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United We Sip – Dive into the fascinating world of American culture with "Hot Takes: 50Cups." Join founder Jim Baker as he shares his hot takes on everything from day to day life, business trends and societal shifts, uncovering how we are all more united than we think.
At 50Cups, we believe in the power of community and the shared goal of living a healthy, fulfilled life. Our mission is to inspire you through organic, great-tasting teas, education, and awareness, uniting us all in our quest for better living.
Each episode of "Hot Takes: 50Cups" features Jim's candid and insightful commentary on the challenges, triumphs, and everyday experiences that shape our collective journey. From entrepreneurial wisdom, cultural observations, to health topics and nutrition this podcast offers a fresh perspective that will leave you inspired and enlightened.
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riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: [00:00:30] [00:00:45] Welcome everybody to another edition of Hot Takes, sponsored by 50 Cups.
Today we're gonna do a [00:01:00] little bit, a different type of format. I have a good friend who's based in Denver, Colorado. His name is Amman Shaa. He's an entrepreneur. He has a phenomenal story, I don't wanna give anything away, but, [00:01:15] I'm glad he could be here this morning. And Amman, how are you today?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I am doing fantastic. Thank you so much for inviting me. Excited to be here. It's my first time ever having done a podcast, so this is all new to me.[00:01:30]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Well, I gotta tell you, you look pretty comfortable right now.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Thanks.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: I'm gonna pour myself a little bit of some cold, it's not ice, but cold black tea today from 50 cups. So whenever your drink of choices [00:01:45] feel free to indulge during the day.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Great. Fantastic.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So tell us a little bit about yourself. How'd you, how'd you get to the States?
How'd you get started? Talk about your childhood. The whole works.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Okay, well, I was born in Iran and [00:02:00] my father was a doctor with the World Health Organization and so he got transferred every four years to different country. So my first four years were in um, Iran. And then we lived in [00:02:15] Ethiopia, ABA and Gandar. And then we lived in Alexandria, Egypt. And then went to America for one year during the 1967 war.
And then lived in [00:02:30] Geneva, Switzerland for, five years, which is where I went to high school. And then when I graduated from high school, I came to America for my college education. And my first two years were in Rhode Island, and then I transferred to Denver, [00:02:45] Colorado from my, to finish my, my undergraduate degree and I went to Denver University and fell in love with Colorado and stayed and made that my home.
So Denver, Colorado is home now, but I lived a little all over the world. [00:03:00] As, as a young, as a young child,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: That's that's pretty impressive. How many languages can you speak?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I speak four languages. I speak Persian English, French, and then Spanish.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So growing up you [00:03:15] have ex, you've lived in, experienced different cultures, different
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: You obviously settle on making your life in the United States. What was it about the US that. Made you [00:03:30] decide to stay here as opposed to Switzerland or some of the other places you've been to?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Ever since I was 13 years old, I knew that I was gonna be my own boss. And America. [00:03:45] Was the land of opportunity, where you could create anything, make anything happen, anything was possible. And I don't know where and how that came from, but I had that, that [00:04:00] decision in my mind that America was the, was the land of opportunity.
And so that's where I chose to come and pursue my, my college education. And it was true. I fell in love with Colorado. [00:04:15] It's, it was made, it's, it, I mean, for, with the United States, it was made for me, you know for, for, for people who, who wanna push themselves to reach their, their ultimate potential in, in many [00:04:30] respects, but especially in the business world, America is, is, is, is, is, is the land where there is no limit.
And you can really unleash your creativity and your. [00:04:45] Your, your, your passions and your desires and so I always knew that America was gonna be where I was going to, I don't know, start my business and, and live. And it's, it's absolutely true. [00:05:00] So true. How, how, how it, how it, it really, it really works that way.
It really is true.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Yeah, so when I was growing up I moved every two and a half to three years, but in the States, mostly up and down the eastern seaboard. 'cause my father worked for IBM and [00:05:15] back then you just got transferred all the time and I. So when I was in the northern climate and it snowed, we would shovel driveways and I would get paid, and I usually had my brother or a friend with me.
And then if there was yard work that needed to be done, we'd go out and [00:05:30] do the yard work and get paid. So from a young age, I also loved the fact that you could just work for yourself and get paid. And so I knew someday that I would also hopefully own my own company and be successful as well. So when you were 13, you knew you wanted to own your own [00:05:45] company.
Was there a something that happened? Was there, were you similar to me where you were just doing all these weird, odd jobs all the time and getting paid for 'em? Like how'd you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I am not sure exactly what [00:06:00] the, the, the, the tipping point was, but at some point in time I realized that the most valuable thing I have is my life, and my life is translated [00:06:15] into my time. And then I realized that when you work for someone, you're selling your time, which means that you're selling yourself, but I'm invaluable.
I'm priceless. How can I put a price [00:06:30] on myself? Like how can I possibly put a PRI price on my time? And at, at that point in time, at at 13, I realized that. My time is invaluable. I can't sell it. I'm not gonna sell it, and that, that I would need to be my own [00:06:45] boss. So I don't know where and how that came, but that, that, that's how it, that's how it played out.
Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: While you're. 13, then 16, 17, 18. Obviously you're, I'm sure you're, you're having, you're taking jobs, you're [00:07:00] working, et cetera. Talk a little bit about those jobs and what you learned from those jobs that helped you become a successful entrepreneur.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I don't know. A friend of mine [00:07:15] in his family had this incredible chocolate sauce that they put over over ice cream. So I, I learned the recipe for that sauce and I made that sauce and I tried to sell that sauce. And at, at school, you know, I, I [00:07:30] would put on barbecues, you know, and, and you know, grill hot dogs and hamburgers and, and have these little parties and.
Charge for the food. And, I, I, I would just do all, all [00:07:45] kinds of different little ventures like that. I would take batteries to school and sell them. I don't know, I don't, I don't know how I did it, but, and [00:08:00] then in college we had a huge snowstorm and I had this idea of coming up with this bumper sticker.
I survived, you know, the, the, the, the blizzard of, I think it was 81 or something like that. [00:08:15] And I made these bumper stickers and I went around campus trying to sell them. And I just did all kinds of funny, different things.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Did you sell any, by the way?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I sold some, it wasn't, [00:08:30] it wasn't a home run, but it was, I had fun.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: That's funny. So you graduated college and then did you go right into starting your own business? Did, did you go to the corporate world for a little while before you decided to do something? I.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I jumped [00:08:45] into my own business. I had real estate in my blood and I'm wondering where it came from. And I think it came from my mother, who, who was the business person in the family or, or, or the financially [00:09:00] savvy person in the family. And she's the one who decided that we were going to build our own home and live in our home as opposed to renting which is what we've always done all our life.
And so she took my hand and [00:09:15] she took me to this piece of land, in France, right across the border from Geneva, Switzerland. And, and she said, we're gonna buy this land and we're gonna, we're gonna build our home on it and how important it is to own land and how important it's to own the roof over [00:09:30] your head.
And something happened and it must have come from her where I just had real estate in my blood. And I loved real estate, so I knew I was gonna, I was gonna go in real estate. And when I graduated from university, I [00:09:45] borrowed $25,000 from my father. And I went out and I bought a fourplex with owner carry financing.
And I bought the tools and I bought the how to books in terms of how to renovate the kitchen, how to renovate the bathroom. And [00:10:00] I started renovating one apartment at a time, painting it, refinishing harbor floors, new bathrooms, new countertops, and then and then did the whole building, increased the value, and then I, I [00:10:15] refinanced it.
And then I bought another one and another one. And I was young, I was cocky. I was very, very aggressive. And within five years I had 150 apartments and 11 people working for me. [00:10:30] Paint painters, cleaners, leasing agents and accountants. But. You know, I had never experienced a downturn. I had never experienced a bump in the road, [00:10:45] and so I would bet everything on the next deal.
And I had no reserves. I had no cushion, no contingency plan, because I didn't, I didn't even know what that was. I didn't know that was a thing. I was just a young, cocky kid and [00:11:00] just going for it. So of course, I, I was very thinly capitalized. And it was, it was, it was basically a house of cards. All it took was one bump in the road and it all fell down.
So in the mid eighties, we had a big recession in Colorado, [00:11:15] and, vac uh, unemployment spiked rents went down, vacancies went up. And I, I didn't have the reserves to withstand that shock. And [00:11:30] so I, I lost all my properties. I lost everything I had, and I was a quarter million dollars in debt.
And I was like 28 years old. And, so [00:11:45] I, I, I learned a lot. And I remember the first three months I was depressed and I felt like a victim. Like, woe is me. Here I am doing the right thing. And and then [00:12:00] totally outta my control. This recession happened, and I lost, I lost everything I had. It's not my fault.
It's, it's, it's the recession's fault.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: All right.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: And, and then I very quickly realized that you know, my life was very precious and I [00:12:15] wasn't gonna spend it being depressed and unhappy. And I realized that my life wasn't contingent upon the circumstances in my life or about my financial, my financial standing and that I was gonna be happy, you know, [00:12:30] no matter what I had or didn't have.
And so, it was a very valuable lesson for me. And looking back, it was the best lesson. It was the best thing that could have ever happened for me. It was like my master's degree.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Mm-Hmm.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: And, and I [00:12:45] learned what was important in life and what, what's not important in life and what, what's meaningful and what's not meaningful.
And I, I used to be pretentious and, you know, drive around in the bends and dress up all fancy and I really cared about what, how I [00:13:00] was perceived by others. And then after that I just became a much more humble authentic, genuine human being. And, and not, and not pretentious. And so it, it, it was really a defining moment that changed who I was and my [00:13:15] personality and my character.
It made me a much better, much better human being.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So I have to ask you, since you were in real estate, and you probably are now too to some extent, I've seen two friends of mine in the last couple [00:13:30] years. One had a really big real estate company and, COVID hit and I don't think he's got to the point where. You were, which is, he still blames covid. He doesn't blame anything that he did in the business.
[00:13:45] And as a result, he's defaulted on notes and he's in trouble at this point in time. And he had gone through the great recession in 2008 too. And it seems like the same behaviors have repeated themselves again now. And then there's another person [00:14:00] on a much smaller scale who basically over leveraged to the, to the 10th degree and interest rates spiked.
And he wasn't keeping an eye on some of his construction costs. [00:14:15] And basically he robbed Paul to pay Peter, and now he's in trouble as well. So from a, and these are all, these aren't kids. I mean, these are, you know, 50, 60-year-old people. But can you just talk a little bit about the real estate mindset [00:14:30] where that you, you were probably told by people, you probably, you're a very smart guy, you read.
History lessons in the past. There's always recessions, there's always economic downturns. You know, whether they're 15, [00:14:45] 20 years or they're five year cycles, but they happen. What goes through the mindset where you don't think it's ever gonna happen to you?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: You know, I, I, I think the nature of being [00:15:00] an entrepreneur, you're, you're, you're a positive thinker. You look at the glass half full and you don't focus as much as maybe you should on the potential downsides and what the, what the risks are. And [00:15:15] you, you, you, you, you, you tend to. Use a lot of debt leverage.
'cause that's how you juice up your returns. And, so it's easy to get in over your head. But what I [00:15:30] learned in the 81 recession, because I had, I had a lot of land, a lot of development sites, and those, the value of those increased dramatically when it's boom times, but then [00:15:45] they dropped dramatically when there's no more demand for development.
And so I, I realized that what was, what was really important and valuable for sustainability was cash flow. And so I shifted my mindset away, away from speculation and [00:16:00] from land into building cash flow producing assets. And so I, I, I started investing in, self-storage. I started a self-storage brand.
I, I [00:16:15] invested more in parking. Parking lots you know, where, where I could generate cash flow. I already had some, some retail businesses and I focused on, on my retail businesses. And I, I really built up my cash flow, [00:16:30] because I knew that that's what would allow me to sleep well at night and to be able to continue paying my obligations, you know, in, in the case of a downturn.
But it's, it's, [00:16:45] it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a risky business, real estate, because sometimes even if you have great cash flow, but the market changes and the banks don't want to renew the loans with you, then you're in [00:17:00] trouble. Like, for example, right now, if you own office, I don't care, you know, how, how good your cash flow is.
No bank wants to touch your office and so your loan comes due. The bank wants to be [00:17:15] paid off. You, you are in real trouble. You might have to sell distress, just, just, just to, to pay off the debt. So a lot of different things can happen in real estate when, when you're dealing with banks and when you're dealing with debt.
And, and the key is, you know, [00:17:30] can you handle whatever shock comes your way with regards to your debt? 'cause the debt is, is how, how, your property can be taken from you if you don't have debt or if you have manageable debt, then you'll be able to hold that property forever. And if you [00:17:45] can hold it forever, it'll eventually come back and you'll eventually come out.
Okay. But the, if you can't hang on, if you can't hang in there, that's when that's when you're gonna get in trouble.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: I think too, when times are good, banks are your friend,[00:18:00]
and when times aren't good, banks aren't your friend anymore. But they unfortunately have the money and you don't. So how do you handle that banking relationship? What'd you learn from, from that experience?[00:18:15]
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: To deal with more local, regional banks as opposed to the large national banks, the large national banks. You're just a, you're just a number and they have their [00:18:30] process and they have their numbers and their, their, their criteria. And if the equation, the formula comes out and says this, that's what they're gonna ask you to do.
You know, [00:18:45] pay down the loan, pay off the loan et cetera, et cetera. And they, they, they don't care about you as, as a human being. 'cause there, there isn't that much of a, of a, of a relationship. That's true. Whereas if you're dealing with a, a smaller local regional bank [00:19:00] where, where you have a true relationship, then there can be more of an understanding and more of a working together to come up with a solution.
But a lot of times the regional banks get bought up
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Right.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: next, next thing you know, you know, you had [00:19:15] this relationship and then, you know, for 10, 15, 20 years and then, and then they sell. And now you're, you're dealing with a, a, a, a larger bank to which you don't have that exact same relationship. So it's interesting how over time, [00:19:30] my, in interest in my intention is to pay down debt is to get rid of debt.
Because I just don't want the risk and I don't, I, I don't need to push [00:19:45] like I used to push before. I don't need to grow the way I used to wanna grow before. happy with what I have and, and, I, I, I wanna, the, the, the risk and deleverage.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So after the real estate [00:20:00] crash and you lose a lot, all of it, probably. What did, how did you get into the parking? How'd you get into I.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. This is, this is really fascinating. So I lost everything. I lost [00:20:15] everything and I was a quarter million dollars in debt and I had only $2,000 cash left in one of the apartment buildings that I bought down in the basement. I had rented it to a, a company that was a [00:20:30] distributor for licensed sportswear.
They would buy licensed sportswear from the manufacturers, and then they would distribute it to local mom and pops, like a, a gas station or a local convenience store. And it was a Denver [00:20:45] Bronco t-shirts and sweatshirts and caps, Denver Gold, et cetera. And I, I, I actually invested in this company too. And they went, they went bankrupt.
They went, they went belly up and their inventory was in the basement of, of this building. And I was losing the [00:21:00] building. So I had to get rid of, I had to get rid of this inventory. I had two choices. One was find someone to come in and buy everything wholesale, cut me a check and just take it all away.
And then the other one was to sell at retail. Well, being the entrepreneur that I [00:21:15] was I took $600 and I bought a push cart and I went on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. And I put my T-shirts and sweatshirts on this push cart, during lunch hours for three hours a day, every day. And someone would walk up to the [00:21:30] push cart and I would pop up and I would say, Hey, I have the lowest prices in town.
6 99 for a T-shirt, 9 99 for a sweatshirt. That's the extent of my knowledge in retail price. And so, so I started selling Deborah, bro. I started selling this inventory. [00:21:45] Lucky for me, 1987. Me the Broncos were playing well, by Christmas I had four push cards, and then the Broncos went to Super Bowl and all hell broke [00:22:00] loose.
Everyone goes crazy, loses their mind. I sell out, I sell out of inventory within a, you know, a matter of days. My, my local distributor that I'm now buying more product from, he runs out of inventory and then [00:22:15] 300 vendors pop up on street corners with on tents selling Denver Bronco Super Bowl merchandise.
And I realized that this is an industry that you don't have to get lucky where your team makes it to the finals that you can [00:22:30] travel to a city whose team went to the finals and open up what today we call a pop-up store and do special event merchandising just for that event. Selling, all, all the merchandise for that event.
Well, people, [00:22:45] when people have lost their minds and the fans have gone crazy. And then you can close up shop and move on. And that there, you could do this for Final Fours, super Bowls, world Series NBA finals. I mean, it just goes on and on. And so I, I I hooked [00:23:00] up with a local distributor again, very, very lucky.
I was sitting on my push cart on the 16th Street Mall with my almost no merchandise. Like I was empty. And some man walks up to me [00:23:15] and says, do you wanna buy Super Bowl Denver Bronco merchandise? And I look at him and I say, yes. He says, well, gimme a call. He takes out a Motel six business business card, address [00:23:30] in Thornton.
He writes down his name and he writes down room number, and he gives me the card. He says, you know, give me a call. And so I wait one day, I wait two days, and now I'm desperate. I call, I [00:23:45] say. What do I do? He says, well, come on up to the hotel. So I go up and in, in the parking lot of this Motel six are these two tractor trailers full of boxes of product and guys picking and pulling.
So they literally had a, [00:24:00] a mobile warehouse in these tractor trailers out of a Motel six parking lot. He says, what do you want? So I said, okay, I'll take a hundred of this. I'll take 50 of this. I, I order a bunch of stuff. He says, okay, come over and pay me. So we go to the hotel room and on the bed there's literally a mountain [00:24:15] of cash on, on, on, on, on the bed.
And that's when I realized that this is an industry where half of these, these vendors on street corners, they worked for him. They were like the carnies worked the carnivals. And, and so they, they [00:24:30] got their product from him on consignment. They sold it, and then they came back and they paid him. And then he also wholesale to, to to, to local customers around town.
And so he became my supplier. And I started going to World Series and [00:24:45] Final Fours and, and then eventually I started buying directly from manufacturers, not going through a distributor anymore. And, and so I started traveling around the country doing special event merchandising and major sporting events.
And my success [00:25:00] really came from my background in real estate and my being able to identify great locations, and knowing how to, how to talk to landlords and how to convince them to rent to me for two weeks. Because back in those days, [00:25:15] popup didn't exist. And, and, and so you really had to do a, a, a great job convincing a landlord to rent you the space for, for two weeks or, and so I, I started opening superstores.
I would go to malls or I would go [00:25:30] to downtowns and rent vacant storefronts and open a superstore that would do the volume of 20 or 30 push carts. And that's, that was my secret. I was the first one to do that. And I was very successful at, at, at [00:25:45] identifying good locations where you open the door, the traffic's right there, they just walk right in.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Wow.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: And, and you, and, and you do, you do huge volume, you know, in, in, in two weeks. And then you pack up and then you go back home and set up again for the next [00:26:00] event. And so, so that's how I, I generated cash flow with no cash to start off with. And, and, and no credit. I had no credit. And the thing about, the thing about this, this business was that you sold your inventory so fast.
So if, if I invested [00:26:15] $5,000 in the morning in inventory by the evening, that'd be $10,000 worth of worth of cash. And then the next day I go buy $10,000 worth of inventory by the, you know, that that could turn into $18,000 worth of cash. So I, so I turned my, my, my, my capital daily. [00:26:30] And that's how, with no cash and no credit, I was build, I was able to, to, to, to.
Generate cash flow. And then I paid back my debts. And then I started buying commercial real estate again in, in, in commercial this time, not residential. [00:26:45] And I still had my retail business. I started acquiring good employees. I didn't wanna lose them after the event. So I started opening permanent retail stores, to keep my, my staff.
So now I had permanent retail [00:27:00] stores. I had my special event merchandising business, and then I started investing in real estate. But when I started investing in real estate, again, I did it with owner carry financing because I didn't have, I still didn't have credit. So the owner would carry back the financing and I would [00:27:15] put the down payment down.
And I started buying real estate in and around downtown Denver. And by luck, again, you know how luck just, just comes your way. But you have to, you have to identify and, and realize that you're lucky and, and [00:27:30] decide to take advantage of that operation. The property that I bought. It was behind what today is Coors Field.
But I bought the property before Coors Field was built. So literally after it was built [00:27:45] and they started playing games there, all of a sudden there's like thousands of people looking for parking. And I, and, and, and I realized all this demand for parking around a ba around baseball stadiums. So I got a special event parking permit [00:28:00] and I bought the land next door and I turned it, it was a half city, you know, half a city block.
And I turned that into, into parking. And I sit there with my pouch and I, you know, charged $10 for parking. And I got into the parking business and then I started buying parking [00:28:15] lots. So now I had my retail stores and I had, I started getting into, into the parking business. So just, you know, if you just show up, opportunities are gonna come your way.
And it's up to you to identify them, to [00:28:30] recognize them, and to decide is this a good opportunity for me to pursue or not? And then you pursue it and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work. And then, and then one of the properties I bought happened to have a self storage facility on it, and I inherited the self storage facility [00:28:45] and I took it from 60% to 90% occupancy and realized the imbalance between supply and demand of self storage in downtown Denver.
And so I was gonna tear down this property to, to, to build a hotel on it, but I didn't wanna lose my customers. So I [00:29:00] went and built another self-storage facility and moved my customers into there. And I started my green box self-storage brand, which is environmentally friendly solar powered self-storage.
So I got into this self-storage business and I started opening self storage facilities. So it's [00:29:15] like, you know, you start with one thing and it leads to another and you another opportunity and you leads, leads there and you never know where it's gonna take you.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: [00:29:30] [00:29:45] [00:30:00] I think you're, you know, having to move out [00:30:15] all the, whatever contents were in some of your buildings in, in, in the past. And I've always believed that there's always a solution to everything. And whether God puts that in front of you or not, you, you had the ability to, [00:30:30] to, you know, there was something that was there.
You know, I think most people have just looked at that building and just cleaned it all out, dumped it, you know, whatever you need to do. And then you figure out a way to pay your, the $250,000 back and, you know, you had the [00:30:45] foresight to say, wow, look at this product here. I'm just gonna go sell it 'cause I need to get some money.
And, you know, one thing leads to another, to another, to another.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: And suddenly you're,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: you see things that other people don't see.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. And I,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: do you get that gift?[00:31:00]
You born with it or do you
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: it out over time? Like, how, how does that work?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I, I think it's, it's just the openness and the willingness to do different things, try [00:31:15] different things. Like I never dreamed that I'd be in the retail business. I never dreamed I'd be in the parking business, in the self storage business. I never, I never thought about that. But an opportunity came my way and, and I was like, well, I'm open to it.
I mean, how hard is it? [00:31:30] How hard is it? You put your T-shirts on a on a hanger, and you hang them and, and you sell it, right? I mean, how, how, how, how hard can it be? So willingness to try willingness to, to [00:31:45] experiment and, and, and, and a willingness to learn. You know, like, I don't know this business, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna learn it.
I'm, and just, just, just, just do what needs to be done. Do, do what's in front of you [00:32:00] in, in, in that day. Another story I wanna share is that my, and my father was a doctor and he gave me a good life and he gave me a good education. He gave me everything. He, [00:32:15] when I was on a push guard, he came and visited me.
He lived in, in, in California, and and he started crying because in Iran being a street vendor is the lowest form of, of, of, [00:32:30] of, of livelihood.
Uh,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: happy tears. They're, they're, they're sad tears.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. Because here's, here's a son that he gave a good education to, and, and, and now, now he's a street vendor. Right. But it's interesting how it worked out because, [00:32:45] because, you know, very quickly as my business grew, I, my, my father was retired and I, I hired him to come work for me and, and, and, and, and so he was my money man.
He counted the money. He went to the bank. He got the change for the next [00:33:00] day, and, and he worked for me for the next, you know, part-time, for the next 15 years and we worked together. So, but, but his initial reaction was, oh my gosh, my, my, my, my son is the street vendor. I've failed. [00:33:15] Yeah, and so, and so it's like, like I didn't think about it.
I didn't have an ego where like I'm, I'm on the street, you know, selling a, a push cart and my, my ex bankers are walking by me and, and you know, saying, hi. I just did what I had to do. Just, just, just, you know, just, just do what you have to [00:33:30] do and not, not, not overthink it, not not put your ego into it and, and add meaning to it.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So I, I'm sure those 15 years where you worked with your dad, that was a great experience. You know, share with that. What was that like?[00:33:45]
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: It, it was fantastic because we, we spent, we, we got to spend time together. We traveled together. He came to all the events with me. He was part of the team. He had his, his set responsibilities. And so it was, it was fantastic that that, [00:34:00] that we got to work together and he got to, you know, see the entrepreneurial side of his son and, and what it's like to own a business and, and so it, it was fantastic.
It, it, it all worked out.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: That's great. So
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: curiosity, being a sports [00:34:15] fan are, do you sell the most product now? What's the most profitable I should say? Is it Super Bowls? Is it Final Fours? Is it World Series? Is it World Cup?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: It all depends on who the teams [00:34:30] are. And, and because you can either go to a, to a host city that's hosting the event and open a store there, or you can go to the, the team city [00:34:45] where the team is from and sell, sell to the local fans, or you can do both. But it all depends on how hungry and how excited the, the fans are.
Like, I remember, I, I have two stores in, in, in, [00:35:00] have not have one store in Chicago and I opened a temporary store when the Cubs went to the World Series and you know, they hadn't been in the World Series for over a hundred years and it was just. Bananas. So it depends on how, [00:35:15] you know, rabid the fans are and how long it's been and, and and, and, you know, the quality of your location.
But they're, they're all good events. I've also done Democratic National Convention. I've done re Republican national conventions. I've done [00:35:30] Sturgis Bike Fest, I've done Daytona, you know, bike, bike week. I've, I've done all kinds of events, all, all over, all over the country and all over the world. I went to Paris for World Cup Soccer and I opened up two stores on the Sean and then France, Juan, [00:35:45] the World Cup that year.
And I kept my store open for two and a half years on the Shaza in Paris and turned it into a souvenir store. And so, yeah, I've, I've, I've been around the world. I've done, you know, Japan, Australia,[00:36:00]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: that's amazing. I was gonna say to your point, you know, those teams that haven't been there forever, you know, are probably gonna do really well for you. And,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: you know, if you're a team that's going every other year, it's, it's not that big of a deal after a while.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: exactly. Exactly. Yeah.[00:36:15]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So. Your company's focus corporation,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: so what does it look like today?
How big you know, how many employees, where you located, all that good stuff.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I used to have more stores, but I've, [00:36:30] I've downsized my stores. So I, I, I have four stores now. I, I don't do special event merchandising anymore. And I'm primarily a, a real estate investment vehicle, and I have a [00:36:45] portfolio of properties and those properties also include self-storage where I operate the business over and above owning the self-storage property where I own and operate parking lots also, where I operate the business, I manage the parking lots [00:37:00] and I own and operate the.
Coworking business enterprise Coworking. So we have two facilities where, again I own the real estate and I operate the business. So I, I don't just own the real estate and I'm not just a [00:37:15] landlord, but I'm also the tenant, quote unquote, the operator inside that real estate which gives me the upside on the cash flow.
If I do a good job, if I'm a successful, profitable operator, then over and above making [00:37:30] what I would've made otherwise in rent. I also make, make the profit and the upside of the business. So we have, I think 65 employees right now between all the different [00:37:45] businesses and, I'm, I'm not looking to grow right now.
I'm just looking to maintain and operate I have be more profitable, be more efficient, and, not [00:38:00] create stress or, worry or risk in my life. I, I wanna simplify my life at, at this, at this stage.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So eventually when you quote unquote retire, are you looking to do a full exit or are you looking [00:38:15] to, you know, transfer to employees or to family, et
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm. Hmm. That's a good question. That's a good question. I don't, I don't,
I don't know. It, it, it's so hard because you get attached to these businesses, you know? [00:38:30] And, and, and it's so hard to let go. But, but I know that eventually I'm going to need to, I think, sell some of the more complicated businesses and then maybe keep the, the easy ones that [00:38:45] maybe one day my daughter, will have an interest in managing as a landlord.
Something that's maybe not too difficult or too hard, and that she has an interest in where, with a good property manager. She can take [00:39:00] on the, the continued management of the property. But if it's a really complicated business, then I'm, I'm gonna have to exit that at, at, at and,
and turn, yeah. Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: very highly of her,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: any [00:39:15] interest in getting into business with you?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: You know, she's, she's 24 and she's passionate about her area of studies and international relations, international security, and she's pursuing that, but she's still young and [00:39:30] she has expressed an interest and she knows the value of investing and, and having the, that passive income.
And so she wants to learn more. I'm hopeful that over time [00:39:45] as she matures and grows, she'll develop more and more of an interest and that and that she'll want to take on the management. Of, of some of these properties where, where I can continue to pass it on to [00:40:00] her. Otherwise I'm gonna have to turn it all into cash and,
and do something really easy with it.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So, I know you love to travel
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: and obviously that's been in your blood since you've been born, I guess. You know, just give a typical. [00:40:15] Year in the life of bombing and where you go and how long, how much time you take to travel each year.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Well, I travel a lot with my daughter. She's my travel buddy. I've been to 30, 30 countries with her already. So, for [00:40:30] example, when she went to university in Sydney, Australia, I went over there and I got her settled into her dorm. And then spent time with her in, in Sydney. Then I was already halfway around the world and then I went to [00:40:45] Taiwan.
I always wanted to go to Taiwan, and especially if I don't take any for granted anymore, like I don't assume that that things are gonna stay the same forever. And, and you know, one day China might in invade Taiwan. So I, I, I wanna see Taiwan, you know, before that happened. So I went to [00:41:00] Taiwan, then I went to Thailand, I came back.
And then I stayed home for three weeks and then I went to Greece for my good friend's daughter's wedding. So I was in Greece for a week and then I'm already in Europe. I'm [00:41:15] not turn around and go home. So I went to Poland 'cause I've never been to Poland before. And I spent a week in Poland and then I went down to, Slovakia brought to s Lava, Vienna, Austria.
Then I came back home. [00:41:30] And then with my friend I went to Marrakech for 10 days. And and Morocco. Then I came back for a month and then I went with a friend to Kenya and [00:41:45] Tanzania for three weeks. Partly, you know helping out farms and seeing how we can invest in, in their infrastructure in terms of [00:42:00] solar and water.
And then I came back, and then I met my daughter again. I came back for a month and then I, I went and met my daughter again, and we did Malaysia, Indonesia together for for two and a half weeks. [00:42:15] Then I come back for a month and then again. So my next trip is gonna be a biking and boating trip in Croatia.
I I, I'm excited about that organized tour. then afterwards, I want to go to Turkey for for 10 days. [00:42:30] So I, I typically travel two, three weeks, come home for a month, travel two, three weeks, come home for a month, and, and, and I stay on top of my businesses even when I travel, typically one hour to two hours a day on, on the email.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: And when you're traveling, do you have a certain way you [00:42:45] travel? Are most of those, you mentioned biking, are most of those active trips
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: more of a sight seer, tourist, you know, like how would you describe your, your travel strategy?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I am a, I'm a big foodie, so I, I do a lot of food tours. [00:43:00] So I, I, I do biking tours and I do food tours, and that's how I meet a lot of locals and tour guides and decide where to go, what to do. And then on my own, I, I do a lot of things. I love to collect art. I, love [00:43:15] local arts and crafts. So I like to eat, so I walk, I bike, I do tours.
I shop for arts and crafts. I meet people I travel with friends. [00:43:30] But, yeah, yeah, that's, yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: So sometimes when I do these interviews, you know, we always talk about, you know, work life balance and business and success and everything else. But you know, you really can't [00:43:45] any of that if you don't have your health. So I. Walk me through your typical, you know, exercise journey and you know, what you do to maintain, you know, your body, so to speak, so you can be successful in everything else that you do.[00:44:00]
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. And that's what I love about my life in Denver, Colorado. When I'm home in Denver, is that, is that I have a routine and I love my routine. I love, I love Colorado. I do Pilates twice a week. And I stretch [00:44:15] twice a week with, with a trainer. And then once a week I go climbing, rock climbing, but in the gym, in the summertime, sometimes outdoors too.
So once a week climbing. And then every weekend I go mountain [00:44:30] biking with my friends. And so it's a, it's a standing Sunday morning. Mountain biking. And then on my own, I I, I work out maybe two to three times a a week, you know at home
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Did you [00:44:45] always do that or like were you always consistent from your, you know, twenties on, or were you one of these guys that, you know at 40 said, Hey, I gotta get better in better shape. And I became a, a workout guru
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I've always been sportive. I've always, I've always been [00:45:00] active, but this particular routine I think has been maybe around, around, four years now where, where, where I've really gotten into stretching and I've Pilates and then mountain biking and rock climbing. [00:45:15] So I, I, I love having that routine and that I have in Denver.
The challenge is when I travel. And so what I've recently done is gotten those elastics
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: and the bands? yeah,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: it's ama it's amazing how much you can [00:45:30] exercise with those
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Yeah. I.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: in, in your room and sit up some pushups and then, and then the, the, the, the gym in the hotel. But it's, it's challenging.
When I travel, it's, it's not as, it's not as easy. I, I sometimes need that support of having an [00:45:45] instructor for my Pilates, having my friends for the biking, my friends for the, for the climbing to, to support me in, in, in doing those things.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Yeah, those bands are pretty good 'cause they're very light and you,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: put 'em on a carry-on and take 'em. [00:46:00] And if you have the, some type of an app, a Peloton app for example, for me, I mean you can just pop that thing on and get a good, you know, 20 or 60 minute workout if you want. So yeah, I, I think, I think a lot of people when they go on vacation they say, Hey, I'm on vacation, I'm just [00:46:15] gonna rest.
And that's fine. To some extent, but you know, if you can just never get off that wagon, you can keep just doing it no matter where you are to do different things. I think that's always helpful for you.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: It's so hard to start back up again once you've stopped for two, three weeks.[00:46:30]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Absolutely. So I go have this adage, discipline equals freedom. I didn't, I didn't make that up. I stole that actually from Jocko Willick, who is a former Marine that does a lot of podcasts now. And what I like about it is the fact that if you're disciplined [00:46:45] and you have this freedom, and freedom in this case, is to be able to make choices in your life.
So if you travel, you know, hopefully you can say, well, do I want to get on the bus with the tourist tour group? Do I wanna walk around the city by myself with somebody else? Do I want to go bike? Do I want to go hike? Do I [00:47:00] wanna, you know, swim the river and, you know, joking here and then, you know swim as shore and go, you know, walk through a Croatia or whatever.
So that's what I mean by choices. So from your perspective, you know, what are some of the disciplines in your [00:47:15] life that have enabled you to have these choices that, you know, whether they're in business or, or whether they're, you know, in life?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Well, it's, it's, it's been, it's discipline has been a challenge for me, to, [00:47:30] to make that a priority and to ha have it be overriding everything else in my life. So it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's been, it's been challenging for me. I'm, I'm getting [00:47:45] better and better and better at it. And I'm realizing that if I, what that, what I do now is I, I write, I write down, I, I have a list, of what I do every single day, and I wake up and I literally check off that list, you [00:48:00] know first thing I do, second thing I do, and try to do them first thing in the morning before my day starts.
Because once my day starts, then I get caught up in emails and phone calls, and then things get in the way and you run out of time. So [00:48:15] to try to get up earlier in the morning have, have it written down, where you can hold yourself accountable by looking at it and them off first thing, first thing in the morning.
Get 'em out of the way then feel [00:48:30] great because now you have the freedom for the rest of the day. You have the freedom of your time for the rest of the day, and I'm getting better and better at doing that. But it, it, it took time for me to get there. Then also realizing that I need, I need support.
So I, I need a instructor or [00:48:45] I, I need an appointment, make an appointment with a friend, and that's gonna support me in maintaining my structure.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Well,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: have to get some recommendations from you. Not that I'm in Denver, but a stretch [00:49:00] coach. 'cause I'm about as flexible as a wall or a piece of board. So and I hate doing it and it's painful when I do do it, so, but I know, I know. I gotta get going on that. fast forward, what do you see yourself 10 years [00:49:15] from now?
What are you doing?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: You know, I'm, I'm, I'm realizing that I'm at a different place in my life now and I have different priorities now than I did 5, 10, 15 years ago. And so I'm [00:49:30] being much more intentional about, about who I am and what I wanna do and why I wanna do it, and how I wanna spend my time. And, it's not about, you know, making, making more money.
It's about exploring, learning, [00:49:45] growing, adventure, meeting people, learning from people sharing stories with, with people hearing their stories, sharing my story. And then also, looking at ways that [00:50:00] I can, I can give back and I can make an impact and influence in people's lives, through, through sharing my, my, my, my lessons learned, but also, potentially, you know, helping people [00:50:15] who, who really want and, and want and have a drive and a desire, but just didn't have the, the resources or didn't have the opportunities that I had, whether it's for education or whether it's you know, to, to start, start [00:50:30] up a business of, of some kind.
So, yeah, it's, it's about exploring, learning, growing, and, and, and helping.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: If you could do anything else in the world besides what you're doing now, what [00:50:45] would that be?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I, I think I'm, I think I'm, I'm doing what I wanna be doing. Yeah, I, I think, I think I'm, I'm, I'm [00:51:00] living the, the life that I want to want to be doing. I still, I still have enough business where I'm interested but not too much to burden me or stress me or worry me. And I have a flexibility with my time, to, to be able to [00:51:15] choose what I wanna do with my time.
So I, I, I think I'd be doing exactly what I'm, what I'm doing right now.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: That's great. I thought maybe you might wanna be a rock climbing Olympian. I mean, I watched that on the Olympics this summer and those guys flew up. I. I mean, what three or four [00:51:30] seconds are going right to the top? It was
impressive.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: when I was younger, I wanted to be a football star.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Oh, well
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah, I'm very happy
with,
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: too, my whole life, so that didn't work out. [00:51:45] So this being a hot take podcast, I'm just gonna go through a couple of things with you and get your thoughts on some of the hot takes. So you travel a lot and I assume you're, you probably have pre-check and, or clear or both.[00:52:00]
So what's your, and I will, I'll, I'll share my opinion on clear in Denver especially, but clear verse pre-check. What do you like?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I think a clear is [00:52:15] and to go. Clearest way to go. Tell me what you think.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Well, I mean, as you know, I was in Colorado most of September and I flew to Bozeman from. Denver and I also flew back home from Denver. And, [00:52:30] the whole TSA situation in Denver is, crazy to begin with. It's a giant airport and there's a billion people there. And so anyhow going to Bozeman, I, you know, my wife and I go over to [00:52:45] Clear and Clear's, got one lane open, pre-checks, got about 16 and you know, the clear line is probably a 10 minute to get through and pre-checks may be a minute.
So we went over to precheck and went through next time [00:53:00] we were going, which was the last Friday, I think the entire country was in Colorado and Clear was packed. And so it was pre-check, but, my changing, I used to like clear a lot more, but in Denver at least, you know, [00:53:15] the $200 or 300, whatever it costs to go to Clear, more expensive than the 75 for pre-check.
So I think I'm leaning more towards the pre-check these days. But Denver's a crazy airport. I don't know how you fly outta that all the time. [00:53:30] So another one, you're probably in Colorado, so I'm, I, I may be, you know, I probably know where you're gonna go on this, but gas cars versus electric cars,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Electric. I have a, I, I have a [00:53:45] Tesla. I have, I have a, I have a, I have a Tesla. And I love it. What a pleasure. What a joy. What a joy. And you know, I, I get 250 miles on it and there's just charging [00:54:00] stations everywhere and it's good to take a break, you know, sometimes and, and walk, you know, stretch your legs.
Grab a coffee. But, I love my electric car so much. Oh my
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Do you ever do the self-drive [00:54:15] thing with it?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Nope.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: No.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Nope. You know, I, I truly enjoy driving it and, and I, I love the fact that I'm not buying gas. I, I don't, and, and I, I've never, ever had to go to the mechanic or do oil change or have anything go, you [00:54:30] know, it's so, it's so simple. It makes so much sense.
I, I, I love my electric car and I love the experience of driving it and the man, the pickup. Oh, what a joy. When I need it. Wow. I got it.[00:54:45]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: It seems like every time I ride in a tussle with somebody, they want to show me how fast it goes in the first five seconds and my stomach goes to my head.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: you know, I feel like I'm gonna throw up. But it does have some serious pickup,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: t versus coffee,[00:55:00]
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I love tea. I love tea. I, I drink tea almost every morning. And I, I also like chai spicy chai. That's, that's my favorite go-to when I go to a coffee shop. I order spicy chili.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: E-bikes [00:55:15] versus regular bikes.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: E-bikes.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: I,
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: I, I, I, I'm not as strong as I used to be but I have some friends who are very, very, very strong. And in order for me to keep up with them, I need electric bike. [00:55:30] And I have no ego and I have no problem. You know, the, the pleasure and the joy of being able to do hard rides and long rides in the Colorado Mountains.
And I could do that because of an [00:55:45] e-bike. So it's worth it. And I, and I love it. Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Yeah, I get a little fearful when I see some people on e-bikes that are, have those souped up e-bikes and they're, you know, just flying down the road with [00:56:00] cars behind them and everything else. And I'm just hopeful that they're gonna be safe, because it might give you a false sense, almost like they ride 'em like motorcycles sometimes.
So I probably know the answer to this one as well, [00:56:15] but cooking versus takeout.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Cooking as long as I have the time. If I make the time, it's such a joy to, to cook either, you know, by myself or, or, or with friends and family. [00:56:30] But sometimes takeout is just so convenient and so practical. So, but when I, when when I have the time, when I make the time cooking[00:56:45]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: Books or audio books.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: audio books, I, I, I, I, it's hard for me to sit down and sit down in one place for a long time. So audio is typically the way to go?[00:57:00]
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: good. And I'll pass it back to you. I mean, any other hot takes you want to share.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Probably not. Hot takes. No, no.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: All right. So we always try to end with a good [00:57:15] story about life, the human race because I think at the end of the day, we're all united. We all want good health. We all want to live good lives. We all want to help each other out. And so I, I have [00:57:30] the utmost faith in the human race. So
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: stories you wanna share around that?
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: You know, I, I, I, I was, I was, thinking about that and, I, I, I, I think there's, there's something else that I would [00:57:45] like to share in, in terms of lessons, lessons learned, and the, that have, have been transformative for me. And it's that [00:58:00] everything happens for a reason and in the moment you might not see the reason, you might not see what.
The lesson learned is, but over time, when you look back, [00:58:15] you'll, you'll, you'll see the lessons that you learned and how you grew from that experience and how you're better off from that experience. So everything happens for a reason and everything's always for the better. And then also, I've learned, I've [00:58:30] learned that everything in my life is is an inter, is an interpretation.
So it's my interpretation of, of what's happening around me, of, you know, when someone says something, I interpret it, and it, then I add meaning to it. If something happens, I [00:58:45] interpret it and I add meaning to it. So basically I create my reality through how I interpret everything that happens around me. So I'm, I'm 100% responsible for, for my, my, my reality, because I'm the [00:59:00] one who, who, who created that interpretation.
So I'm responsible for my life. I'm responsible for my happiness. So, you know, taking responsibility, [00:59:15] is, is, is, is the most important thing in, in my life. And, and once, once I, I realized that, and once I started doing that, I, I, I became so much of a, of a more happier person. [00:59:30] And then also just accepting acceptance, where you, you do, you know, I do the best I can to have my life be a certain way, but at the end, at the end of the day, it is what it [00:59:45] is life happens.
And to accept it, as opposed to fighting it and letting it upset you or get you mad or angry. Yeah, a, a, a accepting, [01:00:00] accepting what is, you can still try to change things in the future, but not letting things get, get you upset or, or, or angry. Me. So those are the really important things in life that I've learned that have, have really changed, um, [01:00:15] my hap my happiness and my joy in life.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: That's great stuff.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Mm-Hmm.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: people wanna follow you. Where, where can they follow you? Are you just a private guy that stays below the radar or.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah. I am.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: no [01:00:30] igs or Twitters or anything like that.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: No, no, I don't. Just, just my close circle of friends. Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: sounds great. Well, listen, I appreciate all your
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Yeah.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: It was a to hear your story and you truly are one [01:00:45] of the top 10 people and, thank you for coming on today.
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Thank you so much for your time and thank you so much for interviewing me. It's been a pleasure. It's been a joy.
riverside_50_cups_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0001: . All
riverside_bahman_shafa_raw-synced-video-cfr_50_cups_0002: Thank [01:01:00] [01:01:15] [01:01:30]