Latest / Brian White Podcast / Money Problems, Personal Injury & Life Advice
Transcript
- 0:00Does money solve problems or create
- 0:02better-looking ones? Social media can be
- 0:05more of a drug for people who are super
- 0:09extroverted. Why do successful people
- 0:12struggle with trust? What is something
- 0:14that the textbooks don't teach you about
- 0:17courtroom? Settlement or trial? Well,
- 0:20the answer is if they don't pay you what
- 0:22they should in settlement, then it's
- 0:23trial.
- 0:24>> You're kidding me. Come on.
- 0:26>> I had a accident. You better call
- 0:28attorney Brian White.
- 0:29>> Who's Brian White?
- 0:31>> [music]
- 0:32>> Better than just a law license, he's
- 0:34board certified.
- 0:41>> You've been in an accident, so call
- 0:42attorney Brian White.
- 0:44>> Go to attorneybrianwhite.com
- 0:46and set up your free consultation today.
- 0:50>> Welcome to the Brian White Podcast.
- 0:52Thanks for tuning in.
- 0:53>> Welcome to the Brian White Podcast. This
- 0:55is one of our early podcasts where we're
- 0:58still learning how to make the sausage.
- 1:00You should never see how the sausage is
- 1:02made. But, hopefully over time, we will
- 1:04get better at doing this from learning
- 1:06about what sucks and seeing what is good
- 1:09and do more of that and hopefully less
- 1:11of the other. Million-dollar problems.
- 1:14Yes, it's like the more money we got,
- 1:16the more problems we see.
- 1:18Ain't that the truth? Does money solve
- 1:20problems or create better-looking ones?
- 1:23Of course, money solves a lot of
- 1:25problems. People who tell you that money
- 1:29does not help or increase happiness are
- 1:32ignorant or lying. I don't know which of
- 1:35the two. Of course, because if you have
- 1:38money, a certain you know, amount of
- 1:40money,
- 1:41then then you have freedom with your
- 1:43life. You have freedom to choose, you
- 1:45know, what you can eat. You have freedom
- 1:48to choose, you know, the the conditions
- 1:50that you sleep in, that you know, so
- 1:53money is and very important component to
- 1:57a base
- 1:59level of happiness. Now, that doesn't
- 2:01mean that because you have money that
- 2:04you're going to be happy. There's plenty
- 2:05of
- 2:06people with a whole bunch of money that
- 2:08aren't happy. And the reason why is
- 2:10because they don't believe that they're
- 2:12happy.
- 2:13Think about that.
- 2:15Social media has definitely
- 2:18hurt authentic
- 2:21relationships.
- 2:23And I I think where it's really affected
- 2:26it the most is
- 2:29for certain kinds of people. So, as we
- 2:31know that people can be extroverted or
- 2:34they can be
- 2:36introverted, right? And so, social media
- 2:40can I think can be more of a drug for
- 2:43people who are super extroverted because
- 2:46they they really get
- 2:49a whole bunch of validation from from
- 2:51others. That's what they're trying to
- 2:52get.
- 2:53And it also probably pushes a lot of
- 2:56those people into
- 2:57narcissism.
- 2:59Where they think that basically they're
- 3:00the center of the whole universe. You've
- 3:03seen it. You've seen people that are
- 3:05like
- 3:06a six or a seven, you know,
- 3:09and but they think that they're super
- 3:10freaking hot because you can post stuff
- 3:14on social media and you can get a bunch
- 3:15of fours to comment like, "You go,
- 3:18girl." Or you know, whatever. Yeah, I I
- 3:20I think it's caused a lot of problems.
- 3:23Why do successful people struggle with
- 3:25trust?
- 3:27Well, let me just tell you, everybody
- 3:29does. Even people who are unsuccessful.
- 3:31In fact, I would say people who are
- 3:33unsuccessful
- 3:35probably struggle with it more because I
- 3:38think successful people move beyond the
- 3:40struggle and understand that you cannot
- 3:43trust people. Like, people will
- 3:46generally act in their own
- 3:48self-interest. So, as long as whatever
- 3:50yours is
- 3:52your trust is, you know, coincides with
- 3:54theirs,
- 3:56then you're on the same page.
- 3:58Uh but, if things start to shift, um
- 4:01then over time, the person is going to
- 4:05uh you know, act in basically their own
- 4:08self-interest. And a lot of times what
- 4:11they'll do is they'll they'll convince
- 4:13themself of
- 4:14some other reason why, you know, they
- 4:17have to lie or why
- 4:19whatever the thing is that doesn't
- 4:20conform with what their stated kind of
- 4:22morals are.
- 4:24Um and and they'll they'll tell
- 4:25themselves some reason why they have to
- 4:28do that. And you'll find that that's
- 4:30just what humans do. I'm like almost
- 4:32everybody does that.
- 4:34Do people treat you differently once you
- 4:37become successful? Of course.
- 4:39I mean, people will be like trying to
- 4:41open the door for you. They'll be oh,
- 4:44Mr. White, we're so glad, you know, and
- 4:46sometimes I'll ask like, did you know
- 4:48like who I am before? Yes, I know who
- 4:50you are. And I'm like, wow, you know,
- 4:51that's kind of cool. Whereas um if you
- 4:54weren't
- 4:55successful, you know, obviously you
- 4:57wouldn't get that kind of
- 4:59treatment. So, unfortunately, folks,
- 5:01that's the way it is.
- 5:03Successful people get perks.
- 5:05The loneliest part of being successful
- 5:08is that you have to surround yourself
- 5:10with people that are like your peers
- 5:12because um if if you don't, then they
- 5:15could then your people could like bring
- 5:17you down. So, as you get more
- 5:20successful, your your group kind of like
- 5:24shrinks. So, um what what I found is
- 5:28that um if if you want to have if you
- 5:31want to be surrounded in a group of
- 5:34people that will, you know, help you to
- 5:35continue to be
- 5:37successful, that you have to seek out
- 5:39people that are obviously more
- 5:41successful than you. And if you can't do
- 5:43that,
- 5:44then what you can do is you can actually
- 5:46read books about
- 5:48the same thing and you can think in your
- 5:50mind this is like a conversation that
- 5:53I'm having with a friend.
- 5:54Why do successful men stay guarded? This
- 5:57is a question that has been written by a
- 6:00woman. Right now uh
- 6:02>> [laughter]
- 6:03>> Why are you so guarded?
- 6:06This is funny.
- 6:07Um I mean
- 6:09number one um I guess that sort of like
- 6:11presupposes that I'm successful and that
- 6:13I'm guarded. Um and to to that I say
- 6:17I'm not.
- 6:18>> [laughter]
- 6:19>> Is peace more valuable than excitement?
- 6:23I will answer it this way. There are
- 6:25times of your life when excitement is
- 6:28more valuable. Particularly if you're
- 6:30younger and you have chances to make a
- 6:33mistake or where things go wrong,
- 6:35excitement is more
- 6:37valuable. You can make better gains, you
- 6:39can have experiences, all kinds of
- 6:41memories. But as
- 6:43you get older, peace becomes more
- 6:45important because you don't want to lose
- 6:48um anything that that you have from
- 6:50something exciting that you didn't
- 6:51expect to happen.
- 6:53What is the biggest lie that law schools
- 6:57tell um in order to get students? Um and
- 7:00here's my answer. I don't believe that
- 7:03law schools lie to students in order to
- 7:06get them
- 7:08to come be a student. Um I never heard
- 7:11anything from a law school making any
- 7:14promises, saying what it would be like
- 7:16at all. Um I think law schools in
- 7:18general are are are pretty good about
- 7:21teaching you the law, but then um of
- 7:24course what they don't tell you about is
- 7:25how to practice law, how to
- 7:29maintain your sanity, how to
- 7:32do a good job. Um
- 7:34but it's not like they hid that from you
- 7:37because it just wasn't part of what you
- 7:39hired them for. You hired them to teach
- 7:43you,
- 7:44you know, what the law is. And then you
- 7:46have to go practice law. You have to go
- 7:48practice law and figure it out.
- 7:50I don't think I wasted any energy in um
- 7:54my first year of law school. I very much
- 7:56enjoyed it. I remember going to class
- 7:59and thinking, "Wow, these people like
- 8:01want to hear what I have to think about
- 8:02stuff that I just
- 8:04read about." I thought that was great.
- 8:05And then I drove straight home and I
- 8:07would read for 6 hours a night um
- 8:09and just so I could drive back to school
- 8:12the next day. There was no wasted
- 8:13energy.
- 8:15Because then you don't make it. I mean,
- 8:16if you're doing like wasted energy and
- 8:18you're in
- 8:20law school, then you're not going to
- 8:21make it.
- 8:22One thing that law school never teaches
- 8:25that determines that if or if you're
- 8:27actually going to make money, and that
- 8:29is the um ability to make a mistake and
- 8:34not just like internalize it. Because
- 8:36when you first start practicing law,
- 8:38you're going to make mistakes.
- 8:39And for some people, it it can just ruin
- 8:42them. They get so stressed out and they
- 8:45uh they even appear just worn down. And
- 8:47the reason why is because they're
- 8:48internalizing those things saying that's
- 8:50their that's who they are. They're the
- 8:52person that made the mistake on that
- 8:54case. And you have to understand that
- 8:57you're a professional. And you know,
- 9:00that means that
- 9:01the objective is to do your best um and
- 9:04to get better over time.
- 9:06Um and you know, you have to play the
- 9:08long game. How early should law students
- 9:11start building a personal brand and a
- 9:14reputation? Well, of course, your
- 9:15reputation is um very important and it
- 9:20starts from the very beginning cuz you
- 9:21could end up going to clerk, let's say,
- 9:24for
- 9:25a judge. And then
- 9:2810 years later, you could be in front of
- 9:30that judge. And if you were the guy who
- 9:32showed up late or, you know, you you
- 9:35quit because of some kind of personality
- 9:38issue with someone else in the court,
- 9:41I would think the judge is going to
- 9:42remember that. So, you have to start
- 9:45right away
- 9:46understanding that in this business,
- 9:49your reputation is gold, and so it
- 9:51starts from day one.
- 9:52What type of law looks glamorous from
- 9:55the outside, but is probably miserable
- 9:57on the inside? Transactional work. You
- 10:00see these like TV shows, and it's like
- 10:02it looks exciting, and they're
- 10:03they're making these big
- 10:05deals, and you know, that's not how it
- 10:08is. It's um it's like many hours spent
- 10:12arguing over paperwork, reading
- 10:14paperwork, characterizing paperwork, and
- 10:17then also many hours figuring out how to
- 10:20bill. So, like you'll actually spend
- 10:22hours
- 10:24preparing your bill. It's the the whole
- 10:26thing is not exciting. What do students
- 10:28need to know about law school debt?
- 10:30Well, guys, guess what? Going to law
- 10:32school is expensive, um and if you don't
- 10:36pay for it while you're in school, then
- 10:37of course you're going to have debt.
- 10:39That debt will take longer to pay off
- 10:41than what you think. Um but here's the
- 10:44thing, if you ever get a big hit,
- 10:47you should pay off your school debt
- 10:49first. What I did was um I was making
- 10:53payments on my school debt for 10 years,
- 10:56and then I got a big hit where I had an
- 10:59extra $75,000,
- 11:01and instead of paying myself that money,
- 11:04I wrote that $75,000
- 11:06check
- 11:08um
- 11:10to to the bank, and you know, paid off
- 11:13my student debt, and then I was free.
- 11:16Um and the reason why I did that was
- 11:18because I looked and I saw that even
- 11:20though I'd been paying on this thing for
- 11:21like 10 years, I hadn't even touched the
- 11:23principal.
- 11:24So, you can just keep paying forever.
- 11:26So, pay off your student loans.
- 11:28Make the sacrifice as soon as possible.
- 11:32How important are relationships in
- 11:35becoming a successful attorney? Well,
- 11:37obviously they're important because
- 11:40you have to have a reputation as being
- 11:44trustworthy, that you do what you say,
- 11:46and that you're
- 11:48capable. So, if you don't have
- 11:52relationships with people, then people
- 11:54wouldn't
- 11:55know anything about you. What is
- 11:57something that the textbooks don't teach
- 11:59you about the courtroom? And that is how
- 12:03to be presentable. Like it doesn't teach
- 12:06you, you know, how to be personable
- 12:08with, you know, not only like you have
- 12:11to be personable with even the bailiff,
- 12:13you know, your your client,
- 12:16and then also at the beginning of of the
- 12:18whole case when you know, every time the
- 12:21jury comes in the room, you need to stop
- 12:24what you're doing, and you need to look
- 12:26at the door, and smile at them as they
- 12:28come in because you're greeting them
- 12:30into your living room. There's so many
- 12:32people that they'll be over here
- 12:33shuffling their papers, or they'll be
- 12:35like bickering with someone, and then of
- 12:39course, you know, like the jury walks
- 12:40in, and the impression that that gives
- 12:42is like is just not favorable, and they
- 12:45have no idea that they're even doing
- 12:47anything wrong because it wasn't part of
- 12:49their little
- 12:50mock trial thing or something, and
- 12:52it's just unbelievable. That's why a lot
- 12:55of times
- 12:57you'll see the very best courtroom
- 13:00lawyers
- 13:01were not the A students. They were like
- 13:03the B and C students, but the reason why
- 13:05they were B and C is because they had a
- 13:07social life, and and they, you know,
- 13:09didn't spend all their time at the
- 13:11library. Well, they end up being much
- 13:13better courtroom lawyers. Have I ever
- 13:16lost a case that emotionally affected
- 13:18me? And the answer is yes, every single
- 13:20case that I've lost
- 13:21has been very painful.
- 13:24There's been a couple of cases early on
- 13:27that we knew we were going to lose. Um
- 13:30there was a case where I was working at
- 13:32a firm and I was given a file and I was
- 13:35told that you cannot settle the case
- 13:38unless they pay you X and I was like
- 13:40they're never going to do that. This is
- 13:42a complete, you know, the case shouldn't
- 13:44even is is horrible case.
- 13:46But they wanted someone to go down there
- 13:48and just swing at the fences and
- 13:51everybody knew that I was going to lose
- 13:53or that anybody would lose. Um
- 13:55it was where the client had lied
- 13:58um and all these other bad things
- 13:59happened.
- 14:01Um
- 14:01He's probably at fault for the crash.
- 14:04Um so
- 14:06you know, I worked on that case hard and
- 14:09I lost it and I still felt upset.
- 14:12>> [laughter]
- 14:12>> I still was like questioning it, you
- 14:14know, everything when I already knew
- 14:16that this is a case that like
- 14:18cannot be won and no one even thought it
- 14:20was going to be won.
- 14:21Um but I will tell you that opposing
- 14:24counsel was was upset because um
- 14:28um he was expecting for the loss to be
- 14:31worse than it actually was. So in in
- 14:33like a way it was kind of like a win of
- 14:35a loss but it was still a loss.
- 14:38So um I would say that
- 14:40every single loss hurts badly and
- 14:44provides motivation for getting better
- 14:46and to not
- 14:47ever let that happen again.
- 14:49The worst drivers in Houston are the
- 14:52people that have the white Honda Civics.
- 14:54Everybody knows um that the white Honda
- 14:57Civics are um
- 14:59the worst, um probably criminals, um
- 15:02probably on the way back from
- 15:04shoplifting. The most overrated legal TV
- 15:07show is I don't know because I don't
- 15:10watch any of them. Ah, the the question
- 15:12is coffee or energy drinks during trial
- 15:15prep. Coffee, of course. Guys, do you
- 15:18want to have a heart attack and die in
- 15:20the middle of your case because that's
- 15:21the like the worst way to lose a case is
- 15:24to die.
- 15:25So, I would say coffee not energy
- 15:27drinks.
- 15:28One thing that I would ban from
- 15:30courtrooms immediately is grumpy judges.
- 15:33I I you know, like sometimes you'll have
- 15:35a judge yell at you because they're
- 15:37grumpy, but then it's interpreted
- 15:40by the jury as maybe there's something
- 15:42wrong with your case. I think it's
- 15:44unfair. And so, I think if you're a
- 15:46grumpy person, don't become a judge.
- 15:50Biggest pet peeve with clients is when
- 15:54they uh
- 15:55don't do what we say. Um when and they
- 15:58say that they're going to do what what
- 15:59we say. So, then we make plans on that
- 16:02and then they don't do what we say.
- 16:04Um and so, a lot of times that deals
- 16:07with people uh posting on social media
- 16:10and doing things like that. So, do what
- 16:12we say.
- 16:13If I was not an attorney, I would be
- 16:16Guys, I don't know, because I've been
- 16:18being an attorney for 23 years. It's
- 16:20impossible for me to conceive of doing
- 16:23anything else. This is what I've
- 16:24worked on every single day for the last
- 16:2623 years, trying to get better, going to
- 16:29conferences, doing all kinds of things
- 16:31to
- 16:33learn from your mistakes, to you know,
- 16:36get exposed to all different kinds of
- 16:39cases. I can't imagine doing anything
- 16:41else.
- 16:42Guilty pleasure TV show. Um I don't
- 16:45currently have one.
- 16:46I like um
- 16:48when like the new things come out like
- 16:50there was Beef that came out um on
- 16:53Netflix or you know, way before that
- 16:56there was the Game of Thrones. I but I
- 16:58like it when there is a show that comes
- 16:59out that becomes like
- 17:01a cultural kind of thing where everybody
- 17:03can kind of like bond on what happened
- 17:06at the Game of Thrones. Oh my god, they
- 17:07chopped off his head. He was the main
- 17:09character, you know, those kinds of
- 17:10things. I like that.
- 17:12Do I enjoy watching myself on TV or
- 17:14social media? Absolutely not. Absolutely
- 17:16not. I mean,
- 17:18um I don't usually um do it, but they
- 17:21say that you're supposed to because
- 17:23that's how you can get better. Um so,
- 17:25I'm guess I'm going to have to do that.
- 17:27One word that describes Houston
- 17:28courtrooms is
- 17:30lovely. And the reason why is because
- 17:33the judges are so good and I respect all
- 17:36of them. I think they're all fair and um
- 17:38really I'm rooting for each and every
- 17:40one of them um to stay on the bench as
- 17:43long as possible.
- 17:44Settlement or trial? Well, the answer is
- 17:47if they don't pay you what they should
- 17:49in settlement, then it's trial.
- 17:51>> Have you ever Googled yourself?
- 17:54>> Yes, I have Googled myself. I Google
- 17:56myself all the time.
- 17:58Well, I mean I do a whole bunch of
- 18:00advertising, so um I'm trying to
- 18:03see if the if it pulls up.
- 18:05What is the smartest thing a law student
- 18:06can do today to stand out in a flooded
- 18:08market? Well, I think it's to um
- 18:11while you're in school, do an internship
- 18:13at a firm. Um a lot of times um if you
- 18:16do an internship at a firm and you're
- 18:18and you do good work and and you're you
- 18:20know, friendly, then you've got a job
- 18:22set up. Like you're you're like home
- 18:24free. So, go to a firm,
- 18:28do good work, and then you've got a
- 18:29backup plan.
- 18:30>> This or that is your only going to
- 18:31>> This or that or that So, are are they
- 18:33going to hear your voice?
- 18:34>> Yeah. Or no.
- 18:36I'm Yeah, let's do that they hear my
- 18:37voice. So, you don't have to repeat me.
- 18:39>> Okay.
- 18:39>> But um I just need you to pick one,
- 18:41okay?
- 18:42So, this or that, settle or go to the
- 18:45trial.
- 18:47One or the other.
- 18:48>> I can't pick that. It depends.
- 18:51>> Okay.
- 18:52Neither.
- 18:53>> [laughter]
- 18:54>> Both.
- 18:56Call the police or exchange information.
- 18:58>> Call the police.
- 18:59>> ER or urgent care?
- 19:00>> ER.
- 19:01>> Dash cam or no dash cam?
- 19:03>> No dash cam.
- 19:04>> Text or call the insurance company?
- 19:06>> Um call the insurance company.
- 19:08>> Lawyer first or insurance company first?
- 19:10>> Lawyer first.
- 19:12>> Toyota or Tesla?
- 19:15>> Ooh, that's a tough
- 19:16>> Answering more claims.
- 19:18>> Toyota.
- 19:19>> Motorcycle or truck? More dangerous?
- 19:22>> Motorcycle.
- 19:24>> Highway or neighborhood streets?
- 19:26>> Highway.
- 19:27>> Seatbelt or airbag?
- 19:29>> Seatbelt.
- 19:30>> Witness or security camera?
- 19:33>> Security camera.
- 19:35>> Cash settlement or jury verdict?
- 19:38>> Cash settlement because it's certain.
- 19:40>> Mediation or courtroom?
- 19:42>> Courtroom.
- 19:43>> Negotiation or litigation?
- 19:46>> Uh I love them both.
- 19:48>> Soft tissue injury or broken bone?
- 19:50>> Broken bones.
- 19:51>> Chiropractor or physical therapist?
- 19:53>> Physical therapist.
- 19:55>> Ice or heat after an accident?
- 19:56>> Ice.
- 19:57>> Driver or passenger?
- 19:59>> Driver.
- 20:00>> Rear end collision or T-bone collision?
- 20:02>> T-bone.
- 20:03>> Rain or night driving?
- 20:04>> Rain.
- 20:05>> Distracted driver or drunk driver?
- 20:07>> Drunk driver.
- 20:08>> Speeding or tailgating?
- 20:09>> Uh speeding.
- 20:11>> SUV or sedan?
- 20:12>> SUV.
- 20:13>> And last, photo evidence or video
- 20:15evidence?
- 20:16>> Video evidence. And
- 20:19as always, if you are a stalker watching
- 20:21this, because only like 10 people are
- 20:24watching, which means that you may be a
- 20:25stalker,
- 20:26I love you.
- 20:28So, thank you for listening to the Brian
- 20:30White podcast, where we are still in the
- 20:33process, which I always say, of making
- 20:35sausage, and no one wants to know how
- 20:37that's made.
- 20:38Um and this is my journey of learning
- 20:41and hopefully making a podcast, but
- 20:43learning from the mistakes,
- 20:44figuring out what works and making that
- 20:46better. So, this is still me just
- 20:48putting up stuff on the wall, not even
- 20:50examining what is uh crappy or good. So,
- 20:53we hope that you uh thought it was good
- 20:55and not crappy. Remember, if you're in a
- 20:57crash, give me a call, do it right, and
- 20:58get Brian White.
- 21:00>> Thanks for tuning in to the Brian White
- 21:01podcast. Don't forget to like, share,
- 21:04and subscribe, and hit that notification
- 21:06button so you don't miss [music] an
- 21:07episode.