Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the challenges expats face when living and working in Latin America. He discusses the dangers of the gringo tourist trail, which attracts scammers, time wasters, and unreliable individuals. He warns that many expats are scammed or gouged, especially in the first few years of living in the region. Johnny also highlights the common pitfalls expats encounter when partnering with local Latin individuals, often due to language barriers and lack of local knowledge. He emphasizes the importance of having a local partner with 'skin in the game' for successful business ventures.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the risks of partnering with Latin American individuals who speak English. He emphasizes the importance of verifying their legal status and financial commitment, as many who speak English may have learned it on the streets or in the U.S. illegally. He notes that a significant number of Latin men who speak English in Central America are likely illegal aliens, often having been deported. Johnny highlights that these individuals are often skilled liars and may not be trustworthy in business partnerships. He suggests that successful partnerships often involve a gringo providing capital and a Latin partner offering land or resources, with the need for a reliable attorney to handle legal and paperwork issues.
Johnny also discusses the importance of having a trustworthy lawyer when dealing with real estate and legal matters in Latin America. He highlights that gringos often overlook due diligence and trust their Latin partners, which can lead to problems. He addresses the cultural differences in work ethic and the challenges of finding reliable legal representation in the region. Additionally, he promotes his upcoming expat insider seminar and other resources for expats, emphasizing the need for a solid plan B and practical steps for integrating into Latin American life.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the ease of changing one's name in Latin America, attributing it to the presence of indigenous tribes with unique names that are difficult to pronounce or decipher. He explains that many indigenous people opt for a common Spanish name, which can be seen as both classist and racist. Johnny shares anecdotes about expats and their experiences with name changes, as well as the challenges of dealing with people who are perceived as 'gringos' or 'gauju' who are seen as exploitative. He concludes with a personal story about a childhood friend who has become a 'con man light' and is visiting him in Latin America.
Johnny also discusses the nature of confidence men, using the term 'confidence man' and its origin as 'confidence man.' He explains how confidence men are often likeable and how their charm allows them to manipulate others. He references the time share scam, where millions of Americans were convinced to buy time shares they would never use, and how this scam spread to Latin America. Johnny shares a personal anecdote about a friend who was a successful salesman and later became a con man in Mexico, exploiting gringo tourists. He describes the cycle of gringo scammers and how they continue to operate, often being well-liked despite their deceitful nature. Johnny also gives examples of his friend's cons, including scalping concert tickets and selling TM mantras, highlighting the ongoing nature of such schemes.
In the final segment, Johnny recounts a story about his childhood friend Dicky, who made money by selling the mantra for transcendental meditation (TM) to multiple people. Johnny explains that TM requires a mantra, which is typically only provided after paying $100 for the course. Dicky sold his mantra for $20, making a 100% profit, and ended up with multiple people using the same mantra, which is against the principles of TM. Johnny expresses concern about people like Dicky coming to Latin America, as they are not the kind of people he wants in the region. He also mentions that Dicky's wife is a challenge for him to convince to move there, and he believes it's a good thing that Dicky might not end up living there permanently. Johnny concludes by offering help to expats with their own Plan B and invites them to schedule a one-on-one consult.
Topics
Expat experiences in Latin America, Gringo tourist trail, Scams and unreliable individuals, Partnerships with local Latin individuals, Language barriers and business challenges, Business partnerships with Latin Americans, Illegal immigration and English language acquisition, Trust and legal risks in cross-cultural business, Role of attorneys in land deals, Gender differences in migration patterns, Legal matters in Latin America, Due diligence and trust issues
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:00 The Scam Artists in Expat Bars 00:01:04 The Prevalence of Scam Artists in Expat Bars 00:02:04 The Reality of Expat Bars and Their Inhabitants 00:05:44 Warning About Business Partnerships with Latin Americans 00:08:16 Understanding the Legal Risks of Partnering with Illegal Aliens 00:10:46 Historical Examples of Successful Business Partnerships 00:11:17 No Title Insurance in Latin America 00:11:20 Lawyer's Role in Legal Checks 00:11:26 Gringos and Their Partners 00:11:31 Skin in the Game 00:11:35 Skipping Due Diligence 00:11:40 Clouded Vision by Paradise 00:11:44 Desire for Success Stories 00:11:48 Expats Getting Taken Advantage Of 00:16:47 Why Name Changes Are Easy in Latin America 00:16:51 The Complexity of Indigenous Names 00:17:36 Name Changes and Migration to the US 00:19:32 The Perception of 'Gringos' and 'Gauju' 00:20:19 A Childhood Friend's Visit to Latin America 00:21:26 The Origin of 'Confidence Man' and the Nature of Con Men 00:21:40 The Time Share Scam and Its Spread to Latin America 00:22:17 A Personal Anecdote About a Friend Who Became a Con Man 00:23:41 Examples of Con Men's Schemes and Their Impact 00:25:33 Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Mantra 00:26:09 Dicky's Profit from Selling the Mantra 00:26:40 Johnny's Concern About People Like Dicky in Latin America 00:27:42 Johnny's Offer to Help Expats with Their Own Plan B
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wander Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right in their gringos You don't want to meet or hang out with department Which is in the same big file cabinet as the gringos that should have never come down here to Latin America in the first place I have to say I've met quite a few of them in my 27 or so years down here And they're mostly always on the gringo tourist trail and more specifically in those notorious gringo expat bars
[00:52] Are you surprised because you know? That's where so many fresh green gringos go to pick up tips and information about the lay of the land But look out some of those gringos in there will not be good for your financial health In fact, I'd have to say at least half the gringo watering holes whether they're on or off the gringo trail are populated with gringos and expats who are number one scam artists Not all of them, of course, but there'll be other gringos who are nice guys and all but are Inconsistent and undependable. However, they'll be glad to babble on and give you information whether it's correct or not You know the type friendly just want to help and they want you to buy him a drink, too Now they can be fun and amusing and all that but then there's another kind of gringo You really want to stay away from those chronic complainers and time vampires
[01:39] I'm sure you know a few up there Now the question is should you really be considering advice from a guy who spends half his time in a bar Chugging cheap beer eating free pretzels biting his time waiting for the next green gringo to come through the door So he can disperse some golden dollops of expat advice Problem is sometimes when you make friends with people like that they cling and you can never get rid of them Now that's not to say you can't meet some very nice gringos and expats in bars. I have however I'm talking about the regulars the guys and gals that frequent bars daily. You can tell that's kind of their social scene You know wasting away in Margaritaville and all that they're a little ratty little rough around the edges You know daily activities planned around happy hours and such now logically when you're off the gringo tourists
[02:28] You're not gonna meet many gringos at all You can go days without seeing one even in the largest cities Which pretty much eliminates the possibility you're gonna run into the kind of gringos. I just spoke about plus of course you seek out The expat gringo bars because you know even way off the gringo tourist trail there will be one or two of them So if you're looking for scammers BSers and time wasters look no further now It's true that 98% of gringos and expats who come down as tourists or just to scope things out and up On the gringo tourist trail why well first off because most of them don't speak Spanish Secondly, they feel comfortable around gringos and their habits and thirdly they think that only the gringoized areas in Latin America are relatively Safe since the mundane moron mainstream media up in the states only report on the bad and the ugly
[03:17] Where does that stuff mostly occur? Well in the slums and the very poor areas of Latin America work smart gringo stay far far away So landing on the gringo tourist trail as a fresh green gringo is a safe bed And why almost every first world person that ends up living here in Latin America starts out that way including me and once they've been Settled there most gringos and expats never leave though on the other hand the tourist trail draws some born gringo scammers, too Why well because if you weren't such an upstanding guy in the states You can start a brand new fresh chapter in your life Not to mention there are a lot of gringo suckers on the tourist trail too And they're always coming and going besides the laws are lax The living is cheap and easy and nobody needs to know your background good or bad
[04:05] It's really easy to build up a brand new story about your past a new thread Sure, you can find out a lot about a person on the internet But who's gonna check gringos and expats who come down here aren't very trusting Which is why so many of us get ripped off and gouged especially in the first year or two In fact, I don't think I know of a single gringo or gringo living down here who hasn't been ripped off or gouged more than once almost always again on the gringo tourist trail and Most of the time by the way by other gringos are Europeans Oh and you long-time listeners have heard me say it's never a good idea to partner up with a Latin person either Unless and this is a big caveat he or she has skin in the game now I'm not talking about mating dating love and romance. I'm talking about doing business here
[04:51] Though I guess you could say mating and dating do have their business angles though as far as purely doing business You know, there is a typical pattern on how gringos get sucked into bad deals here with Latin partners It's always the gringo who has the good idea and the money Of course He doesn't speak enough Spanish or nor his way around enough to actually get things off the ground paperwork and all that stuff Which poses a dilemma you've got this great idea But what to do what to do and lo and behold in a bar a restaurant or standing in a bank line He meets an English speaking Latin person who of course doesn't have any money to put into the venture but he's got all this experience knows the ropes has relatives and friends who can cut through the red tape a Family friend remember who's a lawyer that can speed things up Greece to skids
[05:38] Oh have I heard that story a hundred times from gringos who finally realized they've been gouged. Hey I'm not saying you shouldn't get into business or start a partnership up with a Latin person But man He better have more skin in the game and then his word that he can take care of the paperwork and the legal things And have the political angle covered some of these Latin guys who speak English that you meet on the gringo tourist trail They're pretty slick and another thing don't ever forget that There's a very very good chance that guy who butted up to you So nice and friendly with his decent English was an illegal alien and that's why he speaks English so well And it's sad to say that a big majority of the latins who speak English in Central America At least picked it up on the streets in the States got caught and deported Why do you think Latin American call centers are such a growth industry here again?
[06:28] I'm not saying that a hundred percent of the time if you hook up with a guy like that and get into business with him He'll screw you over or take it for a ride by the way It's almost always a Latin male not a female fact is although I've met latinas Ladies who were up in the states illegally and got deported and speak some English with them I haven't detected that manipulative slickness that a lot of Latin guys who've been Deported seem to possess that's my experience which kind of makes sense Statistically because I've seen some numbers lately that say as far as illegal latin sneaking into the states Latin men Outnumber Latin women five to one. So why is that? Well, the article says that Latin women almost always have a brood of kids and they're very reluctant to drag them along
[07:14] They know the dangers of a long perilous trip like that You've got coyotes robberies assaults and worse and with women and children being the most defenseless They're the most preyed upon in fact one young Latin guy spoke to a couple months ago Told me he'd been deported get this five different times kind of gives you an idea how easy it is to slip into the states Huh, he said he's seen women and children and whole families crossing the border, but he said he'd never recommend it It's one thing for a single Latin guy to cross odds are pretty good He said you'd make it. Okay besides He said if you sense danger you can always just take off running a young guy can run pretty long and fast He'd taken off running himself a few times But a single woman with children or even a guy and his wife and kids. Uh-huh. He said if there's danger
[08:01] You're not going anywhere Alright, so I repeat my advice always remember this if you're gonna get in business with a Latin American person who speaks English And it's not the Queen's English, you know, he didn't learn it in the school He learned it on the streets up in the states in the barrios First of all, you got to realize the guy is a serial criminal. He's breaking the law all the time Hey, not that we don't remember that book three felonies a day The difference is we have no idea what laws were breaking but a Latin in the US illegally certainly does Everybody seems to forget that just the act of sneaking into the US illegally is breaking the law But that's not the end of it not by a long shot Once you're there illegally, you don't automatically start living the straight narrow life Just the opposite now you got to get stolen or fake IDs
[08:50] Social security numbers lie about practically everything that has to do with your background you lie to your employer you give them false papers If you apply for government benefits or send your kids to school in states Which most people end up doing you have to lie on the forms and give false testimony at the interview So if you're an illegal person up in the states It's a never-ending chain of lies and deceit and that false front that facade has to be maintained And you know after a while practice makes perfect So without a doubt many if not all illegals up in the states become expert liars So remember that when you meet a nice smart Latin guy who knows some English and wants to help you out in business You can be sure of one thing. He's gonna lie to you too He's not gonna tell you about his past. Can you blame him?
[09:39] But the fact is you see if you get into business with a guy like that He's used to telling lies and deceiving people on a daily basis That's what you do to survive up in the states if you're illegal Hey, none of us are perfect. But do you want to get into a business with a guy like that? I Know I know a lot of you up there are thinking well, he had some bad breaks. Why not give him a chance Well, I'll look and say is you're definitely bucking the odds I know dozens and dozens of gringles and expats who have a nearly all of them have reported bad Experiences somewhere along the line. However in those scant few cases where the Latino himself has some skin in the game some money Property farmland, whatever somehow it's a completely different story. Isn't that funny? In fact over 25 years ago now when I was in Costa Rica I saw many many gringles and expats get in business with local Latins mostly farmers and finca owners
[10:29] And these Latin guys certainly had no money they did have land though and the gringo was put up the money to build housing projects and strip malls whatever and Surprise surprise most of those deals worked out just fine Now back then in Costa Rica a lot of new deals were set up like that Gringos with money or some money not enough to do a whole Project would partner up with a Latin who had to land the problem There is if you get into any kind of partnership land deal with a Latin guy. You have to have an Absolutely steadfast honest and loyal to you Anyway attorney because you see oftentimes the paperwork and land registry especially on the boonies is a disaster You could never sift through it yourself Even if you were a hundred percent bilingual and since throughout most of Latin America
[11:17] There's no such thing as title companies or title insurance It'll be your lawyer that'll check out that stuff at the municipality in the land registry So bottom line the good experiences gringos had with their Latin partners almost always involved Let's who put up their land or property as skin in the game Unfortunately for a lot of gringos, it's screw the due diligence full speed ahead Especially when their vision is clouded by palm trees in paradise And you know, they don't want to hear the bad and the ugly they want to hear the success stories Which is why some expat gringos get nicked and gouged over and over again And you know, I've even heard Latin people tell other Latin people that gringos are way too trusting That means they've got our number, right? Which brings us full circle right back to the fact that you really need a good trustworthy lawyer
[12:06] Which is almost as big an oxymoron as rap music now a lot of people down here Especially gringos on the tourist trail will say good luck with that because they've all heard or experienced so many bad lawyer Stories, so the key is to find a Latin lawyer who's got a long track record of actually getting things done One that charges Latin not gringo prices and of course a lawyer that doesn't have a history of pissed off or dissatisfied clients However, do note that every gringo will complain that his Latin lawyer is too slow that he's operating on mañana time or double mañana time Now those may be valid complaints for us first worlders down here That's just a normal part of the Latin work ethic just remember you're coming down and integrating into a culture where almost everyone gets the day off for their birthday and some people take the whole
[12:55] Damn week off. So if you're one of those sticklers who feels if you're on time, you're actually late got a German mother like that Don't you know? If so, you're not gonna be a happy camper here in Latin America When speaking of honest trustworthy lawyers here in Latin America Yep, there are more than a few but you just have to know how to find them Well, I'll be introducing you to a couple of them at my next expat insider seminar in January 2018 Now with this expat file show going out on September 3rd, that means in about a week I'll have the sign-up information and all the details therein at the new expat.com website So do check it out www.thenewexpat.com Now remember no matter how far along you are on your plan B
[13:41] You still have to get some adequate boots on the ground The best way of course is to come to my expat insider seminar Yep, every single day of the seminar at noon We have our boots on the ground adventures lasting well into the evening It's what past attendees call drinking from the fire hose You can check out the itinerary and look it over for yourself It'll be up on the new expat.com website later this week www.thenewexpat.com Of course the very next best thing to do if you can't make it down to the seminar Or get boots on the ground yourself is to take my expat essentials course You know I get emails from people all the time telling me how much they like it and how valuable it's been In helping them put together their own plan B So check out the free video that explains it all at expatplanb.com
[14:29] And don't forget to download my free phone consultation form at thenewexpat.com The questions and comments there will get you thinking What about those one-on-one phone consultations? Once again I'm offering a free one hour one-on-one phone consultation For people who sign up for my expat insider seminar So once you sign up we can have that phone or Skype consultation any time before the seminar begins We can talk about your own plan B The seminar, lawyers, real estate, residency, passports, Latin healthcare, banks, transferring money down Bitcoin, anything you want So again if you sign up for my expat insider seminar that call will be free All right got an email from Lester today asking me How easy or hard is it to do a name change in Latin America?
[15:15] Then he says is it even possible? Good question Lester we covered that in some detail at the expat insider seminar You even get a nice downloaded report on it Now I always tell people when they come down to Latin America if they plan it right They can erase a lot of their past life and start over In other words you could recuperate a great deal of your privacy again Starting with the fact that you can use your lawyer as a proxy for pretty much anything For example you can arrange it with him so that his office is your mailing address He can be the proxy for your phone internet and utility contracts and much more We discuss those things in some detail at the seminar However the one sure way to erase that big badass footprint you've created By signing up for Facebook and Twitter and all those stupid services
[16:04] Is to do what Lester mentioned When you come to Latin America get a name change Now you might think to do something as serious as that There are a million hoops to jump through Well you'd be wrong in fact it's very easy The only kicker and prerequisite is that you have to have residency in a Latin country Amazingly enough you can generally do the whole process in less than a day So on that same day you'll give up your old DPI That's your national residency card And you'll get a brand new one in your new name For example if you're in Ecuador and are planning on changing your name It takes about an hour costs only 10 bucks for the application And 15 bucks for the brand new settler or DPI as they're called But I don't suggest you try to do it yourself Do take your lawyer with you
[16:51] Now you might ask why is a name change so cheap and easy When everything else having to do with Latin governments is just a long pain in the ass Well it's like this More than half of Latin America consists of indigenous tribes and such Many of these tribes have their own separate language And there's hundreds of tribes Some with very strange alphabets, weird pronunciations And odd looking indigenous names with all kinds of dashes, hyphens and accent marks Well it turns out part of moving on up socioeconomically Can often involve the de-indigenizing of a difficult to pronounce or decipher family name A lot like when Russians, Jews, Eastern Europeans and Germans migrated to the US
[17:36] In the 19th and 20th century Many many thousands of names were shortened up to Americanism Who knows, maybe someone in your family did that too In fact if you pick up any local Latin newspaper you'll see lots of names That you just have no idea how to pronounce Seems to be a lot of multiple X's, U's, Y's, Z's How about this for a name? Aleuge Nowal Believe me you'll never guess the spelling on that one And just think of those poor primary school teachers out in the boonies doing roll call On the first day of school And note when most indigenous people do a name change It's to a common Spanish name So for example Senor Aleuge Nowal becomes Senor Jose Martinez Yes it's both classist and a bit racist too
[18:24] But people here in Latin America do discriminate based on names For example expat Eddie's maintenance guy's name is Pepe Echevarria And I'll tell you he looks exactly like the statues and pictures of one of the most famous Mayan warrior chiefs of all time Named Tuca Man In fact he was so famous he had just one name Tuca Man Kind of like the warrior sting slash or Elvis of his day You know? So it's a sure bet that the family of expat Eddie's maintenance guy Had a name change somewhere along the way So big deal I had a friend in grade school the name was Zalkowski And later in life I met him He was a doctor and MD by then And his name was no longer Zalkowski It was Zelco
[19:09] So will that give him a better chance for a date on a Saturday night? Well the doctor part sure will However just like in grade school His kids will forever sit in the last seat in the back of the class That's what happens when your last name begins with Z Guess that part slipped his mind when he had his name changed huh? Oh and I almost forgot When we were talking about gringos who come down to Latin America That rip you off, gauju Our time vampires are just plain cheapskates People who walk into a room and just seem to suck the energy out of it We all know people like that don't we? The reality is moving to Latin America You can distance yourself from people like that The question is is 2000 miles away enough? Yep we all have a friend or a family member like that
[19:55] Don't we? And some of them are childhood friends with huge defects But they remain very close to us Because it's that childhood bonding thing You know the kid you hung with from dusk till dawn every summer Wrote bikes, played baseball and collected comic books with Well even if as an adult the guy turns out to be a real jerk He's still kind of your buddy for life isn't he? You got one of those? I do And he came down to Latin America to visit me just a couple of weeks ago So here's a guy I haven't seen in almost 30 years now He said Johnny wash the sheets and clean the scorpions out of the guest room I'm coming down I want to see what all the hubbub's about Listen to a few of your shows and yes the US is crashing and burning And it's hit me too My company's been downsized and I've been forced into taking early retirement
[20:43] Got a lot of time in my hands I'm coming down to visit All right so what am I gonna say? And why not? Could be old home week for an entire week, right? Just a little background on this guy He's a super salesman One of those guys with the gift of gab and a great first impression So people really do like him at first He garners instant trusts Unfortunately he's got a dark side And I know this better than anyone Somehow if you do a deal with him or get involved in any one of his projects He always comes out on top And down the line somewhere you figure out you got the short end of the stick And he got the big one Happens all the time with him Not that he's a criminal or a cook But he's kind of a con man light And you know where the term con man came from, right?
[21:29] Confidence man They get you in their confidence Right away too And you know what they say Whoever they are Confidence men are actually pretty likeable guys That's part of their makeup I mean how else did so many millions of Americans get talked into buying time shares That they'll never use But they gotta pay maintenance on every year Besides if you've got one you know they keep depreciating And they're worth less and less every year Hey I know some very smart people who got sucked into that scam And you know what? With lag time and all And the advent of bank financing that was never there before Time shares are all the rage And guess where? And now like a bad case of diarrhea spreading south of the border To the rest of Latin America Stupidity on the march Yep back in the 80s and 90s
[22:15] In US timeshare prime My buddy was a crack salesman at that too So he came down for a week and I showed him around We caught up on old times and everything else It didn't take me long to realize he hadn't changed And he's exactly the kind of guy that would do just fine On the gringo tourist trail down here In fact he'd do more than just fine Certainly until he got his ass kicked and run out of town Yep it's sad to say But he'd fit right in with all those gringo scammers and gougers Yep everyone who's lived on the gringo tourist trail for a while Knows a few of those And there's always a fresh new batch of gringos rotating through A lot of them Wide eyed and willing to get their pockets picked in paradise Say that 10 times real fast
[23:01] Well at least they're in paradise while it's happening right? And that's what makes it possible for gringos like my friend To do other gringos pretty much continuously It's like running into a retired politician in a Walmart or in a parking lot somewhere You know the guy's a lying possible crook But he's gotten away with it so long and he's a great schmoozer That everyone whose pocket he's picked Still shakes his hand and says hi how are ya? Nice weather we're having How's the kids? Now I know some of you are probably wondering What kind of examples I might give regarding my friends cons and gouges over the years You could say it's nickel and dime stuff but it's never ending For example he'd organize an event where we'd all go to see a concert like The Who, Moody Blues, Rolling Stones, Kanye
[23:50] Yeah right Well maybe to yank out his gold teeth one by one with the rusty pliers Now in Chicago to get good seats in the first 10 rows anyway You go to a scalper There'd be 5 or 10 of us at 200 bucks a head no problem Only to find out later by hook and crook Because I happen to use the same scalper I find out the tickets were only 100 and a quarter Same thing with bulls or bears playoff tickets So this guy's constantly making money off his friends And you know in my book you don't make money off your friends Now if I had met him at an older age let's say 18, 20, 25 years old I certainly wouldn't have been friends with him But like I said next door neighbors, childhood buddies, training wheels together That's a whole other thing I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about
[24:35] Oh but he's smart and creative too How about this one? There was a time many years ago when transcendental meditation was hot You remember the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Maharishi You know the little soft-spoken guy from India The robe, the long hair, the long fingernails TM, Transcendental Meditation I bet you some of you took the course Well way back when I was a sophomore in engineering school We both took a TM course, cost about 100 bucks And you know it was all the rage A lot of our friends wanted to take it But they didn't have the 100 bucks That was a lot of money back then So anyway we both took it We got our mantras you know how TM works They give you a secret mantra It's a short rhythmic Indian phrase That means nothing to you You repeat over and over in your head while you're meditating And everyone's mantra is supposed to be individual
[25:22] So we took the course, got our mantras And some of our college friends who couldn't afford it They asked us to teach him the method Well at the time there was a paperback book out for around 3 bucks On transcendental meditation Pretty much the whole course all except the mantra You don't get that till you pay your 100 bucks So anyway my childhood friend, we'll call him Dicky Cut a few side deals with our other college buddies I know this is gonna sound weird But you had to be there in the moment TM was really big Especially since there was a lot of publicity around the Beatles Being involved in it and stuff Anyway my buddy Dicky made some side deals And I didn't find that out till much later For 20 bucks he offered to sell his mantra I understand in the end he sold it 10 or 12 times
[26:09] So he paid for his own TM course and made a 100% profit Now somewhere out in this wide wide world There are 10 or 12 guys using the very same mantra And that's not the way it's supposed to be So all those guys who paid the 20 bucks They have a diluted mantra Not a diluted mantra, a diluted mantra Well maybe a little of both So that's the kind of guy he is He has to make money off of everything and everyone Which is why I'm sure he'd kick ass here on the gringo tourist trail But not in a good way We don't want guys like that coming down here to Latin America We've got more than enough of them already In a way it was scary He kept saying Johnny man this is the land of opportunity More than once he said I want to live here permanently
[26:55] But I don't think it's going to happen And that's a good thing Bottom line he said his wife's going to be a tough sell But he'll work on her He said she's close to her family And involved in a lot of social activities Clubs and such But I know when a wife's really involved like that It's usually a deal breaker So expats out there Not to worry That just means there'll be one less smooth talking gringo in the neighborhood So the question is will he get pissed off at me when he hears this show? Nah, guys like that have very thick skins After all you get served up a lot of rejection when you're working in sales This is the Expat Biles living in Latin America If you want me to help you out with your own Plan B Just schedule a one-on-one consult
[27:42] Send me an email at theexpatfiles at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own Plan B From right up there in the states Go to www.expatplanb.com And check out my three videos See ya! Nos vemos!