TODD A. GOLD
I’m blessed beyond belief. I’ve always been inspired or excited about something. While I’ve been fortunate to have many interests, I’m truly more grateful for the relentless energy and good health to pursue them!
People ask me, “when are you going to slow down?” I don’t know how to answer that. Not slowing down doesn’t have to imply that I’m not smelling the roses.
It took me until the 4th quarter of life to learn that sharing my backstory would open doors to new opportunities and relationships. That’s the purpose of this website - to use this portal as a doorway to discovery with no specific agenda.
Artwork
Real Estate Professional
Bodybuilder
Writer
Faith
Like all of us, I began drawing (and coloring) before kindergarten. We all did it. Before we could even write our name…probably before we could even speak…we could all draw! Some of us were more committed to practicing and improving, or maybe we were just more introverted than others. Either way, like all things we try in life, some of us stuck to it and some didn’t. I was one of those that “stuck to it”, probably because I received accolades for it. So, like most things, with practice I got better and better. To the point that it became my identity. People would say, “it looks so real”, “so perfect”. And obviously, that’s what I thought good artwork had to be…perfect…real. That is why I was drawn to realism.
Click here to view some of my works from my childhood and throughout my art career.
Although I tried, at 26 it was becoming impractical to raise a family as a straggling artist. So, I had to make a decision. Whether to press onward and fulfill my what I felt was my life-long destiny to have a career in the artworld - or take an off-ramp to a Plan “B”. I’d never had a Plan “B” before. I’d never prepared for any career other than something having to do with art. I’d abandoned college to pursue an art career, so any other future, much less one in commercial real estate sales seemed complex and daunting. Nonetheless, my Plan “B” became an exciting and fulfilling career in commercial real estate and development that has spanned more than four decades.
Click here to view my company’s website: REOC Partners, Ltd.
Click here to view some of our projects and find out how I went from introverted artist to an extroverted real estate professional.
In 1976, the movie Rocky, came out. I turned 18 that year. I remember being so motivated to get in shape that I got up very early in the days that followed - well, at least once…maybe twice. I made myself a raw-egg protein drink and went for a run - just like Sylvester Stallone. Both were things I’d never done before…and never again since. I didn’t even have that many raw eggs! How many young men my age did that after watching Rocky - I wonder? Still, I’d been inspired to be better - physically. Not that I was in bad shape, I just hadn’t focused on fitness at all at that point in my life. It hadn’t yet become the big “thing” it is today.
What began as an interest in athleticism and becoming fit, ended up being another lifelong passion of mine. Some tell me it’s an obsession. Like so many other things I’m drawn to, I couldn’t just enjoy the process, I had to set a goal. One that would not just motivate me but make me accountable to myself. That led me into 13 bodybuilding competitions since 1996…and I’m not even very good at it! I eventually won my professional bodybuilding card from the Natural Fit Federation in 2024 a day before my 65th birthday. As a natural bodybuilder though, my goal has always been to simply be as muscular and lean as possible. Competitions were simply a way to keep me accountable, committed and focused.
My fitness journey led me to pursue another tangential passion of mine, living a healthy lifestyle. Since nutrition is the foundation of any muscle-building program, understanding food, supplements, life science, and the human body, was critical to my bodybuilding endeavors. So, I eventually became enamored with learning all I could about eating appropriately to fuel my training and drive results. It’s said that nutrition is 80% of success in physique competitions…and that’s probably right. Although I probably know more about art or real estate, I’m more passionate about training and diet because it’s so…well…personal. My strong interest in nutritional science, given how critical it is to achieve physique goals, was certainly the catalyst.
Click here to find out more about my fitness journey. As someone who scours the internet for knowledge on the latest nutritional research, training protocols, etc., friends are always asking me what I think about some diet or training protocol. So, I’ll be posting articles and links to videos, content and service providers that I believe are worth taking a look at.
Even though there is creative vision behind the development of any product or service critical, without compelling marketing materials or “business sense” to convey your message (your story), even the best ideas have difficulty succeeding.
After years of laboring over marketing materials or business letters, I realized that I actually enjoy creative and compelling writing. I enjoy crafting marketing materials that not only project the vision of a project through images, art and photography, but also through the written word. Trying to choose that perfect word, sentence, phrase or best approach to present a property, an idea or change someone’s mind - to make a very important point, or sale - is just as important as the image. I can get emersed in a letter and have it wind up taking 2-3 times as long as it probably should, because I want it to be…well, perfect! If you hadn’t noticed it yet, you probably do now. Perfection is a common theme of mine. I want my artwork to be perfect. I want my real estate projects to be perfect. I want my diet and training to be perfect. And, so it follows, that I want my letters and communication to be perfect too.
Over the years I have written articles for real estate publications, through local, regional and national media channels. I’m currently writing a book based largely on life experience. These experiences are from the perspective of a young man eager to make his way in the world and the many mistakes and lessons learned along the way. Sound familiar? We all have a story to tell, and we all have a certain degree of wisdom…wisdom that speaks out of our unique life experience.
Click here to see some of the interviews I did when I was a struggling artist, and some I’ve done in my commercial real estate career. Personal writings will be posted here as well.
Although I was born and raised in a culturally Jewish home, we were not a very religious family. While the 10-commandments were our guidebook to “right and wrong” behavior as kids, what really got the attention of my three brothers and me was my father’s black, tooled-leather cowboy belt he wore to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo every year. Dad came from the “spare-the-rod, spoil-the-child” generation of parenting. So, we always knew what the consequences were for not following “parental advice”.
Fear of my father’s discipline motivated me to seek perfection in everything I did…certainly everything he asked me to do. My art reflected it, my work ethic reflected it, and my commitment to excellence in everything I’ve ever endeavored to accomplish has reflected it. But when one of my three brothers passed away in May of 2024, I’d realized my life’s guidebook had to be more than my father’s discipline, the ten commandments and learned work behavior. Losing him exposed me to my own mortality; which begged me to ask myself the question, what am I here for? I’m not here just to follow some rules, am I?
Is my life just supposed to be all about me? Pursuing my passions and relationships? Or is there something more than just my world…more than just me and mine?
Well, come to find out…of course there is. There is plenty. I discovered that I needed to get back to something that had been missing - an overriding life structure. I needed to gain perspective. While growing up Jewish gave me a connection to God, faith became a distant memory as I got older. Then, a very close friend of mine who knew of some business struggles I was having, brought me to know Jesus Christ.
He knew that I’d lost my spirituality when I was young and never really reconnected with it. I’d been going through a difficult time, like we all do. It seemed like it would never end. While I struggled through, my friend helped me to learn to rely on Jesus and stop trying to control the world. Obviously, something control freaks like me have a hard time doing. Although I eventually realized that I needed to give up control, it’s not normal for Type “A” personalities to do that. So, it’s been a learned behavior and something I struggle with every day.
My search brought me to a Bible Study…and that group deepened my connection…yep, to another passion. One of my brothers in Christ suggested I participate in the Kairos Prison Ministry, that it would be just the thing for me on my “Christian Walk”. Well, he was right. Something in that ministry spoke to me at my core. I never saw myself going into a prison, at all. In fact, it would be the last place I knew I would ever find myself. Avoid prison at all costs.
I knew my fear of doing anything wrong, would keep me out of prison. But what I hadn’t realized was how blessed I had been my entire life. I was blessed to have had caring parents that instilled discipline and a conscience in me to ensure I would never do anything intentionally that would cause me to end up in prison. My father cared deeply about raising good young men. Capable of taking care of themselves and their families. Being responsible adults. When someone asks you, were you loved as a child…if you had a mother and father that were there for you, that stayed married despite life’s many challenges and pressures, if you had parents that made sure you had food on the table and clothes to wear - believe me, you were loved. So many people have much, much less.
Click here to learn more about my faith journey, but mostly the Kairos Prison Ministry. It truly is changing lives.