that or anything that you can share about that.

Jeff Sakamoto:

You absolutely nailed it. I was going to use the example of Joseph in that. I mean, you know, and obviously he did have favor on his life. And you know, the interesting thing about Joseph as well is when his brothers did sell him into slavery, I think he was like, what, 17 years old. But by the time he was anointed second in command of Pharaoh, I think he was 30. And so people don't realize that that favor didn't manifest itself in a one year or six months or a 30 day program. It was 13 years where he had to be obedient. to that and despite all the haters and the false accusations and everything else, you're just kind of being obedient and sticking to that. But I mean, obviously another perfect example is Jesus, right? And so, you know, you're going to have people that are the haters, you're going to have people that, you know. perhaps don't agree with what you, your message. But the reality is there are a lot of people that do and I'm not really concerned about the people that don't agree with what I'm doing. I'm just looking to change one life at a time, right? So.

Josh K:

Yeah. Yeah. You know, I like that. I'm always fascinated when I talk to guys like you that have, you know, achieved a high level of success. How they take action quickly, how they don't care about what others think, because I think a lot of us when we're first starting, I don't know if you had this when you were first starting, where you seat with people maybe that you coach or guys that you work with, where they get held back because of perfectionism, because of fear. And we know like in the marketing world, in the investment world, there's the statement that money loves speed. So give me a little encouragement there. a little encouragement of how you make decisions, how you run your business, and how you are able to incorporate the pause to find out where the Lord is taking you as you make your business decisions.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, it's a great question and one that has evolved over time because being driven, you can be extremely decisive and that can be great and it can also cause you issues. And so I found that early in my career that I was really aggressive. I wanted to make decisions. I wanted to have success. And some of those decisions weren't well thought out, weren't prayed over. And so now my approach is this. It's that whenever I'm faced with an opportunity or a decision, I will pray about it. And if I get peace in that decision, I take action. If I don't get peace, I sit and I just sit and I sit. And if I never get peace in those decisions or something that I'm being asked to do, I don't move forward. And it's having that peace in the daily communication with God that allows me to feel confident in making those decisions in a decisive manner. Because you're right, if you're wishy washy and you're not taking action, nothing's gonna get done. So you have to have some litmus test on which, what is gonna be... the hurdle that I need to get over in order to make this decision. And for me, it's having peace.

Josh K:

Yeah, yeah. Have you ever had a circumstance where you didn't have the peace and so you didn't make the move and later you could see the hand of God in that? Like why you never made that move or you could see, OK, that's why this wasn't the right deal for me.

Jeff Sakamoto:

100%. And that's one of the things, one of the daily practices that I take on a daily basis now is journaling. Because I journal those thoughts, those decisions that I'm being faced with. And I can go back 10, 15 years and look at my journals and what I was facing and look at why that didn't happen or the things that did happen and what happened as a result of that. And so it's been great to be able to track that because you forget the stuff, right? You don't always remember. But journaling has allowed me to go back and see some of the decisions that I wasn't at peace with or vice versa and, you know, really see how they've played out over time.

Josh K:

Yeah, take me into your journaling practice. So, you know, or maybe if it's, I don't know if it's a morning ritual or a nighttime ritual for you, maybe both. Take me into that a little bit of how you do that. Is that something that's a part of prayer for you? Is it separate? I'd love to hear more.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I'm kind of an early riser these days. I felt as I've gotten older, I get, I was an early, I'm an early riser, which I never used to be, but I find that time to be extremely valuable now. And so I get up early and I grab my cup of coffee and I sit and start praying. And then as a result of that, I just start journaling and writing down the prayers, the thoughts, and actually writing out my prayers. And before I do my cardio or start my emails or anything else, that's what I do. And it's just a way for me to kind of connect before, you know, anything else. takes that time because you know how it is once you start getting into emails or you know getting out and Doing things it's really hard to get back into that zone

Josh K:

Yeah, it's so it's so important. I mean, everything you're saying is right on. It's what I practice as well. The way you start will direct your entire day. So it's

Jeff Sakamoto:

Exactly.

Josh K:

basically we could even say it this way, that origin dictates destiny not only in many things, but even for the day, the way you start the day, sets the trajectory for the day. And there's lots of even physiological things and things with our diet that even mirror that right. If we have carbs first thing in the morning, that's kind of the energy stores. Our body are going to our body's going to prefer that day. And we won't burn as much fat. you. Why don't we jump into, you know, we have a charge as Kingdom Men to honor our temple. And you've made some changes and some shifts in our conversations. You know, you've told me that it wasn't always I mean, you always were an athlete, but you made a shift in the last couple years, and into bodybuilding. And I'd love to hear more about that.

Jeff Sakamoto:

ated high school, this was in: 2018

Josh K:

Yeah, two weeks out. Are you hungry right now?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Oh, you have no idea.

Josh K:

Ha ha

Jeff Sakamoto:

So

Josh K:

ha

Jeff Sakamoto:

hungry,

Josh K:

ha ha!

Jeff Sakamoto:

so tired. If I'm not being clear, it's because I'm on low carb brain right now. But you know what? It's part of the journey. It's part of what you ask for and what you have to do to get in that kind of shape, right? So.

Josh K:

Jeff, you're showing up powerfully, man. You're depleted right now. I mean, how many sessions are you doing today? You already hit the gym this morning. I know it.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I've got a three-er. So I got cardio in the morning. I gotta hit weights this afternoon and then I'll do cardio after my last meal. So it's crunch time.

Josh K:

Yeah, wow, incredible. I'm gonna follow your journey. Guys, we're gonna drop Jeff's Instagram as well so you can check out what he's got going on and you can follow him. I'm interested to see how you do over the summer and congratulations on everything you achieved there. Let's dive into this because you've taken it to such a high level as a high performer and that's just the way you do things, right? I got a feeling like you don't do anything 50%, right? When you lock on, you go all in.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Fair to say, yeah, good or bad, that's what I do.

Josh K:

You know, that's a personality type. I have that too. And when I'm, when I'm off, it can also be off a hundred percent.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah.

Josh K:

Um, especially with diet or something like that, but I've been pretty good lately. Um, so let's talk about this because this is, this is, um, this is really important for men out there, no matter where they are, you know, when I think about the guys that are listening to this, maybe you don't ever, maybe you used to compete or you train in the gym, but maybe bodybuilding is not on your target. Um, that's not in your line of sight right now, but we do want to manage our energy. just being a guy in his 40s and we got guys listening all over older than me, younger than us, Jeff, all over the place. For me, the key thing and my key message is we want to honor our temple and we also need to maintain a level of energy management where I have enough endurance through the day to do hard things, to make it through the day, to show up for my family, to show up at work. So let's talk about that a little bit more. What's the number one thing that's holding men back? You know, the average guy, the average guy that's out there, where do you see him at and what's some of your advice?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I see this this issue that we have for men today and it's complacency, right? It's just so easy to get comfortable and the reality is comfortable for us is not operating at a hundred percent It's not for your family in the workplace anywhere really and so Again, I think fitness has been a huge part of that for me And I'm not talking about the bodybuilding and the competition prep and all that stuff, too But just starting to get in shape where effectively I lost 30 pounds before I even started competing That gave me so much more drive, so much more confidence, so much more energy, and really gave me the structure to have more success in all aspects of my life. And that's relational, that's business-wise. I just noticed the ripple effects throughout my life as I started getting the shape to where I wanted to do it more and more and more. And yes, it's not fun to have a very strict diet, but when you start to see the results, you're okay with it because you see what's happening as a result of that.

Josh K:

Yeah. That's amazing. I think like discipline causes such a wave like you just explained. It spills over into all areas of your life because when I'm disciplined in one area, it does spill over into my walk with the Lord. It spills over with the way I do my work with everything. And on the flip side, I know we talked about this. I'm pretty sure I know your take on it, but for me personally, um, when I'm sloppy in one area, that's also spilling over as well. You know, if I let it go, um, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself. a carb depletion diet all the time, or always under eating, or three a days. But we are talking about maintaining a level of self-control, a level of discipline and diligence in the way we approach life. And when that's highly functioning, that does spill over into other areas. Have you noticed the same thing on the reverse of that? That if you happen to go off, that it kind of takes you down a bad road that day?

Jeff Sakamoto:

100%. I mean, before I decided to get in shape, I would love killing a full pizza and watching a movie. What happens as a result of that is you end up not getting great sleep, you wake up late, you miss your time, your prayer time, your journal time, you're rushing off to work. Like you said, the way you start your day is the way everything else finishes. I just noticed that when I was not disciplined in my life, that it did. It had ripple effects and even today. Even today, I mean occasionally I'll get like cheat meals and things like that. And honestly, when I do it now, I feel like crap. I just, I feel sluggish. I don't feel like I've got that energy and it kind of sets me back to the point where I don't want to do that anymore. Right? So, um, when you feel the difference, it's very dramatic.

Josh K:

Yeah, I'm older than you. So when I go off, I notice the next day, I got crazy inflammation. My back is sore, I can't move as well. I don't know if you feel that as well, but if I eat some bad food or something that was cooked in some bad oils or seed oils or something like that, I just wake up stiff. I can't move, I'm not thinking right. It really takes a toll on me physiologically.

Jeff Sakamoto:

100%. You can just see it in your face, you know, you're bloated, your joints hurt, all of that.

Josh K:

Yeah,

Jeff Sakamoto:

I totally

Josh K:

yeah,

Jeff Sakamoto:

agree. Yeah.

Josh K:

yeah. Awesome man, this is a great conversation. So what else can you tell us? Maybe some general fitness stuff. Maybe we can just go there for a minute. Like what's some of your key things if someone was starting this journey and they're like, dude, I let it go. Summer's here, I need to get, like I'm listening to you guys, but that feels so distant from me right now. What would be your top one to three tips that you would tell someone who's starting, whether it's mindset or actual tactics, where do you go from there?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I think there's a couple things. One, I think kind of setting the vision for what you want. You know, we're taught to set the vision, right? And so I think kind of determining what it is that you want. Otherwise you're kind of going through the motions. You know, and when I first got into fitness, my fitness journey several years ago, I kind of had some pictures of what I wanted to look like. And so I first set the vision of, okay, this is what I want to look like. This is how I want to feel. Second thing would be protein is very, very important. I think that as a population, we don't get enough protein and that's kind of the building block of muscle, especially for men, you know, you just, you need that. And I think that the one thing that I have found is that it is really hard to get in shape if you're eating out all the time. And, you know, in the business world. Oftentimes we've got business dinners or we have to grab a quick lunch or we're taking the kids off to practice and we've got to grab fast food on the way home. What I've found is that it's very difficult to get in good shape when you're eating restaurant food. And, you know, even a healthy meal at a restaurant is a thousand calories, which right now, just so you know, I'm taking in two thousand calories a day. So it kind of throws off my whole day if I eat restaurant food. That's not to say you can't do it, but it

Josh K:

Mm-hmm.

Jeff Sakamoto:

has to be in moderation. And once I started...

Josh K:

Right.

Jeff Sakamoto:

preparing my meals at home and using meal prep, which isn't more expensive than going out to eat, by the

Josh K:

Sure.

Jeff Sakamoto:

way. That's when I really started to see my body transform.

Josh K:

Yeah. Jeff, I'm picking up two things that you said. So the first one that I just noticed from the whole conversation, I want everyone to notice this is that, and we know this, if you know, I have a background in bodybuilding as well, you have to be extremely regimented and structured. When the structure's off, you know, that's one of the themes I'm pulling out from your morning routine to the way you train, to the way you plan your business and handle things. That structure guides your whole life and that discipline, if that's taken away, that's when things start to go in a negative direction. The other thing you said is, really important. I want you to speak about this even maybe on the business side as well. But you talked about starting with vision. You know, so many guys start, they sprint. It's like the parable of the soil, right? It's like the plant shoots up real quick and then it withers and dies. It never got roots. And I'm kind of correlating that to you have to start with why you're doing it and you have to have a picture and a vision for the future. So where did you get that from? And maybe on the business side or even wanting to be doing the things you're doing. Obviously in real estate, you're taking risks, they're calculated risks, but you're making moves that have elements of risk in them with investment. So what's the vision that guides you or was there something specifically that you use or exercise as you cast vision for your life and maybe even as you go year by year?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, I mean, I think big picture. I think, as I mentioned earlier, I feel like God has spoken in certain things to my life well before I even thought about them. I mean, when I was 22 years old as a consultant, I heard God speak to me and say, someday you will be a real estate developer. Now, that didn't happen for another 13, 14 years, but I heard that and I stayed with that when I was out of shape. I heard God say to me, you will be a fitness model. And two years later, I was signed by Ford Models and I started competing. I just, I started to hear certain things and to write them down again in my journal and start to set a vision around some of those things that they became reality. I mean, that's just, I don't know if that answers your question, but

Josh K:

Yeah.

Jeff Sakamoto:

that's some of the things I use. And I'm very visual. I think as guys, a lot of us are very visual. And so I like to have things that I look at, you know, and that can be a picture of... a happy family or some of the things that I'd like to do in my life, I set pictures of those and I look at them so I can continually remind myself.

Josh K:

Yeah. What do you do when you're in meal prep and you're in contest prep and you're just having one of those days where you want to go off? What's your secret there? Do you have something you anchor to when your emotions aren't aligning to, you know, when you're hungry and you feel tired and you want to, like, you're being tempted to cheat?

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yeah, well, let's put it this way. The first couple shows I did, I actually cheated. I mean, you had to, and I had to learn that if you do that,

Josh K:

Yeah.

Jeff Sakamoto:

it's not gonna end up the way you want it to. And so I'm at this point now where I'm like, I'm competing against sort of the best athletes in the world, they're not cheating. I can't be cheating. And so yes, it comes down to discipline. Yes, it comes down to having a vision of actually winning a title, and having that as your goal. And that kind of supersedes that temporary craving because it is temporary. And you'll wake up the next morning and you'll be just fine. Even though you didn't have that slice of pizza you wanted, right? So.

Josh K:

Right. You know, there's so many parallels and this is why I love all the athletic metaphors in scripture and there's so many of them, but there's so many parallels to everything you're saying into this discussion to how we live our life to like fleeting temptations of sin to stuff that comes to entice us. And I think you summed it up right there. It's like, well, what's going to follow that? Like, yeah, it might make me satisfied for a moment, but then I have regret. And for you, it's getting on stage and it's like, Hey, I'm going to be exposed.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Exactly.

Josh K:

You know, literally I'm going to be exposed because if the guy next to me And it's the same way in our spiritual life. Like we will be exposed eventually.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Yep.

Josh K:

It's going to catch up to you if you're cutting corners and you're cheating. And there's also this whole. picture that Paul develops throughout multiple New Testament books where he's saying he's striving like an athlete. You know, he's training, he disciplines his body and those guys in those early Olympic type games, they trained for like 10, 12 months before they could even enter the game. So it was an extremely disciplined lifestyle that he's using to anchor for the people today that could understand that. And he's saying, this is what it looks like to follow the Lord. So there's just so many, so many parallels here.

Jeff Sakamoto:

I totally agree. And like you said, it's not just in fitness or what have you. I mean, if you're not living with integrity in your life and you're taking shortcuts, it will catch up to you. Whether it's in your relationships, your marriage, or your family, whether it's in business, if you're cutting corners, you're going to get caught. I've seen so many people over the years that, again, everything on the outside looks good and they might get ahead really fast. But if you're not doing it the right way, it will come back and bite you.

Josh K:

Let's do this, Jeff, as we start to wrap up. I mean, I'm sitting with a real estate expert right now, so I'd be foolish not to ask you some questions or outlook, or even for the guys that are listening, that are thinking about, hey, what do I do these days with my money? Like, how do I protect my finances? During COVID, you know, I know you're in, are you in commercial real estate as well?

Jeff Sakamoto:

I am, yeah. So commercial, we do, I specialize in large multifamily buildings or apartment

Josh K:

Okay.

Jeff Sakamoto:

buildings.

Josh K:

Okay. Because then it probably doesn't apply as much, but I know that a lot of buildings, they exited, they went to remote work and they didn't come back or it doesn't look the same. So just curious your outlook for us and maybe just beginning intermediate advice for the guys that are listening and want to model some of the financial guidance that you can offer. Not to put you on the spot with that, but

Jeff Sakamoto:

Oh

Josh K:

just

Jeff Sakamoto:

yeah.

Josh K:

kind of an outlook.

Jeff Sakamoto:

Well, first off, I love real estate. I think that real estate has given me the financial freedom that I've always desired and wanted and again, given me that ability to be a blessing to others. And I think that real estate is probably the most approachable way unless you start a business of creating real wealth. And so again, I love real estate. Now it's changing and it has changed a lot over the last five to 10 years. You mentioned one of them, which is COVID hits. office buildings, which used to be a really sexy, great investment, are no longer a great investment, right? Retail, same thing, shopping centers, things like that. The world is changing. And so why I love and why I'm in multifamily apartments is people will always need a place to live and an affordable place to live. And so that's what we provide. Now in the last five to 10 years, you've had a lot of newcomers into the market and I'm not going to name names, but there's a lot of people out there. pitching funds and different things, which are not good investments. And so you just have to do your diligence. You have to understand that not just because it's apartments or just because it's real estate doesn't mean it's a good investment. You really have to start to understand it before you dive in.

Josh K:

Yeah, well, it makes a lot of sense. Awesome, man. Jeff, it's been a great talking to you. How can people connect with you and are you doing anything in terms of coaching or I know you speak at Masterminds and you do some different stuff in real estate. Is there anywhere specific that the guys listening can connect with you?

Jeff Sakamoto:

You know, I really don't. I don't have any courses or books or anything else. But what I do is I say, look, reach out to me on Instagram. And if there's something you want to talk about or you want some help with fitness, I'm not gonna charge you. I just wanna help people. I mean, honestly, that's where I'm at in my life is that I've been blessed to be a blessing to others. And if I can help one person, I'm helping a lot of my friends and family and random people on Instagram who've reached out on different topics. And I'm happy to do that. That's

Josh K:

That's

Jeff Sakamoto:

where

Josh K:

amazing.

Jeff Sakamoto:

I can give back, yeah.

Josh K:

Yeah, what an awesome vision, man. It's been great having you on the show. Any last final things? I know we talked about a lot of stuff, but I wanna give you a chance to have the final word on any of the subjects we spoke about, a message to men, the guys that are listening. Any way you wanna close this out, Jeff, I'm gonna turn it over to you.

Jeff Sakamoto:

No, I just, again, I appreciate what you're doing. And I just, I, I. have told so many people not only to pick up your book, but to check out your podcast and your YouTube because I think this is what men today need. And when I say that, that's people my age, that's people my son's age. There's a real crisis in masculinity today. And I think that what you're doing is so powerful and I just got to give you a lot of credit for that. I know you're just a vessel for God and you're doing what you're called to do, which is amazing. But I just can't speak highly enough for what you're doing. And I would just ask guys to really dig into this because I think there's a... tremendous amount of value and can eliminate a lot of the mistakes that some of us older guys have made.

Josh K:

Well, listen, man, you're contributing to the platform. First of all, I'm honored to hear those comments. It was just, you know, honoring to connect with you on Instagram and see like, wow, I don't know who buys the book. I don't know who listens sometimes. So it's, it's amazing to connect with people and then see what you're doing. You know, you certainly contributed a lot, a lot of wisdom, a lot of hard earned wisdom, and we're going to have you back. We're going to do some different stuff with you in the future because you have a lot to offer for the guys that are listening. So guys, thank you so much for listening today and until the next episode, let's raise. standard.