10/01/2025
This Monday I had the pleasure of meeting with one of my mentors, Richard Pamplin. I still remember attending a real estate meeting years ago where Richard asked, “Who here are my students?” and about 80% of the class raised their hands. That’s the type of influence he had. Richard never took excuses from his students — you grind or you don’t eat. But if he knew you were serious, he would do everything he could to help you succeed.
I met Perry at one of Richard’s meetings, and that encounter led to a friendship and business relationship I’ll never forget. The real-life lessons I learned from Perry became part of my DNA.
So when Richard told me he wanted to meet for lunch, it felt like a real blessing. Over our meal we caught up on life. He told me how he’d traded in his business suits for gym gear and become a personal trainer. I told him how I became a realtor — which back when we started, was considered a no-no, especially in Perry’s eyes. Richard smiled and laughed, knowing Perry would not had agreed at first.
We reminisced about Hector, who was an incredible painter and family man. I shared how he’d built his business up and how his son took over after his passing. Richard was pleased to hear about Hector but noted how many from our old circle had moved on.
We talked about our passions — martial arts for him, football for me- and laughed about how neither of us could quite get into the other’s world. Then we shifted to modern things like apps, Facebook, TikTok, and (wait for it) ChatGPT. We both agreed it’s one of the greatest creations ever and cracked up laughing.
Like any great mentor, Richard eventually got me back on track:
“OK, Jarnell, when are you going to hit that pre-foreclosure list again?”
“Soon,” I said.
“Alright, I’ll hold you to it. Call me if you have questions — or to tell me how it’s going.”
We left Frank’s Pollos Asados Los Norteños with great food, great memories of those we lost, and plans for an even brighter future. Richard even said, “This is a great place. The food was good.” I told him, “You gotta trust the fat kid with the food review,” and we both laughed. He asked me to send him the link to my show so he could check it out.
As we parted, Richard suggested we take a picture together. I told him this is one thing the younger generation does right — they take plenty of pictures. I found myself wishing we’d had more photos with Richard, my mom, Perry, and Hector, since we were all such an important part of each other’s lives.
Before he rushed off to his personal training appointment, I shared our long-running inside joke: if we were in the Avengers, he’d be Tony Stark (Iron Man) and I’d be the Hulk. We laughed as always. I got in my car feeling refreshed and renewed, ready to take on the day in real estate with positive energy from the meeting. Then I thought to myself, “Poor lady — Richard’s probably going to train her to death. Richard don’t be bullsh*tting!”
