Today’s guest is a naval special warfare combatant-craft crewman, where he spent days jumping out of planes, shooting and manning radios on the small, fast boats that take Navy Seals and special ops to mission in non-permissive or denied areas of the world. In his downtime, he discovered a passion for real estate. Upon completing his service, he began selling homes for his buddies transferring from Virginia to other stations. He grew into multifamily, acquiring over 500 units and founded Mission First Capital — the first 100% only veteran owned and operated fund specifically for veterans and members of the US military.

• Phil believes that a lot of people miss out on what they could be wildly successful at in their life because they think they are supposed to be doing something else that has been imposed by society or parents.
  
  
• Phil emphasizes that if you already know something works, you have to figure out how exactly it works and believe in it. Start doing the business.
  
  

• Phil gives an insight about needing more puzzle pieces when having more units to manage. If you want to go alone, you can certainly rack up some single families. If you have a good job, you can invest in individual syndications or funds which are still great wealth building strategies. But if you are going to be an operator, you need to round out your team and figure out what puzzle pieces you have and which ones you lack.
  
  
• Phil shares a testimony about how his contractor, his friend and himself gave in to a deal that was way out of their comfort zone. He personally did not understand anything of it at all, but his contractor and friend who had an experience, said it was a good deal, so they all went for it. He encourages us to trust in people’s experience and to not be afraid of stepping into the discomfort, as it will all work out eventually.
  
  
• Phil believes in being a visionary and having a mission in your business. Thinking long-term has been his direction in business while being able to help those who do not have access to certain benefits like his military brothers and sisters, hence the founding of Mission First Capital.

“What stops a lot of people from progressing is they either think that they have to do it all by themselves and that's what stops them, or maybe they’re just not resourceful enough to look within their own networks.” – Erik Cabral