Mindset from the Military: Jamie Bateman's Lessons for Navigating Adversity

Transcript

Hey guys. This is Jamie. In this episode, we actually flip things around a little bit. I'm actually the guest on a really cool new podcast called the foreclosure fix. And the host is DJ Elogio. DJ is a great guy and I love what he's doing. And with his show and and eve

rything else. His podcast is about helping borrowers navigate the difficult situation of foreclosure. And, so we talk about my military service and how some of the lessons I learned through that service as a US army officer can be applied in navigating foreclosure or any other difficult situation. It's worth pretty cool twist. And I love the angle that DJ took and he drew out some things from me which are you're gonna have to listen for. And toward the end, we talk about an interesting scenario that I had as a lender when I was actually pursuing foreclosure, and how we were able to help a borrower in a particular situation. So, that was something he'd never heard of actually, which is kinda cool. But, I think it's a practical episode. I think you're gonna enjoy it. And again, these these takeaways can be applied in navigating any difficult scenario that you may face. So I hope you enjoy it. I hope it makes your day better.

Speaker 1

Welcome to the from adversity to abundance podcast. Are you an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur, then this show is for you. Each week, we bring you impactful stories of real people who have overcome painful human adversity to create a life of abundance. A life of abundance. You are not alone in your struggle. Join us and you will experience the power of true stories and gain practical knowledge from founders who have poverty into prosperity and weakness into wealth. This podcast will encourage you through your health, relationship, and financial challenges So you can become the hero in your quest for freedom. Take ownership of the life you are destined to live. Turned your adversity into abundance.

Speaker 2

Hey, foreclosure fix family, and welcome to another episode of the foreclosure fix podcast. Today's episode is very, very special because it is our veterans day episode. And on today's episode, I have my good friend, Jamie bateman, who is a combat veteran and former army officer. And so Jamie, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Speaker 3

I am pumped to be here DJ. I'm just hoping to add as much value as possible.

Speaker 2

Well, first, I wanna say thank you on behalf of the foreclosure fix family to all the service members around the world who keep us safe who risk their lives day in and day out to protect the freedoms we hold dear in this great United States of America. So thank you for your service, Jamie, and just thank you to all the service members around the world.

Speaker 3

Yeah. Absolutely. And I I just wanna second that that, sentiment for for the veterans out there. A lot of veterans go overlooked, and it's really, it it's, can be a thankless, thankless job at times and We appreciate you.

Speaker 2

Well, I know that a lot of veterans face foreclosure, you know, although The VA has that great mortgage, where you don't have to put down too much. I've seen numerous veterans, you know, face foreclosure situations. And so I'm excited to have you on a day to talk, not just about your experiences with homeowners facing foreclosure, for closure, but also your experience around mindset and your new book that's entitled from adversity to abundance, but also the lesson that you've learned as a former army officer and what you value now in this season, of your life. So maybe speak to that a little bit, Jamie, for for our listeners.

Speaker 3

Yeah. It's it's interesting you mentioned season because I do feel like looking looking back, on my own life, and, hopefully, there's a lot left. Does I I do kinda see different different chapters or different seasons and used to be a, you know, team sports used to be a big part of my life, athletics, and And then, after college, I kinda was searching for something, you know, bigger to be a part of and ended up joining the military. And you know, I think ultimately that thread has continued through the different chapters and seasons of my life is is always wanting to be a part of something bigger than myself. And that that may sound like, you know, I I'm tuning my own horn or, you know, but I think we all need that. We all need to serve others and serve a a bigger, you know, mission and vision. And for me, the military filled that void, at least for a a chapter, like you said. And so through through those two different chapters, I guess, the Team Sports chapter and the military chapter, just teamwork and selfless service. I guess you could look up the army tenants. Have been critical. So, and a lot of those those lessons I've learned along the way absolutely apply to note investing business, and just life in general. So that's actually what how my podcast and book were born The podcast is also called from adversity to abundance, and the book is essentially based on some of those some of the the best stories that we've had on my podcast, and a lot of the the lessons you can take from the the goal of the podcast, the goal of the book, is to, take lessons learned and learn from other people's stories, and so that we don't all have to go through the same or we can avoid certain pain pain and trials and tribulations and learn from other stories and help each other out because the fact is we're all we're all guaranteed to face adversity. See. And so to answer your question, a lot of the, principles and lessons I've learned through different chapters of my life including the military chapter especially the military chapter, still apply today, in the in my many hats that I wear, but I think applied to your listeners as well.

Speaker 2

Jamie, as I think about the message of adversity to abundance, I know many people think about the financial sides, foreclosure and the fact that somebody's at a tough financial spot. But a lot of people don't think about the the mental side. And the mental fortitude it takes to overcome or what happens. Unfortunately, if you do succumb to foreclosure, what it takes to move on to the next level. From your experience with the guests that you've interviewed and just your research around just that topic. Kinda, what have you seen are the characteristics or the differences with people who are able to get through tough and difficult situations, to to to be come abundant on the other side.

Speaker 3

Yeah. No. Great question. And, you know, we could spend, three hours. I mean, there's so much to unpack there. Interesting. An interesting realization I've had as I've gone through my own podcast and interviewed, many different different people with different from different walks of life with different stories is that we all experience adversity. We all have, you know, some version of adversity the the three buckets we tend to end up focusing on on my show are financial, health, and relationship. You know, and we want simple things in life. We wanna kind of compartment things and and label things. So it's easy for me to sit here and say, well, the adversity falls into one of those three buckets. The reality is it's all related. Right? So if you're going through financial hardship facing foreclosure, there that's probably going to be putting some strain on your relationships. And that's probably eventually gonna help, affect your health, right, whether that's mental health, physical health. So it's all related. And so I think things that, you know, the the the common threads, among the guests that have been able to overcome adversity really are, one, taking ownership of your situation. And so when I say that, I don't necessarily mean to say that everything is your fault. You, you know, you created this financial hardship and you're one hundred percent to blame as the homeowner facing foreclosure That's not what I'm saying. But the reality is you are in this position. Right? So it does you no good to you, I guess, succumb to that victim mentality, it does use zero good to say, you know, this isn't fair. Or why why did I lose my job to, you know, to cause this foreclosure, whatever? The fact is you're in this situation. So I think taking ownership of of the situation and recognizing I am here, and this is the situation I need to deal with is is step number one. So facing reality, you know, owning the situation. Not every not not every circumstances from our own doing. Some things are. Some things aren't. So a lot of the guests I've had on the show have succumb to health issues. And, most likely, that that wasn't their own doing. Right? So a lot of things happen to people that's it's not their fault. So if you're facing foreclosure or financial hardship, I think just acknowledging this is where I am taking ownership of that situation, and not making excuses, not playing the victim card is critical. So, okay, and then step two, pointing to your strengths because you do have positives, I'm sure, in in your in your life. What are the who are the people I can who've who've overcome this before? What have they done to navigate this situation? What can I do and ask and and ask for help? Right? So we can get into specifics of how that can be done. But when I say take ownership, that doesn't mean you're all by yourself, and you have to figure this out on your own. And good luck. No. I I'm saying take ownership because it's you need to you know, one of the ways you do take ownership is to ask for help and and look to those around you who have either navigated this before or who can lend you a helping hand So those are two things I think that have helped others navigate similar situations in the past. So you say

Speaker 2

it acts for help Yeah. That's the reason why we create this podcast. So for homeowners who may be facing foreclosure or facing financial hardship. If you need help, we definitely have resources that we can point you to. We have resources here at the foreclosure fix dot com. So please don't hesitate to shoot us a message ask us a question. You can actually email us at help at the foreclosure fix dot com, and we can point you in the right direction to resources and organizations who may be able to help you in your specific neighborhood or town or city and things like that. I wanna segue and I wanna think through the other side of it because people when they're going through difficult situations have a tendency to only think about that negative situation that they're not able to get to the other side and think about life on the better side. So if you get a bad diagnosis today, and the doctor says you are gonna have a rough journey ahead. Right? It's hard for them to think about them living a fulfilled and fruitful life on the other side of that illness. When people get that foreclosure letter and they're thinking, oh, my house is gonna be gone, it's hard for them to envision the next house they're gonna get or them living a great life. You know, what strategies, what tips what things can people do when when they do get themselves in those situations and are trying to look and be more abundant mindset or have a more of abundance mindset moving forward.

Speaker 3

Yeah. And a few things that come to mind. And at first, you know, I'll say it's easy for you and I to sit here on a podcast and talk about what people should do. Right? So acknowledge that. It's it's easy for us to talk about it harder to implement. That said, taking a step back I I guess first is just, again, you will face challenges in life. No one gets through this life without challenges. So when those challenges come, you shouldn't be surprised. Again, easier said than done. I I get I fall into the same trap. It's it's very difficult, you know, in difficult situations to stay positive. But but I think just knowing that this No. This is a hardship that that is presented to me, and it's not unexpected in a way. You don't know how exactly it's gonna materialize, but this is expected in life. To me, that gives comfort, actually, because you shouldn't be expecting all rainbows and unicorns and butterflies for the rest of your life. Okay. Now now you now you can, you know, address address this situation and say, okay. What what am I gonna learn from this? And how is this making me me stronger? I think, number two is taking what I call the portfolio view or the long term view. So Again, easier said than done. I get it, but this is not the end of the of your story. Right? And so you can point to other stories, and that's that's the reason for your podcast. That's the reason for my podcast is so that the listener can see somebody else got through this, this situation and came out better on the other side. So for me, that's a way to remind you, you know, this isn't the end. Right? This is other people have done this. This is only part of my story. So I think zooming out and it that would include looking at other stories. So looking zooming out, looking at your entire life and this is just a season, a difficult season that I'm going through. And during that time, examining other stories to say, no. This is this is just one phase. That gives a big picture long term view perspective and, can really help in those hard times. So I think One, knowing that these hardship is gonna happen, and then two, understanding that this is just a season, and I and this will pass. I think those are those are critical.

Speaker 2

Your perspective is really, really helpful there because as you were talking and you were saying, look at the big picture, the vision or what I envisioned in my head is, like, almost like a a stock market ticker for lack of a better term or a chart where, you know, someone looks at a company, you know, when they first started and a successful company and they look at their performance over time. And their performance over time is not like a a straight line that's just going up in one direction. Typically, it's a line that has ups and downs but the total trajectory is always trending up and to the right. And I think that if we're able to look at our lives like that, that overall, we are trending in the right direction. We're going in the right place, but there's gonna be highs and lows that we get to as we ascend the mountain top it it helps us have a better perspective. Now again, I agree with you. That's so much easier for me to say on this podcast and the comfort of my and the comfort of my warm house, you know, with my both tie on than it is to actually be in a situation where you're in the hospital bed. I had a situation earlier this year where I got you to sit down with, with my cousin who was, in the hospital, he was dying of cancer. And Wow. And And in in that moment, there were so many different emotions and things like that that I had. Yeah. But it was very easy for me to say, hey, you know, everything is gonna be okay. Keep fighting. You're doing the best thing. But, you know, for for him as he lay there, you know, given all his strength to breathe, it's a very different emotion, and and it's a very different thing. And so we don't wanna, like, trivialize it or make it make make people feel like it's easy, but it is definitely looking at the the the arc and the and the and the highs and lows, uh-uh, of of of life, knowing that more of your life will be better than it is bad. So Yeah.

Speaker 3

And another another thing to another little mindset shift that I picked up from a podcast guest and I've been trying to implement it as as best as possible is simply asking the question even if. So if and instead of asking the question, what if? So we get a lot of us get caught up in the, what if this, what if this, what if this happens? Ninety percent of that stuff never happens. You know, and so you're spinning, spinning, spinning, what if what if this terrible thing that happens? What if this goes wrong? And it never happens anyway. So you you wasted your time, you know, and your energy focusing on these and worrying about these things that never actually came to fruition. But but again, even if So even if those things happen, I can even if I lose my home to foreclosure, right, I'll do this, this, and this. I'll I'll reach out to this family member, you know, So I'm not saying foreclosure is fun. I'm not saying you should look forward to foreclosure or, you know, a financial hardship But even if you'll still be okay. Right? We went through some hard times with with my son's health. You spoke about you know, physical health challenges. We we've had some health challenges in my own household this year. And what that did for me is is put things in perspective that if I have a a deal goes bad in real estate or, you know, a business challenge, it's like, you know what? That's okay. So you know, and so I think just just kind of keeping things in perspective, taking the long term view, realizing that even if this this challenge hits me really hard, I'm still gonna be okay, or I can do this, this and this to mitigate the loss or or navigate the situation. I think that's just that mental shift of asking the question even if, you know, can really alleviate some of this anxiety that tends to build up if we focus too much on what if, what if, what if, what if this, what if that.

Speaker 2

Your commentary on even if sparked a sparked a question and and given that this is a veteran's day episode, speak a little bit to your mindset as a combat veteran of that even if when you're going to combat. Right? You know what I mean? Like, you talk about, you know, health challenges. We talk about foreclosure, but when folks are are risking their entire lives and you're going in combat with with the with with your fellow armed services members. You know, talk about that even if mentality in in in that scenario a little bit.

Speaker 3

Yeah. I mean, you know, obviously, the stakes are higher in in in combat than in most other, you know, situations, you know, if you lose a football game, who cares. Right? So we would work through all kinds. I think it goes back to training and reps and and teamwork. So through training, you know, basic training, I went through officer candidate school, and then you go through other other training. And then prior to mobile, to a deployment, you typically have a mobilization where you're training with your, with your fellow troops and So you would work through all kinds of those scenarios. And so tons and tons of planning goes into military operations. And the, you know, although, you know, there's a Mike Tyson quote about, everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face, So, you know, the certainly the plan never goes to plan. Right? The actual execution never actually goes to plan. Right? But that said, that planning can really help you work walk through and think through some some hypothetical a lot of hypotheticals of even if this happens, then this happens. And so it's putting in those reps, and then you get to build that confidence and that comfortability with your teammates. And I guess, kind of thinking through hypothetical scenarios, of negative situations. And so, no, you don't know exactly how it's gonna play out. But one, you're not the first person to ever go to combat. And so, and two, you have your fellow, your teammates, and and and three, you've been through all this training. And so you you That gives a lot of comfort so that you can work through those even if scenarios as opposed to, you know, sitting back and thinking what if, what if, what if, and one other thing I'll I'll mention is just, I think taking action and being proactive and owning the situation, it goes back to taking ownership of the situation, is critical, when it comes to thinking through those even ifs from a in in the military. So again, and you can say that's the training is taking action. Right? And then you feel like you've you've been there before. If something does go south, But we would have all kinds of, I guess if this happens, then this, then this, then this, all kinds of procedures And the details are absolutely critical in the military because, you know, lives are on the line. So all of those factors go into supporting those even if scenarios that even if approach to the military and Yeah. I mean, I'm happy to talk more about, you know, my my experiences in the military. I was in Iraq from two thousand five to two thousand six. We worked with the Iraqi army. Plenty of challenges. It wasn't all smooth sailing. But thankfully, we all made it back alive And, you know, yeah, lots of life lessons from, from that deployment, that have I've I've certainly applied to their the rest of my life.

Speaker 2

When I hear you say that I think about I think about the the spectrum that you put things on. And you know, if if if foreclosure is a three, you know, losing your life is is the is the ultimate ten. Right? You know what I mean? And so I think sometimes we have to always back up and understand that a situation may be bad. But as long as we have breath in our lungs, as long as we can still breathe. As long as we can still move forward, we have so much more to give, so much more to offer. And I think that your perspective today And the advice that you're bringing our listeners is timely, but it's also very much needed because half of the foreclosure battle is not the financial side. It's also the mental side in being able to do something. And so, Jamie, that brings me to my favorite part of the podcast. Which is our bow tie round, which is when our listeners get to, tie one on with our guest today, Jamie Bailey. And so the b in bow tie round stands for your best advice for somebody facing foreclosure. The o stands for one thing you are grateful for, and the w stands for your wildest or most interesting foreclosure related story. So, Jamie, what is your best advice for somebody facing foreclosure?

Speaker 3

I would say it's twofold. One is take ownership of your situation. Don't ignore it. Too many borrowers that I've seen just wanna bury their heads in the sand. It's easier, frankly, to ignore it. But own the situation. And with that, what comes next is communicate communicate, with with your lender, you know, with the servicer, communicate. Don't don't just try to avoid. So own it and communicate.

Speaker 2

Awesome. What is your oh, sorry. What is one thing you are grateful for right now?

Speaker 3

Yeah. I would say my health and the health of my family, really come to mind. I forget the exact quote, but they talk about a, a man without money once, you know, once money, but then once once a man without health has only one one wish. Right? So, I I butchered the quote, but the fact is health is so much more important than a billion dollars. Right? So I like to make money. I like to, you know, there's nothing wrong with with making money, but compared to your health, it's nothing. So physical and mental health, I'm I'm very thankful for.

Speaker 2

I couldn't agree more. I'm going back to that story I talked about earlier when when was able to go to the hospital with my with my with my cousin. I was talking with one one of the nurses who worked in, in the in the same war that my cousin was in. And she was like, you know, a few months prior, she had taken care of a billionaire. And the billionaire said that he would give all his money away just to live one more day. Right? And so your your your commentary is is is so true that the money that we make a big deal out of is not as important as us, you know, having great health, which we take for granted a lot of times. Absolutely. Your wildest or most interesting foreclosure related story.

Speaker 3

Yeah. I've I've gotta being a non performing note investor, meaning we buy defaulted mortgages. So, I have I have several One that comes to mind that I I don't think I've ever spoken about on a on a podcast is one where we ended up having to foreclose, we actually did foreclose. It was in Michigan. And, we that said, we ended up unforeclosing. And, yeah, I'd never done this before until this year. So, and this is where I'd say, like, borrowers, homeowners, own the situation and communicate because most of the time, especially in this private note space, you know, smaller note investor, they wanna work with you. The lender wants to work you, the investor wants to work with you. That's typically a better scenario for them. So, unfortunately, in in this situation, our borrower just was not communicative. She kinda just dropped off and just I think she had lost her job. And but stop communicating. So, a lot of times for me is, when I'm when I'm approaching a scenario like this, You know, let's face it. One of the reasons you get into as a note investor, one of the appealing, facets of of this strategy of buying defaulted debt is is that, it there's collateral. So the real estate is collateral. So one of your options is to foreclose If you take that away from the lender, it's not as appealing and they're just tying their hand. So as a lender, I will often initiate foreclosure simply to get the borrower back to the table, to speak, to communicate. It's almost like parenting where it's a threat to your kids, you know, Hey, you know, but but really I don't want to punish. Right? You know, I I wanna have a conversation and I wanna come to a resolution. So in this case, the borrower just dropped off the face of the era from from a communication standpoint. She just stopped communicating, kinda buried her head in the sand, and kinda leaves the lender's hands tied. So we pursuit foreclosure. It was a six month redemption period. So we had to wait a good bid and then execute the foreclosure. Well, come to find out that the half program, the the, there were federal funds that were applied to essentially disperse to states for the states to execute, this COVID related relief program. I'm not sure if you've talked about on that on your show at all, but HAF, a lot of some states may still have some of those funds available. So it turns out, in this case, the state had been wanting to help our borrower, our homeowner, in this scenario, but there'd been a lack of communication across the board. And I think that involved the servicer as well. So I find out that from the Michigan half, you know, the from the the program that they want to help. So I I unforeclosed we actually reversed the foreclosure, deeded the property back to the borrower with the understanding that the state would reinstate her. And so we got, she she received twenty five thousand dollars, which was the max, to reinstate her we got most of that sent to us, and she got the property back. And she's since been making payments. Mostly on time, which is fantastic. So I've got plenty of other other stories, but that was a that was a first for me to actually foreclose and then unforeclose and deed the property back. Because again, I'm not in this to take property the property. I've got rentals, but that's not the goal. That's not not my goal. I'm here to work with borrowers. It's it's honestly more profitable in most scenarios for me to do that anyway. And I don't wanna be kicking people out of their home. That's not the goal. But that borrower, you need to own the situation and you need to communicate. That's the only way you can come to a resolution.

Speaker 2

Jamie, that's definitely the first time I have heard a story about a lender, unforclosing without, like, litigation or something crazy. You know what I mean? But that is, That that's wild. You you you hear some pretty wild stories in this, in this in this in this world and this business. Well, Jamie, we're so grateful for you coming by the podcast today. Please let our listeners know how they can track your journey they can listen to your podcast, buy your book, you know, get in contact with you over at Lambert or Lending, share that information with them, please.

Speaker 3

Thanks, DJ. I really appreciate the time one thing I'll I'll mention is, so my podcast is from adversity to abundance, and the website is adversity to abundance dot com, and that's the number two. Adversity to abundance dot com. You can buy the book there, and you can listen to the podcast. Since this is a veterans, episode, special veterans episode, we've had several amazing veterans stories on my podcast. You know, people who've honestly shouldn't have made it through know, in their own words shouldn't have made it out alive. People have had crazy combat situations, where they've the rest of their life is essentially bonus time. And it's it's fascinating to talk to someone like that where, I mean, they just see life differently. And I think when you've when you hear from someone who's been through something like that, it can really, like you said earlier, DJ, we're not downplaying the difficulties of foreclosure. Any kind of financial challenges, but these people almost, you know, they they've had near death experiences. So a little financial adversity is not gonna not gonna, you know, that that's not the end of the world. So I think, for your listener, wanna check out some of those those military and veteran episodes. I'd highly recommend those. I have one that's actually not out yet. And I know, this is gonna be aired shortly. So I think it may be next week is one that's from a it's called the bipolar general and he was a two star general and and, has suffered from bipolar disorder and mental health challenges. So, I just wanna plug that because it is the veterans episode, and we've had some fantastic veterans on my podcast from adversity to abundance. So definitely check that out. Labrador lending dot com is, my main website as far as, real estate and note investing those are the two things that I I'm appreciative, that you're letting me plug here DJ. So thanks again for the time.

Speaker 2

Mindset from the Military: Jamie Bateman's Lessons for Navigating Adversity

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