The 2008 Crash Destroyed Me: €65 Million to -€16 Million

Описание: My brutal backstory - by the age of 35 I had amassed a real estate portfolio valued at over €65 million. I owned a penthouse in New York, a villa in Spain and a huge mansion in Dublin.

Two years after signing a €42 million deal for a shopping centre in southern Spain, Lehman Brothers collapsed and I ended up negative €16 million. Not just broke - €16 million below zero!

This is the full conversation, recorded in Dubai in November 2024 with my friend and performance coach Jean Pierre De Villiers. A 1-minute clip from this interview went viral and got over 1 million views. Many of the comments asked the same question: what happened next?

We cover the Celtic Tiger years and how easy money can distort ones judgement, the 2008 financial crash and what being over-leveraged can actually do to a property investor - the loss of the family home, the end of my first marriage and the embarrassing newspaper headlines.

It wasn't until I stopped blaming the banks and took responsibility for my actions that things began to shift for the better. We also discuss a very dark period of my life, including my uncle's death by suicide.

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In this video we discuss:

✅ The clip that went viral (1 million views)
✅ What happened next: 65 million to minus 16 million
✅ New York and the teenage skyscraper obsession
✅ My dad's death and being thrown into the family business
✅ The Celtic Tiger: building a €65 million portfolio
✅ The €42 million deal signed just before Lehman collapsed
✅ Losing the family home, the marriage, and everything else
✅ The moment I stopped blaming everyone else
✅ The darkest chapter: my uncle's suicide
✅ How fitness rebuilt my mindset
✅ 1,000 burpees and the morning routine
✅ Starting again from absolute zero
✅ Lockdown, the first podcast and finding purpose
✅ How history repeats and my warning on debt and speculation
✅ Health, wealth, relationships - the three-legged stool
✅ Why I coach property investors
✅ The promise to 'Make Me Proud'

We also cover rebuilding, swallowing my pride, going back to the family business, starting my 'Behind The Facade' podcast during lockdown and how sharing these hard-won lessons was transformed into a successful coaching business for real estate investors.

If you are investing in real estate today with borrowed money, this is the cautionary tale I wish someone had made me listen to in 2007.

⚠️ warning ⚠️
This conversation includes discussion of suicide and its impact on families. If you are struggling, please talk to someone:
Ireland: Samaritans 116 123 or Pieta 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Outside Ireland - https://findahelpline.com/ lists free support services in your country.

CHAPTERS
0:00 The clip that went viral (1 million views)
1:25 What the viral clip left out
2:29 Interview begins: the most transformational period
2:43 New York at 15 and the skyscraper obsession
4:42 My dad's death and joining the family business
5:43 The Celtic Tiger: building a €65 million portfolio
7:15 Going all in: the €42 million Spanish deal
8:13 Lehman collapses: 16 million negative
9:01 Losing the family home and my marriage
10:20 Hero to zero: the newspaper headlines
11:15 The moment I took responsibility
11:37 The darkest point: my uncle's suicide
18:42 How fitness rebuilt my mindset
20:07 1,000 burpees and the discipline habit
23:48 Rebuilding from absolute zero
26:43 Lockdown and the first podcast episodes
28:51 How sharing lessons turned into coaching
31:45 History repeats: my warning on debt and crypto
33:37 Health, wealth, relationships: the three-legged stool
38:09 Being coached: Daniel Priestley and the KPI accelerator
42:40 "Make me proud": the promise to my dad
45:08 Where to find me
46:18 Final thoughts, support resources and a takeaway

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