Epic Spotlight Podcast

What if you’ve been building wealth backwards? In this episode, Dante Royster explores why building yourself comes before building your portfolio, and how redefining wealth around fulfillment, relationships, freedom, and purpose can change the way you approach success.

In this episode, Dante discusses:
Personal development as the foundation of wealth
Learning, curiosity, and “failure as tuition”
Comfort vs. discomfort and embracing the grind
Redefining wealth: fulfillment, relationships, and time
Generational wealth, wisdom, and legacy

Key Takeaways:
Lasting wealth is built on personal growth, discipline, resilience, and curiosity, rather than on income, assets, or net worth alone.
Discomfort is often a signal of growth; staying too comfortable can quietly limit your potential and your options.
Mistakes and losses are not just setbacks; they are “tuition” that teaches you what not to repeat and where to refine your strategy.
Wealth without meaningful relationships, purpose, and internal fulfillment is incomplete, no matter how large the portfolio becomes.
True financial freedom includes emotional freedom: not tying your worth to money, other people’s opinions, or the next big achievement.

“The goal isn't simply to become wealthy. The goal is to become someone capable of creating wealth without losing your health, your happiness, your relationships, and your family, and your integrity.” - Dante Royster

Connect with Dante Royster:
Website: https://www.danteroyster.com/
Epic Mortgage Website: Epic Mortgage, Inc. NMLS 1885086
Facebook: EpicMortgage1885086
Epic Mortgage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicmortgage/
“The Ultimate Mortgage Guide” book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mortgage-Guide-Secure-Best/dp/1956220631
LinkedIn: Dante Royster | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteRoyster
YouTube: Epic Spotlight
Email: dante@epic.mortgage

The 9 states that Epic Mortgage is licensed in are: Illinois/Indiana/Michigan/Colorado/Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Georgia/Texas

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

A high-achieving entrepreneur and elite cyclist nearly lost her life—only to discover she’d been climbing the wrong mountain. In this episode, Debra Sunderland shares how a devastating accident transformed her definition of success and leadership.

In this episode, Dante and Debra discuss:
Achievement-driven identity and constant winning
The cycling accident and second-chance awakening
Unconscious beliefs, ego, and the amygdala
Trust, ownership, and building high-performing cultures
Inner work, emotional intelligence, and redefining success

Key Takeaways:
Building a life around constant achievement and winning can create deep anxiety, conditional identity, and transactional relationships, even when everything looks “successful” on the outside.
A crisis or life-altering event can become a powerful wake-up call, forcing a shift from survival and performance to purpose, presence, and genuine fulfillment.
Unconscious beliefs such as “I’m not enough” and “I don’t have enough” can quietly drive control, micromanagement, defensiveness, and cultural dysfunction.
Truly thriving organizations are built when leaders invest in people, create clear agreements, foster ownership instead of mere accountability, and choose trust over control.
Joy and peace are inner states that cannot be supplied by titles, money, or wins; they flow from doing the inner work, feeling emotions fully, and consciously choosing who you want to become.

“My life was spared to wake you up to yours.” - Debra Sunderland

About Debra Sunderland: Debra Sunderland is a nationally recognized business leader, entrepreneur, and conscious leadership coach with experience across wealth management, technology, architecture, engineering, construction, banking, marketing, music, and healthcare. Through Sunderland Coaching, she has worked with organizations including Curi Capital, UBS, PNC Bank, SESAC, and Mars, helping leaders and teams achieve meaningful transformation. Her work has been featured by Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune, Fox News, ABC, NBC, and CBS.

After surviving a life-altering cycling accident in 2013, Debra’s perspective on success, purpose, and fulfillment was forever changed. Today, as a certified Conscious Leadership Coach, emotional intelligence expert, and Enneagram practitioner, she helps CEOs, founders, and teams develop greater self-awareness, accountability, collaboration, and joy while building healthier organizations.

Connect with Debra Sunderland:
Website: https://www.sunderlandcoaching.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debrasunderland/

Connect with Dante Royster:
Website: https://www.danteroyster.com/
Epic Mortgage Website: Epic Mortgage, Inc. NMLS 1885086
Facebook: EpicMortgage1885086
Epic Mortgage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicmortgage/
“The Ultimate Mortgage Guide” book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mortgage-Guide-Secure-Best/dp/1956220631
LinkedIn: Dante Royster | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteRoyster
YouTube: Epic Spotlight
Email: dante@epic.mortgage

The 9 states that Epic Mortgage is licensed in are: Illinois/Indiana/Michigan/Colorado/Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Georgia/Texas

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

What if building wealth has less to do with how much you earn and more with how you think about money? In this episode, Chris Kidd shares the mindset shifts, investing principles, and daily habits that helped him become a millionaire by age 24, and explains why learning to make money work for you is more important than simply earning more.

In this episode, Dante and Chris discuss:
Broken traditional path of job, pension, and retirement
Deprogramming from consumer mindset to investor mindset
Cash flow, inflation, and why "storing" money beats simply saving it
Managing investment risk through structured options strategies
Habits, routines, risk-taking, and lifelong learning for wealth

Key Takeaways:
The traditional “go to school, get a job, save, retire” path is increasingly broken as inflation, medical costs, and longer lifespans outpace fixed retirement savings.
Financial progress depends less on income and more on strategy, specifically learning to make money work for you instead of only trading hours for dollars.
Shifting from a consumer mindset (“What can I buy?”) to an investor mindset (“How can I grow this?”) radically changes long-term outcomes.
Risk is unavoidable if you want to grow, but it doesn’t have to be reckless; education, structure, and a strong team can dramatically reduce downside.
Consistency in habits, routines, and ongoing education, especially through books and mentors, is a common denominator among high achievers in any field.

“Go for it. Don't play life scared… everything involves risk, and to grow big, you have to take risks. But a risk does not have to be risky; there is a difference.” - Chris Kidd

About Chris Kidd: Chris Kidd is a financial coach, investor, entrepreneur, and business growth strategist with more than 20 years of experience helping individuals and business owners build wealth, grow successful businesses, and achieve financial freedom. He became a millionaire at 24 and has since built expertise in business growth, commercial real estate, options trading, and financial coaching.

A former co-host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business radio show, Chris is known for turning complex financial concepts into practical strategies. His coaching focuses on the mindset, discipline, and systems needed to build lasting wealth, create generational assets, and achieve greater financial freedom.

Connect with Chris Kidd:
Website: https://chriskidd.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskiddfinancialcoach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskiddenterprises
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/financialcoachkidd/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@financialcoachkid

Connect with Dante Royster:
Website: https://www.danteroyster.com/
Epic Mortgage Website: Epic Mortgage, Inc. NMLS 1885086
Facebook: EpicMortgage1885086
Epic Mortgage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicmortgage/
“The Ultimate Mortgage Guide” book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mortgage-Guide-Secure-Best/dp/1956220631
LinkedIn: Dante Royster | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteRoyster
YouTube: Epic Spotlight
Email: dante@epic.mortgage

The 9 states that Epic Mortgage is licensed in are: Illinois/Indiana/Michigan/Colorado/Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Georgia/Texas

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

From hoarder houses to entire downtown blocks, this episode walks through how one investor turned distressed properties into generational wealth by putting people before profit.

In this episode, Dante and Dwan discuss:
Misconceptions about “get rich quick” real estate investing
First hoarder-house rehab and learning construction from scratch
How technology changed finding deals and building trust
“People before profit” and ethics in working with distressed sellers
Creative/owner financing and revitalizing a small Iowa downtown

Key Takeaways:
Sustainable real estate success requires far more work, patience, and realism than “fix and flip for quick cash” narratives suggest.
You don’t need to know everything on day one; you can skill up deal by deal using classes, tools, and hands-on experimentation.
Prioritizing the homeowner’s outcome, especially in distress or foreclosure, builds a reputation that ultimately leads to more and better opportunities.
Creative financing, particularly owner financing with multiple-offer structures, can unlock properties and portfolios that traditional bank loans never could.
Generational wealth is intentional: someone in the family must be the first to build, systematize, and protect assets so they last beyond a single lifetime.

“You need to put the people over the profit. Because when you start doing that, you're going to find out you're going to lose all your deals because you're going to get a bunch of bad juju on you, and nobody's going to want to work with you.” - Dwan Bent-Twyford

About Dwan Bent-Twyford: Dwan Bent-Twyford is a 30-year veteran real estate investor who has flipped over 2,000 properties and is recognized as one of America’s most sought-after real estate experts. She specializes in passive income, rentals, fix-and-flips, creative financing, commercial properties, and more, while teaching the A-to-Z of real estate investing through her podcast. As the creator and trademark holder of the term “Short Sales” in real estate investing, Dwan brings decades of experience, incredible industry connections, and unique insights from top experts. Beyond money, she focuses on personal growth and well-being, guided by her motto: “People Before Profits.” She is also a three-time bestselling author and a trusted guest across podcasts, media, radio, and television.

Connect with Dwan Bent-Twyford:
Website: https://dwanderful.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwanbenttwyford/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dwanderful
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwanderful/

Connect with Dante Royster:
Website: https://www.danteroyster.com/
Epic Mortgage Website: Epic Mortgage, Inc. NMLS 1885086
Facebook: EpicMortgage1885086
Epic Mortgage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicmortgage/
“The Ultimate Mortgage Guide” book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mortgage-Guide-Secure-Best/dp/1956220631
LinkedIn: Dante Royster | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteRoyster
YouTube: Epic Spotlight
Email: dante@epic.mortgage

The 9 states that Epic Mortgage is licensed in are: Illinois/Indiana/Michigan/Colorado/Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Georgia/Texas

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Most people try to fix their circumstances, but what if the real work is changing how you see? In this episode, Dante connects three powerful conversations into a blueprint for better leadership, relationships, and life.

In this episode, Dante discusses:
Self-awareness as the foundation for change and leadership
Conflict as feedback and opportunity, not failure
Solving root causes versus treating symptoms
Growth, discomfort, and the “seasons” of business and life
Using questions, AI, and self-audits to uncover blind spots

Key Takeaways:
Real change starts with awareness; you can’t improve what you don’t understand about yourself or your situation.
Conflict is not the enemy; it’s feedback that, when addressed honestly, can deepen understanding and prevent bigger blow-ups later.
Many people waste energy solving surface-level symptoms instead of taking the time to identify and address the true root problem.
Growth is inherently uncomfortable, much like growing pains, and learning the “seasons” of your life or business helps you navigate that discomfort more wisely.
Asking better questions of yourself, others, and even AI reveals blind spots, clarifies priorities, and leads to more intentional leadership and living.

“We spend most of our lives trying to change our circumstances when the real work is changing how we see.” - Dante Royster

Connect with Dante Royster:
Website: https://www.danteroyster.com/
Epic Mortgage Website: Epic Mortgage, Inc. NMLS 1885086
Facebook: EpicMortgage1885086
Epic Mortgage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicmortgage/
“The Ultimate Mortgage Guide” book: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mortgage-Guide-Secure-Best/dp/1956220631
LinkedIn: Dante Royster | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteRoyster
YouTube: Epic Spotlight
Email: dante@epic.mortgage

The 9 states that Epic Mortgage is licensed in are: Illinois/Indiana/Michigan/Colorado/Maryland/Virginia/Florida/Georgia/Texas

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.