Episode Details

What happens when you walk away from success, bet on yourself, and everything starts falling apart?

In Part 4 of Anything & Everything with Matt Reyna, Vanessa Maldonado shares one of the most difficult chapters of her life. After spending three successful years on a real estate team and earning more money than ever before, Vanessa made the decision to leave and build something of her own.

But the transition wasn't easy.

Without the clients and leads she had grown accustomed to, Vanessa found herself rebuilding her real estate business from the ground up. In 2023, she struggled with her health, weight gain, drinking, and depression. She describes that period as the worst year of her life.

By the end of that year, Vanessa knew something had to change.

She made the decision to give up alcohol, reclaim her health, and fully invest in herself. Through discipline, fitness, running, strength training, and personal development, Vanessa began rebuilding not just her body but her confidence and career.

Now, she's experiencing her strongest year in real estate since leaving her former team, and she's looking toward an even bigger future.

This conversation is about betting on yourself, taking responsibility for your life, choosing discipline over regret, and discovering what you're capable of when you refuse to give up.

🎙️ In this episode:

• Vanessa's current fitness routine and love for running
• How weightlifting, hot yoga, Pilates, and running complement each other
• Why Vanessa intentionally challenges herself physically
• Matt's motivation to improve his basketball performance through fitness
• The difference between wanting change and deciding to change
• Whether physically fit people are more successful financially
• How discipline and fitness can influence your business
• Building confidence by accomplishing difficult physical goals
• Vanessa's decision to leave a successful real estate team
• Why making more money wasn't enough to keep her there
• Starting over without her former team's leads and clients
• The difficult reality of rebuilding a real estate business
• Why Vanessa considers 2023 the lowest point of her life
• How alcohol became a way of coping with stress
• The health concerns that motivated her to change
• Rebuilding her health and business throughout 2024
• Her real estate comeback in 2025 and 2026
• Why Vanessa believes 2027 will be even bigger
• Choosing between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret
• Working at a brewery while pursuing her real estate career
• Learning to be around alcohol without feeling the need to drink

🧠 What you'll learn:

• Why financial success doesn't always equal personal fulfillment
• How physical discipline can build confidence in other areas of life
• Why sometimes you have to leave a comfortable situation to grow
• The challenges of rebuilding a business without an established pipeline
• How unhealthy coping habits can interfere with long-term goals
• Why investing in your physical and mental health matters
• How consistent effort can gradually rebuild confidence and momentum
• Why taking responsibility for your circumstances can change your future
• The importance of surrounding your ambitions with supportive habits
• Why choosing your struggles intentionally can lead to personal growth

⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Vanessa's Workout Routine
00:07 Falling in Love With Running
01:16 Fitness Goals & Becoming a Better Athlete
01:29 Fulfilling Your Potential Through Fitness
02:39 Do People in Better Shape Make More Money?
03:33 How Discipline Translates Into Business
04:35 Vanessa's Real Estate Career Transformation
05:00 Leaving a Successful Real Estate Tea