The Self-Made Millionaire: Why Struggle Was His Greatest Advantage

Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice

Moses Heredia, founder and CEO of Global Processing Systems, shares his journey from humble beginnings as a child working in the fields to b

Key takeaways

• Struggle and hardship are not obstacles but foundational advantages that build resilience and drive.
• Success is a combination of innate traits (DNA), disciplined upbringing, and intentional choices about who you surround yourself with.

Main topics

• Self-made entrepreneurship
• Discipline from childhood upbringing

Notable quotes

You don't win by following the playbook. You win by rewriting it.

I'm obsessed with winning. I'm obsessed with making deals happen. And not only winning for our company, but winning for both sides.

Conclusion

Moses Heredia's journey proves that success isn't about privilege or luck—it's built

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) I've never done any drugs in my life, but to me, winning is a high. You have to be obsessed. I'm obsessed with winning. I'm obsessed with making deals happen. And not only winning for our company, but winning for both sides. It has to be fair. You also have to make sure that your business associate who you're doing service for is also winning because then it won't be a fair deal or fair trial. Speaker 2 (0:21) You don't win by following the playbook. You win by rewriting it. 700 episodes deep with the people who actually built something real. No theory, no fluff, no shortcuts. This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford. Speaker 2 (0:42) What's Speaker 3 (0:42) up, guys? Welcome to Right About Now, your number one marketing and business show on Apple Podcasts. We thank you for that. It's not lost Speaker 2 (0:49) on us. And if you want this belt, you got to come take it out of my cold, dead hands because Speaker 3 (0:54) you made us number one and I'm keeping it. And my 6'5", 250 body ain't giving it up lightly. But you know what? I like fighters. I'm a fighter. I like people that work in the dirt all the way from the fields to fortune. Hey, it might just be the title of a new book from the founder and CEO of Global Processing Systems. He's the maverick. Patrick Mobile with the heart of gold. He is Moses Heredia. What's up, Moses? Speaker 1 (1:15) Hey, what's up, Ryan? Thank you for having me, brother. It's an honor to be on your show, on your podcast, man. It's good stuff. I've heard a lot of good things about you, my man, and I'm just honored to be here today, brother. Speaker 3 (1:25) Hey, likewise. I think we were cut from the same cloth in some ways. You on the West Coast, me on the East Coast, and I think when our friends connected us, they knew kindred spirits on some level really respect what you've been doing, the way you've done it, and damn, pretty damn successful, brother. Getting after it, aren't you? Speaker 1 (1:41) Yeah, it really boils down to my mother, God rest her soul, she's not with me. But we come from humble beginnings. I remember I never had a babysitter in my life. She never pawned me on anyone. My mom was an immigrant from Mexico. I was raised in the fields, man. And I did a lot of chopped cotton. I did the peanuts, the cucumber, the bell pepper, the pecan. So I was raised out there. Some of my colleagues asked me, hey, how old were you when you started working? I was like, when I was a child being there, that was my playground. And then I just started working. So I helped my mother out. And she taught me a lot of discipline, dedication, and determination. And that's where it really came from. And all of our siblings, we work hard and just do the right thing. And that's what was taught. Now, my mom didn't come from wealth, obviously. She never cared about her skin color. She never cared about her education. And she was an immigrant. She would always teach me about faith. So that's what the book is about. It's about God, faith, and going all in. And that's what I did. And I've done that throughout my history with just a high school education. I was going to go into law enforcement. I got a little degree on that. It was in my DNA just to be an entrepreneur. At the young age, I was just out of high school and I started searching. Back in those days, I mean, the internet wasn't what it is today. You would go to the unemployment office and look at the bulletin board, what's offerings for any employment. So I remember seeing fast food environments and I remember seeing something that said telemarketing for a banking system, right? And I'm like, you know what? That's something professional that I'd like to do because coming from the fields, I remember as a child, I was like, man, I'm never going to work in the heat. never going to work in the sun. I learned the hard way, which was good. It was a good upbringing that my mother had taught me. The rest was history. So I got hired at a telemarketing department, which is still in the same industry I'm in today for credit card processing. This makes me feel old, brother, but I think it's going 30 years now that I've been in the merchant services world. Speaker 3 (3:21) You look too good to be that old, man. Let me ask you a question before we get into processing and what it took to grow that company. We've got a good mix of up and coming, want to be entrepreneurs, 25 to 30 year olds. trying to get after it. executives that have already made it to a degree. They're looking for insights or tips or different things that they could take from other executives like yourself. You used the words discipline and structured things from your mom. But, you know, I would guess that there's at least a handful of people that were in your circles or around that may have had similar influences from their family members, discipline or structure or attempts at it. Is it nature or nurture? You said DNA. What is the success like? Is it just innate? Or is it just a combination of variables that if we could formulate, we'd all be using it? Speaker 1 (4:10) It's a combination of a lot to make a full circle. So definitely discipline, dedication, and determination for me and, of course, the DNA. But I even preach this to my staff every day. It's like, be positive, productive, and proactive. It doesn't matter where you're at in life at this moment. We all have a backpack, and that's all our problems. Leave that outside the office because once you leave, they're still going to be there. Come in here and transform yourself and hit it hard. One of the things outside of my DNA... and family and being discipline dedicated was the competition. I always seen my associates as a sales agent because I was top sales in 94, 95, 96 and quarter 97 is when I got promoted. But what I would do is my colleagues were the ones that would motivate me because I couldn't have them beat me in sales every month. And being on commission only, we would look at the board and see who was leading the board. And I'm like, oh man, I got to go get a couple more deals because Speaker 2 (4:57) Mario's up ahead of me. Speaker 1 (4:58) It's really your colleagues and your people who you surround with. One of the things that's out there a lot, and I am a true believer in this, you are who you hang. around with. And in my book, it teaches that value core. When I was a kid, I was not an angel. I was a great athlete, but I could tell you that my grades started going down and south because I was hanging around my group of friends who would, after school, we would out and get some alcohol and have someone buy it for us. And then I'd go home and do my homework. And that's when God gave me the wisdom and the choice, like, hey, you're going to the long path, but it has to do a lot, your influence of who you're around with. Yeah, you have a certain pedigree and DNA, and that's great. I see a lot of great athletes, brother, that have. have the pedigree, have just the stamina. But guess what? They are not surrounding themselves with the good core people and they get in trouble and they get set back. There's a lot of that out there that are great athletes that have that. Unfortunately, they lose, they throw their career away. So just like in sales or an entrepreneur, you can easily go the wrong path having bad traits and habits. So it's a combination of everything and you have to just stay on the grind and make sure that you have what I like to call the four G's of course. But just stay disciplined, stay true to yourself and make sure you're very careful. who you surround yourself with. Speaker 3 (6:08) When you're building a business, the idea is only the starting point. The real work is turning that idea into something customers can actually find, trust, and buy from. We use Shopify for our card shop. And from a business standpoint, that matters. It gives us one place to manage the storefront, products, inventory, payments, checkout, analytics, and customer orders. When you're trying to grow, you do not want your system slowing you down. For us, Shopify helps make the buying experience feel professional. Whether someone is purchasing cards, sealed product, or merch, and when a customer is ready to check out, that process needs to be smooth. Less friction means fewer missed opportunities. And when that order comes through and you hear the Shopify, it's a reminder that the business is moving. Shopify powers millions of businesses around the world, from major brands to entrepreneurs just getting started. It gives you the tools to launch, sell, market, and grow in one place. With Shopify, nothing stands between your idea and a real business. So get out there and make it one. Go to Shopify.com slash Ryan, R-Y-A-N. That's Shopify.com slash R-Y-A-N. Speaker 3 (7:27) You said it without saying it, and I'm going to point it out. It's one that took me a while. When I hire people now, I ask, are you competitive? How bad does it hurt if you lose Monopoly at home to your kids or to your siblings? They can tell me stories where I know it's not bullshit or something. I don't know. The competitive spirit plays a lot. It drives a lot in business. And sometimes we can go, oh, that can be unhealthy. Anything can be unhealthy. Everything in moderation, including moderation. You got to be competitive, right? You got to like, you Speaker 1 (7:54) want to win. You're absolutely right. Speaker 3 (7:57) You Speaker 1 (7:57) have to have that winning spirit. Even when I am still negotiating with the financial institution on a big project or a big deal, once I hang up that Zoom call or even that phone call and I have the agreement and they say yes to everything, it's so emotional that I get tears in my eyes because the competitive spirit comes in. And to me, thank God, I've never done any drugs in my life. But to me, winning is a high. You have to be obsessed. I'm obsessed with winning. I'm obsessed with making deals happen. And not only winning for our company, but winning for both sides. Speaker 2 (8:26) It Speaker 1 (8:26) has to be fair. You also have to make sure that your business associate who you're doing service for is also winning because then it won't be a fair deal or fair trial. I get emotional, especially when I'm working on a project. Some projects take months, but when there's a signed document and we make shake hands and we say, hey, we're going to use your services. We're going to ride together. That's just such a great high and a competitive spirit that I've had that since I was a kid, bro. I remember I was driving a 1979 Honda Accord and I was 19 years old. leave the customer's location and the customer gave me the agreement and I signed the dotted line and I would just drive in my car, tears would come down my eyes and I would just be so happy and thanking God, first of all, and just say, man, this is awesome. And just tears would come down my eyes because I was on commission only, out there hustling, just surviving. It has to be a combination of stuff, but you have to be obsessed with winning. It's just an obsession with winning. And of course, like you said, everything in moderation. I'm not obsessed where I'm going crazy, right? And I have to see a shrink or anything like that.