Edward Lomena's Journey: From Tragedy to Triumph as a Personal Injury Lawyer

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Bet on yourself, don't leave your success to anybody else, right?

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People are going to make you promises.

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They're not going to come through, or they're not going to be able to come through, but if you bet on yourself, it's all about you, you, you're the one that determines your level of success, your level of happiness.

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Welcome to The Wayfinder Show with Luis Hernandez, where guests discuss the why and how of making changes that led them down a more authentic path or allow them to level up in some area of their life.

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Welcome back to the wayfinder show i am your host louis hernandez and today i'm here with my friend edward lomena Edward grew up in New York City where he had an unfortunate encounter with an attorney during his youth that profoundly shaped his career aspirations.

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A family friend referred him to a lawyer who initially seemed helpful, but eventually their lack of commitment and poor communication resulted in a difficult and painful experience for him.

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This incident led him to realize that he could do better, inspiring him to pursue a career in law with a commitment to serve his clients with integrity and dedication.

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For And today we're here to learn more about his journey.

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So welcome to the Wayfinder Show, Edward.

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Thank you.

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I appreciate you.

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I appreciate.

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I'm happy to be here.

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It's an honor to be here.

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Thank you.

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Yeah.

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Likewise.

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The honor is ours, man.

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Should we call you Eddie?

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yeah, you can go.

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You know, what's funny is, my family calls me Eddie.

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Yeah.

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my people that I work with call me Ed.

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And then occasionally, like, in a professional environment, I get called Edward.

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So, whichever one you prefer.

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Anyways, Eddie, tell us a little bit more.

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you got a really interesting background, man.

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can you share a little bit about your origin story?

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I was born in New York.

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I grew up, between Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

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I spent a lot of time there in my youth.

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eventually I ended up my teenage years in East Harlem.

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I went to school there in high school there until I eventually went to college in Long Island.

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I grew up with my mother, single parent household.

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I was an only child until I was probably 11 years old.

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And then my sister came along.

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Yeah, so what was this experience when you were a kid that was unfortunate with an attorney?

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Yeah, so my mother died when I was 19.

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Oh, man.

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Sorry.

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She died pretty suddenly and There was some question of the treatment that she got in the hospital And I remember I got a call from a nurse one day saying, you know, you should go see a lawyer.

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And it was a nurse that was taking care of her.

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the reason I knew it was a nurse taking care of her is because she called me by the name she called me in the hospital, which wasn't my name.

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So I knew it was her.

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my mother ended up passing away.

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I got this call.

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I talked to a family friend who referred me to a lawyer.

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I saw this lawyer and she was going to help me, but I was in college at the time and maybe a little hard to reach, but she had my family number and she's never really communicated with me, never really told me what was going on.

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eventually, before the statute of limitations ran, she dropped my case.

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the only reason she dropped my case was because I finally got her on the phone.

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she just told me that, there was nothing she could do.

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She was dropping my case.

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I didn't know whether there was really a case there or not, but I felt like she could have communicated with me better.

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She could have told me what was going on.

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It was just an experience where I expected more.

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I thought I would get more.

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I didn't.

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I felt like she probably had other stuff that was more important.

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So I wasn't a priority.

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I didn't like the way that made me feel.

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I felt like I could probably help someone like me.

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if I got into the law, I would treat people better.

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So that was pretty much the event that got me to thinking that, maybe I could be a lawyer.

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Okay.

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I didn't know any lawyers or anything like that, but I thought, Hey, maybe I could be a lawyer because I know I can do a better job than this person did for me.

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Now you were already in college, you said at this point, right?

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So what career path were you pursuing?

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So I didn't know, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

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I went to college because honestly, my mother kind of forced me to go to college.

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I had no intention of going to college.

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the only reason I got in was because I got into, it was called the HEOP scholarship.

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It was called, ours was NOAA, it was called New Opportunities at Hofstra.

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And it was for traditional students, meaning students who wouldn't normally get in.

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Have the grades or the SAT score or anything like that, but they gave you a chance, to go to college.

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You had to take remedial classes, your first year, go through a summer program, and then you take regular courses.

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So I did that, and I was pretty much lost at that point.

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I didn't know what I wanted to do.

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I think I was on academic probation.

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And then that happened to my mother and it kind of gave me some purpose.

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I was able to get off academic probation and get better grades because I actually had a goal, but I had no clear path.

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I didn't know what I wanted to do until then.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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So you, you took a tragic moment in life and really kind of use it to develop some clarity and define your life, essentially.

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Yeah.

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It was that click moment that, you know what, I have to do something with my life.

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I have to honor my mother's memory.

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she gave me some purpose.

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I think, it was, her giving me guidance.

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She gave me, a way to go because I didn't know what I wanted to do.

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it clicked that maybe I could do this at that point, it was kind of just a pipe dream, but it motivated me to at least try to achieve that dream.

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You know, I'm wondering going back, like, did your parents go to college?

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no, I didn't really know my father growing up, but I know he was in the military.

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I don't know how far into school he went.

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I know my mother dropped out of high school.

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She got a GED.

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no, I don't think my father did, but I wouldn't have known anyway.

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Yeah.

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So I'm familiar with the program.

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Cause I have a similar background.

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I mean, both my parents were around, but neither one of them even graduated high school either.

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and I was the first in my family to go to high school.

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College and, I went into college through programs very similar to the ones you did.

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You know, I actually started in Queens, New York, but we moved out to Rhode Island in towns that were actually a lot more underprivileged in most of New York City towns, believe it or not, they have these programs where they take usually first gen kids with a lot of potentials and to actually visit schools offer summer programs to Help them develop some of the skills so that they can hang when they get there to the real school and what have you and that's how I got into northeastern university And yeah, those great programs There was no way I could have graduated from college without that summer program or that first year remedial classes.

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I just wasn't ready academically right to take college courses without that program.

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I'm pretty sure there's no way I would have graduated from school.

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Right.

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Yeah, I'm wondering, once you got to college, you obviously knew other college students, probably.

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Did you tend to, what was your social life like?

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did you affiliate with other, Latino first gen students Yeah.

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so the first thing I did was there was a group called Hofstra's Organization of Latin Americans.

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So I joined that group and I met a lot of people and then I actually pledged a Latino fraternity.

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Oh yeah.

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Field Alpha.

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Yeah.

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so I pledged them, I think fall of 1995 and that was pretty much my social group, the Hofstra's Organization of Latin Americans.

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And then, you know, my fraternity we had a Pretty decent community.

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we got along really well and we hung out a lot I did try to make my fraternity integrate more with the other fraternities and sororities on campus because I like people so I didn't want to stick to just, my Latino friends.

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So I always branched out to make friends.

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throughout the university.

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and I was able to do that.

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I was pretty social in college.

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I had a good network of people, a lot of people, my background.

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So, I had some inspiration of people that actually graduated and did more successful.

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So I had some people that I had seen that were able to do it.

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So that was also a motivating factor for me.

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Yeah, that's great.

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I only ask because I think, you know, for people who come to go to college, which is a traditional middle class and upper class institution in America, right.

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to come from the backgrounds, like as a first gen student going in from wherever it, it can be very, very uncomfortable.

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Right.

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and I always am curious about how does that evolution happen?

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Who, who do you, because I, I've noticed over time, I also hung around with a lot of different people, but I was most.

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We involved in a Latin American student organization.

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And we actually tried to bring a fi OTA chapter to Northeastern.

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We're not a big fraternity school in Northeastern, but I remember working with the chapter over at, at, bu So you can see how that influence was, you know, how that played out now 20 years later, In people's lives.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Yeah.

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It's just, it's pretty interesting to see that evolution.

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and I think it provided for a comfort level in an otherwise uncomfortable environment when you first go to college.

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Right.

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Well, yeah, that's good.

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You see other people like you, right?

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There were people from.

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You know, you go there and obviously as Latino students, we're in a, we're the minority.

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There's not a lot of us there, but the fact that there's an organization and a fraternity and a club where you can meet other Latinos who are very similar or at similar backgrounds, that's always very helpful.

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I will say that of my program that I was in, I mean, we probably had 30 people to start and at the end of it at five or six of them graduated, that was a lot.

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Yeah, some graduated early, but I think in the end, there's probably maybe six, seven of us that actually graduated.

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Wow.

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Good for you to do that, man.

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Yeah, it was a challenge, but I mean, some of the best years I ever had.

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Of course.

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Yeah.

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That says a lot about you, man.

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I mean, when they tell you, you look to your left, you look to your right, one of you ain't going to survive.

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You get to look two doors, two shoulders over each way then before you, you see the survivor.

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So that's, congrats to you for that.

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so law school, how did that come out?

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you start to think, okay, maybe I'll be a lawyer.

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you finished undergrad.

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Did you go right for law school at that point or what happened then?

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So, yeah.

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when I graduated, I had, you know, I was on academic probation.

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I think when my mother passed away, I was in my second or third year.

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So I had some making up to do.

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so my grades, they get better, but they weren't great.

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They weren't.

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Law school caliber grades, but I did also take the outset after I graduated and I applied.

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I didn't get in and then I applied two more years.

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So I applied three years in a row and I just I couldn't get in.

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My grades weren't good enough.

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My LSAT wasn't good enough.

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I was working as a paralegal, for a law firm.

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And I remember a young lawyer, asked me to do a project for him.

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And I did the project and he was impressed with it.

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So he asked me to do another project and I did it well.

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So he asked me if I had ever thought of going to law school and I told him, you know, that I had tried and I couldn't get in and I wasn't interested in it anymore.

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And he asked me if I would give it one more shot.

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And I had to think about it because I mean, trying three years in a row and getting rejected three years in a row.

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I didn't want to go through that again, get my hopes up and then get rejected again.

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but he told me that he knew what law schools were looking for.

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And that at that time, diversity was a big thing and life experience was a big thing.

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And I had both of those things in my favor.

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So, he helped me.

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With my application and my essay, and I eventually got into, Hofstra university school of law.

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So I went there for undergrad, but I also ended up going there for law school.

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Nice.

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So, I mean, he definitely changed the trajectory of my life because at that point I had given up and I was, you know, nothing wrong with work being a paralegal.

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I mean, it's a great job, but it wasn't what I was planning on doing because I had given up at that point.

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Okay.

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Excellent.

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Well, what about, so why you eventually settled on personal injury law?

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why that?

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Well, it was an opportunity for me to help people.

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I really wanted to get into the law to help people.

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I got recruited by a personal injury firm after I did a trial competition, and they were a starting out firm and they asked me if I would come work for them for the summer.

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So I went there for the summer and I really enjoyed the work because I realized, you know, this is the type of people that I wanted to help.

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Were the clients that they had.

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So, that's what drew me into it.

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I had a detour on the way I went and worked when that firm shut down, I went and got a job at a insurance defense firm, So I started working for the insurance companies, but I realized after a while that that wasn't the route for me.

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I really wanted to help people.

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I didn't want to help the insurance companies.

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So when I.

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moved to Colorado.

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I met my wife, she was in grad school and I just graduated from law school.

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She's from Colorado and she eventually wanted to come back.

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So it was an opportunity for me to start all over.

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So I decided when I moved to Colorado, that I was going to do plaintiff's personal injury work because that was originally what I wanted to do.

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And it was originally, you know, I wanted to help people and that was the plan.

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For some reason, financial reasons, it got away from me, but I found myself and I ended up back doing what I originally wanted to do.

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Good.

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You know, there's a lot of people who, when they think of personal injury attorneys, they don't think very, highly of that.

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I mean the term ambulance chases.

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I think most applies to you, right?

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So yeah, you hear that a lot and I will tell you it's unfair partly, the reason it's unfair is because it's generated by Insurance companies big business.

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Well, the reason is because As a personal injury attorney, you give people that normally wouldn't have access to justice access to justice.

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When someone's hurt, and they have to deal with a billion dollar insurance company.

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They're just a number, or the insurance company doesn't care about them.

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And they're not really good.

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They're not going to take care of them.

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So they don't, oftentimes they get low ball.

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They don't get compensated for their injuries.

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They don't get compensated for their lost wages for all the stuff that they went through.

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So they come to an attorney like me.

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And my job is to make sure that they have an even playing field and that they're treated fairly and make sure that they treat people fairly.

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That they're not just numbers.

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They're human beings whose lives have been affected by whatever happened.

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however, they were injured.

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Some of these people are so severely injured that they're never going to be the same.

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And unfortunately, you can't just make them better.

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We can't.

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So the way our country works and the way the law works, the only way to make them whole is by getting the money.

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So that's what we do.

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But without us, they would not have access to.

00:15:39.197 --> 00:15:42.227
That type of justice, the insurance company would just overwhelm them.

00:15:42.778 --> 00:15:47.847
And so the way I look at it is we stand up to the bully, right?

00:15:47.847 --> 00:15:48.947
We, fight for the little guy.

00:15:49.368 --> 00:15:53.898
So if people want to call us ambulance chasers or do those things, that's fine.

00:15:53.927 --> 00:16:04.488
they can think that, but I guarantee you, if they're ever in a severe accident or their family members are, they're going to need someone like me or a personal injury attorney to help them.

00:16:05.177 --> 00:16:10.197
that's the reality of it is, you know, without us, they wouldn't have the access to justice.

00:16:11.008 --> 00:16:11.347
Yeah.

00:16:12.258 --> 00:16:12.738
I love that.

00:16:12.738 --> 00:16:17.217
Do you think that's just because you have a great moral compass, great ethics.

00:16:17.648 --> 00:16:23.687
do you find that to be pretty prevalent amongst your peers Or is the stereotype justified, would you say?

00:16:24.368 --> 00:16:27.158
I can tell you, our reputation is justified.

00:16:27.158 --> 00:16:29.557
And most of us, are good.

00:16:29.618 --> 00:16:37.243
I think, the personal injury attorneys that I've been around, that I associate with, have similar mentalities where we wanna help people.

00:16:37.273 --> 00:16:39.643
we love the fact that we stand up for the little guy.

00:16:40.482 --> 00:16:43.628
And so I think that's prevalent in the community.

00:16:43.677 --> 00:16:47.788
I really am proud to be a part of the legal community, especially here in Colorado.

00:16:47.837 --> 00:16:50.567
Started a firm, about five, six weeks ago.

00:16:50.567 --> 00:16:54.327
And I've got so much support from the other lawyers in this community.

00:16:54.817 --> 00:16:58.967
and you know, we're all out here trying to do the same thing and it's really just help people.

00:16:59.347 --> 00:17:03.248
And we all help each other in that mission to help our clients.

00:17:03.258 --> 00:17:07.327
So, you know, I can call almost any attorney that I know.

00:17:07.913 --> 00:17:13.143
And they'll answer the phone and they'll help me out if I need it, because we're all fighting for the same thing.

00:17:13.143 --> 00:17:15.032
We're all fighting to get justice for our clients.

00:17:15.042 --> 00:17:19.313
So I think, I don't think that reputation is justified.

00:17:19.313 --> 00:17:23.883
I think we're a pretty good morally based, community.

00:17:24.413 --> 00:17:24.833
That's great.

00:17:25.778 --> 00:17:29.268
Yeah, and again, I just want to preempt that, you know, again, I'm a realtor.

00:17:29.268 --> 00:17:31.347
So we got pretty bad reputations too.

00:17:31.347 --> 00:17:42.337
and I feel the same way, especially now when times are tough, they're not like they were, three, four years ago, anybody could just, you know, Make a bunch of money in commissions, but they weren't really doing the client's justice.

00:17:42.357 --> 00:17:44.127
Now, a lot of that has left.

00:17:44.258 --> 00:17:47.928
and I think most of the people in the industry are doing a good job for their clients.

00:17:48.028 --> 00:17:49.788
we have to, the easy work is gone.

00:17:50.028 --> 00:17:53.557
So you have to work hard and be good to your clients to have business.

00:17:53.907 --> 00:17:55.768
So, yeah, I agree with that too.

00:17:55.768 --> 00:18:01.698
I think the best lawyers and the people that, do the best job are, people that have the best reputation, right?

00:18:01.728 --> 00:18:02.038
Yeah.

00:18:02.678 --> 00:18:04.337
Mouth is the best advertisement.

00:18:04.748 --> 00:18:06.137
Do a good job for your client.

00:18:06.178 --> 00:18:09.288
And then they tell someone else about you and that's how you build a client base.

00:18:09.288 --> 00:18:16.807
So, we don't want to mess that up by, not doing a good job or, saying this case is smaller than this case, I'm not really going to work on that case.

00:18:16.827 --> 00:18:21.258
Like you have to put in the work and all the, if you take the case, you got to put in the work.

00:18:21.567 --> 00:18:21.807
Yeah.

00:18:22.538 --> 00:18:23.988
You got to do a good job for your clients.

00:18:23.988 --> 00:18:25.587
what are the challenges now?

00:18:25.597 --> 00:18:29.038
why did you choose to start your own firm and what does it look like?

00:18:29.038 --> 00:18:31.718
What are the challenges there now versus working for another firm?

00:18:32.553 --> 00:18:35.762
So starting my own firm wasn't my main goal.

00:18:35.792 --> 00:18:40.423
I was never one of those people that was like, one day I'm gonna go out on my own and I'm gonna start my own firm.

00:18:40.932 --> 00:18:42.673
It's just one of those things that happened.

00:18:42.673 --> 00:18:46.877
And what happens is, you're at a place for a long time, and I was at a place that I liked being at.

00:18:46.877 --> 00:18:50.958
It was a really good firm and we did good work and they allowed me to do a lot of different things.

00:18:51.788 --> 00:18:57.397
but at the end of the day, it was someone else's firm and I had to answer to someone else.

00:18:57.468 --> 00:19:06.278
I have my own, core values and I wanted to make sure that I was practicing law based on my own beliefs.

00:19:06.958 --> 00:19:14.248
And the only way for me to really do that was to open up my own firm and practice law the way I want to practice law.

00:19:15.807 --> 00:19:22.478
I want to be able to, take the cases that I want to take, take the cases that are interesting to me.

00:19:23.008 --> 00:19:31.768
doesn't really matter, not money based first, it's the cases that are interesting, the cases where I want to help people, I get to practice, I'm a trial lawyer at heart.

00:19:31.768 --> 00:19:38.228
So I want to take cases to trial, hard cases to trial, and I want to do it in a certain way.

00:19:38.278 --> 00:19:42.357
starting my own firm just seemed like the opportunity for me to do that.

00:19:42.972 --> 00:19:45.212
I wanted to build something I can be really proud of.

00:19:46.032 --> 00:19:52.143
I have a six year old daughter and she's so excited that she hears that I started a law firm called Lamina law.

00:19:52.163 --> 00:19:56.323
She doesn't really fully understand it, but you can see how proud she is.

00:19:57.492 --> 00:19:59.002
Daddy started a business, right?

00:19:59.002 --> 00:20:06.202
So, you know, I just wanted to build something that I can be proud of that my family can be proud of and practice law the right way.

00:20:06.583 --> 00:20:07.792
And the way that I envisioned it.

00:20:07.962 --> 00:20:10.742
So that's why I wanted to do it.

00:20:10.792 --> 00:20:15.093
I'm the happiest I've ever been professionally since I started at a law firm.

00:20:15.093 --> 00:20:22.742
there's a big difference of walking into a firm that has someone else's name on it and walking into an office that has your name on it.

00:20:23.262 --> 00:20:23.923
Huge difference.

00:20:23.923 --> 00:20:24.423
Yeah.

00:20:25.073 --> 00:20:27.722
within that, I heard something I think is really important.

00:20:27.772 --> 00:20:36.002
with different experiences I've had, I've realized that in just about anything, want a lawyer who wants to go to trial or at least isn't afraid.

00:20:36.472 --> 00:20:40.702
Cause I feel like too many times they just want to settle on, and this is not just personal injury.

00:20:40.702 --> 00:20:45.212
I mean, business, especially in business, I think, you want somebody who really wants to fight.

00:20:45.583 --> 00:20:45.843
Right.

00:20:45.873 --> 00:20:47.333
I'm glad you brought that up.

00:20:47.482 --> 00:20:52.873
I'm so glad you brought that up because I do a lot of social media stuff.

00:20:52.873 --> 00:20:55.732
And one of the things I always talk about is trial work.

00:20:56.383 --> 00:21:01.232
And how important it is and how you can't have a successful firm unless you're willing to go to trial.

00:21:01.853 --> 00:21:02.942
I'm a trawler at heart.

00:21:02.962 --> 00:21:05.313
Like I said, I want to take cases to trial.

00:21:05.573 --> 00:21:11.603
I've seen so many times, people tell me, they want to try cases and they're excited to do it.

00:21:11.923 --> 00:21:17.542
And then they get a case and the first hard fact that comes along makes them, Oh, I got to settle this.

00:21:17.542 --> 00:21:18.282
I can't try it.

00:21:18.903 --> 00:21:20.292
you know, the trial is hard.

00:21:20.292 --> 00:21:20.623
it's.

00:21:20.962 --> 00:21:22.173
supposed to be hard.

00:21:22.383 --> 00:21:24.962
The reason you try the cases are because they're not easy.

00:21:25.192 --> 00:21:28.292
There's bad facts, but you have to be able to overcome those things.

00:21:28.813 --> 00:21:33.673
And one of my core values for my firm is fearlessness, right?

00:21:33.873 --> 00:21:42.823
That's, and the reason that's one of my core values is because I want people to know that my firm is not scared to go to trial.

00:21:43.692 --> 00:21:44.782
We will go to trial.

00:21:45.522 --> 00:21:50.623
Now I understand that most of the time when people come to me, they don't want to go to trial.

00:21:50.623 --> 00:21:52.113
They want to get their case resolved.

00:21:52.702 --> 00:22:04.252
But in order for me to do the job that I need to do for clients in order for me to get them the best value for their case, in order for me to make sure that they're getting their justice, I have to go to trial sometimes.

00:22:04.972 --> 00:22:10.532
and the firms that are scared to go to trial or they just settle cases because they don't want to go to trial.

00:22:11.053 --> 00:22:14.242
You know, we are a trial firm, and we're going to try cases.

00:22:14.532 --> 00:22:17.702
And that's in my heart like that's what I want to do.

00:22:17.932 --> 00:22:19.472
That's what I've always wanted to do.

00:22:19.823 --> 00:22:21.972
I try to try as many cases I can.

00:22:22.432 --> 00:22:23.403
I'll try any case.

00:22:23.472 --> 00:22:25.303
I tried big cases, small cases.

00:22:25.782 --> 00:22:27.692
I've tried cases for seven figures.

00:22:27.692 --> 00:22:33.442
I've tried cases where I asked for, you know, 15, 000 or 10, 000, but you have to go to trial.

00:22:34.282 --> 00:22:40.282
You know, you can't be a successful personal injury attorney if you don't go to trial in my opinion.

00:22:40.702 --> 00:22:50.212
I think you hear from a lot of lawyers that they say they want to fight for the little guy and against the bully like you started, but a lot of them, they say that, but they don't really stand behind it.

00:22:50.212 --> 00:22:51.103
And clearly you do.

00:22:51.553 --> 00:22:57.143
you're really willing to get into, the ring and exchange punches with the real bully right there.

00:22:57.143 --> 00:22:58.813
I mean, that's the ring for lawyers, right?

00:22:59.423 --> 00:22:59.682
Yeah.

00:22:59.682 --> 00:23:05.522
And you know, my martial arts background also helps with that mentality.

00:23:05.772 --> 00:23:06.032
Right.

00:23:06.123 --> 00:23:07.813
Because, you know, I'm competitive.

00:23:08.663 --> 00:23:10.002
Brazilian jujitsu black belt.

00:23:10.002 --> 00:23:22.083
So you know, that's another area where if you're able to do that and get on the mat and put your physical body on the line and take the risk of getting hurt, going to trial, isn't so scary.

00:23:22.083 --> 00:23:23.462
Sure.

00:23:23.462 --> 00:23:26.432
So it's all about preparation and doing the work.

00:23:26.432 --> 00:23:29.863
And if you do that and you just kind of know how to talk to people.

00:23:30.333 --> 00:23:34.522
I learned, so I, when I started Brazilian jiu jitsu, it was a life changer for me.

00:23:36.083 --> 00:23:38.313
It taught me a lot of things about myself.

00:23:38.913 --> 00:23:41.452
it taught me that I can be in uncomfortable positions.

00:23:42.097 --> 00:23:44.127
I can, you know, competing is scary.

00:23:44.167 --> 00:23:49.048
I put myself in scary positions, but it's also taught me that I can overcome a lot.

00:23:49.428 --> 00:23:56.698
And one of the things it's done is it's helped me in life, because it's my, it's my happy place.

00:23:56.698 --> 00:24:06.678
It's my, you know, when everything's going wrong and, you know, work isn't so great or, you know, maybe I'm having family issues is the one place I can go where I'm always going to be happy.

00:24:07.163 --> 00:24:11.512
But if it requires some work, you got to put in the work to be successful.

00:24:11.932 --> 00:24:16.462
So one of the things that I learned through Brazilian jujitsu was preparation is everything.

00:24:17.343 --> 00:24:18.452
Preparation is everything.

00:24:18.512 --> 00:24:20.393
if I prepare well, I'm going to compete well.

00:24:20.442 --> 00:24:21.282
I'm going to train well.

00:24:21.482 --> 00:24:22.903
and I use that mentality.

00:24:23.242 --> 00:24:24.722
With my trial practice, right?

00:24:24.772 --> 00:24:37.563
preparation is everything and the fearlessness, the hard work, the discipline, all those things that I learned from my 12 years of training Brazilian jiu jitsu is stuff that I incorporate in my life.

00:24:37.563 --> 00:24:39.573
It's stuff that I incorporate in my practice.

00:24:39.992 --> 00:24:50.711
So for me, it was a way for me to honor both the two things I'm passionate about practicing law and Brazilian jiu jitsu.

00:24:51.188 --> 00:24:53.288
it's just being true to myself, right?

00:24:53.298 --> 00:24:59.817
I got a bunch of friends and stuff that didn't love the idea of promoting myself and the black belt representation.

00:24:59.817 --> 00:25:02.938
That's my motto, but, it's something that's important to me.

00:25:03.008 --> 00:25:04.298
it's my true identity.

00:25:04.298 --> 00:25:05.178
It's my true self.

00:25:05.178 --> 00:25:10.087
So I don't think you can do anything and be successful at it unless you're genuine.

00:25:10.627 --> 00:25:12.958
I'm combining the things I love and trying to make.

00:25:13.528 --> 00:25:14.827
Turned it into a success.

00:25:15.218 --> 00:25:15.837
I love that.

00:25:16.097 --> 00:25:37.798
Well, yeah, and your passion comes through it now And whenever you do something with passion, you'll you'll eventually have success regardless And if not you you you're a black belt, so you'll kick their asses if they keep talking smack anyway No, you know what's funny I'm curious Edward Eddie when you were a kid like were you involved in sports at all?

00:25:38.508 --> 00:25:43.712
Yeah, I played basketball Okay And I played, you know, I played, I played all sports.

00:25:43.752 --> 00:25:47.103
I wasn't very good at any of them until I realized I was good at basketball.

00:25:47.653 --> 00:25:54.553
that was the sport that I, that I took up and I played mostly, especially on, you know, when you're growing up on the street, he's Harlem, you gotta sure.

00:25:55.792 --> 00:25:57.173
Basketball kept me out of trouble.

00:25:57.173 --> 00:25:57.353
Right.

00:25:57.492 --> 00:25:57.952
And sure.

00:25:58.577 --> 00:25:59.258
What about handball?

00:26:00.067 --> 00:26:01.657
Yeah, I did play handball too.

00:26:02.127 --> 00:26:09.367
handball was a big deal in my family because my cousins all would come over and we all lived in my aunt's house when I lived in East Harlem.

00:26:09.798 --> 00:26:12.627
And my cousin would come over and we'd all play handball.

00:26:13.623 --> 00:26:19.133
All neighborhood would be out there playing handball and I'd sneak away to go play basketball because basketball I really loved.

00:26:19.143 --> 00:26:21.893
Basketball, was how I made friends in the neighborhood.

00:26:22.423 --> 00:26:26.992
Out of trouble, kept me free and jumped and all those, I could play basketball.

00:26:26.992 --> 00:26:28.242
So people knew who I was.

00:26:28.482 --> 00:26:28.742
Yeah.

00:26:28.782 --> 00:26:31.682
So, so it was very, very essential.

00:26:31.682 --> 00:26:33.472
Sports were essential to me growing up.

00:26:33.663 --> 00:26:36.423
Did you play organized basketball or just street ball pickups?

00:26:36.752 --> 00:26:37.643
Mostly streetball.

00:26:37.813 --> 00:26:38.123
Yeah.

00:26:38.163 --> 00:26:38.692
Okay.

00:26:39.532 --> 00:26:40.383
That's what I was wondering.

00:26:40.452 --> 00:26:42.252
I was a really good streetball player.

00:26:42.577 --> 00:26:42.768
huh.

00:26:42.778 --> 00:26:47.317
But streetball players, being a good streetball player doesn't always translate into organized ball.

00:26:47.518 --> 00:26:47.877
That's right.

00:26:47.887 --> 00:26:50.567
So I was never really that good of an organized ball player.

00:26:50.577 --> 00:26:51.038
huh.

00:26:51.087 --> 00:26:54.167
but if we went to the park, it was a whole different story.

00:26:54.258 --> 00:26:55.157
Right, right, right.

00:26:55.298 --> 00:27:11.593
Yeah, where I grew up, I think some of the most talented, ball players were definitely not on the local team, The best players in our state probably were from where I grew up, but they weren't playing for the local high school or anything, And I wanted to play on some of the more organized teams, but you know, those things cost money and we didn't have money.

00:27:11.643 --> 00:27:12.133
Exactly.

00:27:12.542 --> 00:27:26.732
So, you know, why I bring this up, Eddie, is because I had a very similar background with the sports in the same way and everything, although you were probably a lot more talented than me, What I realize now is, in my older years, in my thirties, I started taking up running, long distance running.

00:27:27.323 --> 00:27:38.623
And I've learned a lot of lessons from that, just like how you describe what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you know, that I think translate to career success and other success, right?

00:27:38.833 --> 00:27:44.992
Like the way you describe your relationship with your daughter, your business, you know, your moral ethics and code.

00:27:45.063 --> 00:27:45.373
I don't know.

00:27:45.423 --> 00:27:53.643
It sounds to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that a lot of that comes from what you learned in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, much like it did for me with running.

00:27:54.633 --> 00:27:55.323
That's correct.

00:27:55.563 --> 00:27:55.913
Yeah.

00:27:56.232 --> 00:27:57.353
I would, I would agree.

00:27:57.603 --> 00:28:01.383
a lot of the discipline, the hard work, all of that stuff.

00:28:02.018 --> 00:28:03.907
I mean, I think I had the work ethic.

00:28:03.907 --> 00:28:08.538
I think I had it, but I think Brazilian jiu jitsu, amplified all of that.

00:28:08.607 --> 00:28:18.097
And I don't know that I would have accomplished the things that I have accomplished if I had not started Brazilian jiu jitsu.

00:28:18.097 --> 00:28:18.417
Sure.

00:28:19.428 --> 00:28:24.647
And I think that's important and I think, it gives us, it almost makes us like late bloomers because of it.

00:28:24.647 --> 00:28:24.877
Right.

00:28:24.877 --> 00:28:32.667
We discover it later in life, but you know, it's an advantage that some households had because like you said, basketball is expensive for you.

00:28:32.867 --> 00:28:34.548
It probably wasn't even just expensive.

00:28:34.548 --> 00:28:36.198
It was a huge opportunity cost, right?

00:28:36.198 --> 00:28:40.698
Like you couldn't go in and playing for an organized team meant you couldn't work.

00:28:40.938 --> 00:28:40.978
Right.

00:28:41.063 --> 00:28:49.702
You know, as well as, and so the street ball, you can go anytime in between work and school or class, whatever, and go find a playground and go play ball.

00:28:50.303 --> 00:28:52.843
So, yeah, I started working, I was 15.

00:28:52.863 --> 00:28:55.762
So, you know, I was working all through high school.

00:28:55.813 --> 00:28:59.583
but you could always find the time to play street ball, even if it was on your lunch break.

00:28:59.698 --> 00:29:10.218
So, and then, but you know, there are like real lessons that a lot of people learn early on that would took us longer in life because they were able to participate in those sports early on.

00:29:10.258 --> 00:29:10.587
Right.

00:29:10.867 --> 00:29:16.238
like the teamwork, the discipline, getting organized, preparing, doing all the small things.

00:29:16.248 --> 00:29:23.532
I mean, a lot of kids in my kids, you know, had the privilege of playing sports and they had to, Journal, my daughter did cross country.

00:29:23.532 --> 00:29:25.962
I got to coach for a little bit and she played basketball too.

00:29:26.163 --> 00:29:28.403
And we had them journal like, Hey, how did that go?

00:29:28.413 --> 00:29:29.222
How did that practice go?

00:29:29.222 --> 00:29:30.692
that's a huge thing.

00:29:30.692 --> 00:29:36.242
Just learning how to journal, so you can, record the lessons and learn from them and think them through consciously.

00:29:36.262 --> 00:29:36.583
Right.

00:29:36.913 --> 00:29:37.913
So absolutely.

00:29:38.133 --> 00:29:43.373
I mean, there's so many things, lessons that you learned and that we probably couldn't do.

00:29:43.762 --> 00:29:52.627
yeah, and I think, because of that, we feel a high level of gratitude towards whatever that platform is that allowed us to grow in that way.

00:29:52.627 --> 00:29:52.958
Right.

00:29:52.958 --> 00:29:54.607
In your case, it's Brazilian Jiujitsu.

00:29:54.607 --> 00:29:55.597
I owe it to running.

00:29:56.067 --> 00:29:59.827
So we just, I'll always pay tribute to Brazilian jujitsu.

00:29:59.877 --> 00:30:00.748
I'll always honor it.

00:30:01.067 --> 00:30:05.647
that's why it's part of my firm that, I mean, if you look at the logo of my firm, it's a black belt.

00:30:06.367 --> 00:30:08.077
It's the two L's, but it's a black belt.

00:30:08.077 --> 00:30:16.758
So, I always want to honor it and I agree with you, now that I have a daughter, I can give her a lot of the opportunities that I didn't have then.

00:30:17.887 --> 00:30:19.238
Wants to try different sports.

00:30:19.238 --> 00:30:22.048
I let her try them because I think she's going to learn from that.

00:30:22.508 --> 00:30:25.657
now she's, gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming, all those things.

00:30:25.657 --> 00:30:26.738
She wants to do all those things.

00:30:27.188 --> 00:30:34.678
and I let her try all those things because I want her to have opportunities I didn't have and to learn the things that I didn't learn at an earlier age.

00:30:34.718 --> 00:30:40.038
And, you know, I want her to have work ethic, even though she has a lot more than I had.

00:30:40.587 --> 00:30:48.157
When I was her age, I still want her to learn what it means to work hard, to earn stuff, and to be a good person, you know?

00:30:48.157 --> 00:30:55.307
So, I think allowing her to participate in team activities and sports is going to help her, especially since only child.

00:30:55.307 --> 00:31:04.557
So she's going to learn how to share and she's going to learn the, the, the, have to rely on someone else and know that relying on her and those things, those things are important to learn.

00:31:04.627 --> 00:31:20.278
So, Eddie, I'm going to ask you something I haven't asked anybody yet, but it's been on my mind a lot lately, right, because as I've been doing this show now, we're over a hundred episodes now, and I've really gotten through to thinking about what life has been like for this point.

00:31:20.337 --> 00:32:06.762
your story, much like mine is not very, we're at a stage in our society where It deserves, we overcame a lot of hardship to get to where we are But now there's a lot of people who have right i'm sure you know of a lot of people who've made it out the hood and they're doing good for themselves However, there does and maybe I don't know if you resonate with me on this part or not it seems like there's another level that some folks had and I think it's not just you know, That there's a mindset That can get to another level that can transcend just going from survival to, Middle class, getting by thriving to being able to transcend society in a way right to give back in a way at a bigger level, right?

00:32:06.863 --> 00:32:35.163
I'm curious how that sounds to you, how that comes across to you, if you've given any thought to how many of us, like I said, I now have a lot of friends who've gone to college and that I grew up with, some of them took a very different path and a long path and what have you, and they've done well for themselves, or not they went to college, but we still hit a certain ceiling and, you see other people who didn't, And I'm wondering, what is it that puts that ceiling where it is and how do we transcend that?

00:32:35.932 --> 00:32:43.972
So I think this is an important question and I learned this recently and it's teaching and started from an early age entrepreneurship.

00:32:45.452 --> 00:32:56.942
and I think it's important for people to understand that they can't, that, you know, for me, it was, you know, teaching kids that they could be, an architect or a doctor or a lawyer, but it's got to go beyond that.

00:32:57.432 --> 00:32:58.442
It's got to, it's got to.

00:32:58.873 --> 00:32:59.272
That's right.

00:32:59.303 --> 00:33:02.653
And yeah, I'm going to put, I don't want to start at the early age anymore.

00:33:03.782 --> 00:33:07.272
we're about the same age you and Colleen, I want to know now, right?

00:33:07.303 --> 00:33:16.323
How do we go from getting to this level to go, you know, what are the limiting beliefs we've placed on ourselves to get to where we are and how do we transcend that?

00:33:16.623 --> 00:33:21.232
so we have this belief, that when hit a certain point, we've made it.

00:33:21.673 --> 00:33:23.143
Because we've gone beyond.

00:33:23.593 --> 00:33:28.373
Everybody in our family or, you know, we're the most successful of our friends.

00:33:28.423 --> 00:33:33.363
But that different level doesn't come unless you have that entrepreneurship mentality.

00:33:33.782 --> 00:33:49.190
And you realize the only way I'm ever getting to that next level is to own something, to own a business, to come up with an idea that nobody else has because without that, you're still only ever going to reach a ceiling that someone else.

00:33:49.825 --> 00:33:51.404
Makes for you, right?

00:33:51.634 --> 00:33:58.075
And I realized that at the firm that I was at where I got to the highest level of that firm, but there was a ceiling.

00:33:58.125 --> 00:34:00.154
I was never going to get to that next level.

00:34:00.605 --> 00:34:05.315
So now that I've opened up my own firm, there's no ceiling for me, right?

00:34:05.315 --> 00:34:09.695
I own the firm and I can take it to the levels that I want to take it.

00:34:09.985 --> 00:34:29.605
And I think what happens is, No one ever teaches us from early age to college that as Latinos, African Americans, we can be the owner, dictate where the company goes or how successful it is until we learned that if you don't own anything, you don't have anything.

00:34:30.394 --> 00:34:37.164
If you don't do business, you don't have anything because you can be let go at any point in time, you're going to hit that ceiling.

00:34:37.434 --> 00:34:37.844
Right.

00:34:37.934 --> 00:34:52.945
And the only way to break through that ceiling is to own your, so you'll see that a lot of people, yeah, we've reached the levels of success where we now have Latino doctors and lawyers and engineers and all that stuff.

00:34:53.304 --> 00:35:00.195
But what we need is Latino owned businesses, law firms, engineering.

00:35:00.445 --> 00:35:04.704
So then at that point now, when you have that stuff and you're the owner.

00:35:05.155 --> 00:35:09.695
Now you open the gateways to helping others get there, right?

00:35:09.695 --> 00:35:18.244
Through your firm, and then teach them that same thing, like, train them so that they have the confidence and the knowledge to know that they can also do that.

00:35:18.284 --> 00:35:25.735
They can also start their own firm or start their own business Because if you see it, you don't know you can do it.

00:35:26.585 --> 00:35:30.425
that I lacked is I didn't know anybody who owned a business, right?

00:35:30.614 --> 00:35:35.514
I didn't know any, really any doctors or lawyers either, but I definitely didn't know anybody who owned a successful business.

00:35:35.824 --> 00:35:36.394
So.

00:35:36.815 --> 00:35:47.034
I think that's the main thing is we have to teach people or help people understand that they can be an entrepreneur, they can own their own business.

00:35:47.255 --> 00:35:55.184
And when they do that, that's going to allow them to help others and pull others up to where they're at.

00:35:55.565 --> 00:35:55.875
Right.

00:35:55.914 --> 00:35:56.965
Because you can't do it.

00:35:57.449 --> 00:35:59.159
if you hit a ceiling, you can't do it.

00:35:59.869 --> 00:36:00.210
Right.

00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:09.519
So if you hit the ceiling, you can only pull people up so high, but when you've broken through that ceiling and there's no ceiling for you anymore, you can pick people up as far as you want to take them.

00:36:09.639 --> 00:36:10.699
Or as far as they want to go.

00:36:12.010 --> 00:36:12.889
So that's what I think.

00:36:12.889 --> 00:36:13.949
once we realize that.

00:36:14.445 --> 00:36:17.594
unless you own the business, you're always going to hit a ceiling.

00:36:19.704 --> 00:36:20.114
Thank you.

00:36:20.905 --> 00:36:26.434
So Eddie, on that note, I think we'll get into that point where we go over our world famous Wayfinder four.

00:36:26.434 --> 00:36:27.474
You told me you were ready.

00:36:27.485 --> 00:36:28.344
Are you sure about that, man?

00:36:28.894 --> 00:36:29.625
I'm ready.

00:36:29.704 --> 00:36:30.224
I'm ready.

00:36:30.445 --> 00:36:31.005
All right.

00:36:31.594 --> 00:36:32.164
So.

00:36:33.380 --> 00:36:35.550
What is a hack that you use?

00:36:36.099 --> 00:36:46.269
Find the passion outside of your family and, your job, something that you love to do, so that when everything else is going wrong, you can go there and you can get your head on straight and find your happy place.

00:36:46.809 --> 00:36:47.099
Love it.

00:36:48.454 --> 00:36:51.375
How about, and I'm assuming that's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for you, right?

00:36:51.724 --> 00:36:53.505
It is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for me, yes.

00:36:53.784 --> 00:36:55.344
you have a good studio out where you live?

00:36:56.074 --> 00:36:57.465
Yeah, we have a good gym.

00:36:57.505 --> 00:36:58.835
so there's two places I train.

00:36:58.835 --> 00:37:03.605
One, Matrix Martial Arts, owned by my good buddy, Derek Alenbaugh, who's actually going to law school this year.

00:37:04.025 --> 00:37:04.324
Okay.

00:37:04.534 --> 00:37:04.885
Awesome.

00:37:05.264 --> 00:37:05.514
All right.

00:37:05.684 --> 00:37:08.215
If I'm, you know, I'm getting close to 50.

00:37:09.085 --> 00:37:10.375
I'm a scrawny little guy.

00:37:10.735 --> 00:37:14.385
You know, you won't catch me if you don't catch me in the first 50 meters, you won't catch me though.

00:37:14.414 --> 00:37:17.284
But after that, is it still okay to join?

00:37:17.875 --> 00:37:18.675
Oh, absolutely.

00:37:18.724 --> 00:37:19.235
it's perfect.

00:37:19.545 --> 00:37:20.844
It's actually perfect because.

00:37:21.190 --> 00:37:24.170
there's people of all ages training Brazilian jiu jitsu.

00:37:24.230 --> 00:37:29.219
you know, I know guys in their seventies training, cause you can train and you don't have to go full on.

00:37:29.219 --> 00:37:38.760
You can train at your pace and it's, You know, there's a lot of smaller guys because, you know, the origins of Brazilian jiu jitsu are, you know, we want to teach a smaller guy how to beat a bigger guy.

00:37:38.980 --> 00:37:39.340
That's right.

00:37:39.340 --> 00:37:40.389
That's how it started.

00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:46.329
So, so there's a lot of smaller guys in, in Brazilian jiu you know, there's some of the toughest guys you'll ever meet.

00:37:46.650 --> 00:37:47.050
Yeah.

00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:48.300
In all ages.

00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:49.719
I mean, I started at 35, so.

00:37:50.219 --> 00:37:50.650
Nice.

00:37:51.469 --> 00:37:51.920
All right.

00:37:51.929 --> 00:37:52.980
What about a favorite?

00:37:53.500 --> 00:37:55.030
And it can't be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

00:37:55.539 --> 00:37:56.300
No, it's not.

00:37:56.300 --> 00:37:59.969
So, I was looking at things, so I was going to pick my favorite movie.

00:38:00.250 --> 00:38:00.619
Okay.

00:38:00.619 --> 00:38:02.550
And, my favorite movie is still Rocky.

00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:03.699
Oh, okay.

00:38:03.730 --> 00:38:05.340
Because I love the underdog story.

00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:05.789
Yeah.

00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:08.510
I love the underdog, rising to the top.

00:38:08.860 --> 00:38:11.190
So, that will always be my motivation.

00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:12.619
And, it's still my favorite movie.

00:38:12.929 --> 00:38:13.480
Yeah, man.

00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:15.559
It still gets me worked up every time too.

00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:17.139
Just hearing the song, right?

00:38:17.150 --> 00:38:17.739
Like every time.

00:38:17.789 --> 00:38:18.980
That soundtrack ever.

00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:19.199
Yeah.

00:38:19.250 --> 00:38:20.809
makes you think you can accomplish anything.

00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:21.260
No doubt.

00:38:21.309 --> 00:38:23.750
my first marathon was actually a Philadelphia marathon.

00:38:23.750 --> 00:38:24.989
Was it really?

00:38:24.989 --> 00:38:29.960
And after that, I made sure I ran up those steps up to the museum and, you know, took a picture.

00:38:30.030 --> 00:38:32.400
how about a piece of advice for your younger self?

00:38:33.644 --> 00:38:35.675
So what I would say is enjoy the journey.

00:38:36.014 --> 00:38:47.034
And what I mean by that is, it's good to have big goals and it's good to accomplish those big goals, but those big goals are so much better when you've enjoyed the journey.

00:38:47.034 --> 00:38:49.324
It took you to to accomplish those goals.

00:38:49.625 --> 00:38:50.835
Don't miss the little things.

00:38:51.125 --> 00:38:56.724
I'm a very goal oriented person and I spent so much time.

00:38:57.355 --> 00:39:03.054
You know, trying to accomplish the goal that I sometimes don't enjoy the moments leading up to it.

00:39:04.175 --> 00:39:12.855
and then I get there and I enjoy it, but I could have enjoyed it so much more if I would have just, you know, taken it slow and enjoyed the process.

00:39:12.855 --> 00:39:16.644
So I would tell my younger self, whatever you do, man, just enjoy the journey.

00:39:17.204 --> 00:39:25.184
lately what I've been thinking about, we've had great guests who talked to us about, not goal setting, which for me you is a big deal, right?

00:39:25.184 --> 00:39:26.304
Like how do you not goal set?

00:39:26.574 --> 00:39:33.755
And I started to think about this more and, what resonates with me is I think about we, as a family, we've done a lot of road trips, right?

00:39:33.755 --> 00:39:36.974
And a lot of our road trips are, we have a destination, right?

00:39:36.974 --> 00:39:37.965
And along the way.

00:39:39.530 --> 00:39:44.309
what happens on the way to that destination, or on the way back from it, we get lost.

00:39:44.309 --> 00:39:53.889
My family calls it, my kids call it pulling a poppy, I'll take a random exit on the highway, and we get lost and we find something, some town or whatever, and it ends up being just amazing.

00:39:54.250 --> 00:39:56.010
Memories not where we were going.

00:39:56.179 --> 00:40:23.690
I mean one year we were going to the west coast We went to go to the Oregon coast and it was nice and all that But like along the way We stopped at a hotel in Des Moines And there was a water circus outside and the girls were like they were loving it, man We went and we did it and the whole time when we got to Oregon They're like, well, let's go back to Des Moines We want to see this and we ended up going back and spending like four days there and just really loving it So I think that says a lot about You know, like maybe set the goal But don't be too attached to it.

00:40:23.730 --> 00:40:25.590
Enjoy the journey along the way more, right?

00:40:25.710 --> 00:40:26.030
Yeah.

00:40:26.059 --> 00:40:28.010
And that, That's exactly what I was talking about.

00:40:28.389 --> 00:40:35.610
if you just worry about getting your destination, you miss the sites, you miss the little things, you enjoy about the road trip.

00:40:35.610 --> 00:40:37.760
So that is the advice I'd give my younger self.

00:40:37.760 --> 00:40:40.360
Cause I feel like I haven't always done that.

00:40:40.715 --> 00:40:41.034
Yeah.

00:40:41.574 --> 00:40:45.315
And when I have hit certain goals, it hasn't been any better than the things I did to get there.

00:40:45.655 --> 00:40:46.114
Right.

00:40:46.364 --> 00:40:50.204
What about a big opportunity you're seeing or pursuing out there?

00:40:50.954 --> 00:40:56.675
So it's going back to what we were talking about before, where I was talking about entrepreneurship, right.

00:40:56.974 --> 00:40:57.864
Bet on yourself.

00:40:58.945 --> 00:41:01.715
don't leave your success to anybody else.

00:41:02.940 --> 00:41:07.369
People are going to make you promises they're not going to come through, or they're not going to be able to come through.

00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:10.019
But if you bet on yourself, it's all about you.

00:41:10.369 --> 00:41:12.070
You, you're the one that determines.

00:41:12.690 --> 00:41:15.119
Your level of success, your level of happiness.

00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:23.409
So, and that's going back to what we were talking about, about entrepreneurship and how do you get to that next level and bring people up to that next level?

00:41:23.849 --> 00:41:24.940
you got to bet on yourself.

00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:27.030
I love that.

00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:28.130
So well put.

00:41:29.039 --> 00:41:29.469
Thank you.

00:41:29.559 --> 00:41:40.829
Well, Eddie, if people want to, reach out to you, if they need to work with you, on personal injury, Hopefully nobody ever has to call you, but unfortunately the world doesn't work that way, so when they do, how should they reach you?

00:41:41.795 --> 00:41:46.264
Lona Law, you can reach me@uhlonalaw.com.

00:41:46.625 --> 00:41:50.644
my number is 7 2 0 6 6 3 1 8 9 7.

00:41:51.005 --> 00:41:59.643
you can follow me on Lona Law, on Instagram, Lona Law on Facebook and Lona Law on YouTube.

00:42:00.369 --> 00:42:02.039
and you're in Denver, Colorado, right?

00:42:02.449 --> 00:42:03.699
yes, I'm in Colorado.

00:42:03.699 --> 00:42:10.559
So all around the state Okay, and if somebody's calling from Albuquerque, New Mexico, can you refer them somebody good there, too?

00:42:11.123 --> 00:42:11.623
Yes.

00:42:11.673 --> 00:42:11.963
Yes.

00:42:11.963 --> 00:42:19.143
So, you know, anytime anybody calls, I'll obviously get on the phone with them and help them out and try to guide them to, the right attorney.

00:42:19.554 --> 00:42:23.744
You know, oftentimes they get calls because of my marketing and the black belt.

00:42:23.744 --> 00:42:26.954
I get a lot of criminal, people calling me about karaoke.

00:42:27.548 --> 00:42:27.829
Sure.

00:42:27.909 --> 00:42:30.599
I'll always refer those out and send them to the right place, so.

00:42:30.798 --> 00:42:31.128
Okay.

00:42:32.128 --> 00:42:32.278
yeah.

00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:33.148
Excellent.

00:42:33.739 --> 00:42:36.099
Well, Eddie, thank you so much for being on the show.

00:42:36.099 --> 00:42:38.318
This has really been, insightful and inspiring.

00:42:38.318 --> 00:42:45.909
I hope people hear this story and realize, you know, they can do great things, go to law school, have you, and help their communities out.

00:42:45.909 --> 00:42:47.139
So thank you for what you do.

00:42:47.938 --> 00:42:48.659
Oh, no problem, man.

00:42:48.659 --> 00:42:49.998
Thank you for having me on the show.

00:42:49.998 --> 00:42:52.548
It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the conversation, so.

00:42:52.929 --> 00:42:53.358
Likewise.

00:42:58.179 --> 00:42:59.938
We hope you've enjoyed The Wayfinder Show.

00:43:00.088 --> 00:43:04.309
If you got value from this episode, please take a few seconds to leave us a 5 star rating and review.

00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:08.849
This will allow us to help more people find their way to live more authentic and exciting lives.

00:43:09.509 --> 00:43:10.809
We'll catch you on the next episode.