How does one become a miracle investor? To Jen Rode, who joins Monick Halm in the podcast today, her success as a resort property owner was just a matter of dreaming big and letting things slip into their places. With her husband Ben, Jen co-owns Synergida, a premier luxury resort in Costa Rica which hosts their brainchild, The Rode Institute, which offers transformational retreats and mentorship programs. Jen is a miracle investor who succeeded in bringing a huge number of people to invest in their vision. Listen in as she tells the story of an amazing woman and real estate investor who followed her intuition and worked hard for her dream’s fruition.

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Listen to the podcast here:

The Miracle Investor – Interview With Jen Rode

I am here with another incredible woman real estate investor who’s going to share with us her story. Our guest, Jen Rode, has probably the most miraculous story of real estate investment I’ve ever heard. It’s amazing how she’s been able to create what she’s created in Costa Rica. They have some incredible resort properties there. When she’s not manifesting resort property, Jen is an intuitive mentor who supports strong women leaders in growing their seven-figure businesses while staying in alignment with their core values. She’s the Cofounder of the Rode Institute, 5D Business School, and Synergida, the premier luxury resort for a transformational retreat. Synergida means synergy and Vida or synergy life in Spanish. It’s a mecca and safe haven for thought leaders to co-create, collaborate, and transform in Costa Rican rainforest paradise. It sounds good and I can’t wait to get over there. She and her husband, Ben, have been my teachers, mentors, and friends and I’m dying to go visit them. I’m excited to have her with us. Welcome, Jen.

I’m excited to be here and honored. We love and adore you, too. It’s mutual.

Thank you. We have you on because there’s no other way to describe your story. You live a life of miracles and how you have been in real estate investing, in particular, is astounding. How did you get started in real estate investing?

I never thought I was going to be a real estate investor. I never saw myself as a real estate investor. I got the call a few years ago to move to Costa Rica. There was such a poll here. That was the initial poll, and it was an organic process. Ben and I knew that we wanted to create a community here, so we believe that everyone should live somewhere where they most loved being on vacation. For us, that is Costa Rica. We love being here. We fell in love with this country. It’s tropical, beautiful, magical, and peaceful. It was an organic thing. We love passive revenue generation and all of those things, and that’s all wonderful, but it was from a place of we wanted community here with us co-creating. What launched the idea for Synergida was, “How can we get different leaders together to co-create various transformations together?”

Ben and I at our business at the Rode Institute. We hold a lot of transformational retreats. We love holding retreats and bringing people together to experience transformation here in Costa Rica. That’s what brought it all about. Several years ago, we started with our first project. We found an 800-acre piece of land that we fell in love with. It’s such a beautiful property. It wasn’t just us. With a developer and a group of people, we purchased a piece of land, and then we did a fundraiser for $4.7 million. That was our first taste of a real estate investment. It was such a great learning experience. From there, we purchased Synergida. Real estate is a fun game to play.

I love that your first purchase was an 800-acre parcel of land in Costa Rica.

Why start big when people can start small? Apparently, we weren’t meant to do that. It’s a fun thing because if you get people in on it together, it sounds crazy like, “$4.7 million,” but that was about 100 different investors. That’s the beauty of the real estate. You can co-create and co-vision with other people and it’s beautiful.

That’s what I love and I do bring groups of investors together to buy larger properties. I love that you tapped into that because it’s true. By yourself, that might have been a great challenge, but when you bring in 100 investors, then that’s quite doable.

Everybody wins. It’s a win-win for everybody.

As women, we all have intuitive hits, but too often we don’t listen to our intuition. Click To Tweet

Tell us a little bit about Synergida. What is Synergida?

We are on 114 private acres in the Chirripo Mountain Vortex in Costa Rica. If you haven’t been to this area of Costa Rica, for those of you reading, I highly recommend you come here. It’s sacred, magical, and pure. We have the sixth cleanest water source on the planet. It’s one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. If you think about biodiversity, you’ve got all these different types of plants, animals, nature, clean fresh air, and water that creates that biodiversity. It’s a magical location. We are a boutique resort, so we’re a high luxury. We’ve had a lot of people here saying things like, “I’ve been to Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, but I prefer this.” If you’re an entrepreneur and you regularly hold retreats, it’s a great spot for VIP clients to come. We have a lot of different leaders coming from all over the world.

We have about 50 different leaders who are going to be holding different retreats here. It’s also a great place for anyone to come unwind and unplug. We’re hosting over 50 retreats, everything from health to detox to transformation to manifesting more abundance in your life to coming into your own intuition and allowing that to lead from a grounded place. It’s a sacred Mecca for people to come from all over the world to drop in, recalibrate, get out of the matrix and mundane, and have an experience. The frequency here transforms you. We have many people coming here that can feel. There were Mayans here thousands of years ago. The indigenous here were amazing. The energy that they lost here, you can still feel it. Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world that has no military, so it’s peaceful. You can get to breathe it in and soak it in.

I have not been to that area of Costa Rica yet, but I have been there and the whole country feels like the Garden of Eden. You do some interesting work. You guys have explosive sexual healing. You’ve worked with different business leaders and you connect with your spiritual board of directors. You meditate and create a lot like that. How does that work that you do help you to create what you’ve created with real estate?

We would not be here without following my intuition. As women, we all have intuitive hits. Often, we don’t listen to our intuition. When we purchased Synergida, it came through in meditation. There was clear guidance. My guide said, “I meditate all the time, so don’t worry if this makes sense to you yet. It takes time to get there and that’s okay. We all tap into our intuition differently.” My guides, I call them my angels or my upstairs team, or you could call it a higher self or God or source. I believe we’re all one. My upstairs team told me, “You’re going to buy the next property you see. Your realtor is going to find it for you. Stop looking,” because I was looking like a maniac for years, educating myself on Costa Rica and real estate and studying. It’s important to study real estate. Wherever you’re buying, understand the market and all of that.

I did my research and I’d done my research for years hardcore, but they said, “Stop looking and researching. Stop it all. Your realtor is going to find it and it’s going to be the next property you look at.” I called up our realtor, Zoe, and she looks like a little pixie. I was like, “I’m not meant to find this. You’re going to find the property.” That’s what I’ve been called. I said, “I have no idea what you’re going to show us next, but we’re going to buy that property.” I didn’t know what that meant when we’re buying a blank piece of land or what. This is the property, Synergida. This was the property that we looked at. It was amazing, Monick, because we had been looking at a couple of different things. We’ve been looking at different resorts in the country. Ideally, I wanted a place where we can hold retreats for our high-level clients immediately.

It was a little tricky because a lot of our private clients are multiple seven-figure and they’re particular. They have good taste. We were struggling to find a resort that was like that here. We also wanted land. We wanted to be able to create a community in different casitas and have different passive revenue generation for our people where people could come in and out. A lot of our people want to live here 3 or 6 months out of the year. They want to rent out their casita for the other 6 or 9 months of the year and make passive revenue. We wanted a place that had both of those things and we weren’t finding it. When this place showed up, it was like, “It’s 114 private acres. It has gorgeous private waterfalls and they’re ceremonial.”

 

Everybody that goes there, it’s like a sacred ceremony and the waterfalls will change you. It had these beautiful waterfalls and internal roads, which is a big deal here in Costa Rica. I already had 33,000 square feet of high luxury space to hold the retreats and events in an outdoor restaurant. The 114 private acres are buildable, too. It was a dream come true for us. It was such a clear, full-body yes. It was like a clear full-body, “This is it.” Ben and I do relationship work. We help them in bringing their life partners. We work with couples. We always say a joke like, “This is my Ben Rode. Not my shaman lover or not that guy I’m dating. That’s not quite right. Synergida was my Ben Rode. It was true love. It was love at first sight. That was the guy you were trying to make fit, that wasn’t the right fit.”

You’re a seminar leader, coach, and you’re running a luxury resort.

The key is not by yourself. It’s about plugging everyone into the right place. That’s what we do in our business, too. Ben and I privately have a seven-figure business. We help leaders to grow their businesses to seven figures. We’ve found in our business that it’s about putting everybody in the right place. It’s not about Ben and I doing everything. We can’t do the tech stuff. I don’t run my own business. I have a business manager that does that. It’s the same thing in Synergida. We have two managers here that are on-site managers, concierge, and arrange everything. We have an amazing event planner that has worked with huge names in the industry. She’s done high luxury events in Bali. She’s been in the industry for many years. She also does events with thousands of people. She is managing all of our events.

Those of you may know Joe Polish. His business partner was the one who helped him to create his events being what they are. He has $25,000 amazing events that are booked out solid and he’ll have 1,500 people that want to show up to his events and things like that. We’re bringing him on. His business partner is partnering with us. He’s going to be helping us to fill Synergida. Luckily, we inherited the staff here, too. We inherited the cleaning staff, the shacks, and all of that. It’s all coming together. It’s about plugging everybody in where they go. We get to be the visionaries. We get to visualize what’s happening here, which is fun. It’s what Ben and I love doing.

I find that most people learn more by when things go askew than when things work out easily and they’re smooth sailing. What would you say has been your biggest mistake in real estate investing and what did you learn from it?

I love this question because it is absolutely where the biggest growth is. I agree with you 1,000%. The last project that we did is a wonderful project and we learned so much, but we did separate from it. The reason that we separated from it is that we’ve fundraised for it and we brought on all of these investors. The missing piece that we realized was that, at the point that we’re at vibrationally and virtually, we are not in a space where we can do something transactional. It needs to be lucrative, a win-win, and be grounded. These are all important pieces, but the missing pieces that we brought on people to help us fund it weren’t emotionally invested in the actual vision of what we were creating. Because of that, we lost some creative control. That is all a beautiful life lesson. We needed all of that to fortify us to be here to get the download and the clarity for exactly what we wanted to do. The previous project was 800 acres. It had a few structures on the property, but it wasn’t a resort that was ready to go tomorrow.

It’s still a project that’s running and they’re building it, and it will be beautiful, but it wasn’t ready to go. It was from that piece that we got the clarity for two things. We wanted something that we could use right away for retreats. We were already booking out for 2020 and I can’t even tell you how many tickets we’ve already sold. It’s crazy. That was fun for us because Ben and I love retreats. That is what we geek out on. We love hosting retreats, live events, and transformation. It’s something that we were able to use right away. It’s important for us to have people that are aligned with the vision and are emotionally invested as well. The new people that we’re bringing in, it’s not just a financial transactional thing for them. Our new Cofounders will be here 3 to 6 months out of the year. They’re emotionally invested that we’re hosting retreats here. They’ll be attending retreats here. That piece felt important to our soul and our heart.

It is important to have people in your business who are aligned with your vision. Click To Tweet

It’s a huge lesson about being able to find the right alignment on every level because real estate is something for me, too. It’s a lot more than just making money. There’s a lot that goes into it.

The heart piece is important. Ben and I came in with so much heart. We’re getting to explode here into that because everyone that’s coming in wants to be a part of it. That’s what makes it fun.

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of my relationship with my husband. The number one thing I’m most proud of is our commitment to each other. No matter what happens in our world because we co-create, partner together, and make clubs twice a day. We do everything together. I’m most proud of our relationship because relationships take time and energy, especially when you’re partnering, you have children, and you have life. My husband is my greatest spiritual teacher. He would say the same of me. That’s the thing I’m the proudest of by far out of anything.

I am also somebody who has a life partner, business and husband.

You and your husband are beautiful together.

You guys have been an inspiration to us and helped us in terms of even deepening an already strong relationship. You should be proud of what you and Ben have created. It’s amazing.

 

Thank you. We’re honored. We love and adore you both.

What advice do you have for a woman who’s starting out and wants to invest in real estate?

Dream big. Many people start small because they think that they need to do something practical and safe. For some people, that can be perfect, too. I’m not saying don’t do that if it’s aligned for you, but if you have a big vision and a big dream, whatever is coming through for you, anything is possible. Like Ben and I did. We had this big vision and this big dream of co-creating community and creating a Mecca for people to come to. For women, it’s important for us to dream big. You don’t have to know the how of how it’s all going to work out. The first investment that we started with, we didn’t know how.

It was one step at a time. It was finding the property and then it was negotiating the deal. It was doing the fundraising. We didn’t know how to do that fundraise. We ended up raising that $4.7 million in six months, but we didn’t know at the time how we were going to do that exactly. We committed each step of the way. That’s what I would encourage you to do. That’s what’s important. The heart has to be in it. You let yourself feel guided and dream big. The universe always supports when you’re dreaming big as long as you’re taking those actions one step at a time.

What do you already know that you wish you’d known at the beginning?

There’s nothing that I wish I knew because if I had known, I would have played the game differently. If I’d played the game differently, I wouldn’t be here right now. Everything’s a gift. When we look back at everything that’s happened in the way that it happened, I didn’t know along the way how things were going to turn out. I didn’t know that Ben and I were going to be resort owners. We never thought but I’ve been saying for years, “We don’t want to be resort owners.” This place showed up and it was like, “Universe, I’m listening.” This is like a cosmic joke. The universe was like, “No, you’re supposed to have this.” I wouldn’t change anything because we’re where we’re supposed to be. Everything’s always serving, especially the life lessons and the challenges. If we knew the challenges, then maybe we went to take in the same step, but the challenges are exactly what creates us being where we are. It’s all the perfect play of life.

Before we get into our final questions, the trinity, the brag, gratitude, and desire, how can people reach you and also, visit Synergida?

It’s important for women right now to dream big. Click To Tweet

If they go to Synergida.com, they can look up all the different retreats. We have a special going on. The coupon code for it is, newyearatsynergida. They can get $1,000 off their retreat. It’s a killer deal and killer option. If anyone wants to reach out to me, they can reach out to me [email protected]. If you have any questions about anything, my team will respond to that.

Stay tuned because I will be at a retreat. I’ll let you guys know when I’m there. I’m co-hosting something there, so that’s in the works.

We’re going to have to do a Facebook live or something, too. We’re going to have fun when you’re here. I’m excited.

Stay tuned but in the meantime, you can use that code to get a discount off the other retreats, which I highly recommend working with Ben and Jen. That will change your lives. Fasten your seatbelt. It’s going to be a good ride. Let’s do our trinity, the brag, gratitude, and desire. What’s the one thing you’re celebrating? What’s one brag you have for us?

I’m celebrating Synergida. It’s ripe and we’re already filling it. I don’t think I’ve even told you that we have 250 people buy. We’ve had 500 people already reached out wanting to attend. I’m grateful for the energy. All of the people that are coming into support and play different roles and profiles, I’m over the moon. I’m grateful and excited. It’s been a wild ride.

What one thing you’re grateful for?

I’m grateful to be here in Costa Rica. For me, Costa Rica is the most beautiful place on earth. It’s magical here. I’m grateful to be able to live here. I know some people are in a space where they have to work in certain places that they don’t want to live or don’t want to be. It’s not ideal for them. I’m grateful for waking up and seeing the saltwater pool, the peacocks walking across, and the monkeys. It’s like a Garden of Eden.

Last, but certainly not least, what’s one thing you desire?

 

I desire everybody to be here. That’s the biggest thing. I want everybody to come to visit. It sounds funny, but I want everyone to come to visit and experience this feeling. That’s almost my desire for 2018. Even when we go back to the US, I see many people stuck in the muck and the grind and it’s heavy. I don’t know who’s reading this and what your political views are, but I don’t want to get you into politics. There’s a lot of heaviness going on in the US. It’s tough and draining. I desire everyone to live in a way that’s more natural, more aligned and has more freedom. I want everyone to have more financial freedom so that they can do only what they love. I believe that all of us should only be doing what we love and when we’re doing what we love, we would have a world that works.

So shall your desire be or so much better than you can imagine under grace in perfect ways. Thank you, Jen. It was amazing. You can connect with her at Synergida.com, RodeInstitute.com, and [email protected]. You can reach me at RealEstateInvestorGoddesses.com and get your free eBook, The Real Estate Success Blueprint: 7 Crucial Steps Every Woman Must Take to Be a Successful Real Estate Investor. We will see you next episode with another amazing Real Estate Investor Goddess story and interview. Bye.

Thank you. Bye.

Thank you.

Important Links:

• Rode Institute
• Synergida
• Synergida.com
• [email protected]
• RodeInstitute.com
• The Real Estate Success Blueprint: 7 Crucial Steps Every Woman Must Take to Be a Successful Real Estate Investor

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