Karel Sterling on Real Estate Success, Generational Wealth, and Taking Action

Karel Sterling (00:00)
Well, the one idea that I want everybody to have very deep in their brains is that we all can do it. It’s not for the, you know, elite. It’s not for the ones that were born rich. It is for whomever wants to do it and actually do it. know, anybody can do it. It doesn’t matter if you have a hundred dollars in your account or you have three million. It’s the same.

Scott Bursey (01:57)
Welcome back to the real estate pros podcast. I’m your host Scott Bursey

And today we are shifting gears from the trenches of building to the blueprints of personal success. We have with us the author of the recently published book, Wealth Unlocked, how I rebuilt my family’s future from nothing and how you can too. Karel Sterling of the Karel brand. Karel , congratulations on the publication.

and thank you for joining us today.

Karel Sterling (02:24)
Thank you.

Thank you so much, Scott. Thank you for having me here. It’s an honor being in your podcast. Yeah.

Scott Bursey (02:30)
It’s wonderful having

you on the show. For those of you, for those of our listeners who may not be familiar with your world, please tell us how did your career began and where are you now?

Karel Sterling (02:42)
Well, I actually grew up in real estate. My grandfather used to have rental properties in Mexico. I’m from Mexico City and I’ve been living here in the US for almost 14 years. I’m a dual citizen now. so, you know, I just grew up doing walls and fixtures with my brothers. And then of course, when I moved here.

Scott Bursey (03:01)
You

Karel Sterling (03:05)
and ⁓ I chose a career. I just got my real estate license and continue learning the new way of investing because it’s different from Mexico.

Scott Bursey (03:14)
Absolutely. Yes. Karel , your new book tackles the core strategies of top tier performance. What is the single most critical mindset shift you identify in the book that separates a good real estate professional from an elite one?

Karel Sterling (03:30)
I will say, as you said, mindset is everything. know, you can, I can tell you that, you know, when somebody started investing, how they talk, when they are going to make it or not. Cause you know, if you are waiting for everybody, ⁓ who’s, example, with the license, right? Not necessarily for the investing, but, who’s the broker that is going to bring me leads. Learn to do your business. You know what I’m saying? And, and of course those are the people that

later on are sold to homes and they stop, right? As opposed to the ones that understand, take the time to learn and actually do it, right?

Scott Bursey (04:04)
Absolutely,

absolutely. Being proactive, actually doing it. That’s truly where the growth begins and the external results show. Excellent point. And Karel , interested to know, writing a book is a massive project.

beyond the content itself, what is the most valuable organizational or productivity technique you had to implement from your own framework to successfully navigate the publishing process?

Karel Sterling (05:22)
Well, you know, it took me about two years to write this one and I have probably 280 pages for it. And then when I actually started working with the editor, we ended up cutting a hundred of those pages because, know, it was too technical. You know what I’m saying? Like they know how to. And, but the thing I think that the best part of it was actually putting my personal experience on it.

as opposed to trying to teach textbook, you know what saying? I think that’s the magic on the result.

Scott Bursey (05:56)
That level of commitment to a daily, you know, non-negotiable writing blocks, if you will, is the definition of discipline. Consistency clearly wins when tackling any monumental goal. That is outstanding. And Karel .

Please walk us through in the current housing environment. Many agents are struggling with market uncertainty. How does the core philosophy outlined in your book prepare real estate professionals to not just weather, but actually capitalize on periods of rapid change?

Karel Sterling (06:29)
Well, I think the process is very easy to follow. I’m sharing my experience and my mistakes so that you don’t do them. I also think that there’s ⁓ a thousand of, you just open social media and you’ll find 58,000 gurus telling you how to invest, but that you don’t have one property or they never have a failure. You know what saying? Like they are massive speakers, but not really doers.

and ⁓ so I stand you know if you are a housewife and wants to start with it you can easily follow it and also you know I am very specific and just choose one you know like sit there choose one choose three you know just three favorite and really understand them before you start running around putting ads and

buying property, you know, which is what many do. And then they burn out and they do nothing and they, real estate sucks. And it’s a terrible, no, you just didn’t have the right introduction to it, you know? But if you do it right, cause you know, like you can do family homes, can do industrial, you can do anything you want and ⁓ follow gurus that have a different model and a different lifestyle than yours is probably not what you need, you know?

Scott Bursey (07:33)
Absolutely.

Karel Sterling (07:49)
So, yeah.

Scott Bursey (07:49)
That

is some good, good solid advice. And Karel , for someone who picks up your book today, what is the immediate, actionable step they can take, perhaps even before they finish the first chapter, to start seeing a tangible difference in their business?

Karel Sterling (08:40)
I will definitely say observation of their own life. You know, as I told you, it’s like you need to know where you are and where you want to go. Because starting chasing, you know, houses or investing and stuff without, you know, we all can go and hire an assessor that will put us our money in an interest account without knowing

how much am I going to get in 10 years, 20 years? You know what I’m saying? You can have very good interest and then 10 years from now end up with $200,000, which is not going to save your retirement. You know what saying? You need to know what are your needs today, how many years you have to get to what you want to get before you actually start putting money out there.

Scott Bursey (09:28)
That’s excellent. It ensures the knowledge is immediately translated into positive momentum. And I can’t say enough about that. As you look ahead, Karel , what is the one big idea about success that you hope readers retain long after they put your book down? And what’s next for you and your brand?

Karel Sterling (09:48)
Well, the one idea that I want everybody to have very deep in their brains is that we all can do it. It’s not for the, you know, elite. It’s not for the ones that were born rich. It is for whomever wants to do it and actually do it. know, anybody can do it. It doesn’t matter if you have a hundred dollars in your account or you have three million. It’s the same.

You can actually go broke having 20 million inherited to you if you don’t know what to do with that, you know? And you can start broke living in your car and become a millionaire, a billionaire by doing it. It is for everybody. That’s it. ⁓

Scott Bursey (10:25)
It all comes down

to the proper mindset and execution and getting out there and like you say, doing it. Is there any message that you would like to leave with our listeners today, Karel ? A golden nugget perhaps or any takeaway that you would like to share with our listeners?

Karel Sterling (11:25)
Yeah, so just take action, know, learn, understand what you’re doing and take action. The purpose of my book, I have two little girls and the full purpose is to do it myself and to teach it to them so that it becomes a generational thing. And it’s very easy to do. It’s easy to do.

Scott Bursey (11:31)
Absolutely.

That focus is laser focused and that is huge. Thank you for continuing to push the industry toward that level of excellence, Karel .

It’s been just a pleasure speaking with you. And for our listeners who would like to follow your journey or collaborate, what’s the best way that they can reach out to you?

Karel Sterling (12:02)
Well, ⁓ my website is karelsterling.com The book is obviously on Amazon. We’re working on other platforms, but the book is right there. And in Karel Sterling, you have my email. My podcast also, you can, it’s called Wealth Unlock as the book. And there you have my email, my phone and anything, you know, whatever you need, I’m happy to help. I just want everybody to do it right so that we can all change.

You know, make sure that the change is massive.

Scott Bursey (12:32)
The one big takeaway that I’m leaving from our discussion, our conversation is take action. Have a good plan and take action. It can be done. Karel , thank you for joining us today. This has been an absolute pleasure.

Karel Sterling (12:48)
Thank you, Scott. Really happy to be here.

Scott Bursey (12:49)
And for our listeners, we appreciate

you. If you found value in today’s episode, please subscribe. We have more conversations coming up with operators, authors, just like Karel . Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.