Overcoming Challenges and Using Them as Rocket Fuel for Success with Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

In this episode, I am happy to welcome Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco. C-Roc has been a real estate investor since 2005 and is the CEO of People Building Incorporated. He is the host of the popular podcast “What Are You Made Of?” and author of the upcoming book, Rocket Fuel. He has also been recognized as one of the Yahoo Finance Top Business Leaders To Follow for 2020.

C-Roc began by telling us that he started in sales at the age of eight when he would find golf balls at the golf club he lived on and sell them to the golfers, all while being chased by the club manager in a cart! He was in sales for a water treatment company for nine years before getting into real estate and through this experience, he really learned how to deal with people. In 2005, C-Roc became a realtor and was a top-performing agent pretty quickly because of the work ethic he had developed in his former work life. After about a year, he realized that showing people houses wasn’t really his thing, so he moved into the mortgage industry.

C-Roc brought up training under Grant Cardone and I asked him what it meant to be a licensee of his program. The mortgage company he went to work for was already using Cardone University products and they were seeing a ton of growth when they implemented his systems. Being a licensee means that C-Roc can intertwine the Cardone ideas with his own and present them in his coaching and seminars. He said he has his own branding and ego, but that he is not stupid and wants to be associated with uber-successful people! C-Roc also gave us some of his background to explain why he felt drawn to Grant and his philosophy.

I asked C-Roc to explain the “What Are You Made Of?” Movement and what it really means to him. He said that he grew up surrounded by a lot of broken people who suffered from mental illness or addiction and that it influenced him to not only rise above it but also to try to fix it. He said that “what are you made of” is a form of self-talk, affirmation, or a way to push through a difficult situation. He talked about the power of writing down ideas, making a commitment to things even if you don’t know how to do them, and having people and opportunities come into your life to help you achieve goals. C-Roc talked about a difficult experience they had in their business that really caused them to re-evaluate what they were doing and it really birthed the movement.

I asked C-Roc to talk a bit about his upcoming book, Rocket Fuel. He said that it is his story and how past hardships can be a powerful force to either keep you down or break free and succeed. It uses the “what are you made of?” question to lead to personal transformation and achieve a fulfilling life. He said that he is really vulnerable and transparent in the telling of his story so that people can really see what the entrepreneurial journey is all about.

C-Roc also shares the enormous goals he has for his business, those he had before the pandemic, and how they have been affected by the coronavirus. He is working to develop a culture in their company so that the employees are indoctrinating each other on the way things are done to grow in team accountability and be successful. He is also planning to travel extensively promoting the book and the movement in order to help people grown their businesses by building up their employees.

This is an incredibly honest, transparent, and riveting episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast that you do not want to miss that is applicable to all people in any industry!

Notable Quotes:

“Don’t hyper-focus on whether a salesperson you may hire has a ton of real estate experience… that is easily taught. Finding a great salesperson is often difficult.”

Mike Simmons

“My success is all about work ethic… there isn’t a secret.”

Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

“Sometimes you have to get uncomfortable to get where you want to be.”

Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

“I find someone that is successful and mimic them.”

Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

“When something works, I like to share it.”

Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco

“Masterminds are ridiculously effective if you take them seriously and surround yourself with the right people.”

Mike Simmons

“Sometimes pain can be a great motivator.”

Mike Simmons

“Fire can propel you or burn you.”

Mike Simmons

“I thought the journey to success is invisible, so I got people on my podcast to share their stories and setbacks, how they have overcome them and turned it into rocket fuel.”