In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Tom Dunkel — managing principal of Eagle Capital Investments, co-founder of U.S. Mortgage Resolution, self-storage investor, and a guy who spent ten years in corporate mergers and acquisitions before getting fired in 2006 and never looking back.

Tom walks us through a career that started with aerospace deals and Harvard MBAs in DC, ran through a firing that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him, and evolved into a 20-year entrepreneurial journey that has generated close to $70 million in revenue. From wholesaling to distressed mortgage debt to a $55 million self-storage portfolio, Tom and his business partner Joe have built and rebuilt multiple times — and learned hard lessons each time about niching down, building teams, and creating a business that works without you.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Why niching down is the difference between businesses that succeed and ones that fail

01:41 Tom's background — William and Mary, corporate M&A, and the aerospace industry

03:21 Building financial models and raising capital alongside Harvard and Wharton MBAs

04:27 Getting fired in 2006 and why his ships were probably burned before that anyway

05:07 Having a wife and two young kids at home when the decision was made for him

05:53 Getting his face bashed in through the Great Recession as a brand new entrepreneur

06:20 Building U.S. Mortgage Resolution into a business that generated nearly $70 million

13:22 Walking out of a dream job interview because a voice in his head said don't do it

23:42 Discovering discounted mortgage notes and how his finance background made it click

34:37 Discovering self-storage through Scott Myers and doing the work before buying anything

35:52 Buying their first storage facility in 2020 and scaling to 18 or 19 facilities

36:37 Syndicating nearly all of the storage deals and raising about $20 million from investors

38:16 Building the business intentionally so it never became a full-time job for either of them

39:33 The mindset of running everything from an iPad on the beach — even back when iPads were new

44:38 Reading The E-Myth and why Darren Hardy's advice to build your life plan first changed everything

45:47 The early days of late night phone calls and grinding before the systems were in place

49:08 Advice on raising kids while building a business — prioritize, plan, and show up

50:13 A holistic view of education — scouting, music, and sports alongside the classroom

52:12 Eagle Capital Investments and how Tom helps investors transition into passive wealth

Quotables

"The riches are in the niches."

"I got my face bashed in during the Great Recession trying to learn how to be an entrepreneur."

"There's no such thing as corporate job security. I can go figure it out on my own."

"I heard this little voice in my head saying don't do it. So I pulled my name from consideration."

"Build your life plan first. Then build your business plan to fit inside of it."

"If you're not careful, you don't build a business — you just build a job for yourself."

"Go look at your calendar and your bank statements. That's what you're really focused on."

"You've got to find the niche and go deep in it."

Links

608B Capital https://608bcapital.com

Eagle Capital Investments https://investwitheagle.com

The Wealth Builders Playbook by Tom Dunkel Available at investwitheagle.com

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Julian Rivera — Virginia Beach-based DJ, realtor, and co-owner of Iron Valley Real Estate. Julian has never waited for permission to get in the room. He has just kept showing up, adding value, and letting the opportunities find him.

Julian walks us through one of the most layered career journeys we have had on this show — from managing retail stores at 20, to driving comedians like Kevin Hart and Chelsea Handler around Hampton Roads, to burning the boats on corporate radio in January 2020, just one month before COVID shut everything down. Through all of it, one thing has stayed constant — his likability, his consistency, and his refusal to stop evolving.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 How Jason and Julian met at the TRIG ambassador summit

00:41 You are the brand — whether W-2 or full-time entrepreneur

04:15 Growing up in Virginia Beach and going all in without a plan

05:49 Turning down a Jimmy Choo opportunity in New York to stay local

06:37 DJ'ing since high school and building it into a real business

07:08 Working every role at the Funny Bone Comedy Club and what it taught him

07:51 Driving Kevin Hart, Chelsea Handler, and Tom Segura on press runs before they were famous

10:16 Winning Commercial of the Year for Virginia and going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

14:31 Burning the boats on January 30th, 2020 — and COVID hitting one month later

15:07 Pivoting to real estate during COVID with zero distractions and total focus

17:13 Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Diamond Awards back to back ever since

19:30 The leadership lesson that changed everything — stop fixing weaknesses, build on strengths

28:11 The go-giver approach that opened every door in his career

29:43 Why you never know who is watching and why showing up is half the battle

32:04 What comedians grinding the circuit taught him about consistency

36:00 Why likability and relatability have been his biggest superpower in real estate

44:38 Announcing his upcoming book — The Road

46:08 Family as his north star and the legacy he is building

Quotables

"Likability is a superpower. If I don't have haters, I'm not doing something right."

"You are the brand. It doesn't matter if you're W-2 or independent."

"There's never a right time to do anything. You just have to go."

"Showing up is always half the battle. Always."

"Stop trying to fix weaknesses. Build the strengths and delegate the rest."

"I want to be the painting of Grandpa Julian on the wall that every generation sees."

"Little did I know that everything I did in entertainment is pretty much the same thing you do in real estate."

Links

608B Capital https://608bcapital.com

Your Peak Life Podcast Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube

Julian Rivera Instagram & Facebook: @julianrivera | djjulianrivera.com

In this episode of Burning the Ships, host Jason Seward flies solo to share something he has been thinking about for a while — the ten fundamental traits that he believes are the building blocks of success in life, relationships, and business.

Jason opens up about where the podcast is headed, why he is refocusing Burning the Ships around mindset and storytelling, and how launching the Dealmaker podcast with his business partner Jim Ingersoll has freed him up to go deeper on the topics he cares about most. From there, he walks through his personal list of ten core character traits — not as a lecture, but as an honest reflection on what has shaped him, what he has had to build over time, and what he still works on every single day.

This episode is equal parts personal and practical. Jason weaves in stories about his grandfather, his marriage, his workout streak, his business, and the lessons he has picked up from a decade of obsessive reading and listening. If you have ever wondered what separates people who consistently show up and build something meaningful from those who stay stuck, this episode lays out a clear and honest answer.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction and the mindset behind taking ownership of everything

00:47 Why Jason is going back to his roots with more solo episodes

01:08 Over 200 episodes in and never missing a week since launching

03:14 Launching the Dealmaker podcast with Jim Ingersoll to cover real estate tactics

09:04 The podcast that inspired this episode and the idea of fundamental character traits

14:45 In leadership, if your team fails, you failed them first

15:33 Trait two — Discipline: why motivation is temporary and discipline is permanent

16:31 The January gym analogy and what it reveals about most people's foundations

17:39 How discipline shows up in his marriage and why date nights are non-negotiable

24:17 Why reputation is your currency and how quickly it can be spent

27:22 Trait four — Resilience: adversity is not the exception, it is life

28:35 How to define resilience — taking a punch, adjusting, and moving forward without losing the vision

29:18 Trait five — Curiosity: the trait that has served him best and why it keeps him sharp

32:30 How curiosity feeds a willingness to challenge your own assumptions

33:26 Trait six — Decisiveness: why indecision kills momentum

40:19 Trait nine — Consistency: small actions repeated daily create massive results over time

43:18 Trait ten — Vision: without it, all the discipline and energy in the world becomes random effort

44:33 Using guardrails to channel energy toward something meaningful

45:16 Recap of all ten traits and an invitation to share yours

Quotables

"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is permanent."

"Anybody can perform when things are easy. The real separator is your ability to show up when they're not."

"Your reputation is your currency. You can spend it recklessly or spend it wisely."

"Adversity is not the exception to the rule. Adversity is life."

"Resilience is your ability to take a punch, adjust, and keep moving forward without losing focus on the vision."

"If you believe you already have all the answers, you are not growing anymore."

"I don't need perfect information to move forward. I just need enough to make a calculated decision and adjust if needed."

"Without vision, all my discipline and energy just becomes random effort."

"Consistency compounds. Small actions repeated daily create massive results over time."

"Own everything. Figure out how you could have influenced any outcome to make it better."

Links

608B Capital https://608bcapital.com