00:01.42

wongga

Hey there investment community this is Garrett Wong your host of the investing to win podcast. So I'm alone today doing a solo cast I'm alone in my podcast studio by choice. Um, you know, got me thinking last week ah if you had a chance to listen to the episode I had on Rolf hitzer and at the very beginning he mentioned to the audience to my embarrassment that he was happy and honored that I'm even here to do this podcast. Um. And what he meant by that is I've had a pretty rough 2022? um and a couple as you'll I'm going to explain today a couple life scares and you know when I talk about this podcast. It's about giving back. It's about. You know education teaching giving back to her community and you know Rolf challenged me on that and I thought well um, how can I give back I've had many people tell me that I need to get this story out only very few people know the entire details. And part of being an entrepreneur and maybe even a thought leader is being vulnerable. Um, so that's what I'm doing here today. Um, think the story I'm going to tell you will bring a lot of value to you. You know? are you working long hours. Are you stressed? Do you.

01:29.36

wongga

Often feel like you have no choice in what you're doing. Do you routinely tell yourself. It will be all worth it in the end. Well if you've answered yes to any of those questions then this podcast is a must listen for you so here I am so. Geez. It's its a tough to tell summer of ah 20202021 so say August I'm having some headaches. Um, honestly, a little bit of confusion. Not sure what's going on I mean some forgetfulness.

02:05.83

wongga

Had a concussion playing hockey a few years ago wasn't sure you know went to my doctor. Um, so he said well you've had a concussion before why don't I get you into the concussion clinic here in Winnipeg um, because it's faster and they have a neurologist working there so he got me in there very quickly. I saw a neurologist. Um, and of course what I wanted she sent me for a routine mri. Um, and I I didn't have to wait that long. This was August of 21 and not even two months later um in October I had an mri a brain scan. Okay so I finished this. And a few days later um I receive a letter in the mail saying that I'm scheduled for an mri in about five months so I mean you know this is ah given how hard it was to get an mri you know, post covid and things like that. I naturally thought it was a mistake so I call in to the clinic and I say hey you know what? it's Garret Wong calling um I think there's a mistake you know I just literally had an mri a few days ago. Um, you guys obviously double booked or you sent in a couple of different requisitions and I have this other wreck. So. I'm calling today to tell you just to cancel it and she says let me look at your file. Um, no, ah, they they scheduled this thing on on intentionally they want you to have another mri in five months. So of course, um.

03:37.98

wongga

You know my heart's dropped into my stomach and I'm like well why? what did they find? oh it's nothing. It's ah you know I can't really say anything but I'm told according to the file here. It's just routine. They just want to rule something out. Well, how do you think anybody else would take that. So. I insist on seeing the doctor I want to go in so she said you know book's an appointment for me so a week later seven days of fretting I go in um, talk to my neurologist. She looks at her notes we're going back and forth. It's almost like. I mean you can picture what it's like right? you want answers. The doctor is speaking in a different language not medical language but almost like you're not even there. Well you know we we saw a shadow of something it could be your physiology. Ah. You know we just need to rule it out could be nothing but we just want to take precautions. Well if you're ah you know if I'm telling the story correctly. Hopefully you're freaking out as much as I am or I was rather um now so I I say to her like okay. Like doctor like seriously my my wife ah is a nurse she worked in neurology I have a master's degree in the lecturecularular biology I also worked in the medical field for many years like give it to me straight like what are you talking about here and she says well.

05:07.52

wongga

Ah, believe it or not we want to rule out cjd. So for those of you who don't know what Cjd is and I knew exactly what those initials stood for it's krautzfeld Jacob disease now I actually had a buddy working on this in grad school. So I knew quite a bit about it and I'm like are you serious. She's like well I mean we're not saying you have it but the first mri that you had. There's some kind of shadow that could be consistent in some people's brains that might develop into cjd and what we need to do in standard protocol is in four or five months we need to repeat the mri. And then we'll know if it you will know if you have it if it's gotten worse. So I mean of course you're thinking oh my goodness I already knew it was bad um to my recollection I didn't even think that Cjd there was a cure but I mean that was. I mean I was back in grad school in my goodness ninety ninety seven okay so well over twenty five years ago so who knows so I'm saying well what about second opinions and everything else she goes listen she goes you want me to be straight with you I'll be straight with you I don't think it is. It could be. We have to rule it out. But if it's Cjd you know there's no cure and you could be dead in six months anyways so you ask your doctor to be candid and that is what you get so all right? So let's what what do you do? I.

06:41.25

wongga

Barely remember driving home. Um, first thing I do as anybody would do. We look to the internet and I'll read off some facts for you here because I want you to feel what I was feeling at this time Krellsal ya disease cgd is the most common human form of a group of rare. Fatal brain disorders known as pre-on diseases. So that's the first thing I read I read right up at the top of Google um second line kraut sobiaca disease causes a type of dementia that gets worse unusually fast. The disorder is fatal in a short time usually within eight months infection with this disease leads to death usually within 1 year of onset of illness. So I mean you try to get hopeful. So of course the next thing I'm doing is are there any experimental cures. Um, you know what's the longest lifespan. What's the average. Um so half an hour later after exhausting the internet research all current research says there's 0 cure. Absolutely 0 cure 100 % mortality rate. So. Yeah that's why my neurologist saying there really is no point in a second opinion because they're trying to rule it out I mean if I don't have it in four or five months then great if I do have it I will not be here anyways. So it might not be cgd. But what if it is what.

08:14.11

wongga

If it is I mean how do you possibly prepare your prepare yourself for something like this. Um I'm not seeing and we all know people with cancer I'm trying to give you the perspective that I have of this. But. You know, of course you're like okay is there treatment can I go for radiation. Is there chemotherapy what's my my prognosis can I extend my life and everything I was finding is the average person is dead within six months so what's the next thing I'm I'm doing I'm feeling regret. I'm you know I'm not ready to go yet. Um, you know another thought is I love my life so much right now I'm I'm going to miss out on so much. You know my kids growing up. Um, sorry, it's ah difficult to talk about and um, honestly when I thought about doing this didn't think I'd get emotional I thought this was is kind of behind me. But it's podcast where unplugged as rallf said last week um so yeah so I'm feeling regret what if I hadn't worked so hard what time could I have spent with my kids and my family instead of working 80 hours um well I see them graduate. You know at the time my seventeen year old was gonna graduate that year

09:48.52

wongga

You know and then after that it's if I make it through this I will dot.dot right? I mean that that's all we can do is hope I mean they did say that it wasn't for sure that I had this but I had to prepare myself I mean. Course a doctor's like oh you know what? just go about doing what you're doing. You know we'll just rule it out but who possibly could do that who would in the right mind would just go on with life. So I need I need you to picture this right? So this is October and of course your thoughts. Right? So um Christmas comes thinking. Okay, well, it's my it could be my last Christmas I have to make it count. Um, covid had just pretty well opened up and my my oldest had never been to a new year's party as as ah, you know, ah as ah, an adult. And he chose to stay home. Um, on new year's eve to spend time with me because sorry could have been his last time with me last new year's.

11:03.87

wongga

Fast forward you know a month later um month and a half later last valentine's day with my wife Lisa you know it's it's just that's that's what you do right? Um, so you know Lisa you know. Such a rock. She's a nurse she knows what the writing on the wall is she can do her own research. She was a neuro nursee I'm sure I didn't ask her but sure she had patience with this while she was working in Neuro So many years ago and while she's supportive. She's also going through her own struggles. You know with the potential loss of her husband and and life partner so I couldn't really turn to her and discuss my thoughts I had to internalize this which isn't healthy. Um I didn't tell anybody or any of my friends because it was just too painful. So I focused I did what I do um I compartmentalized it I put it behind a locked door at the back of my brain that's kind of how I deal with stress again, not healthy. Um. And I focused on the fact that I had this large property management company this. So-called thriving business. But I mean it's busy property management. It's not It's not ah and's not a great business It's a lot of stress There's a lot of moving parts.

12:33.13

wongga

And if I was going to die within four to six months my main priority then what could I put my energy into I didn't want to leave her with a business that was so labor intensive so I did what I always do I worked I worked and I worked I worked my butt off but I decided to fix the. Business so that if I'm gone she can choose to own it or not. But if she's going to choose to own it. She can do that without knowing anything about it. My goal was to make my property management company run on its own. Um. I appointed an executive team I read some books I came up with long-term strategies I made even more systems and processes. Um, and yeah, um, in four short months I went from people knocking on my door every 5 minutes to creating processes knowledge bases I mean we were pretty good but I was still the glue that held it together and they always say in a true test of a business is go away for a month not two weeks I think two weeks anybody any business can survive without the principle for two weeks go away for an entire month off-grid nobody can talk to you and then come back and see what broke that's really the test the true test of a business and that's what I was trying to go through. Um so this is February I had.

14:04.76

wongga

My my other mri in March so March comes I go for my mri and of course at the back of my brain I'm just thinking like I knew what the symptoms were Cjd like literally audience you, you're you're. Going around doing minding your own business doing things you might trip. Um a week later. You're tripping a little bit more You're really clumsy. Maybe you're sluring your speech a week and a half to two weeks after that you fall into a coma that's literally. So if you read stories about it. People have lost.

14:43.24

wongga

Loved ones within three weeks and then they fall into a coma and then six to nine months. The brain just keeps deteriorating and they die it's it's ah it's just awful all right? So I have my mri I'm hopeful because I'm thinking. Well if i. Don't have any symptoms yet. It's been three and a half four months maybe maybe there's some hope so Lisa and I go to the neurologist and we um, we get in there actually I should even I should even back up. Um, so they. The neurologist and her husband who's also neurologists they go away every March to ah some kind of big neurology conference in Toronto and I knew this and I knew this ahead of time because they said.

15:35.70

wongga

When I booked my my that follow-up appointment. You know what? so-and-so doctors are going to be away in March um, when the results of your ah mri come back in um, will call you and we'll decide if you need to come in or not because they are going to be away. So I get the first mri or sorry I get the March mri I don't want to be all over the place here but I get the March mri and then about a week and a half later I get a call from the clinic saying yeah you know what can you please come in the doctor would like to see you. Talk about a freak out moment. Okay so ah, remember they said hey you know what? if it's all good. We're just going to call you and kind of have a phone conference. But if it's really bad. We're gonna call you and tell you to come in so I'm freaking out. For seven full days I think it was like nine days my wife and I and we get to the clinic and it turns out that because of covid they canceled the the conference so that's why we were told to come in because it was just a routine thing. They didn't want to do it over the phone. You think they could have told me that my goodness don't get me stir about our medical system. Okay, so we go in sit down into the doctor's office and she says okay well I don't want to beat around the Bush the second mri shows. no no shadows nothing of Cjd.

17:07.51

wongga

She said I even went further and um, talked to a buddy of mine. Another radiologist got a second opinion. Um, and he actually read your first films and he actually doesn't think there was anything there either any cause for concern.

17:25.33

wongga

So you're clear. So while you sit there in shock silence and you're wondering my goodness. How could anybody have done this what what was the issue here basically in a nutshell the first radiologist made the wrong call thought he or she I don't know thought he or she maybe. Saw a shadow there that was consistent with Cjd ah and pulled the alarm bell just to say hey let's let's make sure that we rule this out and I don't I don't hold in I'm not angry. Um I went through through hell for four months for it. Um.

18:01.53

wongga

But honestly, it's it's fine because I would rather somebody be looking out saying hey you know what this could cause some stress in this fellow's family but let's just make sure and rule it out because. You know the last thing I would not want as a radiologist is for somebody to all of a sudden drop dead or fall into a coma you know in three weeks with no warning. Okay, so I'm all clear. We walk out of there honestly just completely numb. Um couldn't believe like. Imagine four months of stress and thinking last Christmas last Valentine's day last new year's last whatever and now I've got this new lease on life. Um, so what did we do? Well you know I have the travel bug. So a few weeks later we're in Hawaii for a week celebrating so what do you think I did when I came back from Hawaii. Okay I'm being silent for or on purpose here I know I can't hear your question your answers. So what do you think I did when I come back did I learn my lesson. Did I make permanent changes to my lifestyle all those questions all those promises I made you know if I don't have this I'm going to dot.dot a big nope I didn't do any of that any of those promises I went right back.

19:24.25

wongga

To my 60 hour days 80 hour work weeks I I don't know what I was thinking you know? Ah, maybe it's a habit I don't know so that's April all right? So let's fast forward to June um. June second to be exact so five six weeks I'm working my 80 hours looking forward to the first time I'm going to be boating and fishing as most of you know I love the outdoors and I am on a lake first day of fishing with my son Nathan my oldest and. Um, it was it was cold out. It was first day little windy lots of current. Um and it was four o'clock right before we were ready to um, pack it in right near the boat launch. We're like you know what.

20:11.31

wongga

Bet you it was. It was a lousy day for fishing. We're like I bet you the fish are going to be there in that high current spot so over by that that rock. Why don't we why don't we ah go there and I couldn't I couldn't stay there with my trolling motor I have a Gps trolling motor that keeps you on the spot so we threw out the anchor. So Nathan throws out the anchor. Um, I've got the motor running um to hold this in place and I guess the current who knows whatever I've I've run this through my head a million times of what I could that could have done differently for whatever reason the anchor goes underneath the boat. And anchor is in the bed of the lake at the exact same time that the anchor rove gets caught in the prop. Um, for those of you who know boating that is a very very serious thing. Ah but the boat basically spins around and now it's anchored from the back in high current. Because we're anchored the boat's attached. Sorry the anchor rope's attached to the prop and the anchor is bit into the bottom. Okay, so now we can't float down the river so all of that water flows into the back of the boat because the back of the boat as you know is only about a foot off the water. In 10 seconds no word of a lie count to 10 that is how fast the boat filled with water and sank okay we sank I mean you have to I'm trying to even.

21:38.39

wongga

Explain what that feels like because when you're on a boat and this is a big boat 19 footer Eight Foot wide beam very very stable I've been on huge water with it. No issues. Super stable. So you get complacent and you think oh nothing will ever happen. So there's water coming through the back. The bow is starting to list up I have time to Nathan like I mean I'm shouting at him. What's going on. He goes no the rope is slack I don't understand I'm trying to start the engine it. It stalls I finally realize that it's caught on the prop. And my feet are wet already I turn around to Nathan at the front he's at the front of the boat and I say Nathan I think I think we're sinking and then I turn around again now my my. Water's almost up to my knees and all of the stuff that we had on the floor is starting to slide and bang bang my legs I say to Nathan do you have your phone. Do you think you have enough of and then the boat flips. So it doesn't just keep sinking what happened I guess is because it's at an angle and it's anchored it basically just rotated on its axis ° Nathan's at the front of the boat so he basically gets thrown into the water I'm by the steering wheel of the boat on the right hand side and the.

22:59.32

wongga

Other side of the boat flips on top of me. So I go backwards into the water I see the ah rail of the opposite side of the boat going towards my head I put my hands up to protect myself and that motion of the boat flipping over pushes me deep into the water about 15 to twenty feet and this lake is darkstainined turbulent water I'm I'm going back and forth turning somersaults I don't know if upper or is down because I can't see where the surface is I'm holding my breath I managed to take a breath there and I was running out of breath and you know. Thoughts are going through my head like this is it I had a second chance at life and I'm I'm I'm gonna die here like I can't I just honestly I'm saying to my mind after everything I went through I can't believe I'm gonna die here and then I heard a lot pop and. 2 seconds later I'm on the surface and that loud pop was I was wearing a life fest but it was one of those self-inflatable ones and I guess it takes takes a while what feels like an eternity um to come to the surface. So I'm on the surface and the first thing in my mind is my son.

24:16.31

wongga

Of course if I flipped I'm on I'm under the boat I mean I didn't see what happened to him. He must be trapped under the boat and so as soon as I surface The only thing I can see is about three feet of the bow of the boat that's above the water I can't see Nathan anywhere. Um. But then I hear him shouting at me I guess because the current and everything he had floated behind me and he was freaking out because he couldn't see me and of course you know he was with meant a swim club. He's a very strong swimmer. Um I'm worried about him. He's worried about me so long story short. Um. There is a bunch of people that saw us go in because ah we were right by a bridge. We were also right by a boat launch. This is also Friday afternoon people are going and launching their boats for the first time to go out to their cottages so we were picked up right away. I mean that's the blessing. Ah, because we again I said we were right by the boat launch because this is our last time to try to fish for the day and we got picked up right away I think we were in the water for maybe 2 minutes now the water was ° and I know that because I saw it on my fish finder we were in the water for 2 minutes um by the time they got us back to shore which wasn't very long someone called 9 1 1 the rc and p are there. They've got you know the zodiac boat the ambulance because they don't know all they know is at a boat sink. Um, they get us in the ambulance measure our core temperatures our body temperatures.

25:46.37

wongga

Ah, ° we went from 37 to ° when 2 minutes of water I mean that's that's frightening. Okay, all right? Um I think I've talked enough about life scares. You know enough for probably 10 podcasts. So what I'm going to say then now is did I learn my lesson two life scares in a matter of eight months ah you better believe it. So what do you do with a second chance um I'll tell you what I did obviously cancel like the rest of our camping trip came home and I sat in a quiet dark room for over four hours by myself with a notebook and I said to myself what kind of man do I want to be with a second chance. What am I going to do. With a second chance. What am I going to do with my life am I happy you know all of the things I I kind of promised myself I went deeper I mean this is four or five hours of deep contemplation. And yeah, what? what? I do with a second chance I've been given a second chance. I'm not overly religious although maybe I should be by now but somebody's up there is trying to tell me something. So first thing I did this is July I went and I picked the person in my management company who I thought maybe would.

27:16.71

wongga

Run the company eventually in the future and I said okay, um, you're up you're up to the plate let's let's do this, you're running the company. We'll figure out how we can pay you. We'll figure out what we need to run the company and then we'll reverse engineered from there. Um. Yeah, so in the matter of months that was geez only seven months from the time I've recorded this podcast and in that time we have reengineered the property management company I have a full executive team. A finance manager. Um I meet in with I meet with them once a week. Um at a very high level. Um, of course I'm involved where I want to be involved but more from the creativity point of view. Um, and that's freed up ah time for what i. Chose during my 4 hour contemplation to do which is my first love property development property development real estate and general real estate investments. Um, you know, acquiring renovating I love creating things I love moving walls around and seeing what's going to happen I love. Ah, love the hunt of of trying to find that deal. Um, you know it just gets me going and I hadn't done it for so long because all I was doing was working in my business. You know how they say work on your business not in your business I was a prototypical person.

28:45.93

wongga

18 hours a day 80 hours a week working on my in my property management company and now I'm not you know so you know I've been I've been talking to you guys for I'm sorry but close to 28 minutes now I can't believe I can do a solo podcast for that long I apologize. Ah. If I haven't engaged with you but I hope I hope you're hearing what I'm I'm saying here because my message for you. My dear audience makes sure everything you do and I mean everything you do is for your end goal. Whatever that might be. You have one life to live. Don't waste. it never have regrets and you have to go for it but with balance with balance. Um, what does balance mean well like I told you you don't want to work and say oh one day I'm going to again fill in the blank. I'm going to travel I'm going to take time off I'm going to put a manager in place right? You have to do everything you have to work hard. You have to play hard but you have to have balance. You can't go from 1 way one spectrum to the other. So what would you do with a second chance. What does your ideal life look like because we only have one and you know if I've made you raise your eyebrow maybe shed a tear with me. You know, maybe maybe I don't know do something with this information sit in a dark room for 4 hours and say to yourself.

30:22.12

wongga

Have I done everything that I could with the life that I'm living to this point if I was if somebody told me that I only had three months three to four months to live with no cure 100% fatality. No hope what would I be regretting? What would you have regrets. About so think about it digest this podcast do some soulearching and I hope you find your answer because I certainly found mine.