Everybody loves talent.

But talent without work ethic loses.

In this episode of The Synthetic Echo Podcast, I sit down with Michael Valdes, CEO of LPT International, Global President of Aperture, and author of Fire Your Friends, for a conversation about the mindset behind massive growth.

Michael has spent more than two decades in real estate, helped scale eXp from roughly 20,000 agents to nearly 90,000, opened markets around the world, and built a career around growth, leadership and relationships.

But when we talk about what separates the people who win from everyone else, Michael doesn't point to some secret strategy.

He points to work.

One line says it all:

HUSTLE BEATS TALENT.

Michael was raised with the belief that tomorrow is never promised, so you work as hard as you can today.

That min ...