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Mick Unplugged is a thought-provoking and inspiring podcast that invites listeners to embark on a transformative journey beyond the conventional concept of 'Why' and into the empowering realm of 'Because.' Hosted by the engaging and insightful Mick Hunt, this podcast is perfect for those who are not just dreamers but doers, leaders, and anyone aspiring to make a significant impact in their personal and professional lives.
Each episode of "Mick Unplugged" delves deep into how understanding and embracing your 'Because' – your core driving force – can turn aspirations into actions and dreams into realities. Listeners can expect to gain practical advice on how to identify their own 'Because,' learn to make it a daily focus, and understand how it can fuel their journey towards success and fulfillment.
Whether you're looking to find deeper motivation, set meaningful goals, or simply seeking inspiration to overcome challenges, "Mick Unplugged" offers valuable insights and tools to help you on your path.
Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mick Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a a step toward the extraordinary.
Intro:So let's unleash your potential. Now here's Mick.
Mick Hunt:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Mick Unplugged where we dive into the stories of remarkable people who inspire us to go further. And today's guest is a powerhouse in the field of personal development. She's a speaker. She's a coach, and she's an author known for her transformative insights. She brings passion, energy, and a deep commitment to helping others reach their fullest potential.
Mick Hunt:Please welcome to the show none other than miss Italia Tornabini. Italia, how are you doing, lady?
Italia Tornabene:Good. How are you?
Mick Hunt:I am awesome. I am awesome. So I gotta let you know, I'm scared. Scared? You have this powerful book.
Mick Hunt:You have this book about decoding men, and I'm scared.
Italia Tornabene:Oh, yeah.
Mick Hunt:I'm scared. You might have decoded me a little bit. So but we're gonna go right into it. That's a
Italia Tornabene:good book.
Mick Hunt:It is. It is. And so I I will tell all the men that are listening. The book is actually amazing. Not worried that it wasn't gonna be.
Mick Hunt:The book is actually amazing, and you're gonna learn some things about yourself in this book. So, Natalia, going into it, decoding men. Right? It delves into your understanding of men based on 19 years of experience studying our characteristics, our behaviors. Again, I'm a little scared.
Mick Hunt:You share what initially sparked your interest in this area of study.
Italia Tornabene:Yeah. I actually was an exotic pole dancer for many, many years, and I would have to decode men within the first five minutes of meeting them. Because as an exotic dancer, you can either mold your personality to match that person and to get them in a VIP room. Right? That's the whole that's the whole point.
Mick Hunt:It's it's a selling point. Not that I've heard stories. I've heard stories. You know?
Italia Tornabene:But, you know, we all have our specific clientele. And for me, at the time, I owned 2 businesses. I had 65 employees. And for me, it was the workaholics and the businessmen that I would get along with the most. I'd be able to have actual conversation with them.
Italia Tornabene:And I really if men walked in, like, in a group I was in Vegas, so there was a lot of bachelor parties there. Within 5 minutes, I would have to scan them and see, like, which one is my client. How because if I know which one is my client, I know I'm gonna be making money. I know I'm gonna have a connection with that person. And I think it took me about 10 years to really hone that into the point where I was kind of it was a game with me.
Italia Tornabene:Am I right? Am I wrong? And I would actually take notes. Like, you know, this one's a workaholic. These are their characteristics.
Italia Tornabene:This one's a nurturer. This one is a caregiver. You know, this one's the party animal. This one's the the long term guy. You know, you have that one guy that, you know, wants everything long term.
Italia Tornabene:So, anyways, it took me probably about 10 years to master it to the point where I was making money, a lot of money, and people were asking me why and how I was making so much money, but I think it was just because I really, really learned how to decode men. And you guys are the simplest creatures. You really, really are. I think, you know, as women with social media, we have such high expectations of men, and it's getting ridiculous. I think social media has really, really, heightened that, but I think you guys are really, really simple creatures.
Italia Tornabene:And if we understood each other more, communication would be better. And with better communication, you can actually hold on to that person long term.
Mick Hunt:You know, I'm not even offended that you called me simple because I would actually agree. I would actually agree. It's the simple things that I'm gonna say the simple things that matter. And I I think that's that's true for men and women. Simple things matter.
Mick Hunt:But I I do think for men, for us, the simplicity of life, right, totally makes sense. So you you talked about a couple of insights. So I've read the book. I don't wanna say it. I would love to hear from Natalia.
Mick Hunt:What are some key insights that readers can expect to gain from decoding men regarding understanding guys' and men's mannerisms and behaviors?
Italia Tornabene:Right. So I broke it down to about 12 different personalities. And in those personalities and, you know, and this is women and men can read this, but you could figure out your partner by the characteristics of each one of those codes I say that I wrote them down into. And let's say, you know, your husband's a workaholic, and you're taking it personal. You know, it's just that he has a personality that's very driven, and don't take it personal.
Italia Tornabene:He's just you know? And a woman needs to be his rock and be his powerhouse in a situation like that. So I've broken it down to almost bullet points. Like, if he does this, this, that, and that, or if his traits are this, this, that, and that, he is this. And then it goes into love language too.
Italia Tornabene:And I think it's important for all of us to understand our own love language.
Mick Hunt:Mhmm.
Italia Tornabene:For me, it's gifts. I mean, my friends, my family, I'll always buy them gifts. You know, that's just my love language, But everybody has a different love language, and, that too I break down so people can understand that. So you can decode your man by looking at the characteristics of each category
Mick Hunt:and say, okay. Here's this,
Italia Tornabene:and sometimes there's a mix. You know? Sometimes there's a mix, but at least I break it down to where if he is this or this or a mix, this is how you address them. This is the best way to deal with your relationship and the best way to address that person. And, you know, it's great for people in the sex work industry, but it's also great for relationships.
Italia Tornabene:Because like I said, you guys are very simple. And with Really? You know, relationships hopefully can last a little bit longer.
Mick Hunt:So it sounds like this is the cheat code for men. So, like, I'm gonna have to write a counter to this book called breaking the cheat code or something. I'd
Italia Tornabene:love that.
Mick Hunt:So can you discuss some of the common misconceptions or stereotypes about men that your book aims to dispel?
Italia Tornabene:So we'll go to communication. And I learned this from from dancing and talking to men. They would tell me stuff like, you know, my wife, you know, she hasn't slept with me in months. Right? And I'm listening to them and I'm like, okay.
Italia Tornabene:And and being a dancer, you hear everything. You're a psychoanalyou're a therapist. You know? Mhmm. You're there for entertainment.
Italia Tornabene:You're there for emotional support. But I would hear what they say, and then I'd break it down. And I'm like, okay. That's not why she's not sleeping with you. She's not sleeping with you because you just said she gained £50.
Italia Tornabene:She doesn't feel comfortable about herself. You know, it has nothing to do with you. Women and men communicate differently. Mhmm. A woman may say say something and expect a man to understand what she's saying because she means something completely different than what came out of her mouth.
Italia Tornabene:And a man's literal. Like, okay, well, you said this, this, that, and that. And and that happens a lot. So the breakdown of communication happens a lot. But like I said, you know, if you understand your partner or you understand the man that you're with by decoding him, then that communication should go a long way.
Italia Tornabene:And yeah.
Mick Hunt:I love it. I love it. So you said earlier that the book is for both men and women. So why do you feel it's important for both men and women to have a deeper understanding of the male behavior? And, again, guys, I got us coming back.
Mick Hunt:Don't worry. I'm writing I'm writing the sequel to this book. Don't worry.
Italia Tornabene:Actually, you know, it paints you guys in a great light. It's it's not a bad book at all.
Mick Hunt:Well, it it's not. It's not.
Italia Tornabene:Yeah. It's not. I think for for women, like I just said, you know, if you're in the sex work industry, you can pretty much decode a man in 5, 10 minutes by talking to him, you know, just a little bit or even seeing what he's wearing. Those little things. And for a man, you might wanna understand your circle of friends better.
Italia Tornabene:Maybe you have a communication barrier with one of your friends and you're just like, man, I can't understand this guy. Right? So it's good book for you to read. And also men have male partners too. So it's a great book for them.
Mick Hunt:There it is.
Italia Tornabene:Hater to all audiences.
Mick Hunt:I love it. So you said that dancing provided you a great means of life from a financial side. Side.
Italia Tornabene:Right? I was home
Mick Hunt:You were homeless. Oh, talk to us about that. Talk to us.
Italia Tornabene:Homeless, I was homeless multiple times. I have a 19 year old son, and he was about 5 years old. His father decided to come back into his life, and it was literally a 10 year battle, custody battle going back and forth and back and forth. And it got to the point where all of my money was going towards fighting for my son. And at the time, I was working for the government.
Italia Tornabene:And you would think with degrees and working for the government, you would have enough money to sustain yourself and to survive. But it was impossible. I think towards the end of my career, I had 3 degrees. I was, working full time, and my studio that my son and I lived in, a studio Mhmm. Was, 38100 a month, and my paycheck was 43100 month.
Italia Tornabene:And that was with 3 degrees and working for the government for 10 years. And I was so sick of maxing out my credit cards every month. I was so sick of living check to check to the point where it was like, if we didn't have groceries, I had a couple of noodles under my desk, you know, for for the next couple days until I was able to get paid again. It got to the point where I started dancing probably, like, 2, 3 times a month just to fight the custody battles and be able to pay for the attorney. And then when I moved to San Diego and I was working and I mean, yeah, and I was living in that studio, I found a club down there in San Diego, and it was so lucrative.
Italia Tornabene:Just a few days that I worked, I realized, like, maybe it would be best for me to do this part time and keep as a part time job so I could start building more of my savings. And I was making anywhere from 5 to $10 a weekend, and I was still working for the government. And working 2 jobs like that, I was probably working, like, 60 hours a week, maybe more. Mhmm. And after 10 years, I did my tenure.
Italia Tornabene:They called it a tenure when you work for the government for a certain amount of time where you're fully invested.
Mick Hunt:Right.
Italia Tornabene:And I quit. And I decided to go on this journey of dancing full time instead of part time and just stack my chips. And that's what I did. And it's done very, very well for me.
Mick Hunt:I like it. You stack chips. And I I'm gonna let everyone that's listening know and understand. Italia is one of the sharpest financial minds that are out there. Right?
Mick Hunt:I tell people, don't let the pretty face fool you. She has a very sharp financial mind. So not only does she have the book, Decoding Men, she also has a book, Easy Investing. And this book, I have actually picked up quite a few tips. So, Italia, what inspired you to write a guide specifically aimed at simplifying the investment process?
Mick Hunt:Because I thought that was so key of just understanding investment, I'm gonna say, in everyday terminology and everyday strategies. So what was your inspiration behind it?
Italia Tornabene:A few things. So it started because I'm writing my autobiography. This is actually a big part in it because it's a rags to riches story, but my investment strategies had a lot to do with it. And, you know, my sister's my assistant, and she's reading it with me. And she's like like, she's proofreading the book.
Italia Tornabene:She's like, I've never even thought about this stuff. I didn't know that you did this stuff. And I was like, yeah. And I realized, like, we've grown up in a very, very poor household. And savings to my family was a 401 k and pulling out of that 401 k as many times as they can a year to make money.
Italia Tornabene:And we were never taught about savings, and investing wasn't even in their vocabulary. You know? Like, there's no such thing. And we don't learn that stuff in school, which we should. We should definitely learn it in
Mick Hunt:school. Absolutely.
Italia Tornabene:But that stuff in school. So here I am homeless, living check to check. And, you know, everybody tells you open a savings account, save. But anybody who's lived tech to check will understand this. Once you have a savings account, you know, you may put $500 in there or $1,000 in there.
Italia Tornabene:When you're living tech to check, that's a big deal, You know? Mhmm. But, what as soon as an emergency hits, you're pulling out that money, and you really never get a chance to save because you're truly living check to check like I was working for the government. But I started investing when I was homeless, and I invested in tangible things. And the reason why is because I knew if I had money in the bank, I would spend it.
Italia Tornabene:If if I had a flat tire, instead of figuring out getting the used $50 tire, I would get the $300 tire. You know?
Mick Hunt:Right.
Italia Tornabene:So, what I started buying was gold and silver bars. And I know people think, how do you buy, you know, gold and silver bars? But you can buy them on JM Boyan from anywhere from $50 to a $100. Whatever I had left over, that I could invest, I started off with $50 a month. $50, $50, and then you see these little gold bars, little silver bars stacking up in a safe.
Italia Tornabene:It's exciting. And when you do reach an emergency, it's like, by the time you cash that in or sell it, you've already dealt with what you needed to deal with. And you learn other ways to deal with it. Like I said about the flat tire, you know, if I get a flat tire, I could buy a $50 used tire rather than a $300 So I started stacking, you know, gold and silver. And then I really don't know where this came from.
Italia Tornabene:I just I did some research, but domain names. So domain names are very interesting. Like, you have your own website, right, for your podcast with as much traffic as you drive to it. I'm not sure how much you bought your domain name for, but back in the day, I bought mine on GoDaddy for as little as a penny. Wow.
Italia Tornabene:This was, you know, like, 10 years ago.
Mick Hunt:Right.
Italia Tornabene:So I bought mine for as little as a penny. I started a couple paralegal businesses in my early twenties. And those domain names, like I said, I don't know where it came from. I I must have gone on a rabbit hole, did some research, But those domains that I bought for a penny, you know, or a dollar ended up going through 1,000 of dollars because the traffic that's driven to them. So then I went down a rabbit hole wondering what domain names do people want the most, at this point in time is health and fitness.
Italia Tornabene:So if you buy some domain names, you can make up a name. You know? It can be unplugged health and fit you know, it it could be that, And you're just holding on to it, and it could be it could be attached to your website.
Mick Hunt:Yeah.
Italia Tornabene:So that domain name will go with value. Now I have 10 pages on GoDaddy of domain names that are worth 1,000 of dollars. So that was another investment that I did, and I have held on to all of them. I haven't sold any of them. Another one is land.
Italia Tornabene:So I think I had $5,000, and I bought 3 parcel lands in Tennessee with that with that amount. And some were you know, one was 500. The other one was a 1,000. The other one might have been, like, 2 grand. But to this day, the land hasn't gone down in value.
Italia Tornabene:It's only gone up. And I get, offers on it constantly by attorneys or people that are buying land. And I learned a lot when I bought land. So you wanna get, like, agriculture is a big one. That one's gonna always increase in value.
Mick Hunt:Absolutely.
Italia Tornabene:Yeah. Residential land is great, but it has to be, like, in a track already with water, sewer, all that stuff hooked up. And now I own land in Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, and in New York.
Mick Hunt:That's amazing.
Italia Tornabene:And I just keep buying a plan cheap cheap land, but it's there. If I have an emergency, I can cash it out real quick. You know? I'm planning on holding onto it for my son because I figured 20, 30, 40 years from now, it's gonna be worth a whole lot more than I bought it for. And these little things that I've done to invest, but I just started.
Italia Tornabene:That was just the very start. You know? Mhmm. The little things that I did, next thing you knew, I I had a portfolio worth a couple $100,000. And, I mean, where do you see a return like that where you could buy a domain for a dollar or a penny and it's worth 2, $3,000 a couple couple years later?
Italia Tornabene:Just by
Mick Hunt:Let me tell you something on that. So I've got a friend. You remember late nineties when the Internet really became a thing. Right? Because when the Internet first started, it was news cycles was essentially what you found on the Internet.
Mick Hunt:Right? News cycle and silliness. But I had a friend who we were in college in the late nineties, bought several domain names off of companies that he knew were big brands that hadn't thought about the Internet yet.
Italia Tornabene:Yes.
Mick Hunt:This 20 year old bought 7, and I can't say the names of these companies, but he bought 7 domains. And in a year, made $500,000.
Italia Tornabene:Smart. Yeah. And and, you know, they don't
Mick Hunt:Like, literally. And the crazy thing is if he would have held out or if we both were just smart and thought about it, that could have been, like, $500,000,000 because
Italia Tornabene:Of course.
Mick Hunt:The Internet is your lifeline. Right? Like, your domain is your lifeline for major corporations. And if even if you're not a major corporation, even for individuals out there, I tell people, go by your domain name Yes. Your name at a minimum.
Mick Hunt:Yeah. Yeah. For exact because you don't know where you're gonna go. You don't know who
Italia Tornabene:you're gonna become.
Mick Hunt:Exactly. Your name is important. It's the one asset that you're always gonna have, and think about that as a brand.
Italia Tornabene:Exactly. Exactly. You're a 100% right. And and these are things that people don't teach you. Everybody pushes the stock market on you.
Italia Tornabene:I remember 2,008. And like I said, I was living check to check my whole life. And a 2,008 hit, and the markets dropped. And everybody was like, oh, it's gonna go back up. You know, buy into the stock market now.
Italia Tornabene:And I put everything I had into it. Hadn't been, like, $1,000, you know? But to me, that was a lot of money. I lost it all. I lost it all.
Italia Tornabene:And it's like everybody pushes the soft market on you, but it's like there's so many other ways to invest money, especially if you're looking check to check and you can't afford to lose a dollar. You can't afford to lose it. You know? Then gold, tangible gold. I know people will invest in gold online.
Italia Tornabene:Uh-uh. I wanna hold mine. I wanna know that I have it. I actually didn't. I don't wanna lose I'm not sending my money on the Internet anymore for that.
Mick Hunt:There you go.
Italia Tornabene:But, yeah. So I talk about that stuff in here. I also talk about something that really helped me out too was custom whole life insurance. And that's way too much for me to talk about on here. I do suggest people talk to,
Mick Hunt:I have an insurance background. Like, that that was my plan for 25 years. Absolutely.
Italia Tornabene:And it's great. And, you know, even if I don't ever have to use it, I know that my son's gonna be set for life. I want to make people set for life.
Mick Hunt:There you go. What are a couple other, like, 1 or 2 key concepts or strategies that you introduce in easy investing that most people don't think about?
Italia Tornabene:I would say the domain and the physical goal and land. I mean, those are those are the 3 things that really have done well for me, and I never would have thought about it had I not, you know, done my own research and and went down rabbit holes.
Mick Hunt:Yeah. What can people expect to get out of the book easy investing? Like, what are some benefits that the readers are gonna get from that book?
Italia Tornabene:Start saving. It's it's really not for your avid investor. It's not for somebody that has a huge portfolio. This is for somebody that is living check to check, doesn't have a savings account because they can't hold on to it. This is gonna be your golden ticket to start investing.
Italia Tornabene:This is gonna be the beginning of beautiful future for you. You can hold on to it for years. You know?
Mick Hunt:Yeah. And and I'll be honest and very transparent. Like, I feel like I'm really good at financial strategies. Your book even taught me things, again, in a simplified version so much so that I gave that to my kids. And I was like, forget everything dad told you.
Mick Hunt:Just read this and follow this because it it truly is to your point. If you're new at saving or investing or if you have financial struggles, because all of us I don't care where you are today. All of us have been there. And and I don't want people to think that you're too big to have been there because we all have been there. This book reinforces concepts.
Mick Hunt:It reinforces strategies. And for that person that's like, where do I go? How do I start? This book is the key. I promise you.
Mick Hunt:I promise you. Atalia, what are some misconceptions or fears that people have about investing? And then how does your book break those down? Because, again, I want you to say it because even my kids saw a couple of eye opening things, and I'd love for you to address that.
Italia Tornabene:I'm actually writing a children's book right now. It's it's done, but it's it's actually for kids and it's barnyard animals saving, like, a squirrel saving nuts and stuff like that. Just teach kids about saving. It's important, you know? But back to your question, it's losing money.
Italia Tornabene:It's the same fear I have, the same fear you have. I'm the same fear people have that are dumping money into crypto right now. It's the fear of losing it forever. That once that money is gone, it's gone. Right?
Italia Tornabene:You put it in the stock market, Stock market crashes tomorrow. And I feel like everybody's been living in fear the past 4 years since COVID happened. It's just this nonstop fear of what's happened to the economy, what's happening with inflation. And in my book you're actually purchasing physical tangible things that do not decrease in value And even if it's gold, gold right now is at the highest it's ever been. But let's just say the economy does flop, that gold's gonna go for even more.
Italia Tornabene:There's only a few lands that you could purchase, right? They don't keep rebuilding land, right? You only have a few plots that you could purchase. And then gold is is a rare commodity as well. So these are rare things that you're holding on to.
Italia Tornabene:A domain name, there's onlyonedot com. You know, there's all these .nets and stuff like that, but the dotcoms are the main main ones. You know? You can't just, just purchase it again. Nobody can come along and just take it.
Mick Hunt:Yeah.
Italia Tornabene:So these are actual tangible things. So if you know, that's why it's important for people that are living check to check and that want to invest and save. This is so important because you're not going to lose your money this way. This way you're going to hold on to it.
Mick Hunt:I love it.
Italia Tornabene:It'll take some process, but it's there for you to cash it at any time. JM Boyan buys back their gold and silver, copper, whatever you wanna buy. So you had an actual emergency and and let's say you stacked up a few grand and you're like, I need this. It's dire. Just go back to Jane and Boyle, and they'd buy it from you.
Mick Hunt:Absolutely. Alright. You've been so gracious with your time, and I appreciate you more than you know. So a couple of questions. I'm gonna get you out of here.
Mick Hunt:Okay. 1, so Mick unplug, We talk about going deeper than your why and being fueled by your because. Right? Like, I think everyone's why. I'm not saying it's superficial, but your because is your reason that you do the things that you do.
Mick Hunt:Right? So today, what's Natalia's because?
Italia Tornabene:I have lived the craziest life. I'm sure we all have a story, but I think that our journey is, especially if we've had a tough journey, it's because we can handle it. And I think that my purpose on this earth is to help others and to learn through my hardships. So I remember, you know, I used to curse the heavens and say, why me? Why me?
Italia Tornabene:Like, how could this happen to me? You know? And I realized because I was strong enough to get through it. But there's so many people that I talk to that feel like they've lost hope. And they may be 10 years older than me, but I'm like, hey.
Italia Tornabene:No. I've been there. But, you know, you're gonna get through it. And I just wanna help other people. I wanna help other people succeed.
Italia Tornabene:I wanna help other people get through horrible times. So that I kind of hope to do with my autobiography and little books like this, you know, help people have a better future and some more hope and faith in this life.
Mick Hunt:Love it. Freaking love it. Alright. Last question. You mentioned the books and the autobiography coming up.
Mick Hunt:So where can people find, obtain, get the books? Where can people follow Italia? Like, what where where do we follow Italia?
Italia Tornabene:I would go to my Instagram. It does have all my links on it, and it also has my website on it. So you could purchase the books on Amazon or through my website or on TikTok. So if you go to TikTok and you purchase it, then you get a signed copy. I would follow my Instagram because it has all the websites on there that you need.
Mick Hunt:Alright.
Italia Tornabene:At Italia Tornabenny.
Mick Hunt:Italia Tornabenny. Absolutely. Well, Italia, I appreciate you. This was amazing. A ton of great tips.
Mick Hunt:Everyone, come back and listen. Write down all the tips that Natalia gave you because I promise you, you will not be disappointed. And as always, remember, your because is your superpower on mission. Alright.
Intro:Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast, and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.