SNIPPET #131

“Good morning! Ready for a good interview?”

When a guest sends a text like that hours before his interview with you, you know you’ve got someone unique in your world that day. 

Eric Post has built, sold and, operated companies that have done billions of dollars in business, and he’s become an online hit with millions of people who can’t get enough of the “aw shucks” charm with which he delivers poignant and powerful insight and messages on life, business, patriotism and whatever else grabs his heart on a particular day. 

Typically with a person who is at that level of success, we get to know their assistants much better than them before an interview – with a few exceptions. Eric is one of those exceptions. 

So if you’re one of those people who needs to resent wealthy, successful people who achieved things you dream about but are convinced only lucky people have a chance at achieving, I double-dog-dare you to try not to like Eric Post

At first blush, he’s a guy who’s always been on top of the world. He makes it look easy and his energy is so positive it’s nearly impossible to imagine him as anyone who’s ever known anything but sunshine and fair winds.  

But watch his videos or just reach out to talk to him- he’ll answer anyone who emails him directly – and you’ll learn that like anyone else who’s faced serious challenges, Eric is a product of his decisions to overcome the things that could otherwise take him down. 

Statistically, Eric Post should have failed; His father bailed on the family when Eric was a little boy. Eric spent much of his childhood wondering what he’d done that was so bad, it made his dad want to leave. Next came the alcoholic, abusive stepfather who played his own role in tormenting Eric. 

Eric’s half brother, raised alongside Eric in the same house with the same abuse and hardship, turned down a different path. That path led his brother into a life of crime, incarceration, and a gunshot wound that resulted in partial paralyzation and an amputated leg.

If you ask his brother “Why” says, Eric, he’ll tell you he’s a product of where he came from. But Eric is proof that human nature can overcome any adversity it’s nurtured with. 

In the past, says Eric, he was ashamed of his brother’s story. He felt it was a reflection on him. He struggled with his pain until he reached a point where he realized his greatest lessons in life had arrived packaged as tragedy and hardship. If you have the courage to unwrap those packages, says Eric, you’ll learn some pretty amazing things. 

He couldn’t save his brother from making decisions that caused further pain for himself and others, but Eric is extracting a positive purpose from all the pain and challenges he and his family have faced, personally and professionally. 

“Your past does not determine your future,” is his credo, and he’s teaching that important lesson to online audiences as well as those lucky enough to hear him speak in person. 

eric post marine corp veteran
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Most recently he’s taking that message into schools, where a newfound passion for reaching today’s youth is leading him to share his personal story with kids before they make up their minds that they, too, are trapped in their struggles. 

“Comfort is the enemy of progress,” says Eric Post

People tend to get comfortable in their identities as victims, or in their struggles and the familiarity they offer. Comfort in the belief that failure is predetermined is what his brother wrapped himself up in. It’s what business owners wrapped themselves up in when the 2008 crash hit, and people bought into the notion that no entrepreneur or business owner could withstand that hit.

Eric’s business took a hefty hit right along with everyone else. Still, he and his company not only survived that hit – they thrived.

He lost a million dollars of his net worth in the first months of the 2008 crash. Companies across the country closed their doors and people everywhere were left to recover from the catastrophic fallout of the economic collapse that sent many Americans into serious financial hardship and ruin.

For a moment it looked like Eric would be one of those people and his company would be one of those companies, but then he and his partner made bold decisions that resulted in the opposite; Faced with the same apocalypse that left other real estate professionals with nothing but scorched earth behind them, Eric and his partner came out of that period with their company fully intact and both guns blazing. 

Eric has gone on to be involved in more than 700 real estate transactions and his real estate team has racked up over $3 billion in sales. Companies he’s owned and operated have been featured prominently in elite business publications for being the “Fastest Growing in Oregon” and voted “Top 100 Best Places to Work.”

How did he manage to come out on top of both his personal and professional pain, you ask? 

It starts with his mindset. 

Rather than run from or buckle under a challenge, Eric attacks it. “Let’s figure out how to crush it,” is his instant response to any new challenge that presents itself. An important part of that process is surrounding yourself with the right people, he says. 

In the crash of 2008, Eric and his partner John – whom Eric credits as being one of his biggest mentors as well as an incredible business partner – doubled down on their company and their team while others were firing people and closing their doors. This meant he didn’t take a paycheck himself unless his team and the bills got paid first. It meant they committed to riding out the rough years as a team and focused on being ready for the eventual upturn in the business cycle. “When we get out of this,” they told their team, ”it’s going to be turbo boosted.”

And that’s exactly what happened.

When the market began to steady itself, Eric and his team were first out of the gate. They were stronger and faster than the herd of others and have been holding on to their lead ever since. 

“Too many decisions are made for short term results,” says Eric Post.

But when you’re able to focus rather than panic and look into the long term impact of a decision rather than instant gratification, the tougher decisions become the easiest ones to make. 

Sometimes he’s able to do that on his own. Other times he needs a poke – literally. 

When his little daughter poked him in the belly and made a comment about it being soft, Eric realized it was time to focus on getting himself back in shape as much as he focused on getting businesses to their peak performance

That poke led him to compete in Ironmans, triathlons, and other physical challenges. It also eventually brought him to a decision to open his own restaurant that offers the type of nutritious, delicious food that not only pleases the palate but nourishes the body in ways processed foods do not. 

Joule Crafted Nutrition is not far from where Eric Lives in Oregon and there’s a good chance you can find him there some days, manning the counter and dishing out plates of goodness right along with whatever answers to whatever questions you may have for him. 

Or, if Oregon is too far for you to make it out there for lunch, hop online to catch one of his videos that has millions of people thinking about new perspectives on patriotism and human nature. 

Take, for instance, the story he shared about a stranger cursing him out just for driving a fancy car. Eric could have responded to the unprovoked insult with anger or outrage of his own, leaving both men angrier and more rooted in misperceptions of others than they had been before the encounter, but instead, he chose to strike up a conversation with the man. 

That decision led to a lengthy, powerful conversation in which the stranger became a friend. He shared his story of personal struggle with Eric, and Eric stunned the man with his own. A new appreciation for looking beneath the surface was created, and both men left that encounter feeling more awakened and energized than before. 

“It’s Friday, It’s America. You get to choose” is another video he shared in which he talks about another belief he holds – that America is a country packed with opportunities for those willing to put in the time and effort to get out there and build whatever version of the American Dream appeals to them. 

Gratefulness for the blessings in this country and those who serve and sacrifice to protect those blessings is a driving force for Eric Post. 

That’s not just because he is a Marine Corps veteran. It’s because he is all too aware of the power of gratefulness in all walks of life, from cherishing moments with his kids to building multi-million dollar companies, Eric knows none of that would be possible today without the men and women who serve in our military to preserve our freedoms, or the law enforcement officers serving their communities. 

“Why wouldn’t I want to share that message?” he responds when asked why he’s so adamant about it. “Love and truth and joy is patriotism,” he says. “That’s what’s in my heart.”

FOLLOW AND LEARN MORE ABOUT ERIC POST…