REAL Mentors Podcast

Homeless, Handcuffed in Front of His Son, Then Found God | Jonnie Parsons on REAL Mentors Podcast EP 85

Jonnie Parsons had the $70,000 truck, the four bedroom house and the white picket fence. He gave it all away chasing a void he couldn't fill. What followed was meth, opiates, fentanyl, eighteen months in county jail inside a two year stretch and getting arrested in front of his son and his girlfriend who barely spoke English and didn't have a license. He was a firefighter risking his career to get high two days before his shift. He was a construction worker making good money at eighteen and spending it all on drugs. He kept coming back to the same bottom in different cities, different jobs and different circumstances because the problem was never the situation. It was him. The turning point came in a spiritual dorm behind bars in one of Florida's toughest counties. For the first time in his life, Jonnie says he was in chains and felt completely free. That's where he found God and where everything actually changed. Today, seven years removed from homelessness and addiction, Jonnie is the Executive Vice President of Alliance Land Development, author of the 365-day devotional Unshakable and a man who refuses to waste the life he almost lost several times over. This Episode Explores: ✅ Growing up in Fort Pierce with a Vietnam vet father and a mother who never missed a day of work ✅ Making good money at eighteen in construction and finding meth and opiates on the job site ✅ The void that no amount of money, sex or drugs could fill ✅ Eighteen months in county jail inside two years and getting beaten by cops on the last arrest ✅ Being a firefighter and using cocaine two days before shifts knowing he could be drug tested ✅ Fentanyl taking him to his absolute bottom ✅ Getting arrested in front of his son and girlfriend with a warrant out for his arrest ✅ Finding God in a spiritual dorm in one of Florida's toughest county jails ✅ Getting married with $11 Walmart rings because the pastor paid the $85 marriage certificate ✅ From homeless drug addict to Executive VP in seven years 🔗 Connect with Jonnie Parsons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnie_parsons_official/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonnie_parsons_official/] Book: Unshakable 365 Day Devotional E-Book: 5 Daily Disciplines of Personal Development Follow REAL Mentors Podcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast [https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast] Host Sean Martin: https://instagram.com/theseanmartin [https://instagram.com/theseanmartin]

From Manhattan Prosecutor to Passion Coach | Kereen Evans on REAL Mentors Podcast EP 84

Kereen Evans migrated to the United States at eleven years old. She went on to become a Manhattan prosecutor, a legal advisor, a podcast host in the top ten percent of all podcasts worldwide and a passion to purpose coach. She didn't plan all of it. She just kept moving. In this episode, Kereen gets into what drew her to the prosecutor's office in the first place which was not to lock people up, but to help people stuck in addiction cycles get treatment instead of sentences. She breaks down how that work shaped the way she sees people, asks questions and leads conversations. And she gets honest about what it actually looks like to build a full life while still becoming who you're supposed to be. This is a conversation about alignment, humanity and what happens when you stop waiting for the right moment and just start. This Episode Explores: ✅ Migrating to the US at eleven and what that shaped in her ✅ From paralegal to Manhattan prosecutor: the path that wasn't random ✅ Working in drug treatment alternative programs: rehabilitation over incarceration ✅ Why she asks probing questions in every conversation and what that cost her in relationships ✅ Bail reform, petty crimes and what real justice actually looks like ✅ Views change but choosing humanity first, stays the same ✅ Building a podcast to the top ten percent of all shows worldwide ✅ Connecting your talents, passions and purpose without waiting until you're ready 🔗 Connect with Kereen Evans Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekereenconnection/ [https://www.instagram.com/thekereenconnection/] YouTube: youtube.com/@thekereenconnection [http://youtube.com/@thekereenconnection] Website: thekereenconnection.com [http://thekereenconnection.com] Podcast: The Kereen Connection Follow REAL Mentors Podcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast [https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast] Host Sean Martin: https://instagram.com/theseanmartin [https://instagram.com/theseanmartin]

Arrested, Broke and Built an Empire Anyway | Jarred Elmar on REAL Mentors Podcast EP 83

Jarred Elmar bought his first properties on courthouse steps right out of high school with no college, no capital, no connections and no safety net. Just a scrappy kid from South Florida who refused to let his circumstances write his ending. Today he's the Managing Partner of The Geneva Group with over 1.8 million square feet of commercial real estate and a goal of 5 million. But the real story isn't the portfolio. It's what it took to build it and who he had to become along the way. In this episode, Jarred gets into the pivotal moment a complete stranger stopped him cold with a tough conversation he didn't ask for and couldn't ignore. He talks about spending years hiding where he came from and why he finally stopped. He breaks down the scrappy, grassroots prospecting model that built his empire and the same one he now teaches young people coming out of high school and college. This is a conversation about owning your story, building from zero and what happens when you stop apologizing for who you are. This Episode Explores: ✅ Buying properties on courthouse steps straight out of high school ✅ No college, no backing, no experience and why that became the advantage ✅ Getting in trouble with the law and what it actually cost him ✅ Hiding his background for years and why he finally owned it completely ✅ The stranger who gave him a tough pep talk that changed his life ✅ Building a grassroots prospecting model from the ground up ✅ Teaching the next generation of scrappy, first-generation real estate investors ✅ Faith, family and his grandfather's lasting influence ✅ The goal: 5 million square feet 🔗 Connect with Jarred Elmar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geneva_gp/ [https://www.instagram.com/geneva_gp/] Website: genevagp.com [http://genevagp.com] Book: Built From Nothing Follow REAL Mentors Podcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast [https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast] Host Sean Martin: https://instagram.com/theseanmartin [https://instagram.com/theseanmartin]

From Overdoses to 9 Figures | Ryan Zofay on REAL Mentors Podcast EP 82

Ryan Zofay started using drugs at 11. By his late teens he was incarcerated, facing a potential life sentence. Most people don't come back from that but Ryan built a 9-figure business from it. The turning point wasn't a strategy. It was his mother, newly sober herself, walking into that detention center with the 12-step program and a decision to stop abandoning her son. That moment cracked open something that anger, hustle, and failed ventures in his 20s never could. Today Ryan is the founder of We Level Up, a national addiction treatment organization he built from the ground up starting in 2013. He's also a speaker, life and business coach, and author of An Unlikely Businessman: From Overdoses to Multimillionaire. His mission is simple: help people stop reliving the past by finally dealing with what created it. In this episode, Ryan and Sean get into what it actually takes to break generational cycles, why self-acceptance is the real foundation of success, and why surrounding yourself with the wrong people keeps you stuck longer than any addiction ever could. This Episode Explores: ✅ Drugs at 11, incarceration by his teens and the childhood trauma underneath it all ✅ A mother's sobriety visit that changed everything ✅ How the 12-step program became the foundation for a 9-figure business ✅ Anger, failed ventures, and what his 20s really taught him ✅ Founding We Level Up in 2013 from sales to mission-driven impact ✅ Why you keep reliving the past until you meet the unmet needs underneath it ✅ Falling in love with yourself as a business strategy, not just self-help talk ✅ The ESOP plan: transitioning to employee ownership by 2030 ✅ Why who you're around matters more than what you know 🔗 Connect with Ryan Zofay Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan.zofay/ [https://www.instagram.com/ryan.zofay/] YouTube: youtube.com/@ryanzofay [http://youtube.com/@ryanzofay] Website: ryanzofay.com [http://ryanzofay.com] Book: An Unlikely Businessman Follow REAL Mentors Podcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast [https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast] Host Sean Martin: https://instagram.com/theseanmartin [https://instagram.com/theseanmartin]

From Corrections Officer to Content Creator | Franjez on REAL Mentors Podcast EP 81

Franjez grew up in Yonkers with nothing and says that's exactly why he appreciates everything. Raised in a Dominican household where daily drinking was just part of life, he spent years as a New York State corrections officer feeling lost, chasing control and going through the motions. Then a doctor's visit and the right roommate at the right time cracked something open. Now he's the host of Talk About It with Franjez, a platform built on transparency and the conversations most people avoid. Every episode starts the same way, by asking “where did you grow up?” or “how was your childhood?” because Franjez believes everything you are today lives in what you experienced before you had words for it. In this episode, he and Sean get into what it really takes to do a complete 180, why your subconscious is running the show whether you like it or not and what it means to go all in on something you actually love. Including everything hard that comes with it. This Episode Explores: ✅ Growing up Dominican in Yonkers and normalizing what others would call dysfunction ✅ 8.5 years as a corrections officer and feeling lost, goalless or chasing control ✅ The doctor's visit that forced him to pay attention ✅ How one roommate and The Four Agreements changed his trajectory ✅ Why every guest starts with childhood and why that's not an accident ✅ Going all in on content creation: food reviews, podcasting, and building a brand on positivity 🔗 Connect with Franjez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franjez/ YouTube: youtube.com/@franjez [http://youtube.com/@franjez] Podcast: Talk About It with Franjez Follow REAL Mentors Podcast Instagram: https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast [https://instagram.com/realmentorspodcast] Host Sean Martin: https://instagram.com/theseanmartin [https://instagram.com/theseanmartin]