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From Plumbing to Real Estate Investment
In this episode of the Working Towards Our Purpose I sat down with Phil Restivo for an insightful discussion about overcoming challenges, starting your own business, achieving success in real estate, finding your own path. Phil shares his remarkable journey, offering insights into motivating yourself, learning anything with Google, and the pivotal moments that shaped his professional and personal growth.
Coping with Challenges: Living with ADD
Phil Restivo mentions a few times through out this episode about his struggle with ADD. As a kid he thought something was wrong with him, but once he was diagnosed in his early 20s, he started being able to work with it instead of against it. He started finding ways to deal with his ADD and not let it be something that holds him back. Phil offers a perspective that could help anyone struggling with ADD, and shows us his problem solving mentality.
From Apprentice to Entrepreneur: The Journey
Phil’s journey from an apprentice to a successful business owner and then a real estate investor reflects his tenacity and perseverance. He discusses the stringent rules and challenges of getting through the apprenticeship program to become a plumber, underscoring the importance of getting your 10,000 hours. Phil was able to become a licensed plumber but then started questioning why he couldn’t just run the company himself.
Building a Thriving Business: Lessons in Patience and Resilience
As Phil chronicles the evolution of his business endeavors, he shares pivotal moments that shaped his entrepreneurial spirit. His experiences with clients, a strong mentorship, and becoming obsessed with real estate, offer valuable lessons in showing that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. From taking a leap of faith to travel and self-discovery, to starting his plumbing business with no business knowledge, Phil’s journey underscores the significance of embracing uncertainty, not being afraid to learn new things, and seizing opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Navigating the Real Estate Landscape: Triumphs and Trials
Phil Restivo’s experience in real estate investment and entrepreneurship forms a significant part of his inspiring narrative. He shares the challenges he faced amidst real estate market fluctuations, including saving up enough cash for the down payment of his first home, having to flip it as soon as he could because his interest rate was so high, and realizing it was a mistake to sell his first flip. Despite setbacks, Phil’s determination led him to improve, create systems, and do it better the next time which is all helping him achieve financial independence with real estate.
Pondering Life’s Purpose: A Journey of Self-Discovery
Throughout the episode, Phil expresses his contemplation of life’s purpose, delving into topics of religion, spirituality, and the pursuit of happiness. His thoughtful reflections underscore the importance of finding happiness in any form and embracing the journey of self-discovery. He encourages listeners to seek motivation and excitement in podcasts and audiobooks, emphasizing the value of introspection and self-exploration in understanding one’s path and purpose.
Phil Restivo’s compelling narrative encapsulates the essence of perseverance, resilience, and the pursuit of purpose. Throughout the podcast episode, his journey serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative power of determination in the face of adversity. Listeners are left with invaluable insights, underscoring the significance of embracing challenges, having a drive for knowledge, and navigating the professional landscape with unwavering determination. As Phil’s narrative exemplifies, the path to success is often paved with trials and tribulations, but it is through determination and resilience that one can truly find their purpose.
To listen to the full episode and discover more stories of purpose and fulfillment, you can subscribe to “Working Towards Our Purpose” on your favorite podcast platform.
Topics in this episode:
- Going to a trade high school
- Not being able to get a job
- Becoming a licensed plumber
- Learning renovation work
- Becoming fed up with not getting paid well
- Learning about real estate with Google
- Taking some time off to travel
- Starting a plumbing business
- Finding a good mentor
- Not taking no for an answer
- Finding your own motivation
- Find and use your strengths
- Buying and flipping a house
- Owning 7 rental properties
Bio: Phil Restivo
Phil Restivo is a hands-on kind of guy who found his passion for craftsmanship at a young age. He decided to attend a technical school that offered hands-on training for half the year and academics for the other half. Although he initially saw it as a way to “get out of work free,” he found that the school provided him with valuable trade skills. He graduated with a focus in plumbing, but struggled with the idea of not going to college. After not being able to find a plumbing job because of a bad driving record, he started working on cars for money. He worked at various body shops for a few years before returning to plumbing. After getting his license, and inspired by believing he could run a company better than the people he worked for, he opened up his own plumbing business. As someone who gets board easily, he then moved his interest into real estate and began to research it obsessively, while at the same time picking up work in home remodeling. Years later he finally had a down payment for his first home that he flipped in a few months. He was hooked after that and today Phil has 7 rental properties while still running his plumbing business.
Connect with Phil:
- PR Mechanical Systems